Top 15 Greatest College Athletes

SI Staff | Jul 3, 2006

Top 15 Greatest College Athletes

Julius Peppers

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

At North Carolina, Peppers won the Chuck Bednarik and Lombardi Awards, a testament to his ferocity as the nation's best defensive end. He also played power forward for the storied Tar Heels, who reached the Final Four in 2000. He even led the team in field goal percentage, shooting over 60 percent from the floor.

Jeff Samardzija

Courtesy of Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame

"I've just played baseball and football in college," Samardzija says, "which is nothing compared to what Bo Jackson did." But the pitcher is pretty good in his own right, earning All-America honors in both sports. Recently signed by the Cubs, Samardzija set Notre Dame records as a wideout for yards (1,249) and TDs (15) in a season.

John Elway

Richard Mackson/SI

At Stanford, John Elway set virtually every Pac-10 career record for passing and total offense, pacing the country in touchdown passes (24) in 1982. An All-America, he also excelled on the diamond, hitting .361 with nine homers and 50 RBIs in 49 games as a sophomore before spending his collegiate summers playing for the Yankees.

Bob Golic

Courtesy of University of Notre Dame

Though he is best known for his role on "Saved by the Bell: the College Years," Golic was a two-sport phenom at Notre Dame. He was a unanimous All-America linebacker for the 1977 national championship team and an All-America heavyweight wrestler. Golic placed third and fourth in the country in '76 and '77.

Wilt Chamberlain

AP

At Kansas, Chamberlain earned All-America honors in hoops twice in two years and led the Jayhawks to the 1957 national title game (a triple-OT loss to UNC). The Stilt was also a track star who won the high jump at the Big Eight championships.

Brian Jordan

Scott Meyer/University of Richmond

At the University of Richmond, Jordan was an All-America cornerback and still holds the school record for punt-return yardage (692 in 60 tries). In baseball, however, the All-East Region first-teamer rewrote the record books. Jordan hit .321 for his career, scored 66 runs and stole 27 bases -- both school records -- in 1988.

Raghib Ismail

Peter Read Miller/SI

At Notre Dame, the Rocket won a national title as a flanker and finished second in the Heisman voting, earning All-America status and two SI covers to boot. The wideout and kick-return threat was also an All-America on the track, setting a school record in the 55-meter dash and winning 23 straight heats in that event.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

AP

The UCLA All-America set records in the long jump and pentathlon in 1985, won the Broderick Cup as the country's best female athlete and was the NCAA pentathlon champ in 1982 and '83. The 1988 and '92 Olympic heptathlon champion was also a four-year starter and All-America basketball player for the Bruins.

Marion Jones

Manny Millan/SI

An All-America in track and a multiple-medal winner in Olympic competition, Jones also steered the North Carolina Tar Heels to a 92-10 record during her tenure with the basketball team, including the national championship in 1994. An All-America point guard, she ranks fifth on UNC's all-time assists list, third in steals and seventh in blocks despite playing only three years.

Dave Winfield

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

The only man drafted by four leagues (MLB, NBA, ABA and NFL) starred in two sports at Minnesota: basketball and baseball. He led the Gophers to their first Big 10 hoops championship in 43 years, and he was the 1973 College World Series' Most Outstanding Player, hitting .467 and fanning 29 in two starts as a pitcher.

Deion Sanders

Allen Steele/Getty Images

Deion Sanders was a two-time All-America cornerback who won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988 and also started at center field on a Seminoles team that finished fifth in the College World Series. Sanders hit .331, stole bases by the bucketful and also parlayed his blinding speed into excellence as a sprinter on the track and field team.

Charlie Ward

Damian Strohmeyer/SI

A College Football Hall of Famer who never played pro football, Ward won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide in 1993 at Florida State. He also won the Sullivan Award and the Maxell Award in addition to the national championship. Pulling double duty at point guard, he led the Seminoles to the Elite Eight and was a first-round NBA draft pick in 1994.

Bo Jackson

John Iacono/SI

At Auburn, Jackson won the 1985 Heisman Trophy, hit over .400 and was the first pick of the 1986 NFL draft. Having never pole-vaulted or thrown a discus, he reportedly taught himself to do both in one day, winning the Alabama state decathlon title while competing in only nine of the 10 events -- his time in the 100 meters exempted him from having to run the mile.

Jackie Robinson

Courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library

Robinson was the Pac-10's leading scorer in basketball in 1940 and '41, the national long jump champion in 1940 and an All-America running back at UCLA. The multi-sport star also happened to be a pretty good shortstop for the baseball team.

Jim Brown

Courtesy of Syracuse University

Arguably the best ever at not one but two college sports, Brown was a first-team All-America and the only college Hall of Famer in both football and lacrosse. He rushed for 986 yards as a senior (third-most in the country, even though his team played only eight games) while leading the nation with 43 goals for the undefeated Orangemen in 1956-57.