Many college basketball fans are feeling a divine spirit after Catholic cardinals elected the first American pope last week. As a result, bets on Pope Leo XIV’s alma mater — Villanova — have increased twentyfold in the past week.
The betting surge on the Wildcats’ men’s basketball team was first reported by Yahoo Sports.
During the conclave, approximately 1% of bets touted Villanova as potential champions at the BetMGM sportsbook. That number grew to 22% in the first 24 hours of the new papacy, according to multiple reports.
Villanova has missed the NCAA tournament in each of the last three seasons. BetMGM gives the Wildcats slim 80-1 odds to cut down the nets next spring, even with the pope on their side.
Word of the Chicago-born pope’s sports fandom has spread in the last week. A photo of him at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, which saw the Chicago White Sox defeat the Houston Astros, went viral on social media.
The White Sox proudly congratulated “South Side’s very own” on their video board in games following the conclave.
