{"id":469484,"date":"2021-04-13T13:43:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T20:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=469484"},"modified":"2021-04-13T13:43:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T20:43:14","slug":"indiana-swimmer-max-scott-stars-as-anthem-singer-at-mens-final-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/indiana-swimmer-max-scott-stars-as-anthem-singer-at-mens-final-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Swimmer Max Scott Stars as Anthem Singer at Men\u2019s Final Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana sent plenty of swimmers of the NCAA Championships this year<\/a>. But only Max Scott<\/strong> ended up at the men\u2019s basketball Final Four.<\/p>\n

Scott, a sophomore on the men\u2019s swim team, was selected by the school to sing the national anthem before Baylor and Houston tipped off the men\u2019s Final Four in Indianapolis last week.<\/p>\n

\"Scott_Max\"

Photo Courtesy: IU Athletics<\/p><\/div>\n

Traditionally, a representative from one of the participating schools serves as the anthem singer. But with the COVID-19-related restrictions on attendance at the men\u2019s tournament, held completely within the state of Indiana, Scott was offered the chance instead by the university<\/a>, serving as a co-host.<\/p>\n

“I was so honored to be part of it,” Scott said in an interview with Indiana\u2019s website<\/a>. “Being able to do it during COVID where attendance is limited, it’s not lost on me how special of an opportunity it was.”<\/p>\n

Scott is a sophomore sprint freestyler and butterflier<\/a> from Dublin, Ohio. In addition to singing, he\u2019s a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass, drums and piano. He operates a YouTube channel<\/a> with covers and original music.<\/p>\n

As the only student-athlete \u2013 and a standout student at that<\/a> \u2013 enrolled in IU\u2019s Jacobs School of Music, he was an easy choice to sing the anthem.<\/p>\n

“Very proud of and happy for him,” IU Athletics’ director of leadership and life skills Lisa Winters<\/strong> said. “It is always a good thing when our students get to share some of their many talents beyond the field of competition.”<\/p>\n

Scott drew comparisons to how he prepares for swim meets with how he prepares to sing, in terms of shutting out the noise, centering on his thoughts and visualizing the performance (vocal or athletic) to come. He\u2019s performed publicly before, though he said this was obviously the biggest crowd he\u2019d ever appeared before, easily surpassing the 400 or so from a fifth-grade talent show.<\/p>\n