Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter among stars in crowd at Michigan-Washington national title game

Big-time sporting events are sure to bring out celebrities no matter where they’re played. That was the case in Michigan’s 34-13 win over Washington in Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium.

There were notable Michigan and Washington alums scattered throughout the building, but the most star power was centered inside one stadium suite with a couple Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter hanging out with former Heisman Trophy winner and Michigan star Desmond Howard, rapper Travis Scott and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.

Derek Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and was committed to play baseball for the Wolverines, but opted to sign with the Yankees out of high school when they took him sixth overall in the 1992 draft. Sadly enough for Astros fans, their team actually had the No. 1 overall pick that year and opted to draft Phil Nevin instead, despite objections from team scout Hal Newhouser who was so upset, he resigned from his position.

Jordan obviously is a North Carolina guy and was in the same building when his Tar Heels lost to Villanova in the 2016 Final Four, but Michigan has a 15-year, $174 million deal with Nike’s Jordan Brand. As a result, the Wolverines’ jerseys have the Jordan Brand logo on the left shoulder.

Travis Scott, who also has a Nike deal, has no ties to either school, but if there’s a big sporting event in Houston, the rapper, who grew up in Missouri City, is a good bet to be there.

Jalen Rose and Jimmy King — two-fifths of the famed Fab Five Michigan basketball teams from the 1990s also were there — with Rose, who played 13 seasons in the NBA, posting a celebratory video after the Wolverines had secured their first national title in 26 years.

Then, there was the Harbaugh family. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh joked that he finally can eat at “the big person’s table” at family gatherings since he now has a national title along with his father Jack, who won a Division I-AA crown as the head coach at Western Kentucky in 2002 and brother John, who won the Super Bowl with the Ravens. Jack and John were both on the field, including a sweet moment in which John gave his brother a hug during a timeout in the second quarter. Tom Crean, the former college basketball coach at Marquette, Indiana and Georgia, also was there with his wife Joani, who is John Harbaugh’s sister.

There were plenty of well-known Washington fans in the building as well, including former Houston Oilers star Warren Moon and former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Steve Emtman.