Mason County has a connection to Oakland University, Kentucky's first round opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
The late Jim Mitchell, who was the head coach of the Mason County Royals for seven seasons, was a coach at Oakland for three seasons. He was the head coach for the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons and a co-head coach for the 1978-79 season.
Mitchell had a 27-56 record at Oakland when it was an NCAA Division II school in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
