As the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games officially open Friday, the NCAA will have a front-row presence in one of the most recognizable moments in sports: the Parade of Nations.
Frank Del Duca, a former University of Maine track and field student-athlete, will serve as one of Team USA’s flag bearers after being selected in a vote of fellow U.S. athletes. Jared Firestone, a former Tulane track and field student-athlete, will represent Israel as a flag bearer. Kellie Delka, a former North Texas track and field athlete, will represent North Texas.
Three former NCAA student-athletes. Three different flags. Two different sports. One shared throughline: College sports, specifically track and field, helped build the foundation for a moment that will be seen around the world.
Frank Del Duca: From NCAA long jump captain to Team USA flag bearer
Del Duca’s NCAA roots trace to the University of Maine, where he walked on to the track and field team, became a team captain and won an America East title in the long jump. He earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and physical education.
After college, Del Duca transitioned to bobsled in 2015 and made his Olympic debut in Beijing, piloting Team USA in both the two-man and four-man events. Now, he’ll help lead the U.S. delegation into the Opening Ceremony spotlight before returning to the track for his second Olympic Games.
Del Duca, now a sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed in Lake Placid, New York, will be the first bobsledder to serve as a Team USA Opening Ceremony flag bearer in 70 years. The former Maine standout, who’s college coach introduced him to bobsled, said his track and field days will always stay with him.
“Some of my best memories of college were those really tough workouts. I miss that,” he said to the NCAA. “Thank you so much (to my teammates) for contributing to who I am as a person and an athlete. This is for you. Go Black Bears.”
Jared Firestone: A Tulane sprinter who found his Olympic path on a skeleton sled
Firestone will compete for Israel in men’s skeleton at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, becoming Tulane’s first known alumnus to qualify for a Winter Olympics.
A four-year member of the Tulane track and field team (2008-12), Firestone posted the team’s best 100-meter time each season, notched the team’s top 200-meter mark in two seasons, and earned Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognition all four years.
After graduating in 2012, Firestone attended law school, suffered a minor stroke during his first semester, and discovered skeleton while recovering during the 2014 Winter Olympics.
“The foundation for my work ethic began at Tulane,” said Firestone in a Tulane athletics story. “Waking up at 6:00 a.m. to lift weights, going to class, followed by grueling track workouts in the New Orleans heat helped shape my mindset for pushing myself to work, fundraise, train, and of course slide down ice tracks at 85 mph all at the same time to achieve this goal.”
Kellie Delka: North Texas track alum back for a second Olympics for Puerto Rico
Delka, a former North Texas track and field athlete, will compete in Milan Cortina as a Puerto Rico skeleton athlete, returning to the Olympic stage for her second straight Winter Games.
Her NCAA foundation started at North Texas in Denton, where Delka competed as a pole vaulter while also being part of the North Texas Cheerleaders and finishing her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.
Delka’s path to skeleton began with a familiar NCAA connection: As she was finishing her degree, she saw a social media post from fellow UNT alum and Olympic bobsledder Johnny Quinn about a USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation combine in McKinney. From there, Delka carved out an unconventional international route, later moving to Puerto Rico to help build its winter sports federation and often operating as a “one-woman show,” handling logistics and costs that athletes in larger programs typically don’t.
“I’ll always feel connected to North Texas,” Delka said in a recent interview. “North Texas a huge part of my life as an athlete. I miss it every day. I wish I could go all the way back and start over.”
Track every NCAA Olympic qualifier
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Where to watch the Milan Cortina Opening Ceremony
Coverage of the Opening Ceremony will air on NBC with streaming on Peacock. Live coverage begins 2 p.m. ET Friday, Feb. 6, with a primetime presentation at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
