| ELITE 50: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO USE IT
For the fourth year in a row, we scoured every detail of the nation’s top colleges and universities in conjunction with their sports programs, crunched thousands of numbers and compiled the crucial data for the STACK Elite 50 College Rankings. Although your potential college experience cannot be measured strictly by the numbers, the STACK Elite 50—the most recognized comprehensive college rankings and resource of its kind—is a powerful research tool for any high school athlete looking to compete and study at the next level.
The college recruiting and selection process is demanding, time-consuming and stressful from the get-go. With so many colleges and sports teams to choose from, you’d need several years to complete all necessary research, based on both academics and athletics. So we went ahead and knocked out the hard work, calculating and weighing the key elements of your future academic and athletic collegiate experience. The following information will give you a tremendous head start in finding the right college for your academic and athletic pursuits. THE ELITE 50 SUMS IT UP
Using the criteria highlighted here, we identified the top 15 teams in 21 varsity sports. Each top-15 team was awarded points based on its finish, with first place receiving the most, 15th the fewest. Schools that didn’t crack the top 15 received no points for that sport. After all 21 sport-specific rankings were established, we tallied each school’s total points, giving slightly heavier weight to higher participation sports. Our Elite 50 schools were then ranked based on their final point totals. SPORT-SPECIFIC CRITERIA AND CALCULATIONS
Six main indicators of excellence were used to determine our sport-specific rankings. 2011 U.S. News & WORLD REPORT ON AMERICA’S BEST COLLEGES Each year, U.S. News & World Report ranks the nation’s top colleges and universities, exclusively in terms of academic prowess. The publication uses a detailed formula that takes into account, among other factors, college entrance exam scores; acceptance, retention and graduation rates; education expenditures (e.g., funds dedicated to research); and faculty resources (e.g., student-to-teacher ratios). We used each school’s U.S. News & World Report ranking as one of the main academic factors in our formula. U.S. News groups academic institutions into different categories, including “National Universities” and “Liberal Arts Colleges.” For any school not classified as a university, we used its ranking within its category and denoted it with an asterisk (*). ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATE [APR]
In 2005, the NCAA instituted the APR system to measure how well members of collegiate athletic teams progress toward graduation during their playing careers. Basically, this rating indicates, at the extremes, whether a team is loaded with academic minded student-athletes or single-minded jocks who can’t hang with their studies and are unlikely to graduate.
Within the APR system, every team receives a rating based on the eligibility and retention of its players. Two points are awarded each season for every student-athlete who meets academic eligibility standards and remains with the institution. The total points a team’s members earn in a given period, divided by the total points possible, equals the team’s APR. The highest possible score is 1,000.
Teams that fail to reach minimum standards, which depend on the sport and its number of participants, risk NCAA sanctions. Each team’s APR serves as a key academic indicator in STACK’s sport-specific rankings. NATIONAL RANK
End-of-the-season national rankings and polls (e.g., USA Today, ESPN and the Associated Press) are the most recognized method of determining a team’s single-season athletic success. The polls effectively sum up the entire season’s results, including ups, downs and late-season runs or flops. Nothing goes unnoticed.
We took into account each team’s spot in their sport’s most widely accepted final national ranking for the past three seasons. Multiple seasons were counted so that perennial powerhouses were rewarded more than recent one-and-done fluke finishers.
For sports whose seasons wrap up with an NCAA championship tournament (golf, track and field, cross country, swimming, tennis and wrestling), we used the team’s finish in its respective tournament as its end-of-season rank.
For each of the 21 sports covered in the Elite 50, we awarded points for any top-25 finish. The number-one ranked team received the most points, and a descending scale was used for teams two through 25. Finally, we awarded more points for top-25 finishes in the most recent season, slightly fewer for the season prior and slightly fewer still for the season before that. WIN-LOSS RECORD
We know other motivations drive athletic competition; however, winning games is obviously a huge factor for any athlete and team. For this reason, we calculated the number of games over .500 (wins minus losses) for each team over the past three seasons, then awarded points based on that total. This factor allowed smaller schools in smaller conferences (often overlooked by national polls despite winning a ton of games) to make some noise within our rankings. Again, we chose to count multiple years to prevent any one-hit wonders from gobbling up too many points.
We did not factor in win-loss points for individual sports whose seasons consist mostly of meets, tournaments and invitationals, since those events place little emphasis on win-loss records. STACK FACTOR
In addition to each individual team’s culture and environment, every college has an overall athletic community that contributes significantly to the experiences of its student-athletes. The STACK Factor evaluates the strength of this athletic community, in terms of the level of athletic support and prowess throughout all 21 varsity sports covered. The score is based largely on the number of a school’s sports teams that finished in the top 25 nationally. Obviously, the more nationally ranked teams a school has, the stronger its athletic environment.
Sanctions
Any school with an athletic program currently under NCAA sanctions as a result of recruiting or conduct violations received zero points for that sport. A sanctioned program is hardly attractive to prospective recruits.
PUTTING IT ALL TO USE
Our Elite 50 consists of two sections: the overall Elite 50 and summary, and individual team rankings for the 21 varsity sports. If overall athletic domination is more important to you, dive into the Elite 50. This chart highlights which schools scored best taking all 21 sports into account, and it tells you which schools are best in terms of a strong overall athletic presence. Understand, though, a high ranking in the overall Elite 50 does not necessarily mean a school offers the best experience for your particular sport. If you want a breakdown of which schools offer the best combo of academic and athletic experiences for your sport, head to our individual sport rankings. You’ll gain insights into which schools are best, even if some didn’t make the overall Elite 50.
In addition, for top-ranked programs, we tracked down athletes from those schools to find out what makes each institution so impressive athletically, academically and in terms of atmosphere and environment. This exclusive insider info will give you an idea of what it’s like to be a student-athlete inside the walls of those schools—extremely useful in helping you chart your college destiny. Three-Peat Champion, Top Five Gets a Makeover
For the third year in a row, Stanford University has taken the Elite 50 crown. The Cardinal flexed their well-rounded academic and athletic dominance in historic fashion this year by finishing at the top in 10 of our 21 sport-specific rankings, up from seven last year.
Florida held strong at the number two spot, while Texas and UNC swapped positions, with the Longhorns at three and the Tar Heels at four. With top finishes in baseball and men’s tennis, Virginia was the biggest mover, jumping from 11 last year to supplant USC in the five spot.
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