Money.com: 100 Best Colleges for Sport Lovers
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) continues its reign on top of the national rankings in a variety of fields as the league places 59 current water polo sponsoring institutions (men’s collegiate club, women’s collegiate club, men’s varsity, women’s varsity) on the Money/Sports Illustrated “100 Best Colleges for Sport Lovers”.
To build the list, Money and Sports Illustrated began with colleges that made Money’s cut in its annual Best Colleges ranking, which scores schools on affordability, academic excellence and career outcomes. Then, 15 sports-specific data points were added and split into two groups: athlete opportunities and fan experience.
Money’s Best Colleges get ranked on 24 factors that measure educational quality, affordability, and alumni success.
For each of those colleges, Money zeroed in on 15 different factors that illustrated the school’s overall sports culture—and removed any schools that were missing four or more of those data points. That left a universe of 606 colleges. The remaining colleges were then ranked based on their scores in three areas: the overall Best Colleges rank (20%), student athlete opportunities (40%), and fan experience (40%).
Two pieces of data—recent national and conference championships—factored into both the student athlete and fan experience, since both athletes and fans want to be associated with winning teams.
Here’s a further breakdown of what’s in each bucket:
Athlete Opportunities (40% of total)
- Graduation rate for student athletes, counted per federal guidelines: 15%
- Participation rate in varsity-level student athletics: 15%
- Number of alumni on U.S. teams during the past four Olympic Games: 10%
- Number of national championships won in the past 10 seasons, through the fall 2016 season: 10%
- Number of alumni who are currently playing professionally in five major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS): 10%
- Number of intercollegiate sports offered on campus: 10%
- Having a major NCAA infraction in the past 5 years: 10% (reduces overall score)
- Average athletic scholarship per female athlete: 7.5%
- Average athletic scholarship per male athlete: 7.5%
- Number of conference championships won in the past 10 seasons, through the fall 2016 season: 5%
Fan Experience (40% of total)
- Average game attendance per capita for at least one of the following: football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball: 25%
- Number of intramural sports offered on campus: 15%
- Student rating of athletic scene on campus, from Niche.com: 15%
- Number of national championships won in the past 10 years, through the fall 2016 season: 10%
- Donations to endowments tied to athletics as a share of total 2016 donations: 7.5%
- Donations to current operations for athletic spending as a share of total 2016 donations: 7.5%
- Number of arenas within a 25-mile radius where students can watch professional sporting events: 5%
- Total number of dollars donated in 2016 for current athletic spending: 5%
- Number of sports-related majors available to study on campus: 5%
- Number of conference championships won in the past 10 years, through the fall 2016 season: 5%
Further Notes on Data
Championships: National championships and conference championships were collected by hand from the NCAA website and individual conference championships. Money only counted conference championships for Division I colleges because the level of competition among Division I conferences was more even than that among many smaller conferences in Divisions II and III.
Federal graduation rate for student athletes: Division I and Division II colleges are required to follow federal guidelines in reporting the six-year graduation rate for student athletes. The graduation rate for teams from the cohort of students that started college in 2005-2008, based on data from the NCAA, was used by the ranking group. Division III colleges are excluded from this requirement, so a substitution of the data for the overall student body graduation rate from the same time period was used based on data from the U.S. Department of Education. The NCAA also collects a separate graduation success rate and academic success rate for Division I and Division II, respectively. Money ultimately chose not to include those, as critics say those rates inflate the number of athletes who actually go on to earn a college degree.
Average athletic scholarships: Division III colleges are not allowed to award scholarship money based on athletic ability, per NCAA regulations. As a result, Division III colleges were excluded from this data point. We used a formula that allowed us to skip this data point for Division III colleges and reapportion the 15% given to athletic aid evenly across all other data points in the student athlete opportunity bucket.
Average attendance: The NCAA only publishes attendance figures for certain sports, and publishes more for Division I teams than for Division II or Division III. To get as complete a picture as possible, Money looked at three sports—football and men’s and women’s basketball. The average of two or three if multiple attendance figures were reported was factored into the equation. Otherwise only one sport was counted. There were still 186 colleges without attendance figures. For those, Money used a formula that allowed us to skip this data point and reapportion the 25% given to attendance across all other data points in the fan experience bucket.
Donations: Donations were counted in two ways. To measure how donors and universities’ fundraising staffs prioritize athletics, an examination of sports-related donations as a share of the total amount of money raised by a school. Money also scored colleges based on the total dollar amount they raised, in order to reward colleges that have the most cash to reinvest in their athletics program.
Money/Sports Illustrated100 Best Colleges for Sport Lovers
1. Stanford University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 10; Athletes: 1; Fans: 19
2. University of Notre Dame (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Collges: 31; Athletes: 21; Fans: 9
3. University of Michigan (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club/Women’s Varsity)
Best Colleges: 2; Athletes: 33; Fans: 14
4. Duke University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 39; Athletes: 4; Fans: 37
5. University of Virginia (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 9; Athletes: 46; Fans: 11
6. University of North Carolina (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 45; Athletes: 28; Fans: 18
7. University of Florida (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 15; Athletes: 68; Fans: 4
8. Middlebury College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 48; Athletes: 15; Fans: 53
9. Yale University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 12; Athletes: 18; Fans: 75
10. Bowdoin College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 20; Athletes: 13; Fans: 71
11. Dartmouth College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 33; Athletes: 90; Fans: 3
12. University of California-Los Angeles (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 20; Athletes: 77; Fans: 26
13. Rice University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 4; Athletes: 41; Fans: 79
14. University of Maryland (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 19; Athletes: 101; Fans: 23
15. University of Georgia (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 56; Athletes: 72; Fans: 35
16. University of Southern California (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 155; Athletes: 24; Fans: 36
17. University of Connecticut (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 38; Athletes: 97; Fans: 34
18. The Ohio State University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 130; Athletes: 86; Fans: 1
19. Princeton University (Men’s & Women’s Varsity)
Best Colleges: 1; Athletes: 5; Fans: 147
20. University of Texas at Austin (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 50; Athletes: 103; Fans: 31
21. Clemson University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 21; Athletes: 100; Fans: 49
22. Colgate University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 59; Athletes: 35; Fans: 96
23. Lafayette College
Best Colleges: 69; Athletes: 79; Fans: 51
24. Boston College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 150; Athletes: 30; Fans: 61
25. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 63; Athletes: 84; Fans: 60
26. University of Richmond
Best Colleges: 114; Athletes: 45; Fans: 76
27. Amherst College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 7; Athletes: 10; Fans: 169
28. Providence College
Best Colleges: 134; Athletes: 89; Fans: 32
29. Villanova University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 157; Athletes: 54; Fans: 59
30. Wake Forest University
Best Colleges: 150; Athletes: 119; Fans: 27
31. Michigan State University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 54; Athletes: 144; Fans: 21
32. Harvard University (Men’s Collegiate Club/Men’s & Women’s Varsity)
Best Colleges: 3; Athletes: 8; Fans: 185
33. Bates College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 61; Athletes: 14; Fans: 167
34. University of Washington (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 30; Athletes: 151; Fans: 46
35. Gettysburg College
Best Colleges: 114; Athletes: 34; Fans: 122
36. Gustavus Adolphus College
Best Colleges: 74; Athletes: 50; Fans: 127
37. Vanderbilt University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 27; Athletes: 155; Fans: 47
38. Northwestern University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 70; Athletes: 69; Fans: 117
39. Williams College (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 49; Athletes: 6; Fans: 192
40. Claremont McKenna College
Best Colleges: 71; Athletes: 19; Fans: 182
41. (tie) Denison University
Best Colleges: 140; Athletes: 25; Fans: 182
41. (tie) Davidson College
Best Colleges: 46; Athletes: 94; Fans: 120
43. Texas A&M University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 13; Athletes: 228; Fans: 6
44. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 22; Athletes: 172; Fans: 58
45. College of the Holy Cross
Best Colleges: 65; Athletes: 107; Fans: 107
46. (tie) Syracuse University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 294; Athletes: 56; Fans: 57
46. (tie) Hamilton College (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 40; Athletes: 26; Fans: 214
48. DePauw University
Best Colleges: 67; Athletes: 87; Fans: 140
49. Bucknell University (Men’s Collegiate Club/Men’s & Women’s Varsity)
Best Colleges: 152; Athletes: 32; Fans: 160
50. Georgia Institute of Technology (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 35; Athletes: 223; Fans: 30
51. McDaniel College
Best Colleges: 100; Athletes: 104; Fans: 123
52. Union College
Best Colleges: 98; Athletes: 27; Fans: 202
53. University of Iowa (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 198; Athletes: 185; Fans: 5
54. Brown University (Men’s & Women’s Varsity)
Best Colleges: 31; Athletes: 7; Fans: 268
55. Pennsylvania State University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 220; Athletes: 93; Fans: 93
56. University of Minnesota
Best Colleges: 58; Athletes: 225; Fans: 43
57. Pomona College
Best Colleges: 22; Athletes: 31; Fans: 267
58. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 18; Athletes: 241; Fans: 66
59. Ursinus College
Best Colleges: 278; Athletes: 43; Fans: 136
60. Tufts University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 89; Athletes: 22; Fans: 252
61. Georgetown University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 84; Athletes: 66; Fans: 215
62. Wheaton College
Best Colleges: 75; Athletes: 40; Fans: 255
63. Wofford College
Best Colleges: 121; Athletes: 93; Fans: 184
64. Florida State University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 197; Athletes: 222; Fans: 17
65. Gonzaga University
Best Colleges: 114; Athletes: 213; Fans: 70
66. Westminster College
Best Colleges: 206; Athletes: 58; Fans: 181
67. University of California-Berkeley (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 6; Athletes: 162; Fans: 180
68. College of William and Mary
Best Colleges: 36; Athletes: 158; Fans: 171
69. Indiana University (Women’s Collegiate Club/Women’s Varsity)
Best Colleges: 77; Athletes: 263; Fans: 56
70. Trinity College
Best Colleges: 104; Athletes: 2; Fans: 308
71. Furman University
Best Colleges: 208; Athletes: 44; Fans: 226
72. University of Delaware (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 54; Athletes: 177; Fans: 172
73. University of Oklahoma
Best Colleges: 246; Athletes: 236; Fans: 20
74. Texas Christian University (Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 500; Athletes: 96; Fans: 40
75. Simpson College
Best Colleges: 296; Athletes: 141; Fans: 100
76. Colby College (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 75; Athletes: 9; Fans: 343
77. Auburn University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 206; Athletes: 285; Fans: 3
78. Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Best Colleges: 175; Athletes: 42; Fans: 274
79. Centre College
Best Colleges: 274; Athletes: 47; Fans: 274
80. Linfield College
Best Colleges: 221; Athletes: 147; Fans: 148
81. Washington and Lee University
Best Colleges: 29; Athletes: 20; Fans: 373
82. Brigham Young University
Best Colleges: 5; Athletes: 329; Fans: 77
83. James Madison University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 112; Athletes: 282; Fans: 72
84. Lehigh University (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 103; Athletes: 60; Fans: 302
85. Loras College
Best Colleges: 376; Athletes: 160; Fans: 69
86. Southern Methodist University
Best Colleges: 452; Athletes: 131; Fans: 62
87. (tie) Muhlenberg College
Best Colleges: 87; Athletes: 88; Fans: 291
87. (tie) Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Best Colleges: 105; Athletes: 261; Fans: 109
89. University of Pennsylvania (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 26; Athletes: 59; Fans: 351
90. University of Nebraska
Best Colleges: 364; Athletes: 242; Fans: 2
91. Augustana College (South Dakota)
Best Colleges: 306; Athletes: 248; Fans: 28
92. (tie) Augustana College (Illinois) (Men’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 521; Athletes: 39; Fans: 135
92. (tie) Baylor University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 565; Athletes: 111; Fans: 41
94. Assumption College
Best Colleges: 193; Athletes: 207; Fans: 137
95. Sewanee – The University of the South
Best Colleges: 312; Athletes: 51; Fans: 236
96. The Citadel
Best Colleges: 86; Athletes: 255; Fans: 149
97. University of Utah (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 106; Athletes: 315; Fans: 80
98. Columbia University (Men’s & Women’s Collegiate Club)
Best Colleges: 52; Athletes: 16; Fans: 408
99. Messiah College
Best Colleges: 147; Athletes: 99; Fans: 280
100. Presbyterian College
Best Colleges: 315; Athletes: 194; Fans: 101
