Originally Posted by
Mudge
I would expect most to concede that the Ivy League, with no weak sisters academically, is the top academic conference in NCAA Div. I athletics. I am curious to know what others think would be the best academic conferences of the other six big athletic conferences in Div. I; I can make a case for the ACC, the PAC-12, the Big 10/12, and maybe the Big East, but less of one for the SEC and the Big 12/10... here are my rankings of the schools in each of these six conferences, grouped into Top, Middling, and Not Top schools:
ACC:
Top- Duke, BC, UNC, Virginia
Middling- Wake, Georgia Tech, Miami
Not Top- Florida State, Clemson, Syracuse, Pitt, Virginia Tech, NC State, Maryland
Big 10/12:
Top- Northwestern, Michigan
Middling- Ohio State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota,
Not Top- Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan State, Purdue
PAC-12:
Top- Stanford, California, UCLA, USC
Middling- Washington, Colorado
Not Top- Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah
Big East:
Top- Georgetown, Notre Dame, Navy
Middling- Villanova, Marquette
Not Top- Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Rutgers, South Florida, Boise State, Central Florida, South Florida, Seton Hall, Providence, St. Johns, DePaul, Houston, Southern Methodist, Connecticut, San Diego State
SEC:
Top- Vanderbilt
Middling- Georgia, Florida, Texas A&M, Missouri
Not Top- South Carolina, Arkansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky
Big 12/10:
Top- None
Middling- Texas, Iowa State
Not Top- Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Christian, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Given my rankings, I think it comes down to the ACC vs. the PAC-12, with each having half their schools in the Top and Middle groups, and each having 4 really selective Top schools (although one could argue that the Big 10/12 has more strength in depth, with two-thirds of its schools in the Top and Middle groups, but only maybe 2 really Top-ranked schools)... I guess I would go with the Pac-12 being number one, based on Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and USC being a somewhat stronger top group than Duke, BC, UV, and UNC.
Obviously, there will be disagreements with my groupings, but differing opinions are welcome. I realize that I have not addressed other strong academic conferences (such as the Patriot) which have Div. I sports in certain areas, but are not Div. I across the board; I've also left out a many other less prominent conferences, like Conference USA.