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Top 10 NCAA Sports Schools
By: Kevin Duffy
Posted: 5/2/08
Kevin Duffy ranked the Top 25 sports schools of 2007-2008 using a scoring system based on media polls. A team that wins the national championship is given 50 points toward its school's total. A team currently ranked No. 1 receives 25 points, No. 2 receives 24 points and so on. All teams ranked 20-25 receive 5 points. All unranked teams with winning records receive 3 points.
10. Florida
Total: 100 points
Top Teams: No. 3 field hockey
No. 7 women's tennis
No. 8 volleyball
Big man on campus: Tim Tebow, football
Top athlete you don't know about: Stacey Nelson, softball
Top Moment: Tebow scores seven touchdowns against South Carolina.
"Urban Meyer had to repeat the feat several times just to get a grasp on it. 'Five rushing touchdowns? Five rushing touchdowns?' On the road in the SEC, Tim Tebow made it look like at home against a Division II team in the 51-31 rout. Tebow rushed for five scores and threw for another two as the sophomore quarterback put himself in the Heisman lead with this performance." - Independent Florida Alligator football beat writer Brian Steele
9. USC
Total: 102 points
Top teams: No. 2 football
No. 3 volleyball
No. 7 men's tennis
No. 10 women's tennis
Big man on campus: (tie) Taj Gibson, men's basketball and Mark Sanchez, football
Top athlete you don't know about: Asia Kaczor, volleyball
Campus reaction to Lil' Romeo's arrival:
"The campus is equally divided about Romeo coming to USC on a basketball scholarship. On one hand, he brings plenty of publicity and his best friend, the No. 2 overall high school player in the country - 6-foot-6 swingman Demar DeRozan to USC. But on the other hand, he's not a very good player as he averaged just 8.6 points per game in eight games [in high school] before injuring his knee. Romeo was simply part of a package deal to bring one of the best players in the country to USC, so you can't blame coach Tim Floyd." - Daily Trojan staff writer Rhett Bollinger
8. Michigan
Total: 105 points
Top teams: No. 2 men's hockey
No. 5 softball
No. 8 field hockey
Big Man on Campus: Jake Long, football
Top athlete you don't know about: Kevin Porter, men's hockey
Campus expectations for Rich Rodriguez next season:
"They are decidedly lower than normal, but not just because of the coaching change. Michigan returns just three offensive starters and will undoubtedly have some growing pains this season. That said, the future is bright for Michigan football as it moves into a new era. There's no question Lloyd Carr did some great things for Michigan football, not the least of which was the 1997 National Championship, but it was probably a good time for him to step down."- Michigan Daily sports editor Nathan Sandals
7. Notre Dame
Total: 109 points
Top teams: No. 3 men's hockey
No. 9 women's lacrosse
No. 11 women's soccer
No. 11 men's soccer
Big man on campus: Luke Harangody, men's basketball
Top athlete you don't know about: Erik Condra, men's hockey
Campus expectations for Notre Dame football:
"We're confident we'll be significantly better than last season. With a bunch of rising sophomores - especially Jimmy Clausen at QB - coming back with a year of experience under their belts, the general attitude is that we'll be way better than our 3-9 record last year." - The Observer staff writer Griffin Dessatti
6. Boston College
Total: 109 points
Top teams: No. 1 men's hockey
No. 6 men's soccer
No. 14 football
Big man on campus: Matt Ryan, football
Top athlete you don't know about: Joe Whitney, men's hockey
Top moment: Matt Ryan's heroic comeback versus Virginia Tech
"Not only did it preserve our undefeated record and our no. 2 national ranking, but also Matt Ryan vomited on national television, which was by far the most entertaining sports-related event of the year." - BC Heights sports editor Jessica Isner
5. Georgia
Total: 112 points
Top teams: No. 3 football
No. 4 women's tennis
No. 5 men's tennis
No. 8 baseball
Big man on campus: Matthew Stafford, football
Top athlete no one knows about: Gordon Beckham, baseball
Campus reaction to men's basketball's improbable SEC tournament run:
"It's funny, we were on Spring Break while Georgia went on its SEC Tournament run so there was no real buzz circulating the campus then. However, the Monday after Georgia received its 14-seed, a lot of students jumped on the Bulldogs' bandwagon. It was exciting to see Georgia make its run and it's still surreal to see the "SEC Champions" T-shirt that is sold in the campus bookstore." - The Red and Black sports editor Jason Butt
4. UCLA
Total: 142 points
Top teams: No. 1 women's soccer
No. 3 men's tennis
No. 4 softball
No. 4 men's basketball
No. 7 women's volleyball
Top moment: UCLA beats Cal 81-80 at Pauley Pavilion.
"The shot Josh Shipp hit (tear-drop over the backboard) was one of the most remarkable you'll ever see. It also capped off a Pac-10 season which saw the Bruins dominate a very difficult conference, losing just two games, and a weekend which saw UCLA come from behind to beat two rivals, Stanford and Cal. In retrospect, this was the last home game for Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and (maybe) Luc Richard Mbah a Moute." - Daily Bruin sports editor Sam Allen
3. Stanford
Total: 143 points
Top teams: No. 2 women's basketball
No. 2 volleyball
No. 2 women's tennis
No. 7 women's soccer
No. 7 softball
No. 11 men's basketball
Big man on campus: (tie) Candace Wiggins, women's basketball and Brook and Robin Lopez, men's basketball
Top athlete you don't know about: Arianna Lambie, women's cross country
Top moment: Football's shocking upset victory over then No. 2 USC
"Given the recent state of the Cardinal football program a win of this magnitude was completely unexpected-- throw in the fact that quarterback Tavita Pritchard was making his first collegiate start, the offensive line and running back positions were in shambles thanks to injuries, and some of the bad blood that erupted between Stanford's Jim Harbaugh and USC's Pete Carroll a few short months earlier and the win really couldn't have been more dramatic. The spontaneous outpouring of on-campus celebration to welcome the team back home was memorable as well." - Stanford Daily staff writer Denis Griffin
2. Tennessee
Total: 154 points
Top teams: No. 1 Women's Basketball
No. 7 Men's Basketball
No. 10 Softball
No. 8 Men's Tennis
No. 12 Football
Big man on campus: Candace Parker, women's basketball
Top athlete you don't know about: Christine Magnuson, women's swimming
Top Moment: Men's basketball's win over undefeated Memphis
"Although UT's first-ever stay at No. 1 was brief, the win over Memphis was by far the highlight of the athletic calendar for Tennessee fans. A rivalry of sorts has started between the two schools and the students showed their enthusiasm after the game by storming the streets around campus. It was reported that you could hear the students' screams miles away from campus." - Daily Beacon sports editor Hunter Pavlik
1. North Carolina
Total: 193
Top teams: No. 1 field hockey
No. 3 men's basketball
No. 3 baseball
No. 5 women's basketball
No. 6 women's soccer
No. 10 men's lacrosse
No. 12 men's tennis
Big man on campus: Tyler Hansbrough, men's basketball
Top athlete you don't know about: Rachel Dawson, field hockey
What makes North Carolina the No. 1 sports school:
"For starters, UNC's athletic program is excellent across the board; people know the school for its basketball team, but almost every men's and women's team sport is competitive in the ACC. The women's soccer team is the most celebrated dynasty in the sport, the field hockey team just won a national championship, and the baseball team has been to the College World Series finals the past two seasons - all while the basketball team has furthered its stature as one of the best programs in Division I-A history. Moreover, UNC does an excellent job of marketing its sports, from memorabilia to merchandise to media. Annually one of the top schools in merchandise sales, the N-C logo is arguably more recognizable than any other school in the country." - Daily Tar Heel columnist Sam Rosenthal
Contact Kevin Duffy at
Kevin.R.Duffy@UConn.edu.
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