Okay, so I wanted to figure out which Power 5 schools are, well, the least academically impressive. You know, just for fun. I’m not trying to start any fights, but curiosity got the better of me.
My Totally Unscientific Method
First, I grabbed a list of all the Power 5 schools. Easy enough, Wikipedia had me covered. Then, I decided to use US News & World Report’s National University Rankings. I know, I know, it’s not perfect, but it’s a readily available metric, and it gives a general idea.
So, I went through each conference – ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 (RIP), and SEC – and jotted down each school’s ranking. Some of these schools are crazy high up there! Like, we’re talking top 20. Others…not so much.
Crunching the Numbers (aka, Basic Addition)
Next, I added up all the rankings for each conference. I’m no mathematician, but I can handle some simple sums. After I got the total, I divided it by the number of schools in each conference to get an average ranking.
- ACC: These guys did pretty well, overall. Lots of solid academics in this group.
- Big Ten: Similar story to the ACC. Some real academic powerhouses here.
- Big 12: A bit more of a mixed bag, but still some strong schools.
- Pac-12: Oh, Pac-12. Even before they imploded, the academics were…varied.
- SEC: Now, the SEC. We all love SEC football, but let’s just say academics aren’t always the top priority. Bless their hearts.
The “Winners” (or Losers, Depending on How You Look at It)
Based on my very informal and not-at-all-definitive analysis, the conferences with the highest average rankings (meaning the lowest average academic standing) were, generally:
- Some from Sec
- Some from Pac 12
I’m not going to name individual schools because, again, I’m not trying to cause any trouble. But it was definitely interesting to see the spread. Some schools are known for both athletics and academics, while others are… more focused on one than the other. And that’s perfectly fine!
This was just a fun little exercise. Don’t take it too seriously! It’s all in good fun, and every school has its own strengths and weaknesses. This just confirms that some of the schools are better at football than at putting students in libaries. lol.
