Your State's #1 College Team (football, basketball, coach, hockey)

[JJG]

300th post
This is the back up, college version of "Your town's #1 Team".
The #1 college depends on tradition, fans, and how the school ranks in all sports. (A few states will not appear here because they just seem too obvious. Guess which ones...)
Now, I can't stress this enough, but half of these are just assumptions and a little bit of my own opinion, okay? So if I say that Oklahoma Univ. is the #1 college sports school in Oklahoma, I don't wan't OSU and Tulsa fans jumpin' on me...especially Tulsa fans . Feel free to correct me.
Here are the #1 schools that best represent your state or region in sports.

• Alabama: 'Bama Crimson Tide
• Arizona: Arizona State Sun Devils
• Arkansas: Arkansas Razorbacks
• "Big Sky": Boise State Broncos
• California: USC Trojans
• Colorado: Colorado Buffs
• D.C. : Georgetown Hoyas
• Florida: Florida Gators
• Georgia: Georgia Bulldogs
• Illinois: Illinois Illini
• Indiana: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
• Iowa: Iowa Hawkeyes
• Kansas: K-State Wildcats
• Kentucky: Louisville Cardinals
• Louisiana: LSU Tigers
• Michigan: Michigan Wolverines
• Mid-Atlantic: Maryland Terps
• Mississippi: Ole Miss Rebels
• Nevada: UNLV Rebs
• New Mexico: New Mexico Lobos
• New York/New Jersey: Syracuse Orange
• North Central States: Minnesota Golden Gophers
• N,C.: N.C. State Wolfpack
• Ohio: Ohio State Buckeyes
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma Sooners
• Oregon: Oregon Ducks
• Penn: Penn State Nittany Lions
• South Carolina: Clemson Tigers
• Tennessee: Tennessee Vols
• Texas: Texas Longhorns
• Utah: Utah Utes
• Virginia: VT Hokies
• Washington: Washington Huskies

[Wi_Girl]

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Badgers

[X-Greensboro Resident]

North Carolina has got to be The University of North Carolina Tar Heels, not that other school!! I'm sorry!!

[ogre]

Interesting that some states are not on the list. This makes sense, because college sports are not very big in some states. After growing up in the Boston area, where college sports are generally not followed with fanatical enthusiasm (and I notice MA is not on the list), I went to college in Ohio, and found that the widespread, rabid following of OSU's football team took some getting used to. It was just kind of different from what I was used to for the general population to be so crazy over a college team.

On the subject of Boston and MA, I guess if you set aside the reality that college sports aren't really so big there, the school that comes closest to deserving a spot on this list is Boston College. The college sport that comes closest to getting any kind of widespread following in MA is probably hockey, where B.U. has historically been a powerhouse, but B.C.'s decent hockey success, combined with their status as a moderately big-time football power for the past thirty years or so, and in basketball for nearly a decade now, puts B.C. over the top. UMass? Naah. Their football team is a power--in 1AA. And, even in 1AA, they've been near the top for only a few years. They made a big--but brief--splash in basketball in the '90's, and more recently have thrown their support behind hockey as their big winter sport. They just don't have a history of being big enough for long enough in any sport to match B.C.

I notice you said that some states are left off because it's so obvious that there's no need to bother listing them. That explains the absence of Nebraska, but I wonder then why OK, TX, MS, and AL weren't left off for the same reason. The same with PA.

Suggestions for other possibilities in a couple of states: In California, both USC and UCLA have some serious history. If you look at the very recent history of USC's football team, your selection of USC makes sense, but looking at the whole history . . . either a tossup, or I'd be inclined to go with UCLA because of the basketball program's lofty place in the history of college sports. Can you say, John Wooden? Walton? Abdul-Jabbar? And, speaking of basketball, I'd go with KU in Kansas. How many hoops national titles have the Jayhawks won? How many final-four appearances? Not to mention that one of their first coaches (their first coach?) was the guy who INVENTED basketball. Given that neither school has been huge in football in a long, long, long time, if ever, or really great in any other sport that comes to mind right away (though KU was a track power back when--'40's? '50's?), I'd say basketball, er, TIPS the balance in favor of KU.

[mountain_time_Blues]

Originally Posted by X-Greensboro Resident

North Carolina has got to be The University of North Carolina Tar Heels, not that other school!! I'm sorry!!

I beg to differ.

[nl2134]

Originally Posted by Wi_Girl

Wisconsin: Wisconsin Badgers

Woo hoo!

[ogre]

Originally Posted by X-Greensboro Resident

North Carolina has got to be The University of North Carolina Tar Heels, not that other school!! I'm sorry!!

National championships: NC 4, Duke 3. Final Four Appearances: NC 16, Duke 14. Aggregate NCAA tournament winning percentage: Duke .752 (first all-time), NC .708 (third). Pretty close. Given the fact that neither has been a power in nearly any other sport in almost more years than anyone can count, you base this mostly on hoops, and the stats show it's very close. Um, of course I did say NEARLY any other sport. All that ugliness surrounding the Duke lacrosse situation might have called some attention to the fact that Duke has a big-time tradition in that sport. Okay, it's not a huge sport nationally--more of an elite east coast kind of thing--but hoops is so close that an advantage for either school in any sport sort of tips the balance a little bit in their favor. Duke wins.

[ogre]

Okay, now I go back and see that the OP's list named NC State. As exciting as NC State's Cinderella win in '83 (?) was, and no matter how touching the scene of Jimmy Valvano running around during their national championship celebration, in terms of the entire history of college hoops in the Triangle, sure, UNC wins out over NC State.

[ogre]

Hmm, just checked the original post again. Here's another suggested change: Looks as if you had the wrong K Wildcats in mind when you named K-State in Kansas. You must have had Kentucky in mind, and somehow criss-crossed them with Kansas. As for Kentucky, no, no, no, no, no, no, no . . . not the Louisville Cardinals. I'm sure their fans love them, but with seven national championships (second all-time behind UCLA) in hoops--for all practical purposes the only college sport that exists in Kentucky--compared to two national titles for Louisville, and 13 Final Four Appearances, against eight for Louisville, and an aggregate NCAA tournament winning percentage of .694, versus .609 for Louivsville, U. of Kentucky Wildcats win that state hands down.

[X-Greensboro Resident]

Originally Posted by mountain_time_Blues

I beg to differ.

You MUST be a Dukie!!