The 100-Yard Spin aims to provide random insight into the uniquely American institution of football - one of the most complex and diverse team sports in the world.

In essence, this blog is dedicated to the millions of athletes of various ages, from various backgrounds, and of various talents, who have participated and competed in American football over the years. You have put forth great effort and dedication to push the limits of human ability and achievement. For all that I am forever grateful.

Thanks and enjoy!

The 100-Yard Review: NCAA FBS Academic Top 25


With the bowl season wrapping up this week and national signing day coming up fast, there has been a lot of talk about which college football programs are the best and what each new recruit has to offer in terms of skills on the field. If one were to look online they would find at least a dozen sites dedicated to college football recruiting with rankings of each school's respective class. That quickly tells us how intriguing this topic is to the fans. However, it seems to me that the most important question is often overlooked when talking about college football recruiting, and it's the one question all recruits should be asking. Which question is that? Well, it's the one that asks:

Which Football Bowl Subdivision schools can provide the best opportunities to facilitate the development of a young man on a football scholarship?

Of course, a fan will always have good things to say about their favorite school and finding an unbiased opinion is tough. It is no secret that roots run deep at a lot of these colleges and passion often trumps reason when one attempts to be critical. Recruiters are very adept at selling their brand as well so a lot of important information that should concern a young man about to make the biggest decision of his life can often get lost in the shuffle.

So this is the beginning of a series of pieces dedicated to helping prospective college football players and neutral appreciators of the game sift through the quagmire of the recruiting world and get to the essentials concerning the nation's top football programs. There a number of different reasons why one might choose one scholarship over another, and we will cover many of those reasons in upcoming editions of the 100-Yard Spin, but in the meantime let's focus strictly on the institutions of learning themselves.

The following rankings list the top 25 Football Bowl Subdivision programs strictly in terms of academics at their schools. The point system used here is not affected by the program's performance on the field, but rather is a culmination of stats from several independent resources in regards to the educational opportunities and academic resources available to a student-athlete.

The ratings are influenced by such factors as:
  • Student population - Schools were rewarded on smaller populations and classroom sizes that promote more one on one personal contact between students and instructors. 
  • Acceptance rates - Schools that are more exclusive and harder to get into often provide the best networking opportunities and learning environments with smaller classroom sizes.
  • Tuition costs - It could be as easy as taking the scholarship offer that is worth more in terms of monetary dollars, since those more expensive educations are usually the more highly coveted and provide the best environments for personal growth.
  • SAT/ACT scores - Which schools have the highest scoring student populations? Those that do get high marks in these rankings.
  • Setting/Communities - A vibrant local scene full of arts, culture, and an educated local population without a doubt make the overall college experience better. 
  • Retention and Graduation rates - Which schools have the lowest transfer rates and nurturing their students' intellect by providing them with the right tools to succeed? Schools that keep their student body happy are usually great schools. 
The grading scale is as follows:
  • ******* Seven Stars:  9500 pts or more. Elite institution that very few people get the honor of attending. The class sizes are small,  the community is world class, and the opportunities are unlimited. A degree from these schools are virtually priceless.
  • ****** Six Stars: 8500-9499 pts. Considered just a hair below the best, universities that get a six star rating are all private institutions that can offer the same type of opportunities for personal growth and networking that is found in the Ivy League. These too are scholarships that no recruit seeking a quality education should pass up.
  • ***** Five Stars: 6000-8499 pts. Five star universities carry a lot of the same prestige found in the elite class, but they aren't quite as exclusive. Opportunities abound at these schools for students seeking a quality experience in higher education. The biggest drawback with most of the colleges in this category are their larger enrollment and class sizes that limit interaction among the students and the faculty. 
  • **** Four Stars: 4000-5999 pts. These colleges are usually public institutions that have large class sizes with enrollment up over 30,000 students. Although degrees from these schools are still more coveted than 80% of the other schools out there, they simply are not held in the same regard as those in the upper echelon of the academic world. 
  • *** Three Stars: 2000-3999 pts. These are good schools that can serve students well, but just getting a degree won't guarantee you any good opportunities in life. These are usually less expensive educations that are not as selective,  have enormous class sizes, and the surrounding communities are generally less educated. 
  • ** Two Stars: 1-1999 pts. One must be very self-motivated student that is willing to put in the extra effort to get a quality education at two star schools due to the lack of resources, facilities, and quality instruction at a student's disposal. It is generally a lot easier to cruise through classes and the degrees are not particularly held in high regard by job recruiters. The surrounding communities might not be very desirable areas to reside either.
  • * One Star: 0 pts or less. Cummunity college, junior college, and lower end state colleges that should serve only as a primer and launching platform for a higher education experience.  
Editors Note: This list is not meant to knock on any institutions. All the schools on this list are quality institutions of higher learning and anybody being offered a scholarship from any of them should feel privileged. There is no reason to be upset if your favorite school is considered a "four star" school instead of a "five" or a "six". 

FBS Academic Top 25: 
  1. Stanford ******* 9550 pts. Palo Alto, CA. Simply one of the best educational experiences that money can buy and the only seven star school in the FBS. Living on the west coast of California and playing on a top notch Pac-12 football program are simply bonuses compared to the opportunities that await a young student at Stanford. This institution is on par with with the likes of MIT, Columbia, and Harvard. Notable Alumni: Pro Golfer Tiger Woods, Actress Sigourney Weaver, Professor/Inventor Vinton Cerf ("Father of the Internet")
  2. Duke  ****** 9318 pts. Durham, NC. It is widely considered a privilege to obtain a degree while going to school at Duke. Located in Durham, North Carolina, the university is small and offers stellar engineering, business, medicine, law, and nursing programs. The entire Duke undergraduate program is widely considered one of the best in the entire country. Notable Alumni: Former President Richard Nixon, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Pepsico CEO Karl von der Heyden 
  3. Rice  ****** 9277 pts. Houston, TX. A very small school with perhaps the best student to instructor ratio in the country at roughly 5:1. Rice, considered one of the top materials science research facilities in the world, is set right in the museum district of Houston, the nation's fourth largest city. Bonuses include students receiving free tickets to all varsity athletic events. Notalbe Alumni: Howard Hughes (aviator, engineer, industrialist, film producer and director), Lance Berkman (MLB), Alberto Gonzales (Former U.S. Attorney General)
  4. Vanderbilt  ****** 9079 pts. Nashville, TN. Hands down the best educational institution in the Southeastern Conference. Vandy's campus, situated in Nashville, is a national arboretum and the college houses one of the best schools for education and human development. Notable Alumni: Amy Grant (Musician), Jay Cutler (NFL QB), Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore 
  5. Notre Dame  ****** 8993 pts. South Bend, IN. It is real hard to sell other programs over the Fighting Irish especially with a 13:1 student to faculty ratio, an endowment worth $5.5 Billion, and a spot at number 12 on Forbes' university rankings. You couldn't ask for a much better opportunity if offered a scholarship from Notre Dame. Notable Alumni: Regis Philbin (entertainer/T.V. personality), Condoleeza Rice (Secretary of State and National Security Advisor), Mike Golic (ESPN Radio Personality) 
  6. Northwestern ******8802 pts. Evanston/Chicago, IL. The only private school in the Big Ten, it is really no secret that the quality of education here is as good as it is anywhere. To put it all into perspective, the enrollment at Northwestern is only about 8500 students but it has one of the highest endowments and receives more research grant money than 99% of all other schools in the country. Notable Alumni: Charlton Heston (Actor/NRA President), Novelist Saul Bellow, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel 
  7. Wake Forest ****** 8644 pts. Winston-Salem, NC. Small class sizes and superior education in an area surrounded with outdoor recreational opportunities. Wake Forest can provide an experience and opportunity that most other programs cannot, especially if you are seeking an undergraduate teaching degree. Notable Alumni: Brian Piccolo (Former Chicago Bear Fullback), Tim Duncan (NBA Future Hall of Famer), Dave Willis (Co-creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Squidbillies. 
  8. Boston College ***** 8450 pts. Chestnut Hill, MA. Maybe not the best school in the Boston area but pretty darn close. Don't let those super-elitists from across town fool you as BC is a great school and its graduates tend to find a lot of success after graduation. No matter how you look at it, BC is one of the top 25 universities in the country. Notable Alumni: Senator John Kerry, Chris O'Donnell (Actor), Mike Lupica (writer/columnist)
  9. Virginia  ***** 8054 pts. Charlottesville, VA. Selective admissions allows for an optimal opportunity to be part of a very proud and select group of alumni. This is truly one of the best scholarship offers a recruit can get as far as educational opportunities go. The school was founded b y Thomas Jefferson. Notable Alumni: Senator Ted Kennedy, Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Painter Georgia O'Keefe
  10. Southern Methodist ***** 7656 University Park, TX. One of seven colleges with an endowment over $1 Billion. The Cox School of Business at SMU is one of the best. SMU is also considered one of the most "conservative" institutions in the country. Notable Alumni: Former First Lady Laura Bush, Businessman Clark J. Mathews (President/CEO of 7-Eleven), Pro-Wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan
  11. North Carolina ***** 7551 pts. Chapel Hill, NC. Tons of activities and student organizations to get involved in while attending school in Chapel Hill. The one strange thing to note involving admissions is that at least 82 percent of each freshmen class must be from North Carolina, as dictated by state law. UNC does consistently rank among the top 100 universities in the entire world and is considered one of the few "Public Ivy" schools. Notable Alumni: Michael Jordan (Six-time NBA Champ and Hall of Famer), Andy Griffith (actor), Stuart Scott (ESPN Sportscaster)
  12. Tulane ***** 7308 pts. New Orleans, LA. Situated right in New Orleans, Tulane is simply one of the best schools in the south. Their school of  Public Health and Tropical Medicine is a one of a kind facility and the law school is as good as any. There are not many colleges of this stature in the FBS. Notable Alumni: Businessman David Filo (Co-founder of Yahoo!), Jerry Springer (talk show host and former mayor of Cincinnati, OH), running back Matt Forte (Chicago Bears)
  13. Miami  ***** 7076 pts. A top-notch private oceanography research institution right in the heart of the vibrant Miami, FL area, "The U" offers the best of many worlds, including one of the largest libraries and good student-instructor ratio/interaction. Notable Alumni: Sylvester Stallone (actor), Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, Will Allen (NBA player, urban farmer, and founder of Growing Power)
  14. California - Berkeley ***** 6818 pts. Berkeley, CA. Berkeley is known as a well-educated, very progressive community and the school is among the top academic institutions in the country, as well as the entire world. Natural sciences, mathematics, engineering/technology, and computer science are highly regarded here. Notable Alumni: Steve Wozniak (Co-founder of Apple), Academy Award-wining Actor Gregory Peck, Gordon Moore (Co-founder of Intel)
  15. Connecticut  ***** 6669 pts. Storrs/Mansfield, CT. Another "Public Ivy" school that also has one of the best retention rates of all public universities with over 93% of freshmen returning for their sophomore years. Bonus: FREE local bus transportation. Notable Alumni: Actress Meg Ryan, NBA Players Ray Allen (Miami Heat) and Richard Hamilton (Chicago Bulls)
  16. Michigan  ***** 6580 pts. Ann Arbor, MI. One of the original eight "Public Ivy" schools, U of M houses one of the best overall research facilities that has one of the largest research expenditures of any college and the third largest endowment. There are also nearly 1500 student organization to be a part of and Ann Arbor is a very progressive, educated community where there's always something to do. Notable Alumni: U.S. President Gerald Ford, Journalist and Editor Mike Wallace, Actor James Earl Jones
  17. California - Los Angeles  ***** 6536 pts. Los Angeles, CA. UCLA offers more than 300 degree programs and many business people of the area are former graduates. It is also the most popular school in the country in terms of applicants. Notable Alumni: Actors/Entertainers Jack Black, James Franco, and Ben Stiller, and singer/songwriter Anthony Keidis (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
  18. Tulsa ***** 6482 pts. Tulsa, OK. Tulsa is a private school that consistently ranks among the top 100 schools in the country and it gets high marks here for its small classroom sizes, diversity, and quality of life. Tulsa is considered among the top 50 schools for women and the Collins College of Business is widely considered to be top-notch among all FBS schools. Notable Alumni: Paul Harvey (syndicated radio personality/author), NFL Coach Lovie Smith, Gordon Mathews ("father of voicemail technology")
  19. Syracuse ***** 6299 pts. Syracuse, NY. The last of the five star colleges that grace these rankings, "the 'Cuse" has a 12:1 faculty to student ration and exclusive admissions with a rate of about 13%. Notable Alumni: Vice-President Joe Biden, Robert Jarvick (inventor of the artificial heart), NFL QB Donovan McNabb
  20. Texas Christian **** 5953 pts. Fort Worth, TX. The undergraduate profile at TCU is "more selective" according to The Carnegie Commission. In 2011, only 10% of 19,000 applicants were admitted. TCU also gets high marks for it's efforts to become more sustainable, including the "purple bike" program that provides free bicycles for students. Notable Alumni: Author Sue Monk Kidd, running back Ladainian Tomlinson, Rod Roddy (The Price is Right announcer)
  21. Southern California  **** 5891 pts. Los Angeles, CA. A step below the top  chools in terms of academic opportunity, USC still has all the makings of a great higher education facility with the highest population of international students in the U.S. Notable Alumni: Filmmaker George Lucas (the creator of Star Wars), Director/Filmmaker Ron Howard, Astronaut Neal Armstrong (first man on the moon) 
  22. Rutgers **** 5749 pts. New Brunswick/Newark/Camden, NJ. Fairly exclusive admissions, Rutgers was ranked #21 overall by the Wall Street Journal in schools whose graduates are top-rated by job recruiters. Notable Alumni: Actor James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Hip-hop Producer Just Blaze, running back Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens)
  23. Washington  **** 5699 pts. Seattle, WA. Seattle is one of the most progressive big cities in America with unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities nearby. The school itself is another "Public Ivy" that is considered among the top colleges in the world. Bonus: All of the campus' electricity is bought from renewable resources. Notable Alumni: Pulitzer-Prize-winning Editorial Cartoonist Mike Lukovich, Author Tom Robbins, U.S. Women's Soccer Goalie Hope Solo
  24. Baylor **** 5671 pts. Waco, TX. The average ACT score of incoming freshmen is 27 and the admissions rate is about 39% at Baylor. The average undergraduate class size is 27, which is fairly good at any level. Notable Alumni: Comedian Jeff Dunham, SportsCenter Host Trey Wingo, Robert Griffin III
  25. Virgina Tech  **** 5383 pts. Blacksburg, VA. The typical student that gets admitted into VT has a high school GPA between 3.81 and 4.24. Programs in engineering, natural resources, and agriculture are highly touted and the medical school is very exclusive. Notable Alumni: George Nolen (President/CEO Siemens Corp), Fox News Reporter Molly Line, T.V./Movie Producer Rudd Simmons (Boardwalk Empire, The Royal Tenenbaums)
Honorable Mentions:
  1. Clemson **** 5342 pts. Clemson, SC. Currently one of the more exclusive schools in the south, Clemson is on a mission to become a "top 20" academic institution. Notable Alumni: Robert H. Brooks (Hooters Founder), Senator Strom Thurman, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
  2. Florida **** 5319 pts. Gainesville, FL. UF does not quite measure up to some of the other top public schools due to high enrollment (17th highest in the entire country) and class sizes, but it is another "Public Ivy" that is considered among the best public institutions in the world. Gainesville is also easily the coolest city in Florida that is not on the coast. Bonus: UF is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for environmental and wildlife management, resource conservation, environmental education, waste management, and outreach. Notable Alumni: T.V. Personality Bob Vila, musician Stephen Stills (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young), Wendy Thomas (namesake of the Wendy's fast food chain)
  3. Illinois **** 5310 pts. Urbana - Champaign, IL. One more "Public Ivy" school to finish this list, U of I is considered a top 20 major research universities in the United States by the Graham-Diamond Report and ranked 45th overall by U.S. News and World Report. Notable Alumni: Academy Award-winning Film Director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Poet/Musician/Writer Shel Silverstein, Jesse Jackson Jr. (son of the presidential candidate Jesse Jackson who was expelled from U of I
  4. Georgia **** 5254 pts. Athens, GA. Athens is a fun college town that is less than an hour from Atlanta, two hours from the mountains, and only three hours from the Atlantic coast. In 2012, SmartMoney named UGA as the 4th best salary returns on tuition costs. If one can get a free education from them they would be doing themselves a disservice to not at least consider it. Notable Alumni: Colonel Charles A. Beckwith (creator of the Delta Force anti-terrism task force), Ryan Seacrest (American Idol Host), Pro-Wrestler Bill Goldberg
Remaining four-star schools:  BYU 4978 pts, TCU 4953, Wisconsin 4839 pts, Maryland 4827 pts, Pitt 4680 pts, Indiana 4281 pts, Purdue 4229 pts, Iowa 4187 pts

Coming Up: Listing the top 25 schools strictly in terms of football program rankings.

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