In Which Vandy Leads the SEC
I learned something in my Vanderbilt athletic (not an oxymoron) magazine this weekend: apparently there is a rating called the NCSA Collegiate Power Rankings, which averages three scores: the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup ranking (which evaluates strength of athletic department), the NCAA athletic graduation rate, and the U.S. News ranking. And Vanderbilt is not only tied for 51st according to this rating system, but is the only school in the Southeastern Conference to break the top 100.
Two brief points I’d like to make here. First, most people who think of Vanderbilt athletics think of bad football, but in fact — if you are willing to overlook football — our sports program is actually pretty awesome. (I realize how difficult this caveat is to overcome in Tennessee, where most people choose their college based on its football program.) Second, chalk this up as just another example of how you can construct a statistic to help you arrive at whatever you want to convince yourself.
