Study Reveals the 'Coolest' College Football Program in America
The college football season is over, but the battle for bragging rights never ends.
The latest fuel for the debate fire comes from The Action Network, which ranked the top programs in the country by coolness.
Did your favorite team make the cut? Are they above your most hated rival?
Texas hooks the top spot
The University of Texas topped TAN’s study with a Cool Score of 66, four points better than No. 2 Alabama and six points ahead of No. 3 Ohio State.
Here are the top 10:
- Texas Longhorns
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Michigan Wolverines
- USC Trojans
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Miami Hurricanes
- Oklahoma Sooners
How did Texas do it?
The Longhorns trail far behind the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes in championships and current NFL players, but Texas was second in revenue and dominated the microbrewery count.
Austin is also pretty large for a “college town,” and the tailgating scene is pretty hot according to this study, but fanbase dedication was also big win for the Longhorns based on search volume for the team.
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Alabama’s home of Tuscaloosa is one of the smallest cities in the top 10, but the Crimson Tide tops everyone in championships and NFL players while also scoring high in revenue.
Ohio State had the most revenue and came in third in NFL players (Georgia was second), also being in a big city (Columbus) with lots of microbreweries.
Coolest conference still the SEC
Going by the top 10, the SEC is still doing well off the field despite a three-year national title drought. The conference claims five of the top 10 thanks to importing Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma in the last 15 years.
The Big Ten, with three straight national titles, has three teams as Michigan and USC join Ohio State at sixth and seventh, respectively.
Indiana is not there yet
Indiana shocked the college football world by winning the College Football Playoff this season, but the Hoosiers are still lagging a little in coolness, at least according to this study.
They rose 12 spots to No. 21, but it would seem Curt Cignetti’s team has a good chance to move up if it keeps up its winning ways next fall.
READ MORE: 5 reasons Indiana's national championship was truly insane
More on the methodology
The Action Network came up with these rankings by measuring eight categories that broke down into three areas: culture (30%), performance (40%) and value (30%).
Culture is defined by population of the city the school is in, tailgating, fanbase dedication, and proximity to micro breweries.
Performance is championships and won-loss record, while “value” is measured by athletics revenue and current NFL players.
Here's a closer look:
Check out The Action Network for the rest of the top 20.