Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Ranks 22nd in TSN Athletic Department Survey
2/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | General
Feb. 23, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University has been ranked the 22nd-best athletic department in the country among NCAA Division I-A institutions. This was based on a survey conducted by The Sporting News, the second straight year the publication has conducted such a survey.
Scoring was done in the form of a 4.00 grade-point average, taking into account four different categories. Overall, Northwestern earned a 3.00 GPA as a department.
The Sporting News survey measured the standards of the entire athletic program for the 1999-2000 academic year, including only schools that play both Division I-A football and Division I basketball (a total of 115 this year). The publication broke the survey down into four categories listed below:
DO WE WIN?
This takes into account a school's football and basketball records during the 1999-2000 season.
DO WE GRADUATE?
This takes into account the graduation rates of football and men's basketball, based on the graduation rates published in the 2000 NCAA Division I Graduation Rates Report released during the fall.
DO WE ROCK?
This evaluates support for football and men's basketball in terms of attendance, then factors in overall performance of the entire athletic program as measured by the annual Sears Director's Cup competition, size of athletic budget, and total number of men's and women's teams.
DO WE PLAY FAIR?
Takes into account how the school complies with the letter and spirit of the rules. Points are given for gender equity, graduation rates for all student-athletes. Schools are also rewarded for adding a sport during the 1999-2000 academic year and punished for dropping a sport during that time.
The survey is featured in the February 26 issue of The Sporting News, and is also available online at http://www.sportingnews.com/features/ad/index.html.
