Fully Debatable Prestige Rankings - FCS

[tampajag]

you need to identify the criteria used or it is going to be all over the place. Time frame (if it is history of FCS/I-AA then you aren't close)for example EWU wouldn't make the list. and GSU sits firmly on the top. James Madison might be in the top ten but I doubt it.

If it is the last five years, then things change dramatically and Grambling goes out.

I apply the lawyer's pornography test. You know it when you see it. Just kidding.

In all seriousness, I think it would tough to develop criteria for prestige. I tried to imply that with my cheerleader quip.

Obviously, we are going to value the number of FCS championships, playoff appearances (if they participate), institution's media attention, FBS upsets, and so forth. Special significance ought to be placed upon success in those areas in the past 3-5 years, etc.. Beyond this, and doing surveys, I don't see myself being much more help in this area.

Not to be a dick (well since I said that I guess I am), none of your criteria fits Grambling at all (yes I am a hater ) So it kind of looks like you just put names of the most recognizable schools.

[tampajag]

That's not true, TJ. Unfortunately, you have no choice but to say that. To acknowledge how awesome Grambling's band is would be tantamount to forfeiting your Southern man card.



(Of course, the same thing applies to Grambling folk in reverse....)

I'm brutally honest, there's nothing I like about Grambling, I wouldn't want them to put me out if I was on fire. Because I wouldn't want them to be able to hold that over my head.

[OL FU]

I couldn't find the thread on cs so I stole the list of the all time best in playoffs from Mountaineers analysis from AGS.

Admittedly like I said it leaves out the SWAC (recent history) and Ivies since they don't participate. But it is a very objective way of anaylyzing the best historically in FCS/I-AA. My apologies to UNI, they made the top ten.

1.Georgia Southern 970
2.Montana 790
3.Appalachian State 635
4.Youngstown State 620
5.Delaware 590
6.Eastern Kentucky 555
7.Furman 505
8.Northern Iowa 475
9.McNeese State 340
10.Villanova 280
Richmond 260
Eastern Washington 250
Southern Illinois 245
James Madison 240
William & Mary 195
Stephen F. Austin 190
New Hampshire 185
Florida A&M 180
Eastern Illinois 175
Lehigh 175
Western Illinois 175
Colgate 155
Montana State 155
Jackson State 135
Northwestern State 110
Wofford 110
Tennessee State 105
Idaho State 95
Sam Houston State 90
Rhode Island 85
South Carolina State 85
Illinois State 80
Maine 80
Murray State 75
Weber State 70
Western Carolina 70
North Carolina A&T 55
Northern Arizona 55
Samford 55
Hampton 50
Indiana State 50
Alcorn State 45
Citadel 45
Nicholls State 45
Grambling State 40
Bethune-Cookman 35
Cal Poly 35
Fordham 35
Holy Cross 35
Jacksonville State 35
Missouri State 35
Lafayette 30
North Dakota State 30
Coastal Carolina 15
Southeast Missouri State 15
Chattanooga 10
Delaware State 10
Elon 10
Howard 10
Mississippi Valley State 10
Portland State 10
South Dakota State 10
UT Martin 10
Robert Morris 5

[Wildcat Ryan]

I couldn't find the thread on cs so I stole the list of the all time best in playoffs from Mountaineers analysis from AGS.

Admittedly like I said it leaves out the SWAC (recent history) and Ivies since they don't participate. But it is a very objective way of anaylyzing the best historically in FCS/I-AA. My apologies to UNI, they made the top ten.

1.Georgia Southern 970
2.Montana 790
3.Appalachian State 635
4.Youngstown State 620
5.Delaware 590
6.Eastern Kentucky 555
7.Furman 505
8.Northern Iowa 475
9.McNeese State 340
10.Villanova 280
Richmond 260
Eastern Washington 250
Southern Illinois 245
James Madison 240
William & Mary 195
Stephen F. Austin 190
New Hampshire 185
Florida A&M 180
Eastern Illinois 175
Lehigh 175
Western Illinois 175
Colgate 155
Montana State 155
Jackson State 135
Northwestern State 110
Wofford 110
Tennessee State 105
Idaho State 95
Sam Houston State 90
Rhode Island 85
South Carolina State 85
Illinois State 80
Maine 80
Murray State 75
Weber State 70
Western Carolina 70
North Carolina A&T 55
Northern Arizona 55
Samford 55
Hampton 50
Indiana State 50
Alcorn State 45
Citadel 45
Nicholls State 45
Grambling State 40
Bethune-Cookman 35
Cal Poly 35
Fordham 35
Holy Cross 35
Jacksonville State 35
Missouri State 35
Lafayette 30
North Dakota State 30
Coastal Carolina 15
Southeast Missouri State 15
Chattanooga 10
Delaware State 10
Elon 10
Howard 10
Mississippi Valley State 10
Portland State 10
South Dakota State 10
UT Martin 10
Robert Morris 5

Weber State is a lot higher than I would have expected them to be

[tampajag]

I couldn't find the thread on cs so I stole the list of the all time best in playoffs from Mountaineers analysis from AGS.

Admittedly like I said it leaves out the SWAC (recent history) and Ivies since they don't participate. But it is a very objective way of anaylyzing the best historically in FCS/I-AA. My apologies to UNI, they made the top ten.

1.Georgia Southern 970
2.Montana 790
3.Appalachian State 635
4.Youngstown State 620
5.Delaware 590
6.Eastern Kentucky 555
7.Furman 505
8.Northern Iowa 475
9.McNeese State 340
10.Villanova 280
Richmond 260
Eastern Washington 250
Southern Illinois 245
James Madison 240
William & Mary 195
Stephen F. Austin 190
New Hampshire 185
Florida A&M 180
Eastern Illinois 175
Lehigh 175
Western Illinois 175
Colgate 155
Montana State 155
Jackson State 135
Northwestern State 110
Wofford 110
Tennessee State 105
Idaho State 95
Sam Houston State 90
Rhode Island 85
South Carolina State 85
Illinois State 80
Maine 80
Murray State 75
Weber State 70
Western Carolina 70
North Carolina A&T 55
Northern Arizona 55
Samford 55
Hampton 50
Indiana State 50
Alcorn State 45
Citadel 45
Nicholls State 45
Grambling State 40
Bethune-Cookman 35
Cal Poly 35
Fordham 35
Holy Cross 35
Jacksonville State 35
Missouri State 35
Lafayette 30
North Dakota State 30
Coastal Carolina 15
Southeast Missouri State 15
Chattanooga 10
Delaware State 10
Elon 10
Howard 10
Mississippi Valley State 10
Portland State 10
South Dakota State 10
UT Martin 10
Robert Morris 5

there are SWAC teams on that list. Jackson St is in the top 25.

[JBB]

And the retard shows up

yes I see you are here right on que!

You guys got a mention on Bison Media Blog for your eloquent use of the word retard. People are starting to notice how smart you are!

[JBB]

Here is the criteria used in the elite college program registry. Each category gets 5 maximum points.

You have to include, and in no special order:

1) attendance
2) overall tradition
3) quality of facilities
4) recent success
5) competitiveness

Analysis of each of the criteria will encompass all the important points needed to determine a prestige ranking.

[OL FU]

Here is the criteria used in the elite college program registry. Each category gets 5 maximum points.

You have to include, and in no special order:

1) attendance
2) overall tradition
3) quality of facilities
4) recent success
5) competitiveness

Analysis of each of the criteria will encompass all the important points needed to determine a prestige ranking.

Nah, how does 1,2,3 compare to success on the field. from what I understand UNH would hit the top of any of the first three but they have been very very good compared to a lot of teams that would rate high in 1 thru 3 but couldn't beat a D-II school.

If success on the field isn't the ranking that is most important, then there is no reason for the ranking.

[OL FU]

I couldn't find the thread on cs so I stole the list of the all time best in playoffs from Mountaineers analysis from AGS.

Admittedly like I said it leaves out the SWAC (recent history) and Ivies since they don't participate. But it is a very objective way of anaylyzing the best historically in FCS/I-AA. My apologies to UNI, they made the top ten.

1.Georgia Southern 970
2.Montana 790
3.Appalachian State 635
4.Youngstown State 620
5.Delaware 590
6.Eastern Kentucky 555
7.Furman 505
8.Northern Iowa 475
9.McNeese State 340
10.Villanova 280
Richmond 260
Eastern Washington 250
Southern Illinois 245
James Madison 240
William & Mary 195
Stephen F. Austin 190
New Hampshire 185
Florida A&M 180
Eastern Illinois 175
Lehigh 175
Western Illinois 175
Colgate 155
Montana State 155
Jackson State 135
Northwestern State 110
Wofford 110
Tennessee State 105
Idaho State 95
Sam Houston State 90
Rhode Island 85
South Carolina State 85
Illinois State 80
Maine 80
Murray State 75
Weber State 70
Western Carolina 70
North Carolina A&T 55
Northern Arizona 55
Samford 55
Hampton 50
Indiana State 50
Alcorn State 45
Citadel 45
Nicholls State 45
Grambling State 40
Bethune-Cookman 35
Cal Poly 35
Fordham 35
Holy Cross 35
Jacksonville State 35
Missouri State 35
Lafayette 30
North Dakota State 30
Coastal Carolina 15
Southeast Missouri State 15
Chattanooga 10
Delaware State 10
Elon 10
Howard 10
Mississippi Valley State 10
Portland State 10
South Dakota State 10
UT Martin 10
Robert Morris 5

there are SWAC teams on that list. Jackson St is in the top 25.

yep i said it leaves out the SWAC for recent history

[tampajag]

there are SWAC teams on that list. Jackson St is in the top 25.

yep i said it leaves out the SWAC for recent history

I should have read better

[Rob Iola]

Here is the criteria used in the elite college program registry. Each category gets 5 maximum points.

You have to include, and in no special order:

1) attendance
2) overall tradition
3) quality of facilities
4) recent success
5) competitiveness

Analysis of each of the criteria will encompass all the important points needed to determine a prestige ranking.

I think you need to also factor in prestige of each team's conference as a criteria. ODU would get an immediate bump due to diving into a CAA schedule, even though they've got nothing more than "played W&M close last time" to go off of...

[Rob Iola]

--Unassuming FCS Prestige Rankings --

1. Appalachian State -- Won 3 straight FCS titles in a row and finished in the top 8 the last 3 years. A big win over Michigan put them on the national radar.

2. Montana -- Synonymous with the FCS, and the most widely reputed Big Sky team. Even the mascot "Grizzlies" are well recognized.

3. Delaware -- A hot spot for FBS transfers and quasi-celebs VP Biden & Joe Flacco. A team that can typically compete for a national title.

4. Georgia Southern -- Nobody has won more national titles at the FCS level, and the Eagles still compete in the playoffs.

5. Northern Iowa -- Probably the most consistently good team in a competitive league.
____________

6. UMass
7. James Madison
8. Eastern Washington (the turf is a big deal and last year's national champs)
9. Grambling (awesome bands & a great SWAC team)
10. Penn (top Ivy team)

Good list, but I'd knock out UMass since they're leaving FCS plus swap out Penn for Harvard (if we're truly talking "prestige"). I'd also consider adding McNeese...

JMU's a solid pick with their stadium upgrade, competitive level (including beating Tech last season), fanbase, and colorful coach...

[Silenoz]

And the retard shows up

yes I see you are here right on que!

You guys got a mention on Bison Media Blog for your eloquent use of the word retard. People are starting to notice how smart you are!

Does it mention your eloquent use of the word "bitch"?

...actually I'll just assume you made this up, like most of the stuff you come up with

[rebla 49er]

I'm not really buying the argument for Georgia Southern to be #1. Remember that we are talking about prestige, not who should be the most prestigious. The win over Michigan was more widely publicized (the blocked kick heard round the world) than anything Georgia Southern has ever done in football. For heaven's sake, the Mountaineers were getting Top 25 AP votes, and national columnists were putting them in mock BCS bowl games.

[rebla 49er]

1) attendance
2) overall tradition
3) quality of facilities
4) recent success
5) competitiveness

----
When talking about prestige, I don't see (1) attendance being that important when we are talking about a difference between 5,000 and 25,000 fans. FAMU gets TONS of fans, but they aren't in my top 10.

I like the other poster's recommendation about Harvard over Penn and leaving out UMass. Maybe I should have just given them an asterisk.**

Prestige isn't so much about success as about perception of success.

[rebla 49er]

Not to be a dick (well since I said that I guess I am), none of your criteria fits Grambling at all (yes I am a hater ) So it kind of looks like you just put names of the most recognizable schools.

No, that's a good point. I was hoping that other people would actually post their top 10's, and then the discussion about why we put them there would flow naturally/organically. For some reason, the initial topic post seems to anchor the conversation in a way that I find unusual. There is nothing special about being the topic poster!

[JBB]

Here is the criteria used in the elite college program registry. Each category gets 5 maximum points.

You have to include, and in no special order:

1) attendance
2) overall tradition
3) quality of facilities
4) recent success
5) competitiveness

Analysis of each of the criteria will encompass all the important points needed to determine a prestige ranking.

I think you need to also factor in prestige of each team's conference as a criteria. ODU would get an immediate bump due to diving into a CAA schedule, even though they've got nothing more than "played W&M close last time" to go off of...

Good suggestion. Conference prestige is certainly a factor and should have some influence on one of the 5 criteria.

Nah, how does 1,2,3 compare to success on the field. from what I understand UNH would hit the top of any of the first three but they have been very very good compared to a lot of teams that would rate high in 1 thru 3 but couldn't beat a D-II school.

If success on the field isn't the ranking that is most important, then there is no reason for the ranking.

Heres how UNH might rank:

UNH:
1) attendance=5 taking OL FUs word
2) overall tradition=5
3) quality of facilities=5
4) recent success=4
5) competitiveness=4

Total Score 23 for the WildCats. Not bad out of 25 and puts them right up there with the best.

Prestige comes from a lot of different things. Attention comes from success on the field. Attendance is a factor in a schools prestige, as is tradition. Quality of the facilities may be a factor in some of the other criteria but good facilities provide an element of presitige as well.

[JBB]

Heres a look at some rankings using the registry system:

1) Montana 24/25
2) NDSU 23/24
3) UNH-23
4) GSU 21
5) YSU 20
6) UNI 20
7) SIU 19
8) EWU 17
9) SUU 15

[Grizalltheway]

I think you need to also factor in prestige of each team's conference as a criteria. ODU would get an immediate bump due to diving into a CAA schedule, even though they've got nothing more than "played W&M close last time" to go off of...

Good suggestion. Conference prestige is certainly a factor and should have some influence on one of the 5 criteria.

Nah, how does 1,2,3 compare to success on the field. from what I understand UNH would hit the top of any of the first three but they have been very very good compared to a lot of teams that would rate high in 1 thru 3 but couldn't beat a D-II school.

If success on the field isn't the ranking that is most important, then there is no reason for the ranking.

Heres how UNH might rank:

UNH:
1) attendance=5 taking OL FUs word
2) overall tradition=5
3) quality of facilities=5
4) recent success=4
5) competitiveness=4

Total Score 23 for the WildCats. Not bad out of 25 and puts them right up there with the best.

Prestige comes from a lot of different things. Attention comes from success on the field. Attendance is a factor in a schools prestige, as is tradition. Quality of the facilities may be a factor in some of the other criteria but good facilities provide an element of presitige as well.

UHN gets fives on attendance and facilities?

[Silenoz]

And he gave them a 5 for tradition yet a 4 for recent success

[OL FU]

Good suggestion. Conference prestige is certainly a factor and should have some influence on one of the 5 criteria.



Heres how UNH might rank:

UNH:
1) attendance=5 taking OL FUs word
2) overall tradition=5
3) quality of facilities=5
4) recent success=4
5) competitiveness=4

Total Score 23 for the WildCats. Not bad out of 25 and puts them right up there with the best.

Prestige comes from a lot of different things. Attention comes from success on the field. Attendance is a factor in a schools prestige, as is tradition. Quality of the facilities may be a factor in some of the other criteria but good facilities provide an element of presitige as well.

UHN gets fives on attendance and facilities?

that is what I was thinking. but I thought maybe he knew something I didn't. UNH is also one of the best reason that attendance and facilities should have little to do with it in my opinion. But I understand it is my opinion. We are a division where winning on the field decides everything. So from a prestige standpoint why would having facilities matter.

But there are all types of prestige items. The SWAC and the pros. The Ivies and the tradition. take your pick

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Lehigh is a Top 20, boarderline Top 15, FCS program all time imo.

I think you could make an arguement for Colgate as well.

[AZGrizFan]

UHN gets fives on attendance and facilities?

So if that picture is a 5 out of 5, what is this?

That's a 2 1/2....because the stadium is only half finished.

[rebla 49er]

Lehigh is a Top 20, boarderline Top 15, FCS program all time imo.

I think you could make an arguement for Colgate as well.

Sure thing. Can you list your whole top 15-20? I'll hear any additional arguments.

[clenz]

UNH's Cowell Stadium has a capacity of 8,000.....no way that is anything more than a 2 on attendance, and judging from the pictures (and reviews from people who I've talked to that have been there) anything more than a 2, maybe a 3, is way over stating the facilities.

From the UNH blog...following the renovations


On Saturday I attended the annual blue/white spring football game and I came away with two impressions. The first is that I truly believe this year's team will be making headlines in the fall. Over the past few seasons they have proven that they can score points on anyone, but it looks as if they may finally be able to play some solid defense. The second impression I came away with is that UNH needs a new football stadium; immediately. It really is an embarrassment to the university. UNH has the potential to compete for a national championship and they have to play at a field where ESPN once refused to cover a game because of the condition of the press box. There are talks of a 40 million dollar project that would include lights, a new stadium with luxury suites and press boxes; as well as repairs and upgrades to the Field House. This may seem like a lot of money, especially with the economic issues, but this is something that needs to be done. Take a look at some of the other stadiums in the Colonial Athletic Association.

http://www.unhblog.com/2009/05/one-wish.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Tell me which school has the nicer looking stadium....Oh, and keep in mind one is a HIGH SCHOOL