NEW YORK, Dec. 3, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Though 95 percent of college athletes will never make it to the professional level, every aspiring sports star wants to give it their best shot. For those who make it, and particularly for those who don't, STACK has compiled a list that combines the best in athletics with the best in academia. University of North Carolina, Stanford University, and University of Texas top the list of STACK magazine's first annual college rankings of the nation's premier academic and NCAA football, basketball and other Division I sports programs. The "Elite 50" rankings, announced today at http://elite50.stack.com/, will be available in 5,500 high schools nationwide beginning Monday, December 3rd, in STACK's November/December 2007 issue.
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The 2008 edition of the "Elite 50" marks the first time any media outlet has released a stand-alone ranking of the country's leading college sports programs based on academics, athletic opportunity and overall performance. The "Elite 50" rankings also include sport-specific rankings for 14 individual NCAA sports including football, basketball and soccer as well as video tours of some of the "Elite 50" colleges through a branded STACK TV channel on www.stack.com.
"The 'Elite 50' is an exclusive guide for high school athletes, coaches, administrators and parents," said STACK Co-Founder Nick Palazzo. "As high school sports participation and the competition for college scholarships increase, athletes and their support groups need, more than ever, comprehensive rankings to help them make what is arguably the most important decision of their life. Now, athletes have an unbiased resource to help them find the best combination of academics and athletics."
"Not to mention, I am sure this list will stir up some controversy among NCAA Division I sports fans. As a former Harvard University football player, I am very surprised and somewhat upset to see Cornell University ranked well above Harvard in the 'Elite 50,' but the numbers don't lie and the rankings methodology is sound," continued Palazzo.
The "Elite 50" methodology combines important academic and athletic data with STACK's internal research. The schools are ranked using key measures of academic and athletic performance; overall academic rankings via U.S. News & World Report, athlete graduation rates, athlete indexes, national sport-specific rankings, championship history, professional successes, atmosphere, coaching staff tenure and more. This methodology enables athletes and parents to make an informed choice on an unbiased side-by-side comparison of sports programs. For more information on the "Elite 50" methodology, visit http://elite50.stack.com/.
About STACK
STACK is a multimedia high school sports brand that educates, inspires and entertains athletes. Through its formal partnerships with more than 7,000 high schools, STACK connects with millions of high school athletes each month. The STACK franchise includes STACK.com, STACKTV, MySTACK, STACK Magazine (500,000 circ.) and STACK Events. Since February 2005, STACK has pioneered in delivering safe and effective sports performance information and lifestyle content to this hard-to-reach market segment. STACK was founded by two former collegiate athletes, Chad Zimmerman and Nick Palazzo, to fight the burgeoning steroid epidemic among high school athletes and now is quickly expanding to help all athletes improve their performance safely and effectively. For more information, visit www.stack.com.
The complete list, published in the November/December issue of STACK and available online at http://elite50.stack.com/, includes:
1.) University of North Carolina 2.) Stanford University 3.) University of Texas 4.) University of California, Los Angeles 5.) Duke University 6.) University of Florida 7.) University of Michigan 8.) University of Southern California 9.) Ohio State University 10.) University of Wisconsin 11.) University of Virginia 12.) Notre Dame 13.) University of Georgia 14.) University of California at Berkeley 15.) University of Tennessee 16.) Louisiana State University 17.) Auburn University 18.) University of Illinois 19.) Penn State University 20.) Florida State University 21.) Rice University 22.) University of Washington 23.) Arizona State University 24.) University of Maryland 25.) Georgetown University 26.) Northwestern University 27.) Texas A&M 28.) University of Minnesota 29.) Oregon State University 30.) Clemson University 31.) Boston College 32.) Georgia Tech 33.) Vanderbilt University 34.) University of Connecticut 35.) Wake Forest University 36.) Rutgers University 37.) University of Kansas 38.) Cornell University 39.) University of Nebraska 40.) University of Louisville 41.) Brigham Young University 42.) Southern Methodist University 43.) University of Arizona 44.) California State University at Fullerton 45.) University of Portland 46.) Michigan State University 47.) University of Colorado 48.) Indiana University 49.) Baylor University 50.) Purdue University
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The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.
