Consistency is paramount every year in the CBS Sports Best in College Sports rankings, and no team has been more reliable over the past sports season than the Michigan Wolverines. With 588.50 points, the Wolverines soared past Notre Dame to take the crown in 2021-22, winning the Best in College Sports award for the second time in the last three seasons. UM is the first two-time award winner in its eight-season history.
Fighting Irish was second with 512.50 points and Ohio was third with 506.75 points. Michigan’s dominance can be defined as follows: his 76 point lead over second-place Notre Dame was greater than ND’s lead over fifth-place Arkansas.
Michigan has had a pretty good year of athleticism. The soccer team returned under coach Jim Harbaugh to finish 12-2 and score a trip to the College Football Playoff, ending their best season since 2011. Men’s basketball (19-15) made it to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 tournament, while women’s basketball (25-7) made it to the NCAA’s Elite Eight tournament. Wrestling (12-1) came second in the NCAA and Men’s Gymnastics (24-3) came third in the country.
Although only two “wild cards” count in our prize formula, Michigan has also excelled in many high-profile sports: men’s hockey made it to the Frozen Four, women’s gymnastics came seventh nationally, women’s lacrosse took the NCAA tournament, and both baseball, and baseball. softball made its way to their respective NCAA Regionals.
Georgia, who won the CFP National Championship in football, finished ninth overall without scoring any points in men’s basketball.
The National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has been categorizing sports programs for years, balancing each sport. (For example, national soccer titles and water polo are worth the same amount of points.) In 2013, CBS Sports began awarding the Best in College Sports award using a weighted formula that distinguishes sports of wider interest. Each FBS program is graded across three disciplines – soccer, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball – along with two “wild cards” among the most successful sports in the school: baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, lacrosse, hockey and wrestling.
The weighted formula places 2.5 times more emphasis on soccer and 2.0 times more emphasis on men’s basketball compared to the rest of the sports. Teams that do not make the final top 25 AP in football but play in the bowl are awarded 62.5 points (25 x 2.5). (Teams that either dropped out of bowling or saw the canceled post-season competition scored 62.5 points in football.) Teams that obtained NIT for men receive 20 points (10 x 2), while WNIT teams receive 10 points. For all games settled in a bracket, such as the NCAA tournament, point totals are based on the number of participants. All champions of other sports receive 100 points for the national championship.
2021-22 Best in College Sports
CBS Sports’ Best in College Sports winners
