US News college rankings

[UND92,96]

UND at 170: http://colleges.usne...rsities/page 18

[Rick]

Looking at that list I was amazed at the number of highly rated schools that UND has as sports rivals. I only looked at the schools that were above UND's #170 ranking and I limited it to schools we've established as rivals for NCAA Division 1 National Championships or schools that are in the same conference as UND. I also limited it to schools that have played at UND. I wonder what other schools in the country would be able to top this list? There's probably only a handful.

Here's what I found:

#15 - Cornell

#17 - Notre Dame

#29 - Michigan

#31 - Boston College

#38 - UC Davis

#41 - Wisconsin

#51 - Boston University

#68 - Minnesota

#72 - Michigan State

#83 - Denver University

#89 - University of Miami - Oxford

#120 - Michigan Tech

We'll probably be able to include #165 - Idaho as a conference member in the near future also.

Then, I also looked at other schools on the list that have played at UND. They include:

#1 - Harvard

#2 - Princeton

#3 - Yale

#10 - Dartmouth

#15 - Cornell

#56 - Ohio State University

#106 - University of Kansas

#156 - University of Maine

[mg2009]

6 place drop from last year. statistically meaningless, however.

regional schools

Ill st 156

SIU: 179

ndsu: 184

msu: 189

sdsu, Montana, USD, 199

[Rick]

6 place drop from last year. statistically meaningless, however.

regional schools

Ill st 156

SIU: 179

ndsu: 184

msu: 189

sdsu, Montana, USD, 199

I didn't include those schools because they were either not in the same conference as UND, or they haven't played at UND or they are below UND in the rankings. What I was trying to highlite was the number of highly rated schools that are rivals and have played games at UND. Maybe I should have listed schools that are in the top 200 instead of the top 170. Then I could have included Montana and Montana State.

[IrishSiouxFan]

A few years ago we were in the 150's.

[mg2009]

I didn't include those schools because they were either not in the same conference as UND, or they haven't played at UND or they are below UND in the rankings. What I was trying to highlite was the number of highly rated schools that are rivals and have played games at UND. Maybe I should have listed schools that are in the top 200 instead of the top 170. Then I could have included Montana and Montana State.

cool story

I was comparing UND to it's regional peers.

[82SiouxGuy]

All of the schools in that 150-200 range are pretty close. There are a lot of ties, there could be 4 or 5 schools tied at 164 for example, so 1 or 2 points difference could move a school 5-10 spots in a year. And this is just 1 ranking. But if you look at the 5-10 schools on either side you will get an idea of which schools are peers or similar level. UND is in a pretty good neighborhood, and still has room to improve.

[Rick]

All of the schools in that 150-200 range are pretty close.

If you take the top 50, or even the top 100, I bet they wouldn't even know anything about a lot of the schools that are in the 150 to 200 range. That's what makes it very impressive that UND not only plays all these prestigious schools and are well known by them, but they also come to Grand Forks to play the Sioux. The closest other schools in the upper midwest (with the exception of the U of Minnesota) will come to getting schools like Harvard, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Yale, Boston College, etc to come to their sports venues would be a fly-over at about 35,000 feet.

[GeauxSioux]

Princeton Review has their top colleges list for 2013 out.... http://www.princeton...nkingsbest.aspx

UND and USD are on the list of 377.

I didn't know that USD went by "The" University of South Dakota, rather than University of South Dakota.

[ScottM]

Princeton Review has their top colleges list for 2013 out.... http://www.princeton...nkingsbest.aspx

UND and USD are on the list of 377.

I didn't know that USD went by "The" University of South Dakota, rather than University of South Dakota.

Perhaps they borrowed it from "The" Ohio State University ...

[GeauxSioux]

UND has dropped to #173 in the 2013 list.

I don't have time to read the methodology to figure out why UND keeps dropping, 14 places in the past 3 years.

[UNDBIZ]

UND has dropped to #173 in the 2013 list.

I don't have time to read the methodology to figure out why UND keeps dropping, 14 places in the past 3 years.

USD and ndsu tied with a bunch of other schools at #190. Montana St, Montana, and SDSU tied at #201

[GeauxSioux]

Both the Montana schools have fallen also.

[jimdahl]

Yeah, I saw that Post article today. While a big absolute drop for UND, UND's starting rank is low enough that it's in a different situation than a lot of the schools on that list (e.g. Howard and Colorado School of Mines). Frankly, it could easily be the methodology changes or even statistical noise. The longer term trends in the contributors (graduation rates, test scores, or other things that you think matter) are the things to watch. Changes in years without methodology changes will also be truer windows into those.

[WYOBISONMAN]

I wonder how much the SBOHE vs the Legislature turmoil has hurt this? It sure as heck is not a positive thing for any school in the system.

[mg2009]

part of the fall is that new schools are continuously added to this category, some of which will be above us. Unfortunately it also appears that UND is dropping relative to its peers. UND used to be significantly ahead of the dakota and western state schools, now its just the front of the pack and seem to be trending the wrong way.

[GeauxSioux]

part of the fall is that new schools are continuously added to this category, some of which will be above us. Unfortunately it also appears that UND is dropping relative to its peers. UND used to be significantly ahead of the dakota and western state schools, now its just the front of the pack and seem to be trending the wrong way.

From 2012 to 2013...

UND 170 to 173... Down 3

NDSU 184 to 190... Down 6

SDSU 199 to 201... Down 2

USD 199 to 190... Up 9

Montana 199 to 201.. Down 2

Montana St. 190 to 199... Down 9

Keep in mind that 201 is the bottom of the ranking index.

So it appears that USD is the only one going in the right direction.

[mg2009]

From 2012 to 2013...

UND 170 to 173... Down 3

NDSU 184 to 190... Down 6

SDSU 199 to 201... Down 2

USD 199 to 190... Up 9

Montana 199 to 201.. Down 2

Montana St. 190 to 199... Down 9

Keep in mind that 201 is the bottom of the ranking index.

So it appears that USD is the only one going in the right direction.

I think we were something like 156 only a few years ago.

[GeauxSioux]

I think we were something like 156 only a few years ago.

I'm not sure who the "we" is you are talking about. From your past postings, I highly doubt that you are a true fan of UND and it's athletics.

A story on the rankings..... Smaller area colleges rank high regionally; UND, NDSU didn't do so well

It is difficult to pinpoint reasons for a particular school’s rise or drop in the rankings. The weight put on different criteria differs from year to year, and each individual school may gain or lose ground in each of the grading criterion. Furthermore, some schools might not submit data at all one year and participate the next year, changing the number of schools evaluated on a yearly basis.