The end of basketball season enables us to look at football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball and see which schools had the best — and worst — combined seasons in this college sports cycle. We looked at the worst. Now let’s profile the best college sports programs on the gridiron and hardwood combined. The verdict: Texas Tech and Alabama rose to the head of the class. Wait — they didn’t win national titles. They didn’t even make the College Football Playoff semifinals or either Final Four. Why are they the best? Let’s dive into the details:
Imbalance
Indiana won the football national championship but was terrible in basketball, missing both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments.
UCLA won the women’s basketball national championship but was bad in football and ordinary in men’s basketball.
Michigan won the men’s basketball national title and reached the women’s Elite Eight while making the Citrus Bowl in football. You could make an argument Michigan had the best year, but we’re focused on rewarding balanced performance and results across all three sports. This is why Michigan wouldn’t quite be No. 1.
What Texas Tech and Alabama did — and no one else achieved
Texas Tech and Alabama rise to the top in a ranking of combined football and (two) basketball results because they did something no other schools did: They both made the College Football Playoff and won games in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments. No other schools were able to pull that off. Alabama won a playoff game whereas Tech did not, but both Bama and Tech lost in the quarterfinal round.
Schools that came close
Georgia and Ohio State had teams in the playoff and in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, but Ohio State men’s basketball and Georgia’s two basketball teams (men and women) did not win a March Madness game. Only Texas Tech and Bama won March games — men and women — while also making the CFP in football.
Texas Tech investments paying off
Many of you might know that Texas Tech won the national championship in college softball one year ago. Clearly, the Red Raiders aren’t just spending money; they are spending wisely. Few programs have grown more or become more successful in the past two years than Texas Tech.
Alabama bread and butter
Alabama had Nick Saban for many years in football. Now, in men’s hoops, Nate Oats has once again extended his tenure in Tuscaloosa. Though Alabama football has lost its edge, Nate Oats solidifying himself at Alabama gives the Tide a stable men’s basketball program which should be able to build on the 2024 Final Four appearance, the first in program history.
Other schools doing well
These schools, over the past several months, made a bowl game and both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments in the same college sports cycle: NC State, Duke, Virginia, Clemson, Louisville, Iowa State (though the Cyclones opted out of their bowl), TCU, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Texas, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee.
Winners’ club
From the list above, a smaller list of schools not only made a bowl game and both basketball tournaments, but won a game in all three competitions.
That list: Duke, Louisville, TCU, Iowa, Illinois, and Texas.
Special mention
Duke had a quietly great year despite losing painfully in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments. Even though Duke’s basketball teams fell short of the Final Four, they both won ACC championships. Since the football team also won the ACC title, Duke won a triple championship in football and the two versions of basketball. That’s pretty special. Well done, Blue Devils.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Texas Tech, Alabama had best combined football and basketball seasons
