Top football and basketball schools
Hoops & Helmets 2005/2006
Ranking from 1-119 the schools with the best combination of football and basketball
By Richard Cirminiello
If you’re a graduate, current student or fervent backer of a particular school’s football program, it’s a pretty safe bet that you’re investing some discretionary time into the hoops team as well. That’s especially true when the month on your calendar tells you it’s March. If that program happens to be Texas or Ohio State, for instance, the odds are even better that you haven’t stopped grinning since Labor Day. As a fan, your school has given you plenty of reasons to smile, sing fight songs and pump out your two-tone chest these past six months.
Some campuses like Penn State, Virginia Tech and Georgia have had little to crow about since the bowl season ended. Countless others, such as Washington, Duke and Syracuse, couldn’t wait until the football season was over and Midnight Madness commenced. And then there are Texas A&M and Tennessee fans, neither of whom can understand how their football teams dragged down the basketball squads in 2005. Only the truly fortunate have feasted their eyes and their emotions on quality products in both major sports.
As in the past, the focus of this unconventional dynamic dozen is on those fans that have had their cake and dunked it too. They bowled in the winter and now they’re preparing to soft shoe on into the Big Dance. So here are the rankings from 1-119 of the D-I football schools that also can play some hoops.
1. Texas – Well, unless UConn or Duke was the team losing to Texas in the Rose Bowl, the ‘Horns were pretty much going to be a lock in this discussion. One thrilling BCS championship plus a share of one regular season Big 12 basketball title is an unbeatable Hoops and Helmets recipe. Texas ran the table in football, beating Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC in one of the most memorable games in college football history. On the hardwood, they went 27-6, falling short against Kansas Sunday in the Big 12 tournament. In show-stopping quarterback Vince Young and versatile forward P.J. Tucker, Austin was home to the Big 12 Player of the Year in both sports.
Winter co-MVPs – QB Vince Young and F P.J. Tucker
2. Ohio State – Late in the fourth quarter last Sept. 10, Vince Young connected with Limas Sweed for a game-winning touchdown pass, giving Texas a 25-22 win over Ohio State. You knew then the Buckeyes would have an uphill battle catching the ‘Horns for Hoops/Helmets supremacy. And yet, they almost pulled it off. The Buckeyes went on a tear, winning the Big Ten title and the Fiesta Bowl over Notre Dame before handing the baton off to Thad Matta’s cagers. Basketball won 25-of-30 and an outright regular season Big Ten crown. Even the recent news that the program has been placed on three years’ probation can’t douse the excitement over being a No. 2 seed in the Minneapolis bracket.
Winter co-MVPs – LB A.J. Hawk and C Terence Dials
3. LSU
7. Florida
8. Wisconsin
10. Oklahoma
11. Iowa
16. Michigan
19. Florida State
22. Notre Dame
24. Miami (Fla.)
26. Pittsburgh
27. USC
28. Penn State
29. Michigan State
37. Northwestern
39. Minnesota
48. Miami (OH)
51. Illinois
56. Indiana
59. Cincinnati
79. Kent State
80. Boise State
85. Purdue
