Pitt Athletics Cracks Top-50 in Sports Illustrated 'Desirability Rankings'

The Pitt Panthers were 47th in Sports Illustrated's rankings of the schools most attractive to the impending super conferences.

PITTSBURGH -- Speculation has run roughshod over college athletics as schools either scramble to shore up their current conferences or prepare their resumes for the next round of conference realignment. With only so many spots in the coming 'super conferences' available, conversations about who does or does not belong are, in most cases, very subjective. But Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde has tried to incorporate some objectivity and situate the Power Five in a ranking of 'desirability'. Forde's rankings, which account for lots of factors from academics to attendance at football games, slotted the Pitt Panthers at 47th out of 69 schools. 

Pitt, which is sandwiched between California-Berkeley and conference-mate Wake Forest, is the seventh-highest rated ACC school. The Panthers trail Clemson (No. 16), Florida State (No. 19), North Carolina (No. 22), NC State (tied for No. 30), Virginia (No. 32) and Virginia Tech (tied for No. 35). 

Forde's rankings take five qualities into account. First is each school's average Sagarin rating from the past five seasons (2017-2021). The Sagarin rating system accounts for both record and strength of schedule, then puts all 258 Division I teams in a numerical ranking. 

Next up is academic ranking. Forde deferred to the US News and World Report's evaluations from 2021. 

Then he mixed in the rest of each school's athletic department by factoring in the Learfield Director's Cup standings - a measure of performance in 19 different sports, with baseball, men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball being mandatory for evaluation. 

Finally, Forde accounted for two more barometers of fan interest in football - average attendance at home games and the total number of football games that drew 1 million or more viewers on television. 

The Panthers placed 33rd in the Sagarin rankings, 24th in the academic rankings and 36th in television viewership. They lagged behind in their Learfield Director's Cup ranking (62nd) and football attendance (52nd). 

The top of the rankings are dominated by the new 'Power Two' - current or future members of either the Big 10 or SEC. They claim 13 of the first 14 spots with Notre Dame being the only uncommitted school in that upper echelon. But the Irish would have their pick leagues should they choose to abandon their long-held status as a football independent - their absence is a matter of personal preference. 

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