Tennessee Earns Title "Best in College Sports"

CBS Sports' point system for college sports resulted in the Tennessee Volunteers earning the top spot of their annual rankings.

It has been a week of bests for Knoxville and the University of Tennessee. After claiming Knoxville as “America’s College Sports City,” Tennessee received recognition for its athletics from CBS Sports. On Monday, Tennessee received its “Best in College Sports” honor, which they decide every year. Instead of treating each sport equally, CBS Sports weighs each sport based on the level of interest for each sport. 

For example, football will have a bigger impact on their rankings than, say, wrestling. Each school counts football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball, plus two wild cards, which for Tennessee were softball and baseball, even with qualifying for the NCAA tournament in women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Tennessee earned its most points from football en route to 536.75 total points, which was good for the top spot. UCLA was the only other school with over 500 points.

Tennessee HC Rick Barnes during media availability at the NCAA Tournament in New York City, New York, on March 22, 2023. (Photo by Brad Penner of USA Today Sports)

This honor shows the high level of play at Tennessee across such a wide range of athletics. It is hard enough to be good at a sport or two, but competing at the upper echelon of several sports is quite the feat. Vol fans and players alike would love for this to amount to more banners and trophies, but there is an incredibly strong foundation for success in so many sports going forward. 

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