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Sports Illustrated Ranks Louisville's Conference Realignment Value

SI's Pat Forde recently broke down the "desirability" of every Power Five school in terms of the value they would bring to a new conference.
Matthew McGavic|
Sports Illustrated Ranks Louisville's Conference Realignment Value
Sports Illustrated Ranks Louisville's Conference Realignment Value

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Conference realignment is back in full swing. Less than 12 months after Texas and Oklahoma announced last summer that they would be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, USC and UCLA are now bolting from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.

While we have reached a holding pattern when it comes to conference realignment news, it seems that it is only a matter of time before more moves take place. The SEC and the Big Ten are well en route to becoming two super-conferences, while the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 are fighting just to keep up

There have been rumors aplenty regarding who will be the next to join the SEC and Big Ten arms race, but which schools are actually the most desirable for conference realignment purposes?

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde sought to answer this question, recently releasing "Desirability Ratings" for each school. This formula measuring the conference value of each Power Five school based on five factors:

  • Football ranking: "a five-year average of the Sagarin ratings from 2017 to '21, using only the current and future Power 5 schools"
  • Academic ranking: "the most recent U.S. New & World Report's national universities rankings, released in 2021"
  • All-sports ranking: "the Learfield Directors' Cup Division I standings for the 2021-2022 academic year, which rates performance in 19 sports"
  • Football attendance: "an average of home-game attendance from 2017 to '21, tossing out '20 since that season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic"
  • Broadcast viewership: "total number of football games that drew one million or more viewers from 2017 to '21"

Putting all of these metrics together, Louisville ranks just 55th out of 69 Power Five schools. The Cardinals are ranked 53rd in football, tied for 65th in academics, 33rd in all sports, 44th in attendance and tied for 45th in viewership. 

Louisville ranks as the third-lowest ACC school, ahead of only Syracuse at No. 60 and Boston College at No. 62. Clemson leads the conference at No. 16; while Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and Georgia make up the top five.

Unsurprisingly, the SEC leads the pack in average school ranking when taking into account future membership, coming in at 25.1. The Big Ten is right behind them at 25.8, with the ACC at 39.6, the Pac-12 at 41.4 and Big 12 at 49.3.

(Photo of Cardinal Stadium: Matt McGavic - Louisville Report)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. Also an avid video gamer, a bourbon enthusiast, and fierce dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic

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