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CBS Sports Tabs Michigan As Nation's Best Athletic Program In 2018-19

The Michigan Wolverines took home CBS Sports' Best in College Sports Award yesterday, and were tabbed as having the best overall athletic season of any collegiate program in 2018-19.

The Maize and Blue tallied 501.75 points in the site's ranking system, which narrowly edged out Kentucky's 494.25 and Oklahoma's 490. (More on the site's rankings below).

Ohio State was the next closest Big Ten squad at fifth nationally (456), while Iowa checked in third in the conference at seventh (419).

U-M's football team finished 2018 with a 10-3 record and a No. 14 ranking in the AP poll, while its basketball squad went 30-7 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

The baseball crew, meanwhile, made it all the way to the College World Series Finals, while men's gymnastics concluded the year fourth in the country, wrestling and women's gymnastics fifth, and women's lacrosse and volleyball ninth.

The Michigan Wolverines' baseball team went 50-22 in 2019 and made it to the College World Series Finals (where it fell to Vanderbilt, 2-1).
The Michigan Wolverines' baseball team went 50-22 in 2019 and made it to the College World Series Finals (where it fell to Vanderbilt, 2-1). (AP Images)
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"Michigan isn't a program that had any national championships, and yet their steady success across the board helped them with the mathematical formula," CBS Sports analyst Chip Patterson explained.

"Their basketball team went deep in the NCAA Tournament, the football team won 10 games and made a New Year's Six bowl game [where it fell to Florida], but the key to me was the baseball squad — it was one of the best stories in the College World Series.

"That was the thing that probably carried Michigan the most, so they should get real credit and a tip of the hat for taking the Wolverines to No. 1 in CBS Sports' rankings."

The Nation's top 10 Athletic Programs:

The Michigan Wolverines' basketball club won 30 games for just the fifth time in school history in 2018-19.
The Michigan Wolverines' basketball club won 30 games for just the fifth time in school history in 2018-19.

This is how CBS Sports explained their rankings system:

"The National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has been ranking athletic programs for years by weighing every sport equally, meaning a football national title is worth the same number of points (100) as a women's water polo title," they wrote.

"CBS Sports tweaked the formula in 2013, providing additional weight toward sports with more broad fan bases and media interest. We rate every FBS school in three sports -- football, men's basketball and women's basketball -- along with two "wild cards" among the school's most successful spectator sports: baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, lacrosse, hockey and wrestling.

"The weighted formula puts 2.5 times as much emphasis on football and 2.0 times the emphasis on men's basketball compared to women's basketball and the "wild cards."

"Teams that did not finish in the final AP Top 25 in football but played in a bowl were awarded 62.5 points (25 x 2.5). Teams that made the men's NIT were given 20 points (10 x 2), while WNIT teams received 10 points.

"For all titles settled via bracket, point totals were based upon how many teams participated. All champions in the other sports received 100 points for a national title."

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