Most big-time university athletic programs get tagged as either a football or basketball school when it comes to the revenue sports. Hardly ever do you find a school that is known as both. But despite perceptions, it does exist.
In fact, I often find myself defending the historical resume Ohio State has in basketball. You could easily make an argument that it’s a top ten program of all time when you stack up all the Final Fours, conference championships, and All-American players.
And while it’d be tough for hoops to ever get the media coverage and fan following as football on the banks of the Olentangy, there’s no denying that the Buckeyes have been fantastic in both, and not just years ago when peach baskets were used to score points. It’s happened in recent years too.
Rivals did a piece titled “The Best of Both Worlds,” and it’s a look at the best college programs in both basketball and football combined over the last four years. Amazingly enough, even with the basketball program not being at quite the level it was a few years ago, Ohio State is still tied at the top with Clemson with the metrics Rivals used.
So what did Adam Gorney say about OSU’s success in both?
Next … The narrative and metrics on Ohio State
No. 1 (tie) – Ohio State football and basketball
What Gorney says about both sports at OSU
Football: 49-6: 89 percent
Basketball: 83-49: 63 percent
Average of both: 76 percent
“Ohio State has reached second place in the AP football poll four times in four years, won nearly nine out of every 10 games and had two one-loss seasons. All this happened, too, during a coaching transition from Urban Meyer to Ryan Day, who didn’t miss a beat in his first full season by taking Ohio State to the College Football Playoff.”
“Ohio State’s basketball team has won 20 or more games in three of the last four seasons and made the NCAA Tournament twice, both times losing in the second round. A 25-9 record in the 2017-2018 season boosted Ohio State’s stock on this list to help forge a tie at the top.”
The rest of Gorney’s top 25 can be viewed on the next page.
Next … The top 10 FBS schools in both football and basketball according to Rivals
Top ten schools last four years in football and basketball according to Rivals
1. Clemson
Football: 55-4: 93 percent
Basketball: 78-55: 59 percent
Average of both: 76 percent
1. (tie) Ohio State
Football: 49-6: 89 percent
Basketball: 83-49: 63 percent
Average of both: 76 percent
3. Alabama
Football: 52-5: 91 percent
Basketball: 73-62: 54 percent
Average of both: 72.5 percent
4. Michigan
Football: 37-15: 71 percent
Basketball: 108-39: 73 percent
Average of both: 72 percent
5. Kentucky
Football: 32-20: 62 percent
Basketball: 113-30: 79 percent
Average of both: 71 percent
6. Wisconsin
Football: 42-13: 76 percent
Basketball: 86-49: 64 percent
Average of both: 70 percent
7. Auburn
Football: 35-18: 66 percent
Basketball: 99-38: 72 percent
Average of both: 69 percent
7. (tie) LSU
Football: 42-11: 79 percent
Basketball: 77-53: 59 percent
Average of both: 69 percent
7. (tie) Oklahoma
Football: 47-8: 85 percent
Basketball: 68-60: 53 percent
Average of both: 69 percent
10. Oregon
Football: 32-20: 62 percent
Basketball: 105-39: 73 percent
Average of both: 68 percent
10. (tie) Penn State
Football: 42-11: 79 percent
Basketball: 76-59: 56 percent
Average of both: 68 percent
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