With the 2023 college athletics calendar starting in just a few weeks, the Tennessee Athletics Department claimed a prestigious award from CBS Sports on Monday afternoon.
Tennessee was given CBS Sports’ title of 2022-2023 Best in College Sports on Monday after a widely successful year across the various teams despite not achieving a National Championship.
Tennessee ranked first in the nation for combined sports followed by UCLA (2), Alabama (3), Texas (4), and TCU (5). The Vols also lead three other SEC teams in the Top 10 in Alabama (3), Georgia (9), and LSU (10).
CBS Sports began using a new model for the award in 2013 that utilized “a weighted formula that recognizes sports with more broad interests.” The new formula over the last decade puts 2.5 times the emphasis on football and 2.0 times on basketball. Two wild-card sports are also added into the calculations that take the two other most successful sports in a program that year such as “baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, lacrosse, hockey, and wrestling.”
Tennessee was given 183.75 points for football, 128 points for men’s basketball, 64 points for women’s basketball, and a combined 161 points for two wild-card selections.
The Vols’ total of 536.75 points comes in 12.25 points above the second-place winner in UCLA.
In addition to the CBS Sports award on Monday, Tennessee also claimed USA Today’s All-Sports title for a second-straight year this past May.
“I’m so proud of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and all the fans and donors who support us,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Danny White in a statement after the USA Today title. “This is a team accomplishment, and everyone plays an important role. We are just getting started on Rocky Top, but this early success gives us the confidence to keep building!”
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Here’s a look at how the Top 10 from CBS Sports’ Best in College Sports rankings shook out:
- Tennessee (536.75)
- UCLA (524.50)
- Alabama (496.50)
- Texas (482.50)
- TCU (472.00)
- Penn State (463.00)
- Michigan (455.50)
- Ohio State (429.80)
- Georgia (414.00)
- LSU (396.25)
For a look at the full and detailed Best in College Sports rankings, see the full list from CBS Sports here.
Tennessee Athletics’ 2022-2023
- Football: Second-place SEC East, Orange Bowl Champions
- Men’s Basketball: Sweet 16 appearance
- Women’s Basketball: Sweet 16 appearance, Third-place SEC
- Baseball: College World Series appearance
- Softball: Women’s College World Series appearance, SEC Tournament Champions
- Men’s Cross Country: Second-place SEC
- Women’s Swimming and Diving: Second-place SEC
- Men’s Swimming and Diving: Third-place SEC
- Men’s Golf: tied Third-Place SEC
- Soccer: Third-place SEC
- Men’s Tennis: Second-place SEC
- Women’s Tennis: Third-place SEC
- Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: Third-place SEC
Only Knoxville. Only Rocky Top.
📍 America’s College Sports City pic.twitter.com/kF3qPoNYZl
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) July 22, 2023
