Florida Honored In Best College Sports Program Rankings

GAINESVILLE, FL — While the Sunshine State has its share of college sports teams that strike fear into the hearts of opponents across the country, only one is worthy of national ranking on a Top 25 list of the best college sports programs in the nation.

That’s according to a recently released ranking survey published by SmartClass. The website used data from the NCAA record books to list the top schools with the most NCAA team national championships. The survey only focuses on Division I schools that had earned NCAA-designated titles.

College football national championships at the Football Bowl Subdivision level — which are determined by the College Football Playoff system and, prior to that, by national polls — are not officially sanctioned by the NCAA, so to include them, the company went outside of NCAA boundaries.

There was a noticeable gap between the top three schools on this list — all with 100 or more national championships — and the rest of the field.

The only Sunshine State school to make the list was the University of Florida with its 33 national titles. The sport the Gators have managed the most title wins in is women’s tennis with six victories, the website noted. Its most recent championship was in softball, earned in 2015. The school earned 13th-place honors overall.

The University of California’s Los Angeles Bruins topped the list with 114 NCAA team national titles. The school holds the most titles in men’s volleyball, the website noted.

To see the nation’s 25 best college sports programs, click here.

Image via Shutterstock

Patch editor Tim Darnell contributed to this report.