USC tops Pac-12 schools in ‘Best in College Sports’ ranking

USC ranks highly in CBS Sports’ annual Best in College Sports list, topping all Pac-12 programs in spectator sports success.

The 2016-17 sports season was a great one for USC Athletics, which raked in another Top 5 place in rankings of the best college sports programs in the country on Friday.

The latest distinction comes from CBS Sports’ Best in College Sports ranking, listing the Trojans at No. 3 behind only Florida State and Florida.

On Thursday, the Trojans came in at No. 4 in Yahoo! Sports’ measure of overall athletic department success over the last five years, based on yearly results in the Learfield Directors Cup.

CBS’ list is different, focusing on spectator sports with football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball weighted more heavily than other sports. Every school is judged on their success in those three “major” arenas. Their score is then supplemented by their top results in two wildcards from a pool including baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, lacrosse, hockey and wrestling.

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As a result, Stanford didn’t run away with the competition like they do every year in the Learfield Cup standings. The Cardinal rank No. 8 in CBS’ ranking.

USC’s high standing, which is tops in the Pac-12, comes courtesy of strong showings in both football and basketball, as well as a national title in women’s soccer.

The football Trojans won the Rose Bowl and finished ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll standings for 2016. On the hardcourt, the men’s basketball program won two games in the NCAA Tournament.

USC was hurt by a disappointing season for the women of Troy in basketball, finishing 11th in the Pac-12. However, it was two other women’s programs which boosted the Trojans up into third place –the aforementioned soccer title and an unexpected NCAA Tournament run and Top 5 finish for women’s lacrosse.

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Washington placed 13th in the rankings while the Pac-12 also featured No. 20 Oregon, No. 25 UCLA and No. 26 Utah.