FBS Title
D1 basketball title
Final Four in either
Sweet sixteen
D1 hockey title
D1 baseball title
FCS title
Frozen four
College world series

Something like this football being 65 schools with a realistic shot is the most elusive.
Basketball almost no shot if not in top six conferences but possible.
Below that a CCU, Minnesota Duluth or hot mod major can get there .

FBS Title - Yes, 65 P5 schools technically have a shot, but really, only about a third are in a position to win it.
D1 basketball title - Biggest pool of schools, combined with a six-game slog through the tournament. You have to have a good team, be fortunate with injuries, and have a good draw in the tournament.
Final Four in either- A big accomplishment accompanied by a large amount of exposure. However, there is a huge difference between #4 and #1 in either sport.
D1 baseball title - Varying amount of emphasis on the sport among schools, with power in warm weather locations. Still, a large pool of schools compete. The tournament is not easy, moving from regionals to super regionals to the College World Series. And, as Coastal Carolina proved, a mid-major in a warm weather location can win a championship.
FCS title - Not a ton of exposure, but a grueling four-round trip through the playoffs.
D1 hockey title - A regional sport, but a tough road through the tournament. Plus, it is possible for a lower-budget program to win against much larger schools.
College world series - A great event. An accomplishment to get there.
Sweet Sixteen - A minimum expectation for a blueblood. A good accomplishment for a power conference team. For roughly the lower 2/3 of Division I, similar to winning a national championship.
Frozen Four - A big deal for those who make it.

Obviously Football then basketball are the power sports.
I do like how Hockey and Baseball the little guy has a realistic chance.
Baseballs start time irritates me and I will go to some Coastal games great stadium.
If starting from scratch more Northern schools would have hockey not baseball.
Baseball is more popular but a summer sport up North.

1 FBS Title - Damn near impossible to beat out every blueblood.
2 D1 basketball title - Can be done. Butler was x cm from doing it.
3 Final 4 in FB - FBS has the most ironclad glass ceiling.
4 Final 4 in BB - MVC, CAA, HL have all done it 2x since 2006.
5 D1 Baseball Title - Coastal Carolina
6 D1 Hockey Title - Minnesota-Duluth is the powerhouse program of the 2010s.
7 Sweet 16 - Have to beat a financial behemoth to make it.
8 CWS - Baseball power structure is penetrable.
9 FCS Title - Don’t have to take down big $ but a title is a title.
10 Frozen Four - Just be the Final 4 of 60.

College Hockey would probably be the easiest accomplishment for the simple fact it has the most parity.

This year you had bluebloods Boston College, Boston University, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, & North Dakota miss the tournament.

Could you imagine a basketball tournament without Duke, North Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, & UCLA? That’s what happened in hockey.

The mid February start date is tough for Northern schools.

Hockey tends to get good crowds even for some ACHA programs.
Great for a program like coastal they host Big Ten teams early every year.
They would never host a Big ten team in football or basketball.

FBS Title
Final Four in in FBS
NY6 bowl in FBS
D1 Men's basketball title
Final Four in MNCAA
Sweet sixteen in MNCAA
D1 baseball title
College world series
FCS title
D1 Women's basketball title
D1 hockey title
Frozen four

(03-30-2019 05:26 PM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  FBS Title
D1 basketball title
Final Four in either
Sweet sixteen
D1 hockey title
D1 baseball title
FCS title
Frozen four
College world series

Something like this football being 65 schools with a realistic shot is the most elusive.
Basketball almost no shot if not in top six conferences but possible.
Below that a CCU, Minnesota Duluth or hot mod major can get there .

The answer is probably a bit different depending on where you are. At South Carolina the CWS Titles were huge throughout the state while I suspect a hockey title wouldn't be (assuming we had a team). On the other hand, at somewhere like Ohio State or Notre Dame a hockey title would probably be bigger.

I would put the Frozen Four and D1 hockey title at or near the top. There may be only 60 men's hockey teams but unlike the FBS no teams are automatically eliminated before the season starts. There is more parity in men's hockey than most any other sport. This is why you see schools like recent champions Yale, Providence, and Union College (NY) win against P5 schools.

P5 is only a football thing.

Hockey, baseball, and even hoops are more "open".

The rankings change depending on the school.

If you're Kansas, a Final Four is almost expected and a national title is nice, if overdue. A NY6 bowl would be reason to shut the state down, and an FBS title would be a three-day wheat bender.

If you're Clemson, an FBS title is more like the paycheck after a hard week of work than the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. A Final Four would be a holy **** moment, and an NCAA title would be a three-day sweet tea bender. And a D1 hockey title would be proof that something very, very wrong has happened.

And if you're Clarkson, you strive for a Frozen Four, hope for a hockey title and wonder what in God's name is football and basketball?

On balance, a National Championship in Football > National Championship in Basketball.

However, the Final Four in Basketball > Final Four in Football.

Making the Final Four in football is a massive accomplishment, but it’s ultimately a qualification exercise. As far as I’ve seen, campuses don’t erupt in raucous celebrations when a team makes it to the CFP Final Four. There might be raucous celebrations for a huge win that greatly supports the resume for making it to the CFP Final Four, but getting to the CFP Final Four in and of itself doesn’t seem to be the type of thing that will create warm memories and reunions many years from now unless you go on further and win the national title (just as no one seems to remember the BCS title game losers).

In contrast, a basketball team needs to unambiguously win and clinch a Final Four spot on-the-court, campuses erupt to celebrate that moment, and those teams generally achieve immortality by their respective fan bases regardless of whether they go on to win the national title (outside of particularly spoiled fans like Kentucky, Duke and UNC).

The Final Four is a qualifying round in football, whereas the Final Four in basketball is a destination lifetime goal in and of itself, so the latter means a lot more to a school.

(04-01-2019 10:18 PM)oliveandblue Wrote:  P5 is only a football thing.

Hockey, baseball, and even hoops are more "open".

Yes, I know that. I'm just using P5 in general reference such as Union College (NY) beating Minnesota for the championship.

(03-30-2019 05:26 PM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  FBS Title
D1 basketball title
Final Four in either
Sweet sixteen
D1 hockey title
D1 baseball title
FCS title
Frozen four
College world series

Something like this football being 65 schools with a realistic shot is the most elusive.
Basketball almost no shot if not in top six conferences but possible.
Below that a CCU, Minnesota Duluth or hot mod major can get there .

When George Mason beat UConn to reach the final four, Jim Calhoun said it was harder to get to the final four at George Mason than it was for UConn to win the title. I think that's right and would apply to any sport given the right comparison between teams. Any of those accomplishments are far easier from some schools than others.

National Title Any Sport
Final Four Any Sport
FBS NY6 game
NCAA Sweet 16
Conference Champion
Winning Bowl Game
Double Digit Wins (FB)
Division Title
Bowl Eligible
Winning Record
Double Digit Wins (non-FB)

The football accomplishments are generally rated higher than those which are part of NCAA Olympic sports. But I do think a national title in any sport is better than a Final Four in basketball or hockey.

Going to an NY6 game is more important than a Sweet 16 but not as memorable as a Final Four.

Double Digit wins non-FB is like going 10-20 in men's basketball. Not much of an accomplishment but not totally pathetic either.

(03-31-2019 08:41 AM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  The mid February start date is tough for Northern schools.

Quite ... if they only required the conference championships to be over by the end of June and the end of the official NCAA "year", and allowed the NCAA championships to spill into July, they could push the start date two weeks later, which would be a big benefit for Northern schools.

(03-30-2019 09:34 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  1 FBS Title - Damn near impossible to beat out every blueblood.
2 D1 basketball title - Can be done. Butler was x cm from doing it.
3 Final 4 in FB - FBS has the most ironclad glass ceiling.
4 Final 4 in BB - MVC, CAA, HL have all done it 2x since 2006.
5 D1 Baseball Title - Coastal Carolina FRESNO ST.
6 D1 Hockey Title - Minnesota-Duluth is the powerhouse program of the 2010s.
7 Sweet 16 - Have to beat a financial behemoth to make it.
8 CWS - Baseball power structure is penetrable.
9 FCS Title - Don’t have to take down big $ but a title is a title.
10 Frozen Four - Just be the Final 4 of 60.

Fresno won a bowling and softball championship too but no one cares. Baseball was big here out west. this rank looks about right.

(03-30-2019 05:26 PM)CoastalVANDAL Wrote:  FBS Title
D1 basketball title
Final Four in either
Sweet sixteen
D1 hockey title
D1 baseball title
FCS title
Frozen four
College world series

Something like this football being 65 schools with a realistic shot is the most elusive.
Basketball almost no shot if not in top six conferences but possible.
Below that a CCU, Minnesota Duluth or hot mod major can get there .

1. FBS Title
2. D1 Basketball Title
3. D1 Baseball Title
4. D1 Hockey Title
5. Final Four CFP
6. Final Four Basketball
7. FCS Title
8. Frozen Four
9. Sweet Sixteen
10.College World Series

FBS Title
D1 basketball title
FCS title
Final Four in either
D1 baseball title
D1 hockey title
Sweet sixteen
Frozen four
College world series

FBS Title
D1 Basketball title
Final Four in either
D1 baseball
D1 hockey
FCS title
College World Series
Sweet 16
Frozen Four

Maybe I'm a bit biased because of where I'm from, though.