which college athletic conference is most academically presitgious?

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Big 10 and ACC (sans Louisville) are the obvious answers.

The other 3 are all fine, but have members that drag them down.


Of course it's important to remember that these conferences are primarily athletic conferences, so the proper way to compare them is athletically.

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As far as academic prowess in general... I mean, sure, Georgia Tech, UNC, Duke, Virginia, and Pittsburgh are all good schools, but I'm not sure how they're better (or "obvious[ly] better") than a group that includes UC-Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, Washington, and UC-Boulder.

Well I'm just talking averages rather than the best of each. Washington State, Oregon State, the Arizona schools -- not awful or anything, but Louisville is the only ACC down that low.

A few years ago I had a huge spreadsheet of every conference and their USNWR rankings. I ought to refresh that.