Morgantown Ranked No. 25 by Sporting News
October 07, 2008 03:35 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
October 7, 2008
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| Amanda Cicchini, Pat White and Joe Alexander helped amplify Morgantown's love for collegiate athletics.
WVU Sports Communications compiled photo |
MORGANTOWN. W.Va. – Sporting News honored Morgantown with a No. 25 ranking in its 15th annual Sporting News Best Sports Cities List on Tuesday, Oct. 7.
Known widely as the city engulfed by West Virginia University, the success of the Mountaineer football and basketball teams in the 2007-08 season was a primary reason for the north-central West Virginia area to earn a spot in the upper echelon of the Best Sports Cities rankings.
“It was a great year for WVU football and basketball, which puts Morgantown in the highest reaches of our college towns, up among some cities with pro sports teams,” Sporting News Chief of Correspondents Bob Hille says, who has coordinated the rankings since their expansion 12 years ago.
“It really is a city that lives and dies with the Mountaineers, and in our view that’s a good thing, the best thing.”
This year’s list features 400 cities and towns in the United States and Canada. The rankings are based on a variety of factors, including each city’s number of teams and their regular-season won-lost records, playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids, championships, power ratings, competition, fan fervor, attendance, stadium/arena quality, ticket prices/availability, franchise ownership and marquee appeal of athletes.
“When the teams in your city are doing well, you feel good about where you live, not just as a sports fan but as a citizen,” said Hille. “That’s what we try to tap into with this list, especially at the top of it. We want to celebrate what’s unique about so many great sports cities in the U.S. and Canada.”
Boston claimed its third title in the last five years, edging out 2007 winner Detroit.
