USC dropped four spaces to 115th in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of the nation's top 151 universities.
USC also dropped one spot to 55th place among the nation's public schools.
Ironically, SAT scores, retention and graduation rates continued to rise. While it is tough to spin positivity out of a drop in the rankings, the numeric academic indicators of success certainly make it seem as though we are headed in the right direction as a university. Comparatively, however, the new rankings offer a dismal outlook.
Among other SEC schools, USC ranks in the bottom half of both the public and overall lists. And Clemson ranks 68th nationally and 25th among public institutions. The story remains the same as last year: while we have recently owned the Tigers on the football field, they are returning the favor in the classroom. Though the football matchups snag all the headlines, this is a part of the rivalry we really need to be focusing on. Unfortunately, our degrees aren't going to be judged on whether Lattimore wins a Heisman.
True, rankings are little more than over-simplified, subjective evaluations of a university's relative status, but they do mean a great deal to student recruitment. Thousands of potential future Gamecocks put stock in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, even if they mean less than the objective indicators listed above.
At least we can still make the most persuasive argument in the country to students interested in studying international business: Darla Moore's powerhouse earned a No. 1 ranking for the 16th consecutive year.