Memorial Day on the college sports calendar means Selection Monday in Division I baseball. Officially, this day means nothing to us here in the football world... unless we make it about us.
The baseball tournament is the final event of the athletic year, which means it's a good time to take inventory on how each department, particularly those in the Power 5, performed in the major ball sports. If you're an AD, it's performance review time.
Below we'll examine how many schools placed teams in the postseason for the major men's and women's sports in the fall, winter and spring.
FBS schools that made a bowl game and the NCAA men's basketball tournament: 28
A quick aside to examine the above chart by conference: How many schools from each Power 5 league put a team in a bowl game and the Big Dance?
ACC: 3 of 14 total teams (21.4%)
Big Ten: 5 of 14 (35.7%)
Big 12: 5 of 10 (50%)
SEC: 6 of 14 (42.9%)
Pac-12: 2 of 12 (16.7%)
FCS schools that participated in the football playoffs and the NCAA men's basketball tournament: 3
Furman
Montana State
Southeast Missouri State
Our list of 31 schools that reached the postseason (no, the NIT and the like don't count) in football and hoops is down to just a dozen when we move to the diamond.
Division I schools that reached the postseason in all three major men's sports: 12
Now let's add women to the mix. The basketball tournament is the biggest of the women's postseason events (nearly 10 million tuned into the title game), so we'll begin there.
D1 schools that reached the postseason in football + men's basketball + baseball + women's basketball: 8
Alabama
UConn
Duke
Iowa
Maryland
NC State
Tennessee
Texas
D1 schools that reached the postseason in football + men's basketball + baseball + women's basketball + volleyball: 2
Tennessee
Texas
Adding softball to the mix keeps the same two schools.
D1 schools that reached the postseason in football + men's basketball + baseball + women's basketball + volleyball + softball: 2
Tennessee
Texas
Let's flip the coin over now. Who didn't make the postseason in the Big 6 sports. We'll limit our purview to the Power 5, since they gobble up the majority of at-large bids.
Power 5 teams that didn't reach the postseason in football, men's/women's basketball, baseball or softball: 1
Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights' men's basketball team made the NIT, where they promptly lost to Hofstra, at home, in Round 1.
For what it's worth, Boston College and Vanderbilt only reached the postseason in baseball, and Cal was under .500 in everything but softball.
In the major men's and women's sports, it's been the Year of UT. But which shade of orange colors the 2022-23 athletic year?
Football: Clear edge to Tennessee. The Vols won the Orange Bowl and finished No. 6 in both polls, while Texas was 25th and lost the Alamo Bowl.
Volleyball: Clear edge to Texas. The Vols bowed out in the first round, while the Horns won the national title.
Men's Basketball: Slight edge to Texas. Tennessee won head-to-head in Knoxville in January and reached the Sweet 16, but Texas advanced to the Elite Eight.
Women's Basketball: Slight edge to Tennessee. The Lady Vols matched the men by reaching the Sweet 16, while Texas lost in the second round.
Softball: Clear edge to Tennessee. Tennessee swept Texas to reach the Women's College World Series this past weekend.
Baseball: TBD. Texas is the No. 2 seed in No. 9 Miami's regional, while Tennessee is seeded second in No. 4 Clemson's regional.
If Texas manages to an Omaha trip while Tennessee bows out in the regional, that would leave our highly scientific scoring system at an even draw. In that case, one of these schools would have to join the other's conference to solve it.