By Allison Barker
BYU is ranked in the elite 50 colleges with the combination of the best in academics with the best in athletics.
STACK magazine, which is geared to educating and entertaining high school athletes, ranked BYU No. 44, for its ''academically minded runners,'' the report said.
The track and cross-country teams have a history of consistently performing well, said Duff Tittle, BYU''s associate athletic director for communications.
BYU''s men''s cross-country team is ranked No. 6, and both men''s track and women''s cross-country are ranked No. 11. According to the STACK report, these runners, who are also getting a good education, helped get BYU on the elite 50 list.
The magazine generated a score looking at college''s academic performance along with their athletic performance.
To determine their academic performance, STACK weighed the U.S. News & World Report on America''s Best Colleges rankings with the school''s academic progress rate, which measures how well athletic programs move the students through graduation.
Then, the report tabulates athletic scores by looking at the college''s win-lose records, national sports rankings and the STACK factor, which looks at the support of the athletic programs in the community and within the college.
Jonathan Nielson, a junior majoring in neuroscience from Laguna Niguel, Calif., thinks the ranking is unique and benefits both prospective students and universities.
'It''s a unique ranking that helps universities who want to promote a balanced academic and an athletic school,' Nielson said. 'It''s also helpful to athletics who want a good education because they can''t or don''t want to participate in professional sports after college.'
While BYU ranks at 44 on the list, the University of North Carolina is ranked No. 1, followed by Stanford University, University of Texas, UCLA, and Duke University.
To access the complete list of rankings, visit elite50.stack.com/.