Air Force Academy

Aug. 8, 2007

USAFA, Colo. -

In the September issue of Golf Digest magazine, the Air Force golf program is rated among the nation's best, tabbed 44th in the nation in the overall ranking. As part of its third annual College Golf Guide, Golf Digest ranks the country's best colleges with NCAA men's and women's golf teams.

The College Golf Guide has been designed to help high school students find the right school for their needs. There are three separate rankings that comprise the Guide: Balanced ranking, for students who place equal emphasis on school and sports; Golf First ranking, for students with dreams of playing golf professionally; and Academics First ranking, for students who are focused on education but still desire to play competitive golf. The "Balanced" ranking is the best indicator for the majority of young men and women heading off to college.

Air Force, one of just three Mountain West Conference schools rated in the top 50 in the Balanced ranking, leads the MWC in the Academics First ranking at 39. Meanwhile, the Falcons also rate in the top 100 in the Golf First ranking, coming in at 94.

Five criteria form the basis of the rankings: a college golf team's adjusted scoring average, Player Growth while on the team, academics, climate and facilities/coaches.

The Falcons rate among the top 10 percent in the nation in facilities/coaches, the top 20 percent in academics and the top 30 percent in adjusted scoring average.

In establishing the rankings, Golf Digest rated almost 800 NCAA men's colleges and more than 500 women's colleges in the five categories mentioned above, grading each category on a 100-point scale to determine overall scores:

* Team Adjusted Scoring Average: (Balanced: 24.5%; Golf First: 40%; Academics First: 15%). Spans last four seasons and applies the formula used by NCAA committees to select postseason teams. (Source: golfstat.com).

* Player Growth: (Balanced: 12.5%; Golf First: 19.5%; Academics First: 7%). Determines the percentage of players on the roster during the last four seasons who improved their adjusted scoring averages over the previous season, as well as the combined improvement or decline of players who met a minimum number of rounds. (Source: golfstat.com).

* Academics: (Balanced: 36.5%; Golf First: 14%; Academics First: 58%). Utilizes statistics from U.S. News & World Report's 2007 guidebook America's Best Colleges. In order to equally evaluate schools in the NCAA's three divisions, the metric does not include peer assessment, alumni giving rank or other calculations made by U.S. News & World Report within its ten college groupings.

* Climate: (Balanced: 12%; Golf First: 12%; Academics First: 10%). A 30-year average of number of playable days between September 1-May 31. Allows for play in poor weather but not in extreme, dangerous or snow-covered conditions. (Source: Longitudes Group).

* Facilities/Coaches: (Balanced: 14.5%; Golf First: 14.5%; Academics First: 10%). Measures quality, difficulty and proximity of campus-affiliated courses used for non-tournament practice rounds; quality of up to seven additional courses used by a team; practice facilities at home courses and stand-alone facilities on or near campus; other resources; coaches' experience and past performance. (Sources: Golf Digest's Coaches' Survey; collegegolf.com; individual colleges; America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses, as ranked by Golf Digest).

The extensive College Golf Guide package can be viewed online at www.golfdigest.com/rankings/2007/collegeguide.