Smaller—but stronger

Sporting News, The, August 12, 2002 by Bob Hille

If you've followed our list over the years, you've seen it expand from 25 in 1993 to 376 in 2001. Now we've decided, in the name of accuracy and accountability (gulp), to contract it a bit. Because the cities that fall at or near the bottom of this list are so close to one another in points totals, we added a new qualifying layer this year, tightening the eligibility standards to be ranked at all:

A city must have at least a Division I basketball team or, minus that, score in select other categories upon which we base our rankings.

Those other categories include--among other things--major professional sports franchises, training facilities for major league baseball or NFL teams, a NASCAR Winston Cup or PGA Tour event and the like. But tightening the list prevents us from trying to compare cities that give us no real context for ranking. It also means there am fewer cities on our list, although no fewer terrific smaller sports towns and cities on this sports-crazed continent.

Once a city or town meets the minimum qualifications, our rankings are based on the present sports climate, a 12-month fiscal snapshot, with the criteria putting a heavy premium on regular-season won-lost records (from the most recently completed season); postseason berths and championships; applicable power ratings; overall fan fervor, measured in part by attendance as percent of arena/stadium capacity; sports atmosphere and fan knowledgeability; abundance of teams, although we reward quality over quantity; stadium/arena quality; ticket availability and prices; franchise ownership; marquee appeal of athletes; quality of competition.

Tradition plays a minimal role since this is a 12-month ranking that starts over each year. As a form of tiebreaking--because what's sports without tiebreakers (baseball's All-Star Game excepted)?--we consider activities like fishing, beating, hiking, cycling and golfing. We even give a tip of the hat to museums and art galleries.

NUMERO UNO

Previous No. 1 cities in our annual Best Sports City lists:

2001--New York

2000--St Louis

1999--New York

1998--Detroit

1997--Denver

1996--No winner

1995--Denver

1994--Cleveland

1993--Chicago

Note: There was no Best Sports City rating in 1996 as we expanded and refined the rating system.

1. Boston

2. Oakland-San Francisco-San Jose

3. New York-Long Island-New Jersey

4. Detroit

5. Philadelphia

6. Los Angeles-Anaheim

7. Baltimore-Washington

8. Dallas-Fort Worth

9. Phoenix

10. Miami-Fort Lauderdale

11. Chicago

12. Denver

13. St. Louis

14. Seattle

15. Atlanta

16. Minneapolis-St. Paul

17. Pittsburgh

18. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

19. Toronto

20. Cleveland

21. Salt Lake City

22. Tampa-St. Petersburg

23. Charlotte

24. Houston

25. Nashville, Tenn.

26. Cincinnati

27. Indianapolis

28. San Diego

29. Milwaukee

30. Buffalo

31. Orlando

32. Sacramento

33. San Antonio

34. New Orleans

35. Jacksonville

36. Columbus, Ohio

37. Montreal

38. Portland, Ore.

39. Oklahoma City-Norman

40. Green Bay

41. Kansas City, Mo.

42. Ottawa

43. Vancouver

44. Memphis

45. Gainesville, Fla.

46. Calgary

47. Edmonton

48. Austin, Texas

49. Eugene, Ore.

50. Baton Rouge, La.

51. Champaign, Ill.

52. Knoxville, Tenn.

53. Lincoln, Neb.

54. Columbia, S.C.

55. Athens, Ga.

56. Syracuse, N.Y.

57. Tuscaloosa, Ala.

58. Bloomington, Ind.

59. Tallahassee, Fla.

60. Lubbock, Texas

61. South Bend, Ind.

62. Blacksburg, Va.

63. Louisville, Ky.

64. Fayetteville, Ark.

65. East Lansing, Mich.

66. Tucson, Ariz.

67. Lexington, Ky.

68. Fresno, Calif.

69. Storrs, Conn.

70. Auburn, Ala.

71. Honolulu

72. Winston-Salem, N.C.

73. Lawrence, Kan.

74. Oxford, Miss.

75. Iowa City, Iowa

76. Starkville, Miss.

77. Columbia, Mo.

78. Stillwater, Okla.

79. Pullman, Wash.

80. Clemson, S.C.

81. Madison, Wis.

82. Bowling Green, Ohio

83. Charlottesville, Va.

84. Manhattan, Kan.

85. Huntington, W.Va.

86. Kent, Ohio

87. College Station, Texas

88. Las Vegas

89. West Lafayette, Ind.

90. Toledo, Ohio

91. Omaha, Neb.

92. Ruston, La.

93. Oxford, Ohio

94. Ames, Iowa

95. Fort Collins, Colo.

96. Troy, Ala.

97. Albuquerque, N.M.

98. Muncie, Ind.

99. Boise, Idaho

100. Tulsa, Okla.

101. Corvallis, Ore.

102. Greenville, N.C.

103. Logan, Utah

104. State College, Pa.

105. Laramie, Wyo.

106. Reno, Nev.

107. Colorado Springs, Colo.

108. Las Cruces, N.M.

109. Birmingham, Ala.

110. Monroe, La.

111. Kalamazoo, Mich.

112. Hattiesburg, Miss.

113. Piscataway, N.J.

114. Athens, Ohio

115. Waco, Texas

116. Lafayette, La.

117. Carbondale, Ill.

118. DeKalb, Ill.

119. Murfreesboro, Tenn.

120. Denton, Texas

121. Morgantown, W.Va.

122. Akron, Ohio

123. El Paso, Texas

124. Spokane, Wash.

125. Mount Pleasant, Mich.

126. Jonesboro, Ark.

127. West Point, N.Y.

128. Moscow, Idaho

129. Annapolis, Md.

130. Bowling Green, Ky.

131. Wilmington, N.C.

132. New Britain, Conn.

133. Santa Barbara, Calif.

134. Lake Charles, La.

135. Valparaiso, Ind.

136. Richmond, Va.

137. Hampton, Va.

138. Princeton, N.J.

139. Olean, N.Y.

140. Dayton, Ohio

141. Boca Raton, Ra.

142. Stockton, Calif.

143. Cookeville, Tenn.

144. Providence, R.I.

145. Fairfax, Va.

146. New Haven, Conn.

147. Bozeman, Mont.

148. Irvine, Calif.

149. Normal, Ill.

150. Amherst, Mass.

161. Johnson City, Tenn.