Athletics: UL ranks No. 12 nationally in 2015 pentathlam

Kevin Foote, The Advertiser, July 7, 2015

For the 11th straight season, diehard UL Ragin’ Cajun fan Glen Raggio has put together a statistical database to chart winning percentages in the five major sports, at least in our region.

He calls it the Pentathlam.

It’s not scientific. It doesn’t weigh variables.

It’s a process that simply looks at the winning percentages of the 321 athletic departments around the nation in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball and softball.

One year after rising to No. 3 nationally for the second time in the project’s 11 years, the Ragin’ Cajuns dropped a hair but remained high on the list at No. 12 nationally during the 2014-15 collegiate athletic year.

The Cajuns were 9-4 in football, 22-14 in men’s basketball, 23-12 in women’s basketball, 42-23 in baseball and 42-12 in softball for a total winning percentage of 67.98.

The only other mid-majors in the top 20 were BYU at No. 16 with a 65.96 percent and James Madison at No. 19 with a 65.43 winning percentage.

No. 1 on the list was the Notre Dame’s Fightin’ Irish of the Big 10 at 75.86 percent.

Standing at No. 2 is LSU’s Tigers at 73.21.

To add a little context, the next closest state schools behind UL are: Northwestern State at No. 43 with a 59.68 winning percentage, Louisiana Tech at No. 47 with a percentage 59.02 and McNeese State is No. 56 with a 57.22 overall winning percentage.

Not counting part-time, football-only member New Mexico State at No. 65, the next closest Sun Belt Conference school to the Cajuns is Georgia State at No. 71 with an overall 55.15 winning percentage.

Next in line would be South Alabama at No. 76 with a 54.10 winning percentage.

The tricky part of this is that only 179 of the 321 overall schools actually play all five sports. Most of the rest don’t play football, but many don’t play baseball or softball as well.

Of all the top winning percentages previously mentioned, all of those were among the schools that field teams in all five of the sports.

Chattanooga, for instance, doesn’t play baseball, but it’s winning percentage of 74.42 would rank second to Notre Dame if playing that fifth sport wouldn’t lower that figure.

Tulane is the top-performing department of local interest that doesn’t play all five sports – not fielding a softball team – and its four-sport winning percentage of 55.64 would place them between No. 68 Texas-San Antonio and No. 69 Kent State on the overall list.

Arkansas State, which doesn’t play softball, would be the top performing four-sport Sun Belt team with a winning percentage of 51.88, which would put the Red Wolves right between No. 90 Troy and No. 91 Penn on the five-sport list.

For the record, the new cumulative 11-year results have the Ragin’ Cajuns No. 22 overall with a five-sport winning percentage of 62.11 over the span.

The only other mid-major in the Top 20 over that 11-year stretch was BYU with a 64.41 winning percentage.

North Carolina remains No. 1 overall during that 11-year time frame at 70.79, while LSU is fifth at 69.23.

2015 Pentathlam Results

(The Pentathlam is a collection of a winning percentages of the 321 Division I athletic departments around the nation in the sports of football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball and softball. The numbers are compiled by UL fan Glen Raggio.)

School	FOOT	MBKB	WBKB	BASE	SOFT	OVERALL
1. Notre Dame	8-5	32-6	36-3	36-20	42-15	75.86%
2. LSU	8-5	22-11	17-14	54-12	52-14	73.21
3. Florida State	13-1	17-16	32-5	39-19	49-14	73.17
4. Louisville	9-4	27-9	27-7	43-15	30-19	71.58
5. Duke	9-4	35-5	23-11	31-22	52-18	71.43
6. UCLA	10-3	22-14	19-18	42-12	51-12	70.94
7. Texas A&M	8-5	21-12	23-10	45-10	40-20	70.62
8. Florida	7-5	16-17	13-17	52-18	60-7	69.81
9. Oregon	13-2	26-10	13-17	35-23	51-8	69.70
10. Oklahoma	8-5	24-11	21-12	34-26	49-9	68.34
11. Maryland	7-6	28-7	34-3	38-20	27-27	68.02
12. Louisiana	9-4	22-14	23-12	42-23	42-12	67.98
13. Baylor	11-2	24-10	33-4	23-31	41-17	67.35
14. Michigan	5-7	16-16	20-15	35-23	60-8	66.34
15. Ohio State	14-1	24-11	24-11	35-20	30-22	66.15
16. BYU	8-5	25-10	23-10	28-25	40-14	65.96
17. Arizona State	10-3	18-16	29-6	34-19	36-22	65.80
18. North Carolina	6-7	26-12	26-9	34-24	37-16	65.48
19. James Madison	9-4	19-14	29-4	18-33	48-10	65.43
20. Kentucky	5-7	38-1	24-10	30-25	32-26	65.15

STATE SCHOOLS

School	FOOT	MBKB	WBKB	BASE	SOFT	OVERALL
43. Northwestern St.	6-6	19-13	19-15	31-23	36-18	59.68%
47. Louisiana Tech	9-5	27-9	16-15	25-27	31-19	59.02
56. McNeese State	6-5	15-16	18-14	32-15	36-20	57.22
93. UL Monroe	4-8	24-13	12-17	25-29	30-22	51.63
97. Southern U.	9-4	18-17	19-12	20-32	16-14	50.93
101. Nicholls State	0-12	10-19	17-13	34-19	26-22	50.58
122. Southeastern, La.	9-4	9-23	7-22	42-17	22-30	48.11
178. Grambling State	7-5	2-27	10-20	11-39	9-29	24.53
Tulane (4 sports)	3-9	15-16	22-11	34-23	N/A	59.65
New Orleans (3 sports)	N/A	11-18	8-19	14-40	N/A	30.00

SUN BELT SCHOOLS

School	FOOT	MBKB	WBKB	BASE	SOFT	OVERALL
65. New Mexico St.	2-10	23-11	22-8	11-38	47-16	55.85%
71. Georgia State	1-11	25-10	13-17	30-27	38-22	55.15
76. South Alabama	6-7	12-21	5-24	36-19	40-13	54.10
90. Troy	3-9	10-19	20-11	30-25	32-23	52.20
92. Texas State	7-5	14-17	17-15	24-30	32-21	51.65
147. Ga. Southern	9-3	22-9	5-24	30-27	12-39	43.33
168. Appalachian St.	7-5	12-17	14-16	17-36	14-35	36.99
Arkansas State (4 sports)	7-6	11-18	24-11	27-29	N/A	51.88

UALR (3 sports)	N/A	13-18	29-5	16-33	N/A	50.88
Idaho (3 sports)	1-10	13-17	14-15	N/A	N/A	24.53
Tulane (4 sports)	3-9	15-16	22-11	34-23	N/A