ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Tree Town may be known for art fairs and football but it’s now also going to be known as the second-best midsize city for basketball fans.
WalletHub released its 2024 list of top spots for NCAA fans just in time for March Madness, and Ann Arbor is right at the top for cities of its size.
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The finance website looked at nine metrics for 294 United States cities with at least one Divison 1 college team. Cities were given an overall ranking and then ranked by size.
Ann Arbor ranked 29 overall but is second for midsize cities. Annoyingly, the city’s rival, East Lansing, has a higher overall ranking of 9th place and is in the third place spot for small-sized cities.
Metrics considered for rankings included the number of Hall of Fame head coaches, social media engagement with fans, the number of Division 1 Championship wins, basketball stadium capacity and the number of coaches throughout the past 10 seasons.
Find the full methodology here.
Here’s where Ann Arbor ranks for different factors:
| Factor | Rank |
|---|---|
| Social-Media Engagement | 10 |
| National Titles | 16 |
| Number of Division 1 Teams | 45 |
| Winning Percentage | 60 |
| Conference Championships | 77 |
| Stadium Capacity | 131 |
Here are the top 10 midsize cities on the list:
- Durham, NC
- Ann Arbor, MI
- Syracuse, NY
- Norman, OK
- Providence, RI
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Dayton, OH
- Akron, OH
- Toledo, OH
- Waco, TX