If student-athletes are truly students before athletes, then higher education should matter probably more than it does, and that’s why we like to follow what U.S. News & Report has to say about what the best schools are out there. Each year, the publication releases an academic ranking of all United States universities, including yearly tuition, enrollment, and acceptance rates, and we are most interested in the Big Ten teams since that’s the conference YOUR Ohio State Buckeyes are a part of.
More so than some other conferences, it’s a pretty impressive list because 15 of the 18 schools are among the top 100 based on the criteria used by U.S. News & Report. That’s more than we can say for other conferences — ahem, SEC! (chant with me now).
Ohio State continues to improve its academic reputation, and it continues to do so, appearing in the top 50 with about the same ranking as lasta year. The Buckeyes also led the entire country in APR scores for the football program, so the jokes about the Buckeyes being just an NFL factory are simply not true.
Here’s how all of the Big Ten teams stack up among themselves and within the totality of the rankings according to U.S. News & Report for the 2026-27 academic year.
City |Lincoln, NE
2025 Big Ten Rank | 18 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment | 19,701
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 152
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 158 ⇩
In-state cost | $10,434
City | Eugene, OR
2025 Big Ten Rank | 17 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |20,622
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 109
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 110 ⇩
In-state cost |$15,904
City |Iowa City, IA
2025 Big Ten Rank | 16 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |22,738
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 98
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 102 ⇩
In-state cost |$11,622
City |Bloomington, Indiana
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 15 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment | 38,093
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 73
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 73 ⇔
In-state cost |$12,144
City | East Lansing, Michigan
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 13 (tied) ⇧
Undergraduate enrollment |41,234
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 63
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 64 ⇩
In-state cost |$19,742
City |University Park, Pennsylvania
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 13 (tied) ⇧
Undergraduate enrollment |42,619
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 63
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 59 ⇧
In-state cost |$21,098
City |Minneapolis, Minnesota
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 12 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |41,303
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 54
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 59 ⇩
In-state cost |$18,482
City |West Lafayette, Indiana
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 10 (tied) ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |44,819
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 46
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 46 ⇔
In-state cost |$9,992
City |Piscataway, New Jersey
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 7 (tied) ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |37,985
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 41
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 42 ⇩
In-state cost |$18,827
City |College Park, Maryland
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 9 ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |31,133
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 44
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 42 ⇧
In-state cost |$11,809
City |Seattle, Washington
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 10 (tied) ⇧
Undergraduate enrollment |40,754
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 46
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 42 ⇧
In-state cost |$13,406
City |Columbus, Ohio
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 7 (tied) ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |46,815
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 41
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 41 ⇔
In-state cost |$13,641
City |Champaign, Illinois
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 5 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |37,140
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 33
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 36 ⇩
In-state cost |$18,046
City |Madison, Wisconsin
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 6 ⇩
Undergraduate enrollment |23,181
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 39
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 36 ⇧
In-state cost |$16,035
City |Los Angeles, California
2025 Big Ten Rank | 4 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |20,630
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 27
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 28 ⇩
Cost |$75,162
City |Ann Arbor, Michigan
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 3 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |34,454
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 21
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 20 ⇧
In-state cost |$19,497
City |Los Angeles, California
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 2 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |33,471
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 15
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 17 ⇩
In-state cost |$14,824
City |Evanston, Illinois
2025 Big Ten Rank | No. 1 ⇔
Undergraduate enrollment |9,060
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025 | No. 6
U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026 | No. 7 ⇩
Cost |$70,589
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.