Recently the author group here at SFN were having a discussion that veered off into who had the worst sports experience during their time as a student at NC State. Reminded me of the comparing scars scene in Jaws.
Several of the SFN brain trust made valid points as to why they had it the worst but I thought I’d see if I could crunch some numbers and see if I could find a definitive answer.
So here’s how it works, I’ve created 4 year categories for when you were a student cleverly named “The Class of”, for example I’m in the Class of 1996 so my 4 year group contains 92-93, 93-94, 94-95 and 95-96. Then I calculated the basketball winning percentage for that 4 year time period, did the same for football, then took the average of the two winning percentages. I also limited the rankings to the 53-54 season which is the beginning of the ACC (those first few classes will dip back into our time in the Southern Conference).
They Had It Good – Basketball
When it comes to basketball, the class of 1976 had it best with a record of 100-16 and a winning percentage of .862. They went undefeated as freshman in 1973 and won a national championship in 1974. If your time as a student overlapped with David Thompson or Everett Case, you had it good.
Top 10 Classes
1. 1976 – .862
2. 1975 – .848
3. 1956 – .832
4. 1955 – .794
5. 1957 – .782
6. 1954 – .779
7. 1974 – .775
8. 1958 – .773
9. 1977 – .769
10. 1959 – .760
They Had It Good – Football
For football, the class of 1976 also had it best with a record of 33-12-3 and a winning percentage of .719. If your time as a student overlapped with Dick Sheridan or Philip Rivers, you had it good.
Top 10 Classes
1. 1976 – .719
2. 1995 – .704
3. 2004 – .667
t4. 1993 – .663
t4. 1994 – .663
6. 1992 – .656
7. 1981 – .652
8. 2003 – .640
9. 1975 – .638
10. 1969 – .634
They Had It Good – Both Basketball & Football
Congrats Class of 1976, you had the best 4 year experience as a student when it comes to football (.719) and basketball (.862). If you were in school in the mid-to-late 70s or the mid-2000s, you had it good.
Top 10 Classes
1. 1976 – .790
2. 1975 – .743
3. 1977 – .698
4. 1978 – .649
5. 1974 – .648
6. 1981 – .641
7. 2004 – .633
8. 2006 – .628
9. 2005 – .627
10. 1990 – .626
You Have My Sympathy – Basketball
Class of 1995, you have my sympathy. You experienced the worst 4 years in State basketball history in the ACC era with a record of 43-71 (.377). If Les Robinson was roaming the sideline in Reynolds in his red sweater, you had it rough.
Bottom 10 Classes
1. 1995 – .377
2. 1996 – .400
3. 1994 – .432
4. 1997 – .458
5. 1993 – .492
6. 1998 – .500
7. 2011 – .516
8. 1999 – .531
9. 2010 – .534
You Have My Sympathy – Football
Class of 1955, you also have my sympathy. You experienced the worst 4 years in State football history in the ACC era with a record of 9-31-0 (.225).
Bottom 10 Classes
1. 1955 – .225
t2. 1956 – .263
t2. 1957 – .263
4. 1953 – .313
5. 1986 – .341
6. 1962 – .350
7. 1960 – .363
8. 1985 – .364
9. 1963 – .375
10. 1972 – .381
You Have My Sympathy – Basketball & Football
If you meet someone from the Class of 1963, buy them a drink. They experienced the worst 4 years in State football (.375) and basketball (.539) history in the ACC era.
Bottom 10 Classes
1. 1963 – .457
2. 2010 – .461
3. 1997 – .468
4. 1999 – .477
5. 1998 – .483
6. 1962 – .494
7. 1996 – .497
8. 2009 – .497
9. 1986 – .498
10. 1972 – .501
If you’re curious, the class of 1924 had the worst basketball record at 24-51 (.320), the classes of 1893 and 1894 never lost in football (1-0 and 3-0), and the class of 1925 had the worst average winning percentage of .385 with football at .372 and basketball at .397.
Of course numbers don’t capture everything from your football and basketball memories and experiences as a student. But it is kinda interesting to see which classes should be in the discussion for bragging and complaining rights.
