MONEY ranks A&M third-best college 'for scholarly football fanatics'

You could go to college for a top-tier education.

Or, you could go where the football is good.

But, for the sophisticated student who actually desires both, MONEY is here to help. On Friday the magazine published by Time, Inc. presented the short list of such options in its new ranking of the '13 best colleges for scholarly football fanatics.'

This won't shock you by now, but among them (in good company) is No. 3 Texas A&M.

"Aggie football is a big part of Texas A&M‘s campus culture — so much so that the school refers to all its students and alumni as “the 12th Man” to symbolize their readiness to jump onto the football field if needed," author Matt Bemer writes. "The trademarked phrase dates back almost 100 years.

"Aggie fans’ school spirits were tested this year, especially in the second half of the season. But the student section still showed up to support their team."

MONEY put the list together by cross-referencing the top 40 schools in the NCAA's attendance figures (to reflect support/rabidness of the fan base) with the magazine's own rankings of Best Colleges 2015.

With a listed average attendance of 103,622 and a MONEY Best Colleges rank of 20, Texas A&M placed third on the list behind only Stanford (we'll give them that one) and Michigan. No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Georgia Tech rounded out the top five.

Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Clemson, Utah and Ohio State also landed on the list.

In other words, A&M was the only Texas university to make the cut. The school in Austin, while only 62 spots behind the Aggies on the Best Colleges list (a decent 82), was likely held back by the sagging attendance numbers that accompany a 4-7 program in the Big 12 conference.

Texas A&M was also the SEC West's only representative on the list.