UGA makes Playboy’s ‘best party school’ ranking

The University of Georgia is the 7th best party school in the nation, according to Playboy magazine which, for decades, has been a kind of unofficial arbiter of hedonism in America.

UGA has ranked as high as No. 4 party school over the years, and school officials taking note have made a concerted effort since 2005 to sober things up. They’ve imposed stricter rules against student drinking and tailgate parties during football season.

The No. 1 party school is the University of Miami, according to the skin magazine.

Georgia’s football arch rival, the University of Florida, ranked No. 4. “Southern hospitality is our favorite aspect of the Gators,” the magazine said, evidently unaware that much of Florida — in some minds — isn’t even in the South.

Playboy assistant editor Rocky Rakovic said in a release that the rankings are all about “bragging rights” for students seeking the best college experience. He said the magazine considered more than beer and women and dudes in its calculations.

“We didn’t want bias tainting the results so we took a scientific approach and developed algorithms to equally weigh all of the things that are crucial to the social and academic development of collegians — including sports, nightlife, girls and, of course, a solid education,” Rakovic said.

The thing the magazine most likes about Georgia’s party mojo is the annual Georgia-Florida game.

“When Georgia and Florida play each other in football every season, they hold the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party,” the magazine reported. “The Dawgs do it right in Athens.” It gives the school bonus credits for having “the hottest sorority girls in the country.”

In compiling the list, Playboy rated each school in a series of five categories: bikini (a combination of weather, guy-to-girl ratio and cheerleader ranking), sex, campus life, sports and brains.

The magazine also solicited opinions from staffers, photographers, campus representatives and thousands of students.

The Princeton Review, which ranks schools in all kinds of categories — including most beautiful campus, best campus food, and best college library — also ranked Georgia as the No. 7 party school.