The University of Mississippi has landed in the national spotlight for a very different reason than football or academics: USA TODAY ranked Ole Miss among the top 10 party schools in the country.
Ole Miss checked in at No. 10 with a party score of 13.3, making it the only Mississippi university to crack the list. The ranking, which USA TODAY says is based on an average of seven published party-school lists, puts the South firmly near the top of the conversation.
USA TODAY’s method pulled together rankings from sources including Niche.com and The Wall Street Journal, then averaged where each school landed. The lower the composite score, the higher the school finished overall.
At the top of the list was Tulane with a party score of 2.4. Alabama followed at 5.0, then Florida State at 5.7, Georgia at 7.3 and Wisconsin at 7.8. West Virginia came in at 8.2, while Southern California, UC Santa Barbara and Penn State rounded out the schools ahead of Ole Miss.
The full top 10 also included Miami University (Ohio) at 14.0, just behind the Rebels, along with Arizona State, Indiana, Miami (Florida), San Diego State, Syracuse, Colorado, Howard, Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa, Arizona, Dayton, Delaware and Ohio State further down the rankings.
And while the party-school label is getting attention now, football season is right around the corner. The 2026 college football season begins with Week Zero on Aug. 27, according to the NCAA, and most Division I teams will start play over Labor Day weekend.
Ole Miss opens the season against Louisville in the Music City Kickoff in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday, Sept. 6.
That game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Lost A Controversial Roster Path The SEC Targeted
The SEC and Big Ten have drawn a much harder line on roster construction, moving to prohibit member schools from keeping players who have declared for the NFL, NBA or WNBA drafts and did not withdraw, along with anyone who has signed a pro contract or landed on a professional roster. The new rules were finalized after conference leaders met to settle the issue, and they come with punishments for programs that try to work around them.
For Ole Miss, it is another reminder that the loophole chase around modern roster management is getting narrower. The policy shift was influenced in part by LSUs attempt to roster former NFL players DaeQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris, a move that helped push the leagues toward a clearer standard. LSU abstained from the final vote, but the broader message was unmistakable: the SEC wanted this path closed, and now it is. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Offense Just Got A Massive 2026 Statement
ESPNs preseason look at the top college football players entering 2026 brought an especially bright spotlight to Oxford, where Ole Miss landed two of the SECs highest-ranked names. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss checked in at No. 5 and running back Kewan Lacy followed at No. 6, a strong sign that the Rebels offense is being viewed as one of the most dangerous in the country before the new season even begins.
For Ole Miss, the placement is about more than individual recognition. It reflects the kind of firepower the Rebels showed last season and the level of expectation that now comes with it, especially with Chambliss and Lacy both carrying major weight in what the offense can become next. When a team puts two players that high on a national list, the conversation shifts quickly from promise to pressure, and Ole Miss is very much in that spot heading into 2026. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Finally Have Clarity On Corey Stephenson's SEC Status
The SECs new eligibility rules cleared up a question that had hung over Corey Stephenson for Ole Miss fans, especially after reports tied the guard to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Detroit Pistons. Under the conferences updated guidance, athletes who declare for pro drafts without withdrawing or who sign pro contracts can be ruled out, so there was real reason for confusion as Stephensons situation surfaced.
Now the picture is much cleaner for the Rebels. Stephenson is confirmed eligible because he did not officially sign the contract, which means he can suit up for Ole Miss next season after transferring in from FIU. For a roster still taking shape, that kind of clarity matters almost as much as the addition itself. [Read more 🡒]