As the college football season reaches its fevered pitch and its annual posturing for conference supremacy and BCS title contention, homeowners across the country are looking at more than just box scores. Matching BCS towns with popular projects, this list shows power rankings for both home improvements and which towns are strongest within each category. ServiceMagic.com, an online resource for linking homeowners to local home improvement contractors, has recorded project requests per 100,000 people for each BCS town for the third quarter of 2008—including the first half of the college football season.
#1 Big 12: Bathroom Remodel
Never a slouch, the Big 12 Conference has been top-heavy in years past. This year, the conference is so strong at the top—occupying three of the top five and five of the top 13 spots in the BCS computer rankings—that it has to be considered top dog thus far. In our home improvement power rankings, the top spot belongs to bathroom remodels. In the top three, year in and year out, bathroom remodels get the nod over its big brother, kitchen remodels, as homeowners look for remodeling projects on a more modest budget.
Big 12 Conference Champion (Bathroom Remodel): University of Colorado (Boulder)—6.9
At-Large Bid: University of Texas (Austin)—6.8
#2 SEC: Kitchen Remodel
As a perennial powerhouse, no conference garners the attention of the SEC. Is it the best conference? By how much? Or, is it overrated? Kitchen remodels can take on the same type of aura in the home improvement arena. It's hard to argue that the kitchen isn't the most important area of the house, from feeding your family to the value of your home, but some people mistakenly believe that kitchen remodels pay for themselves in additional property value. Only kitchens in need of work and families who will use and appreciate these improvements should plunge head first into this massive undertaking.
SEC Conference Champion (Kitchen Remodel): University of Kentucky (Lexington)—3.4
At-Large Bid: Vanderbilt University (Nashville)—3.0
#3 Big Ten: Heating
Sure, the Big Ten may not have the highly-touted, speed-oriented defenses of the SEC, but have you ever tried to play collegiate football in The Big House or The Horseshoe at the end of November? Quality heating systems are the smash-mouth projects of home improvement. Yes, tailgaters will put up with almost anything, but coming back to a pleasantly warm house after the game is the best home field advantage out there. That's why home heating projects are third in our home improvement power rankings.
Big Ten Conference Champion (Heating): University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)—4.9
At-Large Bid: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)—4.3
#4 ACC: Air Conditioning
ACC Conference Champion (A/C): North Carolina (Chapel Hill)—5.8*
#5 Pac 10: Deck Installation
Pac-10 Conference Champion (Decks): University of Washington (Seattle)—8.0
#6 Big East: House Painting
Boston College isn't going to be thrilled, but this year's other top teams—Miami (FL), North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Maryland—show the warm climate culture of the conference. Of course, it's hard to argue that the ACC deserves to be placed any higher than fourth, and football is a cold weather sport. Plus, according to The Green Guide, overall this country spends more energy on home heating than air conditioning. That said, in warmer climates, air conditioning can easily become the top annual energy consumption for your home.
At-Large Bid: Georgia Tech (Atlanta)—4.8
*This number represents the Research Triangle area, including North Carolina, Duke, and North Carolina State. We used the schools' records as a tiebreaker.
From the beautiful Mediterranean climate of central and southern California to the truly idyllic summers of the Pacific Northwest, the Pac-10 is a region whose spirit is inculcated by the outdoors. As such, this conference demonstrates one of the least appreciated principles of home improvement: not all of your home has to be located inside the house. Deck installation is also a great alternative for homeowners who can't afford to build an addition to their home and for homes that can't accommodate adding on to the current design. Much like the difference between USC and the lower half of the conference, you can build a multi-tiered, luxury deck or a simple patio deck.
At-Large Bid: University of California at Berkeley—5.9
For the past few years, West Virginia has been the standard-bearer for the Big East, but the conference's true identity may be found in a group of scrappy underdogs that comprise the middle of the conference. Powerhouses take any of these Big East teams for granted at their own peril. So it is with house painting. Do it yourself—and do it sloppily—and this can't-miss project can become a serious home improvement turnover. Hire a professional house painter, on the other hand, and you can transform the look of your home for pennies on the dollar of a kitchen or bath remodel.
