Franek said the Princeton Review won't retire the category the way sports teams retire the jerseys of their greatest players. So, how about a Hall of Fame?

"A Princeton Review Hall of Fame?" he said, laughing. "A 10th year at No. 1 for BYU would be a great reason to start one."

The only mystery left now is why BYU's dominance, now longer than the dynastic run of the Boston Celtics — eight straight NBA championships — didn't start earlier.

In 1997, BYU, which had been second on the "Stone Cold Sober" list the year before, was left out of the top 10. The headline in the Deseret Morning News the next day announced the shocking news: "What an affront!"

The winner that year was the California Institute of Technology. Caltech has been among runners-up to BYU ever since.

Franek didn't join the Princeton Review until the following year and doesn't have an answer for the 1997 omission. The best speculation is there was a disconnect in the paper surveys done at the time. Now, 93 percent of the surveys are completed online.

"The Best 361 Colleges" goes on sale today. It includes a two-page profile on each school. The list will be available to the public Tuesday at www.PrincetonReview.com.

BYU students also ranked No. 1 for "Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution," No. 2 for "Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch" (low use of hard liquor), No. 3 for low acceptance of the gay community and for right-leaning politics and No. 4 for best college library.

It also was mentioned for best quality of life, good relations with its host city, participation in intramural sports, happiest students and good administration.

University of Utah students complained about their lack of access to professors (eighth-worst in the country) and ranked No. 9 for most religious. U. students also were 18th for low acceptance of the gay community.

Westminster College is profiled in the book but didn't make any lists. Utah State University and Southern Utah University were not profiled.

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