Daniel Funke

University of Georgia

University of Georgia Bulldogs are known for their love of football and their Southern charm — and now for superior sexual health, too.

In its 11th annual Sexual Health Report Card, Trojan ranked Georgia the No. 1 college for sexual health resources, beating out Oregon State University -- which was No. 1 last year -- and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor for the top spot.

"The university demonstrated a strong commitment to sexual health on campus, which resulted in its rise to the top spot from its No. 3 ranking in 2015," according to a Trojan press release.



Related: Let's talk about sex: Trojan ranks top schools for sexual health

The University of Oregon and the University of Texas at Austin were also in the top five. Georgia's ranking marks a significant increase from its No. 15 spot in 2014. At the bottom of the list were Notre Dame, St. John's University and Brigham Young.

Each year, Trojan ranks 140 schools from around the country on the quality of resources at their student health centers. Conducted by Sperling’s BestPlaces, the ranking takes into account each school's quality of online sexual health information, contraceptive and condom availability, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and sexual assault programs.

Among the reasons Georgia took home top honors -- and reached the top slot after coming in at No. 15 just two years ago -- are the university's "commitment to contraceptive availability, HIV/STI testing and superior sexual health resources on campus," according to Trojan.

Specific programs that Trojan highlighted include the Condom Express, which delivers free condoms to students on campus, and the Project Condom Exhibition, a fashion show exhibiting students' condom designs. (Yes, really.)

Georgia students met news of the Trojan ranking with pride.

Zeeshan Zaidi, a senior management information systems major, said she wasn't surprised by the ranking since the university health center always promotes its sexual health programs on campus.

"It's cool that they give out free stuff to poor college students, like condoms, because I guess most people use them regularly," she told USA TODAY College. "On-campus (resources) are free and convenient."

Jeremiah Sellers, a senior risk management and insurance major, said he sees people handing out free condoms all the time in Tate Plaza, in the middle of campus.

"I've taken some from those tables before," he said.

Qu'ran Milord, a junior economics major, said one of the most notable resources he's seen on campus is the Condom Express, one of Trojan's reasons for ranking Georgia No. 1.

"I think that's great, personally, to have free condoms all the time, programs about sexual health and just being smart and staying protected," he said. "It's weird, but I definitely know people who do use it."

Not every Bulldog rides the Condom Express, though.

Austin Ingram, a sophomore business management major, said he doesn't use the resources that the university provides, but he's still glad to see that Trojan ranked his school highly for health initiatives.

"Aside from my own personal beliefs on when sex should occur, like in marriage, I guess it's a good thing that we're rated so highly," he said. "I think it's great that UGA cares about the health of its students."

We'll leave Sellers' final word right here for you: "The more free condoms, the better."

Trojan's entire 2016 Sexual Health Report Card is here.



Daniel Funke is a student at University of Georgia and a USA TODAY College lead digital producer.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.