At the very least, Alabama snapped a four-year drought of the college football champion not appearing in the NCAA tournament.

That the Tide lost in the closing seconds to Creighton in their first game means little. The connection had been reestablished for the first time since Florida won the 2006 football national title, and the 2006-07 basketball championship.

With that in mind, here are the nation's top 10 dual-sport schools, the best combination of elite football and basketball programs. This isn't just a one-year ranking; it's about the present and future of the two sports.

1. Florida

Football: It wasn't that long ago that Florida was the nation's elite program. Give Will Muschamp time to clean up the mess Urban Meyer left behind, and the Gators will again compete for national championships.

Basketball: There may not be a more underrated basketball program. The Gators have won at least 20 games the last 14 seasons. Back-to-back national titles in 2007-08 were backed up by back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2011-12.

The future: If football wins big again--and there's no reason to think it won't under Muschamp--no one touches this duo. There are too many advantages--recruiting, facilities, support--for both not to succeed.

2. Ohio State

Football: Used to be that Ohio State couldn't win the big one. Now there are no excuses. The Buckeyes have one of the game's top two coaches--and all the same advantages former coach Jim Tressel used to win all of those Big Ten titles.

Basketball: Thad Matta has the Buckeyes back in the Final Four for the second time in five years, and Ohio State has been a dominant presence since Matta arrived in 2004 under the cloud of an NCAA investigation (hello, Urb). OSU was ineligible for postseason play in Matta's first season (hello, Urb), and won the Big Ten in Year 2.

The future: Basketball couldn't be more secure; football is more dicey. If Meyer is the same coach who built Florida into the best program in the nation, Ohio State wins big and could move to No.1 on this list. If he's the "burned out" coach who left Florida when its roster was shaky, Michigan will regain control of the football rivalry.

3. Wisconsin

Football: In what could be the only (and maybe last) successful coach-in-waiting scenario, Bret Bielema has won 60 games in six seasons and taken the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowls. All that without landing a truly elite recruiting class. That's coaching.

Basketball: A near mortal lock: Wisconsin advancing in the first round of the NCAA tournament. So Bo Ryan's teams play Crawl Ball; this is a problem because? In eight of his 11 seasons, the Badgers have won at least 24 games and have advanced to the Sweet 16 four times.

The future: Bielema and Ryan aren't rock stars, but they're strong coaches who get the most out of less heralded recruits. The Badgers are rising fast on the list.

4. Michigan State

Football: Here's what Mark Dantonio means to the Spartans: Michigan State no longer is Michigan State. In other words, there aren't confounding losses and underachieving. The back-to-back 11-win seasons are impressive; the complete culture change--from finesse to fight--is staggering.

Basketball: There hasn't been a more consistently great team over the last decade than the Spartans. Better than Duke, better than North Carolina, better than Kansas or Kentucky or Florida. And that's all Tom Izzo, the fiery coach with the legendary practices and efficient game days.

Future: Let's see what happens with the surging football program now that rival Michigan seems to have righted itself. Basketball, meanwhile, will be among the elite in the nation as long as Izzo is around.

5. Texas

Football: This is an important season for Longhorns coach Mack Brown, whose program has taken a hit with back-to-back sub-Texas seasons. You can get away with calling two seasons and 13 total wins an anomaly. A third season of not competing for the Big 12 championship becomes a trend.

Basketball: Say what you want about Texas under Rick Barnes (he can't win the tournament, etc.), but his teams have a 14-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances. And 13 straight 20-win seasons.

The future: An odd situation, at best. Both Brown and Barnes are beloved in Austin; both for their sustained success and community involvement. But at some point, they have to win big again--or keep falling down the list.

6. West Virginia

Football: Something that's lost in the moment: Dana Holgorsen's first season of success at WVU was simply more of what we've come to expect--at least, outside the Bill Stewart years. Before Stewart, Rich Rodriguez had taken the Mountaineers to unthinkable heights with Big East championships and big bowl wins.

Basketball: Few things are as entertaining in the NCAA tournament as a Bob Huggins-coached team. In an age of run and shoot, Huggins' teams win with defense and guts.

The future: The move to the Big 12 gives the entire program some stability, but there's still the unknown factor of how much longer Huggins coaches, and if WVU can keep Holgorsen from a bigger job.

7. Alabama

Football: Let's see: two national titles in the last three years; and it could have been three in four if a certain quarterback everyone thinks can't throw didn't make three perfect third-down touchdown throws in the 2008 SEC Championship Game. And--yep, and--no one recruits better.

Basketball: Anthony Grant took a stand this year with suspensions of key players, and still found a way to get a young Alabama team in the tournament. Once Florida coach Billy Donovan's top assistant, Grant won big at VCU and will take the Tide deeper in the tournament down the road.

The future: How much potential is there? The Tide could jump all the way to No.1 if Grant does what most think he will--and if Nick Saban continues to dominate all things college football.

8. Michigan

Football: After three years of wrong time, wrong fit, Michigan nailed it with Brady Hoke. You want to talk fit? Hoke took the same players Rich Rodriguez used, rebuilt the coaching staff and won 11 games. Wait and see what happens once he strings together two or three top five recruiting classes.

Basketball: John Beilein--one of the game's true good guys--in 2007 walked into a program in utter shambles. There still were huge expectations in Ann Arbor, too. This program still is finding its way (lost as a No.4 seed two weeks ago), but Beilein has things trending up.

The future: It all revolves around football. While Beilein has done good things (and will do better things), Hoke must elevate Michigan back to the elite. That means competing for Big Ten and national titles.

9. Oklahoma

Football: No one had more success in the 2000s than Bob Stoops, whose teams dominated the second-best conference in the game, won a national title and played in three others. The Sooners have won at least 10 games in 10 of Stoops' 13 years in Norman.

Basketball: The Sooners were a national power not so long ago. That was before Kelvin Sampson arrived and left three years of NCAA probation in his wake. Lon Kruger won at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV--and he'll win at Oklahoma.

The future: OU had a national-championship caliber team last fall, and quarterback Landry Jones regressed from his first two seasons in Norman. If he can become the player he was--or even surpass that--the Sooners will be national title contenders again. Kruger will get OU back in the NCAA tournament next season.

10. Baylor

Football: It's more than Robert Griffin III. It's a coach (Art Briles) with a plan and a philosophy--and a commitment to stay at the school and cultivate it. Briles could have left Baylor for a bigger job; instead, Baylor rewarded Briles with a big contract and a proposed new football stadium that has Baylor primed for long-term staying power.

Basketball: Baylor easily could have given up on Scott Drew, even though he was in an untenable position following Dave Bliss and NCAA probation. Four years of building have led to a program that recruits among the nation's elite and has been to the Elite Eight in two of the last three seasons.

The future: The key is football. How quickly can the new stadium be built (for recruiting purposes), and how quickly can the Bears capitalize on it with uncertainty at three other major Texas programs (Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M)?