The University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business is named one of the top business schools for graduate students with an interest in marketing based on the latest annual research conducted by The Princeton Review. The student opinion results appear in the April 2009 issue of Entrepreneur magazine through a partnership with The Princeton Review.

The ranking, which does not list schools in order of preference, applies broadly to all graduate programs at the Lundquist College, with surveyed students singling out the college's James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center as "one of the best sports business programs nationally."

"This ranking is very much a reflection of how the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center has elevated our national prominence and reflects our commitment to providing our students with the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive business world," said Dean Dennis Howard.

Howard pointed to the uniqueness of the M.B.A. program at the Lundquist College and the fact that it offers focused curriculum tracks around four niche areas rather than traditional academic disciplines. These specialty areas correspond to the college's four centers of excellence: the James H. Warsaw Sports Marketing Center, the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship, the Center for Sustainable Business Practices, and the Securities Analysis Center.

The Princeton Review compiled the "Student Opinion Honors for Business Schools" list using data from its national survey of 19,000 current business school students attending 296 business schools profiled in its book Best 296 Business Schools: 2009 Edition. It was the first time the ranking appeared in Entrepreneur.

Here are some of the things students said about the Lundquist College of Business in their comments:

The teaching staff is "bright and accessible" and professors, "don't let you just sit back and take in the class to float through. They expect you to participate, make presentations, and contribute."

"A collaborative environment is fostered to breed the entrepreneurial spirit."

"We encourage competition in the classroom and (in) the field, but collaborative learning continues right up until exam time."

"If you want to learn about something, you can find a resource to learn it."

Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Center, said the student opinion poll is further evidence of how an education can be applied across industries complementary to sport.

"Many of the marketing principles and practices that are a fundamental part of the education we deliver at the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center can be applied to other areas," said Swangard. "We've had graduates go on to work for 'American Idol,' Coca Cola, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Visa, as well as for Nike, ESPN, and the NBA."

The Princeton Review ranking is the latest in a string of accolades for the Lundquist College of Business. Last September, another joint ranking by Entrepreneur and The Princeton Review rated the college twenty-third for graduate education in entrepreneurship. A study in The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked the college's marketing department eighth in the nation for research productivity. SportsBusiness Journal called the Warsaw Center "the premier sports marketing think tank."

Previous editions of The Princeton Review's Best Business Schools have highlighted the Lundquist College of Business as having one of the top six business school facilities in the country.