Top 10 Party Schools 2009

#1 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
When you combine weather and women, no city in the country is hotter than Miami. That’s why the U garnered our highest Bikini index score. Although Nikki Beach is the most beautiful topless seashore in the country, a recent grad raves about “hard-bodied coeds laying out on the campus lake between classes.” Frat parties rage, but you don’t have to know a secret handshake to stay out late; some clubs and bars in South Beach are permitted to stay open 24 hours a day. The University of Miami is the only private school to crack our top 10, and while its academics are in no way close to those of the Ivy League, you can get a great education here without skimping on fun. In the future Miami’s number will rise in the sports category, thanks to Randy Shannon. One simple statement solidifies the University of Miami as 2009’s number one Playboy Party School: Other colleges come to its city for spring break. Nuff said. Click here to see photos and video from Playboy's Top Party Schools 2009 party in Miami.

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#2 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
Everything is actually bigger in Texas: Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, parties, cup sizes, etc. Before metal bands threw up the “rock-on” hand gesture, Texas students were signaling their undying love for the Longhorns. That same gesture could now symbolize “Number two on the Playboy Party Schools list!” The city of Austin has become a mecca for forward-thinking people, as well as a hot music scene, thanks to the South by Southwest festival. The students also like to party, whether on Sixth Street or at an off-campus apartment. Sam, a physics major, has a hazy memory of one bacchanal at West Campus: “Twenty kegs and 13 jugs of trash-can punch… what was a bikini party morphed into women dancing half naked. Didn’t end till four in the morning.” Austin, we raise a Texas toast to you. Steers and cheers.

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#3 SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
SDSU has made every party school list we’ve compiled (that’s four, by the way). Playboy U reps took their cameras to the university’s Reggae Sun Splash last year, and when they asked why SDSU is a party school, one cutie eloquently replied, “Because we rage like it’s our fucking job.” Chris, a business major, informed us that SDSU’s motto is “Study hard, party harder.” Our researchers assure us the school’s actual slogan is “Minds that move the world,” but we suggest the administration adopt the former. Written in Latin, it would be harmless.

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#4 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
After the Princeton Review put Gainesville at the top of its party school list, Stephanie, a journalism major with a 3.2 GPA, told us, “We’re obsessed with defending our titles, be it for sports or partying. Our athletic teams are a constant cause for celebration—four national championships since the 2009 seniors stepped on campus. We somehow manage to kick ass in class despite our pounding hangovers. Furthermore, we live in the swamp, which means clothing is optional 10 months out of the year.” The contingent you nominated as the hottest girls on the Gainesville campus is the Dazzlers, the dance team that once boasted Playboy.com’s sexiest sideline reporter, Erin Andrews, as a member. Southern hospitality is our favorite aspect of the Gators. Ricky, a bio major, says, “You can go down any street near campus, and if the lights are on and people are going crazy, that’s enough of an invitation.”

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#5 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
The Zona school that traditionally gets the love is ASU, and though we think Tempe is a great place to spend a threeday weekend, four years are better spent at U of A in Tucson. Consider some of its party names: Natural Disaster, Heaven and Hell, Fubar, Jungle Party. Sounds wild. Leo, a senior, describes the biggest decision of his life thusly: “When I was applying to schools, it was between the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Would I rather walk around in board shorts and sandals, looking at gorgeous girls in bikinis for eight months out of the year or shovel snow and freeze my nuts off in Boulder? I made the right decision.”

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#6 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON
The top party school from our previous list makes it again as the northernmost representative. Negative: It’s cold, no doubt. Positive: It has the coldest beer on any campus. The Badgers are rabid football and basketball fans no matter how their teams are doing (and that’s good, considering how they’ve been doing lately). If we have any complaint about the fans, it’s that the guys should keep their shirts on—leave the body paint to the girls at our Mansion events. Wisconsin cannot be denied its parties on State and Mifflin streets. Oh yeah, Madison is also a pretty good place to get an education.

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#7 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
It’s like a Southern party schools summit: When Georgia and Florida play each other in football every season, they hold the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party. The Dawgs do it right in Athens, where Chad, a politicalscience major with a 3.6 GPA, claims, “We have more bars than Bourbon Street, and they are all within walking distance of one another—the best nightlife and downtown bar scene anywhere.” While that’s open to debate, there is no question Georgia celebrates baseball correctly, by yipping it up behind the outfield fence. Bonus: the hottest sorority girls in the country.

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#8 LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
It’s Mardi Gras all the time. Even in a recession the going rate for a string of beads is one quick flash. From the sororities to the chemistry labs to the Golden Girls dance line, you can’t hide from the hotties here. Supersenior Ariane assures us, “While the faculty is reportedly concerned about the party school label, the students are as proud as ever. Just because we have one of the best vet and business schools in the nation doesn’t mean we don’t know how to keep our partying heritage alive!”

Click here to see a Louisiana State University Coed »

#9 UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
At football games the Hawkeyes sing, “In heaven there is no beer; that’s why we’re drinkin’ here,” Iowa City being “here.” It certainly isn’t a vacation destination, but that may be because it isn’t for lightweights or the faint of heart. From an ASU student: “Iowa’s tailgating scene is like nothing I’ve seen before. Case in point: the Magic School Bus. It’s two school buses, one with a stage built on top and the other with keg after keg inside, with taps coming out the sides. There was an awesome blues band playing, and during the band’s breaks girls would get on top of the bus, dance and, among other things, show us what they were working with. We missed the first half of the game because we were having so much fun.” Also, you haven’t lived if you haven’t shared a roll in the hay with a corn-fed Midwestern girl.

Click here to see a University of Iowa Coed »

#10 WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
In Morgantown, the quintessential college town, the school is the only show around, and when the Mountaineers do well (or terribly) the students go nuts. Being in the Pit before a football game is like being in the Thunderdome. Anyone who flips a car because of a sporting event needs to rethink his life, but we won’t let a few meatheads spoil the fun for the rest of us. WVU doesn’t need an excuse to party. Kati, a fashion major, explains: “No matter what day of the week or where—the bars, the frat houses or Grant Street—you can find a party.” Frank, who is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, tells us, “Everyone who graduates from WVU has a minor in alcohol.” When the party comes to an unfortunate close, Frank, we’d leave that off the résumé.

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Did your school not crack the top 10? See the rest of the list here.