If you read Playboy for the articles, you might be surprised to find Marquette seductively gracing the pages.

Recognized for having some of the best professor reviews, graduation rates and job placement percentages in the nation, the university received yet another distinction last Friday — best Catholic party school.

In its May 2010 issue, Playboy magazine gave Marquette the title in an article naming America’s top 10 party schools.

The article also included a list of what Playboy calls a “best in class” list, in which magazine editors note schools recognized in specific categories.

These categories include titles such as “best student section in basketball” (Michigan State), “College That Sounds Fun But Isn’t” (University of Nevada- Las Vegas), and “hottest girls” (Arizona State University).

Playboy editors determined the rankings, with contributions from the magazine’s campus representatives, models, photographers, online voters and student readers.

According to Playboy spokesman Stephen Mazeika, editors considered the question, “Where would someone who wants to live the Playboy lifestyle want to go to school?”

Mazeika said these editors looked for universities with educated and well-informed students and “took much more into consideration than a school’s party scene.”

“They also considered school spirit, local music scene, proximity to off-campus entertainment, social opportunities and the general vibrancy of campus life,” Mazeika said. “The editors were looking for universities where students could receive an excellent education and also have great social opportunities at their disposal.”

Although Marquette did not make the top 10 overall list, Playboy editors gave Marquette the “best Catholic party school” designation for several different reasons.

Marquette’s large student body, good sports, abundance of local bars and Milwaukee location gives students numerous social opportunities, Mazeika said.

Mazeika said editors chose Marquette because it “has the full package.”

“Whether that’s kegs and eggs for the basketball games, big house parties, attending a Brewers game or a brewery tour, we feel that Marquette students have deservedly earned this title,” Mazeika said.

Mazeika also said Marquette exemplifies the age-old mantra of “work hard, play hard.”

“We’ve heard that class attendance is strict, but the bars are always packed, which tells us that Marquette students know how to go out and have a good time and still take care of business,” he said.

In the fifth published list of rankings, Playboy named the University of Texas at Austin first, Marquette’s Big East competitor West Virginia University second, and in-state adversary University of Wisconsin-Madison third.

The ranking came as a bit of a surprise to some students, who suggested that Marquette had “rivalry” for the title.

“I think that considering our competition, like Boston College, Notre Dame and Villanova, I was really surprised,” said Brendan McNelis, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Other students had mixed emotions about the title, suggesting it may cast the university in a negative light.

“I don’t know how to feel about it, maybe embarrassed,” said Shannon Hayes, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. “I just feel that it may be detrimental to the incoming students and their parents because parents don’t pay for partying. They pay for education.”