For all the comments I get here about Alabama/Southern "uneducatedness", the comparison to the state of Utah makes us Alabamians look good.
Flagship State university in UT (Univ of Utah):
ACT bottom quartile 21
ACT top quartile 27
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/utah.htm
Flagship State University in AL (Bama)
ACT bottom quartile 22
ACT top quartile 30
And yes, we have other private strong in-state and regional schools that draw a lot of the top students away. (Auburn, Vanderbilt, Duke, Birmingham Southern, Samford, Sewanee, etc ...)