Academics weren't the factor in our probation. The leadership of our university and a few trustees having the majority of power were the issues. SACS stated in their report that 3 trustees had business ties that were too close to each other and thought they were forming some sort of power alliance that would keep those 3 in the majority. This is why they put us on probation. We have since forced out our old president who was doing a crummy job and severely restricted the influence our board has on every day decisions. In U.S. and News report, we were ranked 5th among SEC schools. Vandy was way ahead, and we were slightly behind Georgia, Floridia, and for the first time in 10 years, Alabama was 2 spots ahead of us. None of the other SEC schools were listed in the top 100. My sister brought home a list of GPA's you should expect to have if you want to get into certain schools. The counselors at her high school put it together looking at the average GPA of entering freshman at these respective schools. Not very scientific I know, but it gives an idea of where certain schools stand in terms of quality of their classes. We live in Georgia, just to be clear. Harvard 4.0+ Duke 4.0+ Vanderbilt 3.9 Tulane 3.9 UGA 3.75 Auburn 3.5 Florida 3.4 Clemson 3.2 Alabama 2.5
I would love to see Louisville or even aTm in the SEC in the near future. I know MOO U. has had some bad years, but it's sure W for every single SEC east team when they meet Vandy every single year... It's about a 80% chance of a W when they see UK on the schedule as well........
Vandy will never leave of their own volition. They make far more money via bowl money sharing, etc., in the SEC than they would elsewhere. Doubtful a majority of the other schools would want them to leave, either. I mean, the SEC is tough enough to not go and add yet another always-competitive school. BUT, if Vandy did drop and the league wanted to add a competitive school (but not a superpower like Miami or Fla St. This is a realistic dream list, not an insane one), here's my top 3 list: 1. Georgia Tech=Honestly, they give you the good vibes that come from having a studious private institution of higher learning that is also quite competitive in sports. Be nice to welcome the Wrambling Wreck back to the fold. 2.Va. Tech=great fan support, competitive teams. Not truly 'southeast', but neither is Arkansas. 3. Louisville=The football program is poised for great things. Might as well take on the best of the best if you're a Card fan.
You are ranking LSU too low. LSU is better than Alabama, South Carolina, Miss. State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and on par with Tennessee and it should be on par with Georgia. The range of graduate programs, institutes, and research programs at LSU compared to other SEC schools puts it ahead of a lot of schools and above Tulane. Don't let any greenies tell you that Tulane is better than LSU, when LSU has more graduate programs and more academic programs overall and gets more in government funding for research projects. Now what's really sad is that back in the 1930s LSU was considered by many to be on par with Texas and North Carolina as schools in the South. Thank Huey Long for that. LSU was also one of the first schools in the Deep South to integrate. But unforunately governors and politicians like McKeithen, Edwards and others decided that money should be taken from the Flagship school and given to other schools.
I would rank the schools like this...obviously this is very subjective, and shouldn't be taken seriously. Vanderbilt---all by themselves Georgia ----tier 2a Florida Auburn Alabama -----tier 2b LSU Kentucky South Carolina---tier 3 Tennessee Ole Miss ---tier 4 Arkansas Miss. St. ------i think the difference between Auburn, Alabama, LSU is very negligable, the only reason i put auburn one group up is because of when I was coming out of high school (3 years ago) it was slightly more difficult to get into than Alabama and LSU...but once again, that may have no bearing on the education you get.
I meant this really as a merely hypothetical.. playing NCAA FB 2k5 on my xbox, I like to start with a small school and move it up to a big conference (LSU is too damn easy to use), so it got me thinking on this matter...
Auburn is not even close to the level of UGA or UF. Whether it’s just reputation or ranking. Please spare us all As one of my friends parents told me when deciding on where there son and daughter would go, "If Tyler (kids name) doesn't get into Georgia, there is always Auburn to fall back on"
Top 120: Vanderbilt (18), Florida (50), UGA (58), Alabama (86), Auburn (90), Tennessee (90), South Carolina (117), Arkansas (120), Kentucky (120) Tier 3:LSU (but near the top, should transition soon), Mississippi State, Ole Miss These are in order, and sorry but we are 2 up from the bottom... this is per http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/ranknatudoc_brief.php although LSU, under the master plan of Emmertt has made leaps and bounds, we still have a long way to go.
I don't generally worry too much about the rankings of schools. A person can become well educated regardless of where he or she goes to school. The education received at LSU is as good as any other, in reality. The value of the education is better than many places.
