we really could have stopped at, "Because it's not the WAC!"
|
|
|
|
|
we really could have stopped at, "Because it's not the WAC!"
Wow! LA Tech is tied for 2nd best PUBLIC academic/scholastic school in CUSA, right behind UAB (surprisingly). Nice.Originally Posted by Dawg06
HD
nice
Doesn't UAB have a Med School?
They are known for turning out great Physician Assistants.
Truth be told, all the interesting places out west to visit have already left the WAC anyway, for the most part.
I have a question. I've never really paid much attention to the academic side of conference affiliation, so am always a bit left behind when people mention it as a bonus to be affiliated with really good academic schools in a conference. What are the tangible benefits Tech gets from being associated with such schools? How does it make our academics better just because we play each other in sports year round? To me, it seems like the LSUs/LSU-BR situation. LSUs is part of the LSU system, but they're still not considered an academic stalwart simply because they are associated with LSU-BR. Can someone give me examples of how our academic ranking and product will improve by simply playing these schools in all sports?
It all revolves around perception.
Many people believe that LSUS is part of LSU. Their provost stated that they feel more like LSU in today's The Times. LSUS being linked to LSU is the main reason that the merger failed. LSUS has built a decent local academic reputation. Did you see the quote in The Town Talk? "I chose LSUA because I could get an LSU education at an affordable price." Many students choose LSUS because they think it is LSU.
Our peer assessment rankings in USN&WR will improve as we now have 12 peer presidents in C-USA as opposed to only 5 in the WAC. This will help solidify our Tier 1 status and climb in the college rankings, which in turn, will attract better students and build a stronger academic reputation.
The news will be covering Tech vs. Rice, Tulane, Tulsa, etc. By association, that's much more prestigious than Tech vs. UL-U-Pick-Em, Troy, MTSU, etc.
It's all about status... who you hang out with. If you hang out with smart kids, other people will perceive you as being smart as well. As our perception improves, we will attract better students. As we enroll better students, everything else within the university will improve.
You can't really separate academics from athletics like many try to do. Those are 2 sides to one unified university.
Yes. It's the best public med school in the deep south and one of the best in the nation.
I believe both the B1G and Big East schools associate and cooperate together on research and other academic pursuits as well. So it tends to be a conference for both athletics and academics. Not sure if CUSA does it, but if not, Tech should be the leader in making that happen.
Good post.
HD
Thanks for the answer, but in my opinion, the highlited part seems to be the real only advantage to being associated with playing those teams as that will show direct results. While I know that schools also benefit from athletic association, I just don't buy that the academic excellence of one school is as easily transferred to another member school as you profess, simply because whenever I watch, say, Duke and North Carolina playing an ACC game, no one is talking about their respective degree programs and how much better an education you get at North Carolina because they play Duke in sports. I can understand the less intelligent being misled in cases of the LSUs and LSUa thinking they're actually getting a LSUbr degree more than I can someone thinking that a school that yearly plays several academically higher rated schools will give an equal education. Don't misunderstand me. I agree, based on the highlighted portion of your response that this is a great move academically as well, just not that the athletic association will be a boon to academics.
This.
And, becuase those collaborative efforts lead to GRANT money for research....which can be almost as lucrative as the Television money.
This is why the PAC12 passed on taking OU and OSU alone with getting the Longhorns. OU and OSU weren't the caliber of academic university the PAC was looking for. Neither is an AU 100 member.
Meanwhile, one of the attributes Mike Slive (SEC commissioner) talked about when the SEC expanded was adding 2 AU100 members in Texas A&M and Missouri. The SEC doubled its members by doing that. Previously, only Florida and Vanderbilt were on that level.
It's a factor. University Presidents are interested in it. And there's grant money at stake. We're not an AU100 member, but we are a respected research institution and I have a feeling our academic reputation helped us in our quest to enter C-USA.
The reason that this is such a great move is because of the money.
http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/2...ORTS/205270312
great article. thanks for sharing.
I find it very interesting that even though we are only getting a partial share of dispersment for the first three seasons....we'll still earn more in our first season with C-USA than we earned in our last season with the WAC
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
