American Athletic Conference

[shocka khan]

Going off of the TOP COLLEGE rankings (Forbes and NewsWeek)-- Tulane, UCONN, SMU, and Tulsa are certainly tier-one schools...In all seriousness-- I may have just discovered my thesis...

I'm an econ-masters student right now, and I have a huge comeuppance with how these rankings are formulated. How is endownment size a variable in the academic rankings?! Same with graduation rates-- ALL the military academies have dang near 100% graduation rates and are, coincidentally, top 20 colleges in the US.... There has to be a better ranking system.

Not trying to quibble with you, but just read this (ref:http://www.uh.edu/about/tier-one/tier-one-faq/ ). And the definition, much to my surprise, might also extend to Tulane and SMU since they are private schools. I also noted during my search of this topic that SMU's endowment fund is a whopping 1.05 BILLION (with a B).

One final disclaimer: TTech is now a tier-1 school, the information I'm quoting from here is dated.
"What exactly is “Tier One”?
“Tier One,” “Top Tier” and “Nationally Competitive Research University” are terms used interchangeably to refer to universities known for world-class research, academic excellence, an exceptional student body, and the highest levels of innovation, creativity and scholarship. Because of these accomplishments, these universities enjoy a national “brand,” recognition and prestige.

Who determines if a university is Tier One?
Within the academic community, there are three organizations that are generally accepted as national arbiters of an institution’s rank as a Tier One institution. They are the Association of American Universities, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Center for Measuring University Performance, which issues Top American Research University (TARU) reports. Recognition by any of these three is taken as an indication of Tier One status.

Has the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recognized UH as a Tier One research university?
Yes. In its most recent classification of universities, issued in January 2011, the Carnegie Foundation categorized UH as a Research University with “very high research activity” (RU/VH), the highest classification given to research universities and the equivalent of Tier One status. It joins the University of Texas and Texas A&M as the only public universities in Texas in this top tier."

[DwShock]

I am sure that the next development will be the Student Government Association having a hissy-fit because they were not involved in the decision.

This might be the best comment yet. I watched on of the SGA meetings and one of the senators made a comment rudely about does it have anything to do with men's basketball. What happened to kids going to college to get an education and not be so political about every little subject.

[calfan]

I am happy to move on to the AAC. If some of you need the comfort of a final vote
To make you feel better, so be it. I will celebrate today!!!

It's a great day to be a Shocker!

[shocka khan]

Tulane is an absolutely premier academic institution. Tier-1 etc. has been discussed on here some, but it has its limitations and should not be used as your only metric for determining a quality institution. Tulane may or may not be Tier 1, I don't know. But they're probably a top 50 university.

Now that I've done my research, I would say both Tulane and SMU are 'probably' tier-1 schools. The reason you hear so much about most of the others are they are state schools (not private) so your tax dollars (at least in UH's case) go towards achieving that distinction.

Bottom line is if you're a private school with a $1.05 billion dollar endowment fund, you can pretty much fund it yourself and avoid the public scrutiny.

Would sure be nice if the Kochs could help put WSU over the top, as I would bet if WSU stated a long-term goal of being a tier-1 school, our P-5 bretheren would be moving heaven and earth to stop it, just like they did with the medical school and the law school back in the 60's.

[shocka khan]

This might be the best comment yet. I watched on of the SGA meetings and one of the senators made a comment rudely about does it have anything to do with men's basketball. What happened to kids going to college to get an education and not be so political about every little subject.

I bet you did not go to college back in the late 60's or early 70's :)

Step into the time machine, we were kids back then. Kids do stupid stuff. It really looks stupid to us now that we have some age and experience and are perhaps not as 'politically correct' as our children and grandchildren.

[HockeyShock]

This might be the best comment yet. I watched on of the SGA meetings and one of the senators made a comment rudely about does it have anything to do with men's basketball. What happened to kids going to college to get an education and not be so political about every little subject.

Honest to goodness, if you want to troll SGA and keep them busy, go print up a bunch of fliers saying "SGA DEFUNDING OUR PROGRAMS!!" and post them up in Duerksen and Lindquist. Budget meetings should be coming up soon, and YOU have an opportunity to ensure a few sleepless nights for your SGA senators.

I speak from experience.

[wusphlash]

Honest to goodness, if you want to troll SGA and keep them busy, go print up a bunch of fliers saying "SGA DEFUNDING OUR PROGRAMS!!" and post them up in Duerksen and Lindquist. Budget meetings should be coming up soon, and YOU have an opportunity to ensure a few sleepless nights for your SGA senators.

I speak from Russian experience.

FIFY.

[Ponyuptempo]

Are Tulane and SMU Tier-1? Pony, I know you're proud of your school, but I also live in Texas, and the tier-1 schools are UT, A&M, Texas Tech and U of H. Further, there is only one tier-1 schools in Louisiana (LSU) that I am aware of.

But I will also say Tulane and SMU's academics are waaaayyyy above the rest of the valley (for instance, the Edwin L. Cox school of business at SMU and the Medical School at Tulane).

Shocka Khan,

Smu's Endowment is 1.5 billion https://www.smu.edu/AboutSMU/Facts , you short changed us by a cool 500M :)

When compared to all other university Globally, SMU #66 (@1.5 billion endowment( http://www.thebestschools.org/featur...sity-research/ ) , right behind university of Oklahoma and university of Florida and ahead of Georgetown, Kansas and Iowa. Texas Tech is #77 on this list with a endowment of 1.195 Billion and Tulane is 78(1.18 billion) The university of Houston doesn't even make this list due to it's 716 million endowment.

[fansince80s]

I am happy to move on to the AAC. If some of you need the comfort of a final vote
To make you feel better, so be it. I will celebrate today!!!

It's a great day to be a Shocker!

Yes, I feel it too. 17-18 is happening. Force runs strong in the family.

[asiseeit]

1. Two divisions? Which one would we be in?
2. H/H with division opponents and single games with the others?

[Cdizzle]

1. Two divisions? Which one would we be in?

The first division.

The top of the first division.

[SHOCKvalue]

Kahn is an awful, awful poster. Like a batsh*t crazy, yappy a**, miniature dog. Running around the house, sh*tting everywhere, running headlong into walls while simultaneously running its mouth.

Thanks for causing a forum war with people we still HOPE will be our conference mates. Solid work, you nincompoop.

[WuDrWu]

how About A fresCa?

I want a hamburger.........No, a cheeseburger.

I want a hot dog, I want a milkshake.

[wheathead]

I want a hamburger.........No, a cheeseburger.

I want a hot dog, I want a milkshake.

I can't read any of your posts now without looking for hidden meanings in the caps. Uuuugh.

[WichitaStateGuy]

$1.6mm per NCAA tourny win for the men...

Anyone know what it is for the women? I'd be surprised if it's half that amount.