Conference Realignment: Birds of a feather flock together

[Rappin'Rodney]

“Birds of a feather flock together.” You’ve heard that old adage, right? But what does it mean? Well, as far as individuals are concerned, it means that like-minded people tend to aggregate together to form groups, such as clubs, associations and larger communities. Just as people with similar interests congregate together, so do institutions with similar missions, such as universities. On September 12th, 2012, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article by Andrea Fuller entitled, “In Selecting Peers for Comparison's Sake, Colleges Look Upward.” The article briefly explains how a university views its peer group, and which metrics a university uses to compare itself to other universities. The author also discusses how a university selects which universities that it wishes to emulate (aspirational peers).

One vitally important question that constantly crops-up in the seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs that is conference realignment is, “Who are my university’s peers?” When the music stops, and everyone grabs a chair, at which table does your university want to be sitting? Where does it feel the most comfortable? From which institutions can we generate the most synergy? Who shares our mission and common objectives? With whom can we collaborate to generate the best research from our university?

The aforementioned article by Fuller is a good starting point for answering these questions. It’s a brief primer for her article co-authored with Brian O’Leary entitled, “Who Does Your College Think Its Peers Are?” If you want better insight into conference realignment from an institutional perspective, read both articles. Then, take a long look around the interactive portion of the second article. IMO, it’s really at the heart of the decision makers’ thought processes in conference realignment, at least from a Big Ten perspective. So who are the gatekeepers/ decision makers? Are they the donors, boosters, alumni and Athletic Directors? For all intents and purposes, no. The ultimate decision is of course being made by Presidents, Chancellors, Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, etc.

So, if you’re a decision maker, the interactive will help you answer the following questions: 1) which universities does my institution perceive as its peers? 2) Which institutions view my university as their peer? 3) Is my university’s peerage reciprocated by our perceived peers? 4) Does my university have any potential allies to help usher its way into its chosen peer group?

So, what’s the verdict? After completing this exercise, do you have any new positive/negative perceptions? Do you have any new insights into whom the competition is in conference realignment? One caveat to keep in mind is that the interactive is based on 2012 data. So, If UConn isn’t where it wants to be, how does it get there? Who is going to help UConn arrive at its preferred destination?

 

[1husky]

“Birds of a feather flock together.” You’ve heard that old adage, right? But what does it mean? Well, as far as individuals are concerned, it means that like-minded people tend to aggregate together to form groups, such as clubs, associations and larger communities. Just as people with similar interests congregate together, so do institutions with similar missions, such as universities. On September 12th, 2012, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article by Andrea Fuller entitled, “In Selecting Peers for Comparison's Sake, Colleges Look Upward.” The article briefly explains how a university views its peer group, and which metrics a university uses to compare itself to other universities. The author also discusses how a university selects which universities that it wishes to emulate (aspirational peers).

One vitally important question that constantly crops-up in the seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs that is conference realignment is, “Who are my university’s peers?” When the music stops, and everyone grabs a chair, at which table does your university want to be sitting? Where does it feel the most comfortable? From which institutions can we generate the most synergy? Who shares our mission and common objectives? With whom can we collaborate to generate the best research from our university?

The aforementioned article by Fuller is a good starting point for answering these questions. It’s a brief primer for her article co-authored with Brian O’Leary entitled, “Who Does Your College Think Its Peers Are?” If you want better insight into conference realignment from an institutional perspective, read both articles. Then, take a long look around the interactive portion of the second article. IMO, it’s really at the heart of the decision makers’ thought processes in conference realignment, at least from a Big Ten perspective. So who are the gatekeepers/ decision makers? Are they the donors, boosters, alumni and Athletic Directors? For all intents and purposes, no. The ultimate decision is of course being made by Presidents, Chancellors, Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, etc.

So, if you’re a decision maker, the interactive will help you answer the following questions: 1) which universities does my institution perceive as its peers? 2) Which institutions view my university as their peer? 3) Is my university’s peerage reciprocated by our perceived peers? 4) Does my university have any potential allies to help usher its way into its chosen peer group?

So, what’s the verdict? After completing this exercise, do you have any new positive/negative perceptions? Do you have any new insights into whom the competition is in conference realignment? One caveat to keep in mind is that the interactive is based on 2012 data. So, If UConn isn’t where it wants to be, how does it get there? Who is going to help UConn arrive at its preferred destination?

One thing I never see mentioned in all this CR talk is who will be our champion in the B1G? I had assumed incorrectly we could count on Syracuse and maybe PITT in the ACC but obviously they want nothing to do with us since we embarrassed them regularly. We need a school in the B1G that really wants us to join and will work on our behalf internally. Not sure who that would be. Possibly Rutgers but they will have no influence, probably ever.

 

[Seaa Blue]

I think your primary connections are with Northwestern and Michigan (Susan, Warde).

With any luck you might get a nod from Michigan president Mark Schlissel, former provost at Brown University.

 

[Kolumbo]

As you said, "...at least from a Big Ten perspective," and it makes a lot of sense. We do have some ties to the Big 10 so hopefully they consider UCONN a worthy peer. All the more reason to avoid the ACC. That bunch is all over the map, and all the UNC and UVA talk about possibly leaving? I could easily see their motiviation.

 

[dayooper]

I think your primary connections are with Northwestern and Michigan (Susan, Warde).

With any luck you might get a nod from Michigan president Mark Schlissel, former provost at Brown University.

Although UConn may have connections with NW and UM, those two are notoriously stingy when it comes to academics. They may look upon UConn as non AAU schools with little old school prestige. I believe your champions need the two NE schools: PSU and Rutgers. They are the closest distance wise, and Rutgers has had many years of being their partner.

 

[Rappin'Rodney]

One thing I never see mentioned in all this CR talk is who will be our champion in the B1G? I had assumed incorrectly we could count on Syracuse and maybe PITT in the ACC but obviously they want nothing to do with us since we embarrassed them regularly. We need a school in the B1G that really wants us to join and will work on our behalf internally. Not sure who that would be. Possibly Rutgers but they will have no influence, probably ever.

Did you try to use the interactive applet in the second article?

 

[NickyNewark]

Although UConn may have connections with NW and UM, those two are notoriously stingy when it comes to academics. They may look upon UConn as non AAU schools with little old school prestige. I believe your champions need the two NE schools: PSU and Rutgers. They are the closest distance wise, and Rutgers has had many years of being their partner.

Funny how you had it figured out more than some of my local friends when its as plain as the nose on their face!?! I just shook my head in resignation with 1 or 2 of the earlier posters!! Sometimes you're friends are right next to you and 1 even thought SU or Pitt was a possibility? lol...nothing at all in common!

 

[Rappin'Rodney]

Although UConn may have connections with NW and UM, those two are notoriously stingy when it comes to academics. They may look upon UConn as non AAU schools with little old school prestige. I believe your champions need the two NE schools: PSU and Rutgers. They are the closest distance wise, and Rutgers has had many years of being their partner.

I believe UConn's ticket to the B1G has a Northwestern connection, but it's not Susan Herbst. If I had to guess, I'd say it involves the brainchild of a Northwestern researcher.

I think your primary connections are with Northwestern and Michigan

I'm just going to throw this out there: IMO, UConn's primary connection is neither with Michigan, nor Northwestern. However, this person is a known quantity in the B1G. In fact, he's currently an adjunct professor at a B1G school; he's currently an adjunct professor at a B1G-affiliated school; he's currently leading a corporation that's very near and dear to UConn's heart; IMO, the man is the ace up Dr. Herbst's sleeve. He's in charge of marshaling the meat-and-potatoes substance on UConn's research resume. I would argue that he's the most important person in UConn's bid for the B1G.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

One thing I never see mentioned in all this CR talk is who will be our champion in the B1G? I had assumed incorrectly we could count on Syracuse and maybe PITT in the ACC but obviously they want nothing to do with us since we embarrassed them regularly. We need a school in the B1G that really wants us to join and will work on our behalf internally. Not sure who that would be. Possibly Rutgers but they will have no influence, probably ever.

If Rutgers doesn't champion UConn they are as shortsighted as BC.
It helps their recruiting in New Jersey when you can tell a parent that three of their yearly opponent are in driving distance.
With decent success an annual game in NYC wouldn't hurt either.
They already have history.

 

[Kolumbo]

I believe UConn's ticket to the B1G has a Northwestern connection, but it's not Susan Herbst. If I had to guess, I'd say it involves the brainchild of a Northwestern researcher.

I'm just going to throw this out there: IMO, UConn's primary connection is neither with Michigan, nor Northwestern. However, this person is a known quantity in the B1G. In fact, he's currently an adjunct professor at a B1G school; he's currently an adjunct professor at a B1G-affiliated school; he's currently leading a corporation that's very near and dear to UConn's heart; IMO, the man is the ace up Dr. Herbst's sleeve. He's in charge of marshaling the meat-and-potatoes substance on UConn's research resume. I would argue that he's the most important person in UConn's bid for the B1G.

Please share. I am guessing he's affiliated with University of Chicago or Johns Hopkins, and at UTC? IMO, UTC should be involved as much as possible.

 

[Kolumbo]

Did you try to use the interactive applet in the second article?

Excellent! Thanks!

 

[1husky]

Did you try to use the interactive applet in the second article?

Ugh, the schools that selected us as a peer are mostly not good. Not one of the schools we selected as a peer also selected us! And why didn't we select Rutgers??? Someone at UConn needs to take a closer look at this.

 

[1husky]

Although UConn may have connections with NW and UM, those two are notoriously stingy when it comes to academics. They may look upon UConn as non AAU schools with little old school prestige. I believe your champions need the two NE schools: PSU and Rutgers. They are the closest distance wise, and Rutgers has had many years of being their partner.

Hopefully we are working on closer relationships with PSU and Ohio St.

 

[NickyNewark]

Hopefully we are working on closer relationships with PSU and Ohio St.

Duh...and I'm stopping in at the White House today for a word with the prez...I'll put a bug in his ear on the "situation" on CR. ..Really though relations start with you're neighbors or you give the appearance of arrogant superiority to needed powerful friends and make enemies instead of friends! I have little doubt PSU and RU have been working towards 1 goal since the old eastern league failed to come to fruition and it finally bore fruit at RU...

 

[1husky]

Duh...and I'm stopping in at the White House today for a word with the prez...I'll put a bug in his ear on the "situation" on CR. ..Really though relations start with you're neighbors or you give the appearance of arrogant superiority to needed powerful friends and make enemies instead of friends! I have little doubt PSU and RU have been working towards 1 goal since the old eastern league failed to come to fruition and it finally bore fruit at RU...

PSU now has MD and RU after years of being an outlier and with lots of new leadership there who knows how influential they can be or even want to be right now. They might be satisfied with MD/RU. Neither MD nor RU will have much say for the next decade at least. Hopefully we can work on OSU, MI, MSU, IU from a hoops perspective.

 

[Seaa Blue]

Although UConn may have connections with NW and UM, those two are notoriously stingy when it comes to academics. They may look upon UConn as non AAU schools with little old school prestige. I believe your champions need the two NE schools: PSU and Rutgers. They are the closest distance wise, and Rutgers has had many years of being their partner.

We must not have any NU alumns here... They tend to shoot first and ask questions later when they see "NW".

It may help the cause that Michigan and Ohio State have new presidents. We'll never know, but a good case can be made for the progress that UConn has made on the academic front, and I was thinking that Dr. Schlissel might be aware of that.

 

[Seaa Blue]

PSU now has MD and RU after years of being an outlier and with lots of new leadership there who knows how influential they can be or even want to be right now. They might be satisfied with MD/RU. Neither MD nor RU will have much say for the next decade at least. Hopefully we can work on OSU, MI, MSU, IU from a hoops perspective.

@dayooper is right. With Michigan, it's an "academic" vote.

 

[NickyNewark]

PSU now has MD and RU after years of being an outlier and with lots of new leadership there who knows how influential they can be or even want to be right now. They might be satisfied with MD/RU. Neither MD nor RU will have much say for the next decade at least. Hopefully we can work on OSU, MI, MSU, IU from a hoops perspective.

True 1husky but almost everything about the B1G is done slow thoroughly/methodically and wisely. Traits we in the NE relate too and thats why I believe its inevitable UConn's a lock to the B1G. Also already too much bad blood between "us" and the "other" conference!! CR will always be remembered for widening the rift between their northern outliers and UConn/RU...it will never be forgotten!(unless they collapse instead of the BigTrouble12) lol...

 

[1husky]

Duh...and I'm stopping in at the White House today for a word with the prez...I'll put a bug in his ear on the "situation" on CR. ...

No worries, we got it covered. Both of our hoops teams, coaches, and President Herbst met with President Obama yesterday.

 

[Calamitous]

One thing I never see mentioned in all this CR talk is who will be our champion in the B1G? I had assumed incorrectly we could count on Syracuse and maybe PITT in the ACC but obviously they want nothing to do with us since we embarrassed them regularly. We need a school in the B1G that really wants us to join and will work on our behalf internally. Not sure who that would be. Possibly Rutgers but they will have no influence, probably ever.

The B1G is a natural fit for UConn. You share flagship / land grant status with every school except for Northwestern, plus I assume Indiana is the State of Indiana's flagship. The B12 is geographically ridiculous and hope UConn doesn't make the same mistake WVU did. The only land grant schools in the ACC are Clemson, NC State and Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, these are all southern land grant schools that have more in common with the SEC land grants than UConn. And even though UConn is an excellent academic university, the UVas, UNCs and GTs are a bit elitist and consider themselves public ivy schools, almost to the point where they'd rather share allegiance with private schools. So the only school in the ACC that was a guarantee to vouch for UConn is Maryland... and guess where they are now? Although, I bet Virginia Tech would vote for UConn, as Tech is the only non-charter land grant school who happens to be more mid-Atlantic than southern. And again with the B1G, PSU will want UConn in a heartbeat. UConn fits like a glove in the B1G IMO, but the B1G may be waiting on UConn's AAU status (which I hear may be coming soon). The only other hitch is Connecticut isn't geographically contiguous with the other B1G schools... but the B1G may have to overlook that.

The ACC is a good geographic fit, but will UConn want to be back in the Big East with all the private schools again? As a Hokie, the ACC feels like the Big East part 2.

 

[dayooper]

“Birds of a feather flock together.” You’ve heard that old adage, right? But what does it mean? Well, as far as individuals are concerned, it means that like-minded people tend to aggregate together to form groups, such as clubs, associations and larger communities. Just as people with similar interests congregate together, so do institutions with similar missions, such as universities. On September 12th, 2012, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article by Andrea Fuller entitled, “In Selecting Peers for Comparison's Sake, Colleges Look Upward.” The article briefly explains how a university views its peer group, and which metrics a university uses to compare itself to other universities. The author also discusses how a university selects which universities that it wishes to emulate (aspirational peers).

So, what’s the verdict? After completing this exercise, do you have any new positive/negative perceptions? Do you have any new insights into whom the competition is in conference realignment? One caveat to keep in mind is that the interactive is based on 2012 data. So, If UConn isn’t where it wants to be, how does it get there? Who is going to help UConn arrive at its preferred destination?

Couple of interesting tidbits:

1. Looks like Princeton and Columbia feel they have no peers (or, more likely, never submitted anything)

2. The Ivy league schools (and most of the privates) only consider other private schools as their peer.

3. Harvard had three schools selected as their peers (Yale, Princeton, and Stanford)

4. Michigan selected 13 of the 14 Big10 schools (UNL was left out) and all but NW reciprocated the selection.

5. In fact, Michigan selected all of The AAU schools as their peers along with Georgetown. Was it because they did it quickly or is that who they identify themselves with?

6. Wisconsin selected all of the Big10 schools plus UNL. They did not select NW nor U Chicago.

7. Iowa State selected 100 schools and only 29 reciprocated.

8. Large, public southern schools like each other. Only Florida and GTU seemed to select non southern schools. Add Kentucky if you consider them southern. UK chose 20 AAU schools as there peers.

Observations in regard to Conference realignment

1. UConn selected 7 Big10 schools, with Rutgers not being one of them.

2. No one UConn selected reciprocated the selection.

3. Rutgers selected UConn (among 90 selections).

4. UNC choose three Big10 schools (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois) and three ACC Schools (Duke, Pitt, and Virginia, all but Duke reciprocated).

5. UVA choose all of The AAU schools. Just all of them. 13 reciprocated. 3 Big10 schools (Michigan, Wisconsin and Rutgers). 2 ACC schools did likewise (UNC and Pitt). Interestingly enough, UMD did not.

6. Oklahoma, often talked about a potential Big10 add, was only listed by one Big10 school, Rutgers.

7. Texas listed 11 schools as peers, 7 of those are in the Big10 (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, MSU, Minnesota, OSU, and Wisconsin) 3 are in the Pac (Cal, UCLA, Washington) and 1 ACC school (UNC). Only 6 reciprocated (OSU, MSU, Cal, UCLA, and Washington did not).

8. Kansas choose 10 Big10 schools (all but NW, PSU, Rutgers, and UMD) and all of the past and present public Big12 schools (sans WVU) and all of the old Big8 schools.


Where UConn is right now

It's obvious that other schools don't see UConn as it sees itself. Only 2 AAU schools see them as peers (Rutgers and ISU). What interesting to me is that in the NE, it seems the flagship schools are seen in the same regard as many of the non - elite private schools. UConn, UMass - Amherst, U of Vermont, U of NH, U of Rhode Island are all in this group, yet UConn, UMass, and Vermont only identified themselves with the larger publics. If I'm not mistaken, isn't there a private school bias in The NE? Does this perception hinder UConn's ability to get into The Big10 as well as climb the ladder in an academic sense?

Where UConn wants to go, both academically and athletically:

1. UConn selected 21 schools as peers, all AAU but William & Mary and Georgia.

2. The Big10 schools selected as there peers almost all AAU schools. The only exceptions were PSU in selecting Temple, UNL in selecting Colorado State, Michigan selecting Georgetown, a couple that chose UNL, and Rutgers, who selected just about every large public university.

3. The only Big 10 schools who chose private schools were Michigan (all AAU schools plus Georgetown, and several that chose NW. NW only chose private schools.

4. UConn needs to increase their endowment (like has been said here many times). The peers UConn selected have an average $1.4 billion while UConn has $263 million. Not even close.

5. UConn needs to continue working toward AAU status.

These are all items that have been brought up here many times. You all seem to have a pretty good grasp on the issues.

I also want to say that just because a school sees them as an academic peer, they will be a target or not for a conference. It seems that the Big10 and Pac12 do like them selves (and each other) very much.

 

[Kolumbo]

It is interesting but I'm skeptical about the process. Duke didn't select anyone either. Perhaps someone decided it wasn't worth the time to complete the survey. I also think there would be a bias to select schools above you and perhaps not below you.

 

[Calamitous]

4. UConn needs to increase their endowment (like has been said here many times). The peers UConn selected have an average $1.4 billion while UConn has $263 million. Not even close.

That's very surprising. I knew UConn hadn't eclipsed $1 billion, but had no idea it was $263 million. UConn has 30,000 students and their alumni base is growing older, which equates to more money from UConn alum. A lot of schools that once had smaller endowments are starting to get stronger as the number of living alumni grow. It's also somewhat common to see some land grant schools with smaller endowments (although the B1G land grant schools are doing quite well)... but I see UConn stepping that up in the years to come.

But what kills me is that CR is really about athletics. You'd think the B1G, ACC and others would throw a bone every now and then to a top 100, tier 1 flagship school who's constantly winning in the national spotlight. I know Delany and Swofford are all business, but I wonder if they're really as smart as people say they are. Slive uses the rivalry and "culturally fit" model and the SEC is extremely successful... they don't even bother with a GORs or really worry about TV markets.

 

[huskypantz]

Well, we DID have an in at Illinois with Hogan - who publicly advocated for us. Unfortunately, his staff ousted him so that avenue dried up fairly quickly. We do share an academic consortium membership with two B1G institutions - that would be Universitas 21 and OSU and Maryland. Not to mention UVA also being a member.

 

[Cleanface]

Mizzou picked 13/14 B1G (no NW)

...and two from the SEC (FL, A&M)

:giggle


They'd still join the B1G in a nanosecond if we ever invited. SEC be damned.