NCAA conference affiliation linked to academic prestige in Stanford/Iowa study

[junglehusky]

Get us out of the AAC, part 74,763


NCAA conference affiliation linked to academic prestige in Stanford/Iowa study

For the study, the three scholars created and analyzed a comprehensive dataset linking information about school characteristics, conference affiliation, football performance and academic reputation (as measured by US News and World Report). Looking to understand how a successful football program affects status, they explored data on 283 American universities from 1896 to 2013 — all of them present or former members of the conferences included in the NCAA’s two top subdivisions.

The researchers found that all of the widely publicized recent entries to the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences, for example, are schools closely comparable in terms of US News reputation scores to the standing members. “And, of course, the most academically prestigious league in the country, the Ivy League, has offered membership to no additional school since its formation in 1956,” said Stevens. “That exclusivity is not based on sports alone.”

Moreover, Stevens and his colleagues discovered that the academic reputation scores of schools entering a given league move closer to their league average at a rate of 3 percent per year. “This may seem like a modest increment, but in the cutthroat competition for higher places in the academic pecking order, there are no small gains or losses,” said Stevens, a member of the faculty of Stanford Graduate School of Education.

 

[upstater]

Get us out of the AAC, part 74,763


NCAA conference affiliation linked to academic prestige in Stanford/Iowa study

They are measuring the additions to the leagues though. I mean, BC, Pitt, Syracuse were added to the ACC. If anything, a convergence there in academic reputation shouldn't be credited to the ACC.

This study also occurred 2 years ago so we won't know anything about the recent adds.

I'm generally scratching my head here trying to figure out what convergences they were measuring.

Pac12, B1G and SEC expansion happened too late for this study.

So it could only be ACC expansion, and of all the schools added to the ACC, Louisville was also too late to be considered.

I can only imagine that Louisville is the only school to have benefited so far academically.

Rutgers and Maryland on the other hand have been plummeting in the rankings.

 

[ruthetiger]

It depends on what measures you are referring to I guess. Generally speaking, Rutgers and Maryland mathematics, physics, and engineering departments are ranked very high. The status and the rankings of their science and engineering departments are also ranked very highly. The B1G have a plethora of schools that have excellent science departments overall. Some schools in the conference however, are just overall generally ranked high.

 

[Sea Goat]

Some truth to this, although generally the good schools keep progressing in spite of where they are affiliated and bad ones continue to remain bad.
UConn is a great example. UConn has actually elevated its reputation well beyond the likes of Louisville, Syracuse and Pitt while being stuck in the gulag. Imagine where we'd be with say a B1G membership. Further, I think Louisville has wallowed in academic regardless of their ACC membership. So, while conferences are important from a competition and money perspective, they won't turn a Louisville into an Ivy or even a decent school. If anything by adding Louisville, the ACC academic elite must endure the snickers of those schools that they strive to compete with.

 

[upstater]

It depends on what measures you are referring to I guess. Generally speaking, Rutgers and Maryland mathematics, physics, and engineering departments are ranked very high. The status and the rankings of their science and engineering departments are also ranked very highly. The B1G have a plethora of schools that have excellent science departments overall. Some schools in the conference however, are just overall generally ranked high.

Rutgers is an excellent school. I was talking about overall in US News & World Report. There's a big drop there.

 

[amory]

Some truth to this, although generally the good schools keep progressing in spite of where they are affiliated and bad ones continue to remain bad.
UConn is a great example. UConn has actually elevated its reputation well beyond the likes of Louisville, Syracuse and Pitt while being stuck in the gulag. Imagine where we'd be with say a B1G membership. Further, I think Louisville has wallowed in academic regardless of their ACC membership. So, while conferences are important from a competition and money perspective, they won't turn a Louisville into an Ivy or even a decent school. If anything by adding Louisville, the ACC academic elite must endure the snickers of those schools that they strive to compete with.

You wouldn't see a change in Louisville's academic profile in the 2 years they've been in the ACC.

They'll slowly trend upwards over time though, I think.

 

[ruthetiger]

Rutgers is an excellent school. I was talking about overall in US News & World Report. There's a big drop there.

I agree. I think it's their student support that may be in question. I don't know the criteria for overall ranking in usnwr, but I'm pretty sure it's low compared to their peers.

 

[upstater]

I agree. I think it's their student support that may be in question. I don't know the criteria for overall ranking in usnwr, but I'm pretty sure it's low compared to their peers.

Since 75% of the weight is the reputational questionnaire, I am going to guess it happened when the news got out that the school had a deficit and that departments were being shuttered.

 

[Sea Goat]

You wouldn't see a change in Louisville's academic profile in the 2 years they've been in the ACC.

They'll slowly trend upwards over time though, I think.

Yea - you're probably right - in about 50 yrs...

 

[bingethinker]

Rutgers and Maryland on the other hand have been plummeting in the rankings.

What do you mean? Maryland has been in the 50ish-60ish range of US News for the last decade. There hasn't been much change in its ranking. UMD fairs better in other, more "academic" rankings, but there hasn't been much volatility there either.

 

[BlueDogs]

What do you mean? Maryland has been in the 50ish-60ish range of US News for the last decade. There hasn't been much change in its ranking. UMD fairs better in other, more "academic" rankings, but there hasn't been much volatility there either.

Yes - in fact UConn and Maryland are ranked similarly (tie in USWR). UConn has moved up over time thanks to increased applications and higher competitive admissions. You can thank JC and the Big East for that among other factors. My biggest fear is our stint in AAC will slowly erode all that success, as we struggle to stay on a national stage. KO and the BB program are in rough shape. Football was destroyed by CR and incompetence of Pasqaloni. Hathaway screwed it up, and Herbst and Manuel froze and missed the last boat of the island. Until P5, we will be slowly deteriorating.

 

[junglehusky]

Yes - in fact UConn and Maryland are ranked similarly (tie in USWR). UConn has moved up over time thanks to increased applications and higher competitive admissions. You can thank JC and the Big East for that among other factors. My biggest fear is our stint in AAC will slowly erode all that success, as we struggle to stay on a national stage. KO and the BB program are in rough shape. Football was destroyed by CR and incompetence of Pasqaloni. Hathaway screwed it up, and Herbst and Manuel froze and missed the last boat of the island. Until P5, we will be slowly deteriorating.

Well that, and getting funding cut by Malloy and possibly future governors.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

To be st honest, at best, UConn academically will top off in the 30's at best with respect to the US News rankings. While there is some small movement between the top schools, such as who is #1 in any given year, the top 30 is basically a fortress of Ivy League school, near Ivies (Stanford, Rice, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke, etc.), prestigious smaller schools (Cal Tech, Washington [St Louis], Emory, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, MIT, etc.), and a small number of truly elite public universities (Cal, UCLA, Michigan, UVA, etc.) that UConn does not have a realistic chance of passing in the foreseeable future.

 

[Drew]

Serious question- has the American made any academic initiative as a conference since joining? Tulsa, Tulane, SMU are top 100 USNWR schools and I know UCF/USF have big research departments. Has there been any initiative on this side or is this relationship purely athletically?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Serious question- has the American made any academic initiative as a conference since joining? Tulsa, Tulane, SMU are top 100 USNWR schools and I know UCF/USF have big research departments. Has there been any initiative on this side or is this relationship purely athletically?

Good question; but, such academic 'alliances' are typically long-term (the B1G's CIC has been around since 1958) and there are not many schools in the AAC who view the conference as a long-term home, including UConn. Thus, I doubt it.

 

[upstater]

Serious question- has the American made any academic initiative as a conference since joining? Tulsa, Tulane, SMU are top 100 USNWR schools and I know UCF/USF have big research departments. Has there been any initiative on this side or is this relationship purely athletically?

Yes, they have. How to game the APR. It was a highly effective seminar.

 

[Kolumbo]

To be st honest, at best, UConn academically will top off in the 30's at best with respect to the US News rankings. While there is some small movement between the top schools, such as who is #1 in any given year, the top 30 is basically a fortress of Ivy League school, near Ivies (Stanford, Rice, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke, etc.), prestigious smaller schools (Cal Tech, Washington [St Louis], Emory, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, MIT, etc.), and a small number of truly elite public universities (Cal, UCLA, Michigan, UVA, etc.) that UConn does not have a realistic chance of passing in the foreseeable future.

Agreed, and that is fine. I prefer ratings as opposed to rankings. A public flagship can approach excellence but it will never pass the Ivies. Top 60-70 is a great neighborhood to be in.