Lefty wrote:Nobody is going to confuse SMU with Stanford or Georgia Tech, but it's shocking that any credible list would have us that low. Maybe it's right about Louisville being last -- I don't know. I've never thought of Louisville, Clemson, N.C. State (except for the vet school, which is elite), Pitt or especially Florida State as being in the same academic stratosphere as SMU.
A friend who is a (non-ACC) college professor agrees, saying SMU's reputation in academic circles is "solid" and that he "almost can't believe Louisville and FSU are accredited universities."
My biggest surprise about that list is that Pitt, which always has been AAU, is so low. Pitt, like UNC and UVA and Cal, is one of the 8 originally designated Public Ivys.
FSU entering the ACC was at least as lowly ranked as Louisville now is. But FSU used all the many ACC ties to start a major climb in academic reputation. Louisville is starting the same path. As KY is poorer than FL and as the state of KY refused to fund Louisville any better than it did Morehead St or WKU until the late 1990s, it will take Louisville longer to move up.
NCSU and VT are both on the cusp of being invited into AAU. Clemson should be fairy close as well.