(12-20-2010 12:11 AM)moron Wrote:  

(12-19-2010 09:29 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Well, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and your school Connecticut care about it. And it goes a long way towards getting invited to the Big East. I know that it has kept certain schools out of the Big East, it helped get TCU out of the Big East, and it almost kept us out of the Big East before we showed Notre Dame and others our academic profile instead of the lies the media spread. So it is very important and probably one of the reasons Houston appears to be a major candidate. Also, I heard the same thing, that TCU supported Houston joining the MWC so it stands to reason they would support them joining the Big East with them. Would be great to have two Texas schools.

Houston's academics are a joke. Ask anyone in Texas, they'll know it as 'Cougar High.' True story, they hate it. In fact, Houston is ranked so lowly that US News and World Report doesn't even both ranking it and just calls it second tier. In case you are curious, Cincinnati is tier 1 and is ranked 156 in the nation. Not bad at all. If Cincinnati's academics were in question several years ago, then Houston's should be making all kinds of alarms go off now.

Also, just had to point out the stupid idea that only Rice, A&M, and Texas are tier one in the state of Texas. SMU and TCU are, too. In fact, SMU is ranked above A&M. Even Texas Tech looks down on Houston's academics.

Lastly, some people think Baylor has good academics. That's a load of crap. They've had a hard time hiring science professors since questions about their "doctrine of original sin" came up during interviews (I couldn't have made that up if I tried). And even then, Baylor looks down on Houston.

Houston 4-Year Graduation Rate: 12%
Houston 6-Year Graduation Rate: 42%

Obvious Texas Tech/Rice troll is OBVIOUS.

(12-20-2010 12:11 AM)moron Wrote:  

(12-19-2010 09:29 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Well, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and your school Connecticut care about it. And it goes a long way towards getting invited to the Big East. I know that it has kept certain schools out of the Big East, it helped get TCU out of the Big East, and it almost kept us out of the Big East before we showed Notre Dame and others our academic profile instead of the lies the media spread. So it is very important and probably one of the reasons Houston appears to be a major candidate. Also, I heard the same thing, that TCU supported Houston joining the MWC so it stands to reason they would support them joining the Big East with them. Would be great to have two Texas schools.

Houston's academics are a joke. Ask anyone in Texas, they'll know it as 'Cougar High.' True story, they hate it. In fact, Houston is ranked so lowly that US News and World Report doesn't even both ranking it and just calls it second tier. In case you are curious, Cincinnati is tier 1 and is ranked 156 in the nation. Not bad at all. If Cincinnati's academics were in question several years ago, then Houston's should be making all kinds of alarms go off now.

Also, just had to point out the stupid idea that only Rice, A&M, and Texas are tier one in the state of Texas. SMU and TCU are, too. In fact, SMU is ranked above A&M. Even Texas Tech looks down on Houston's academics.

Lastly, some people think Baylor has good academics. That's a load of crap. They've had a hard time hiring science professors since questions about their "doctrine of original sin" came up during interviews (I couldn't have made that up if I tried). And even then, Baylor looks down on Houston.

Houston 4-Year Graduation Rate: 12%
Houston 6-Year Graduation Rate: 42%

Cincinnati's academics are actually a lot better now then they are before. That being said, your post sounds more like someone looking to tear down Houston. Saying Baylor looks down on Houston, that's just typical of people who think that just because Baylor struggled at football that they are a bad academic institute. Baylor is actually a very strong academic institute. As far as a reason for why they're called "Cougar High", name calling isn't going to affect expansion, as evident by Cincinnati getting in despite us being called thugs. Graduation rates are also not accurate, again, Cincinnati is an example, things happen. And if Houston is ranked Tier 1 that's pretty good. That being said, I'm not interested in name-calling, jealousy, and people ripping them because of some rivalry, I'm interested in facts and, thankfully, so is the Big East leadership.

(12-20-2010 12:51 AM)CougarFan89 Wrote:  

(12-20-2010 12:11 AM)moron Wrote:  

(12-19-2010 09:29 PM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Well, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and your school Connecticut care about it. And it goes a long way towards getting invited to the Big East. I know that it has kept certain schools out of the Big East, it helped get TCU out of the Big East, and it almost kept us out of the Big East before we showed Notre Dame and others our academic profile instead of the lies the media spread. So it is very important and probably one of the reasons Houston appears to be a major candidate. Also, I heard the same thing, that TCU supported Houston joining the MWC so it stands to reason they would support them joining the Big East with them. Would be great to have two Texas schools.

Houston's academics are a joke. Ask anyone in Texas, they'll know it as 'Cougar High.' True story, they hate it. In fact, Houston is ranked so lowly that US News and World Report doesn't even both ranking it and just calls it second tier. In case you are curious, Cincinnati is tier 1 and is ranked 156 in the nation. Not bad at all. If Cincinnati's academics were in question several years ago, then Houston's should be making all kinds of alarms go off now.

Also, just had to point out the stupid idea that only Rice, A&M, and Texas are tier one in the state of Texas. SMU and TCU are, too. In fact, SMU is ranked above A&M. Even Texas Tech looks down on Houston's academics.

Lastly, some people think Baylor has good academics. That's a load of crap. They've had a hard time hiring science professors since questions about their "doctrine of original sin" came up during interviews (I couldn't have made that up if I tried). And even then, Baylor looks down on Houston.

Houston 4-Year Graduation Rate: 12%
Houston 6-Year Graduation Rate: 42%

Obvious Texas Tech/Rice troll is OBVIOUS.

I figured that people from another Texas schools would be lurking, they invaded the board when TCU was on the verge of getting invited, then disappeared once they were invited.

(12-20-2010 12:51 AM)CougarFan89 Wrote:  Obvious Texas Tech/Rice troll is OBVIOUS.

Texas Tech trolls have absolutely NO business running academics smack-talk. It was only a couple of years ago when Texas Tech went on PROBATION with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, their regional accreditation organization. And all this while the academic powerhouses of Blue Mountain College, Itwamba Community College, and William Carey University were able to maintain accreditation with the same organization without any issues.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/...4363d.html

Oh good lord people, not the academic smack...

Just the FACTS

The State of Texas has the following:

3 Association of American Universities members: Texas, A&M and Rice

2 public institutions recognized as it's state Flagship schools: Texas & A&M

3 schools classified by Carnegie as Research University: Very High Research Activity: Texas, A&M and Rice

The state "Tier One" initiative is designed to get more school to the top Carnegie Classification of RU/VHRA (not AAU membership) because all that is required for that is to spend more than 100 million a year on research, so that way schools like TT, UH, UT-D etc can then be called "Tier 1" by one set of standards and the politicians can declare victory.

USNWR has jumped the shark and is now a joke. They have basically declared every school with a pulse is now "Tier 1" (UMass-Lowell is now "Tier 1" for them) so they can be easily disregarded.

(12-17-2010 04:52 PM)CougarRed Wrote:  Speculation that Houston will join the Big East.

Oliver Luck is WVa's AD. He played for the Houston Oilers, lived in Houston forever, and actually made a full court press to become Houston's AD a couple years ago when we chose Mack Rhoades.

Luck has hired Dana Holgorsen as WVa's head coach in waiting. They got to know each other when Holgorsen was OC at Houston.

The West Va poster is not very specific, but seems to be reading between the lines at some comments made by Holgorsen and Luck that imply Houston will be joining the Big East relatively soon.

I still like for us that Oliver Luck keeps brining up ECU in just about every interview when asked about Big East Expansion, even when the interviewer does not include us in the list of those talked about.

Baylor has quality academics buddy. We aren't rice but very few are. UH historically has not been there but are rapidly improving and that is a credit to them.

(12-20-2010 09:50 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  USNWR has jumped the shark and is now a joke. They have basically declared every school with a pulse is now "Tier 1" (UMass-Lowell is now "Tier 1" for them) so they can be easily disregarded.

So Houston has no pulse, so it isn't Tier 1. I'm just using your own logic.

(12-20-2010 06:34 AM)CatsClaw Wrote:  And if Houston is ranked Tier 1 that's pretty good. That being said, I'm not interested in name-calling, jealousy, and people ripping them because of some rivalry, I'm interested in facts and, thankfully, so is the Big East leadership.

Houston is not ranked tier 1. And I actually did provide a number of facts.

1. Texas has more than 3 tier 1 schools
2. Houston is tier 2
3. Houston's four year graduation rate is 12%
4. Houston's six year graduation rate is 42%
5. Houston is not a respected institution, and that is a state wide belief

Whether or not Houston has value to add to the Big East is one matter, but that value would not come from associating with Houston's academics.

(12-20-2010 10:33 AM)moron Wrote:  

(12-20-2010 09:50 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  USNWR has jumped the shark and is now a joke. They have basically declared every school with a pulse is now "Tier 1" (UMass-Lowell is now "Tier 1" for them) so they can be easily disregarded.

So Houston has no pulse, so it isn't Tier 1. I'm just using your own logic.

It has a pulse, but it is officially Tier 2. Go troll elsewhere.

(12-20-2010 10:33 AM)moron Wrote:  

(12-20-2010 09:50 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  USNWR has jumped the shark and is now a joke. They have basically declared every school with a pulse is now "Tier 1" (UMass-Lowell is now "Tier 1" for them) so they can be easily disregarded.

So Houston has no pulse, so it isn't Tier 1. I'm just using your own logic.

The poster you are trying to flame isn't even a Houston supporter. It never ceases to amaze me how fans of other Texas schools that aren't even relevant to the discussion come out of the woodwork to slam Houston. What is your obsession? Houston going to the Big East doesn't affect you. Why do you even care?

(12-20-2010 10:09 AM)ECUgradstudent Wrote:  

(12-17-2010 04:52 PM)CougarRed Wrote:  Speculation that Houston will join the Big East.

Oliver Luck is WVa's AD. He played for the Houston Oilers, lived in Houston forever, and actually made a full court press to become Houston's AD a couple years ago when we chose Mack Rhoades.

Luck has hired Dana Holgorsen as WVa's head coach in waiting. They got to know each other when Holgorsen was OC at Houston.

The West Va poster is not very specific, but seems to be reading between the lines at some comments made by Holgorsen and Luck that imply Houston will be joining the Big East relatively soon.

I still like for us that Oliver Luck keeps brining up ECU in just about every interview when asked about Big East Expansion, even when the interviewer does not include us in the list of those talked about.

Oliver Luck is smart enough to know that one thing The BEast desperately needs is teams with a passionate fanbase. ECU has that in spades, which is the best thing going for them...

As for the schools in Texas, I'm still of the opinion that SMU would be a far better candidate than Houston at this time. It would give us a ready made rivalry between 2 DFW schools, which would help solidify a BEast presence in DFW, and The BEast could highlight this game annually, in cooperation with Jerry Jones, who I'm sure would love to have another marquee event in his stadium every year, for maximum exposure. I can't see any kind of spectacle The BEast could create that even compares to something like this...

Those of you that keep mentioning USF "blocking" UCF. USF can't and doesn't have any clout to "block" anyone. They can favor aye or nay and that's it. TCU doesn't have any votes or clout to keep out anyone, either. If the BE wanted Houston, TCU wouldn't have any say whether the Big East wanted Houston or not....or be able to vote until 2012. The votes also don't have to be unanimous, either. Basically the "ayes" have it.

My point was that using USNWR as a way of determining if a school is "Tier 1" or not is stupid because of their highly flawed methodology.

(12-18-2010 03:13 PM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  Personally, I hope that Villanova declines its offer and the Big East instead adds Central Florida. Then I would like to see us go to 12 teams by 2015 by adding two of Houston, Southern Methodist or East Carolina. If you could convince me that the Texas schools could regularly average at least 30K fans per game by virtue of being in a BCS league that is where I would prefer to go. If not then I would substitutue one of them with East Carolina.

If the Big East were to add say, TCU, Houston, SMU and UCF that would give the league a television foothold in several new, large markets and it would give the BE five teams in Texas and Florida - two of the three most fertile recruiting states in America. Combine that with teams in talent rich states like Ohio (UC), Pennsylvania (Pitt), and New Jersey (RU) and you have one helluva recruiting base for the entire league.

Also, by adding the three Texas schools we could beome an attractive bowl partner for the Cotton Bowl and that too would be good for the league's long term prospects, IMHO.

Finally, if we were to decide to expand to 12 teams my preference would be for this "zipper" alignment with one guaranteed rivalry per team (in parentheses).

-----------------------
DIVISION A
Texas Christian (SMU)
South Florida (UCF)
Pittsburgh (WVU)
Syracuse (RU)
Houston (UConn)
Cincinnati (Ville)
-----------------------
-----------------------
DIVISION B
Southern Methodist (TCU)
Central Flroida (USF)
West Virginia (Pitt)
Rutgers (Cuse)
Connecticut (UH)
Louisville (Cincy)
-----------------------
The only loose end there is Houston/Connecticut but truthfully UConn would get over that issue VERY quickly once the realized that they were going to be in talent rich Texas at least every other year and usually more often than that.

I like this proposed conference, especially being in a division with the first school we beat post-DP.

Both Houston and SMU would easily average 30k if included in Big East. SMU fans come out for games against major competition, as shown below, and I'm sure Houston fans can provide the same evidence of their fans turning out as well.

Top 4 Ford Stadium Crowds (from what I could find - for some reason, this information isn't readily available online):
2010 vs. TCU 35,481
2009 vs. Stephen F. Austin 34,749 (note: this was the result of a ticket-selling campaign and true attendance was about 29,000)
2004 vs. Texas Tech 34,689
2000 vs. Kansas 32,267

Also worth noting:
2008 vs. TCU 30,923

(12-20-2010 06:34 AM)CatsClaw Wrote:  Cincinnati's academics are actually a lot better now then they are before. That being said, your post sounds more like someone looking to tear down Houston. Saying Baylor looks down on Houston, that's just typical of people who think that just because Baylor struggled at football that they are a bad academic institute. Baylor is actually a very strong academic institute. As far as a reason for why they're called "Cougar High", name calling isn't going to affect expansion, as evident by Cincinnati getting in despite us being called thugs. Graduation rates are also not accurate, again, Cincinnati is an example, things happen. And if Houston is ranked Tier 1 that's pretty good. That being said, I'm not interested in name-calling, jealousy, and people ripping them because of some rivalry, I'm interested in facts and, thankfully, so is the Big East leadership.

I'd like to see Houston and SMU join us in the BE as I think academics are pretty much meaningless as far as football conferences go, so I'd like to think of myself as unbiased in this discussion.

Houston's academic reputation is ......not great. It's sub-Texas Tech. Houston is basically the UNT of Houston. It's an easy to get into local mostly-commuter school for people who want to go to college and have the college experience but aren't so desperate that they'll go to Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA, etc. It's accessable public education for those fit for college on the low end. Serves mostly minority inner city students.

U of H will get a lot more research funding soon and that'll get some more high level students especially in grad school in there, but it's main mission will never change. And that's OK, some respectable people come out of U of H, especially those who come from bad school districts in the inner city and need some time to 'ramp up' their education to college level.

Divisions of academic quality in Texas (football schools):

-Rice
- UT/A&M/SMU/TCU
-Texas Tech/Baylor
-UNT/UTEP/UofH
-UTSA/TexasSt./SamHouston/SFA

(12-20-2010 12:58 PM)frogforever Wrote:  I'd like to see Houston and SMU join us in the BE as I think academics are pretty much meaningless as far as football conferences go, so I'd like to think of myself as unbiased in this discussion.

Houston's academic reputation is ......not great. It's sub-Texas Tech. Houston is basically the UNT of Houston. It's an easy to get into local mostly-commuter school for people who want to go to college and have the college experience but aren't so desperate that they'll go to Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA, etc. It's accessable public education for those fit for college on the low end. Serves mostly minority inner city students.

U of H will get a lot more research funding soon and that'll get some more high level students especially in grad school in there, but it's main mission will never change. And that's OK, some respectable people come out of U of H, especially those who come from bad school districts in the inner city and need some time to 'ramp up' their education to college level.

Up to this point you are correct and hit the nail on the head with UH. Improving but still very much a product of their original mission.

Quote:Divisions of academic quality in Texas (football schools):

-Rice
- UT/A&M/SMU/Baylor/TCU
-Texas Tech
-UNT/UTEP/UofH
-UTSA/TexasSt./SamHouston/SFA

Here I had to fix it for you. We have outpaced you by 20 spots on USWN rankings and are well above Tech. I don't think your school is as bad as TT but if either of us are there it is TCU and not Baylor. Once again, not taking shots at your school, just asking for a fair representation of mine.

Top 5 according both of these sites:
Rice, UT, A&M, SMU, and Baylor. No tcu
http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/Univ.../id/377860
http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Top_Tex...ities.html
US World News: Baylor 79th
TCU 99th

(12-20-2010 11:16 AM)bitcruncher Wrote:  

(12-20-2010 10:09 AM)ECUgradstudent Wrote:  

(12-17-2010 04:52 PM)CougarRed Wrote:  Speculation that Houston will join the Big East.

Oliver Luck is WVa's AD. He played for the Houston Oilers, lived in Houston forever, and actually made a full court press to become Houston's AD a couple years ago when we chose Mack Rhoades.

Luck has hired Dana Holgorsen as WVa's head coach in waiting. They got to know each other when Holgorsen was OC at Houston.

The West Va poster is not very specific, but seems to be reading between the lines at some comments made by Holgorsen and Luck that imply Houston will be joining the Big East relatively soon.

I still like for us that Oliver Luck keeps brining up ECU in just about every interview when asked about Big East Expansion, even when the interviewer does not include us in the list of those talked about.

Oliver Luck is smart enough to know that one thing The BEast desperately needs is teams with a passionate fanbase. ECU has that in spades, which is the best thing going for them...

As for the schools in Texas, I'm still of the opinion that SMU would be a far better candidate than Houston at this time. It would give us a ready made rivalry between 2 DFW schools, which would help solidify a BEast presence in DFW, and The BEast could highlight this game annually, in cooperation with Jerry Jones, who I'm sure would love to have another marquee event in his stadium every year, for maximum exposure. I can't see any kind of spectacle The BEast could create that even compares to something like this...

I think what you are saying about Oliver Luck is in play with alot of officials at the Big East. ECU has pushed bowl tickets sales more this year than any of the previous 4 years so fanbase thinking could be in play with the 10th spot bitcruncher.

ECU is not in any play for the Big East. Not a slam...there zero smoke about ECU. Some smoke starting rise about Houston, though.

(12-20-2010 01:39 PM)Sammy11 Wrote:  Here I had to fix it for you. We have outpaced you by 20 spots on USWN rankings and are well above Tech. I don't think your school is as bad as TT but if either of us are there it is TCU and not Baylor. Once again, not taking shots at your school, just asking for a fair representation of mine.

Top 5 according both of these sites:
Rice, UT, A&M, SMU, and Baylor. No tcu
http://www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/Univ.../id/377860
http://diplomaguide.com/articles/Top_Tex...ities.html
US World News: Baylor 79th
TCU 99th

Works for me. Never really had much first hand knowledge of Baylor (unlike all-too-first-hand knowledge of UofH).