In the P5, what are the biggest and smallest college towns? What got me thinking of this is posters talking about CU feeling the PAC-12 was a better fit culturally than the Big XII. Lead me to assume Boulder was the biggest city in the Big XII.

(11-14-2020 12:43 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  In the P5, what are the biggest and smallest college towns? What got me thinking of this is posters talking about CU feeling the PAC-12 was a better fit culturally than the Big XII. Lead me to assume Boulder was the biggest city in the Big XII.

Austin and Fort Worth are both quite a bit larger than Boulder. Without looking any of this up, Boulder would be - at best - the 3rd largest town in the current XII.

I forgot Ft. Worth was pretty big. What cultural issues led CU to the PAC-12?

(11-14-2020 12:48 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 12:43 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  In the P5, what are the biggest and smallest college towns? What got me thinking of this is posters talking about CU feeling the PAC-12 was a better fit culturally than the Big XII. Lead me to assume Boulder was the biggest city in the Big XII.

Austin and Fort Worth are both quite a bit larger than Boulder. Without looking any of this up, Boulder would be - at best - the 3rd largest town in the current XII.

But TCU and Colorado were never in the Big XII at the same time. In fact, TCU and Texas A&M weren't either, TCU was A&M's replacement.

Then again when Colorado was still in the Big 12, so was Nebraska and Lincoln is way more populous than Boulder.

(11-14-2020 06:55 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 12:48 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 12:43 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  In the P5, what are the biggest and smallest college towns? What got me thinking of this is posters talking about CU feeling the PAC-12 was a better fit culturally than the Big XII. Lead me to assume Boulder was the biggest city in the Big XII.

Austin and Fort Worth are both quite a bit larger than Boulder. Without looking any of this up, Boulder would be - at best - the 3rd largest town in the current XII.

But TCU and Colorado were never in the Big XII at the same time. In fact, TCU and Texas A&M weren't either, TCU was A&M's replacement.

Then again when Colorado was still in the Big 12, so was Nebraska and Lincoln is way more populous than Boulder.

Yes - that’s why I specified “current XII”

Largest P5 college town..... Columbus, and it’s not even close.

(11-14-2020 09:04 AM)utpotts Wrote:  Largest P5 college town..... Columbus, and it’s not even close.

Southern Cal and UCLA are both in Los Angeles

(11-14-2020 09:11 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 09:04 AM)utpotts Wrote:  Largest P5 college town..... Columbus, and it’s not even close.

Southern Cal and UCLA are both in Los Angeles

I wonder if they are defining college town as one that doesn't also have a major league pro sports team. Columbus has NHL does it not? Louisville has no major pro sports teams. Austin is quite large as well, not sure which is larger between those two. Columbia, SC is no slouch either.

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Los Angeles (UCLA/USC)-3.9 million
Austin (Texas)-978k
Fort Worth (TCU)-909k
Columbus (OSU)-898k
Seattle (Washington)-753k
Boston (BC)-692k
Nashville (Vandy)-670k
Louisville (UL)-617k
Tucson (Arizona)-548k
Atlanta (GT)-506k

Clemson (Clemson)-17,500
Starkville (Miss St)-26,500
Oxford (Ole Miss)-28,000
Morgantown (WVU)-30,500
College Park (Maryland)-32,000
Pullman (WSU)-34,500
State College (PSU)-42,000
Blacksburg (VT)-44,000
Charlottesville (UVA)-47,200
East Lansing (Mich St)-48,000

(11-14-2020 09:30 AM)Once a Knight... Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 09:11 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 09:04 AM)utpotts Wrote:  Largest P5 college town..... Columbus, and it’s not even close.

Southern Cal and UCLA are both in Los Angeles

I wonder if they are defining college town as one that doesn't also have a major league pro sports team. Columbus has NHL does it not? Louisville has no major pro sports teams. Austin is quite large as well, not sure which is larger between those two. Columbia, SC is no slouch either.

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Columbus has both NHL and MLS teams and Austin will have an MLS team next year. Going down the list of U.S. MSAs by population, the largest without a current or planned NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL or MLS franchise but with a P5 school is Louisville (1.3 million). Going down the list of U.S. cities by population, the largest that fits those criteria is Fort Worth (910,000).

(11-14-2020 09:11 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 09:04 AM)utpotts Wrote:  Largest P5 college town..... Columbus, and it’s not even close.

Southern Cal and UCLA are both in Los Angeles

Neither one of those schools have the pull or the fan base that Ohio State does. Everything in Columbus revolves around Ohio State.....

(11-14-2020 10:05 AM)sugarbuzz Wrote:  Los Angeles (UCLA/USC)-3.9 million
Austin (Texas)-978k
Fort Worth (TCU)-909k
Columbus (OSU)-898k
Seattle (Washington)-753k
Boston (BC)-692k
Nashville (Vandy)-670k
Louisville (UL)-617k
Tucson (Arizona)-548k
Atlanta (GT)-506k

Clemson (Clemson)-17,500
Starkville (Miss St)-26,500
Oxford (Ole Miss)-28,000
Morgantown (WVU)-30,500
College Park (Maryland)-32,000
Pullman (WSU)-34,500
State College (PSU)-42,000
Blacksburg (VT)-44,000
Charlottesville (UVA)-47,200
East Lansing (Mich St)-48,000

That's just within city limits. THE SMSA (area) populations of Seattle, Boston, Atlanta, DC far exceed Austin.

The most "college town-esque" city of more than 1 million MSA (metropolitan statistical area) population — in my humble opinion — is Louisville. The city in so many ways revolves around Cardinal sports. It truly is impressive.

Columbus and Austin, as some in this thread have noted, have a somewhat noticeable "college town feel" for large cities. But it's simply not the same as with Louisville/UofL. Ohio State and the University of Texas offer the most significant athletics programs and fan bases in their respective states. In contrast, the University of Louisville simply doesn't have nearly as many fans overall as the University of Kentucky. As such, Louisville fans are rabid and militantly protective of their city. It's an "us vs. the rest of the state" mentality on a level that I doubt is found in Columbus and Austin.


Maybe I'm a bit biased since my sister-in-law is a UofL graduate and I loosely root for the Cards, but my vote for the "largest college town with a P5 league member" ... Louisville.

(11-14-2020 11:05 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  The most "college town-esque" city of more than 1 million MSA (metropolitan statistical area) population — in my humble opinion — is Louisville. The city in so many ways revolves around Cardinal sports. It truly is impressive.

Columbus and Austin, as some in this thread have noted, have a somewhat noticeable "college town feel" for large cities. But it's simply not the same as with Louisville/UofL. Ohio State and the University of Texas offer the most significant athletics programs and fan bases in their respective states. In contrast, the University of Louisville simply doesn't have nearly as many fans overall as the University of Kentucky. As such, Louisville fans are rabid and militantly protective of their city. It's an "us vs. the rest of the state" mentality on a level that I doubt is found in Columbus and Austin.


Maybe I'm a bit biased since my sister-in-law is a UofL graduate and I loosely root for the Cards, but my vote for the "largest college town with a P5 league member" ... Louisville.

Bill, I lived in Columbus for a dozen years. You have to understand the mentality of Buckeye fans in Columbus, despite being of the elites, they think the whole world is conspiring against them- be it the NCAA, ESPN, the CFP committee, the SEC, etc. in fact their motto for years has been “Ohio State vs the World.”

(11-14-2020 11:16 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 11:05 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  The most "college town-esque" city of more than 1 million MSA (metropolitan statistical area) population — in my humble opinion — is Louisville. The city in so many ways revolves around Cardinal sports. It truly is impressive.

Columbus and Austin, as some in this thread have noted, have a somewhat noticeable "college town feel" for large cities. But it's simply not the same as with Louisville/UofL. Ohio State and the University of Texas offer the most significant athletics programs and fan bases in their respective states. In contrast, the University of Louisville simply doesn't have nearly as many fans overall as the University of Kentucky. As such, Louisville fans are rabid and militantly protective of their city. It's an "us vs. the rest of the state" mentality on a level that I doubt is found in Columbus and Austin.


Maybe I'm a bit biased since my sister-in-law is a UofL graduate and I loosely root for the Cards, but my vote for the "largest college town with a P5 league member" ... Louisville.

Bill, I lived in Columbus for a dozen years. You have to understand the mentality of Buckeye fans in Columbus, despite being of the elites, they think the whole world is conspiring against them- be it the NCAA, ESPN, the CFP committee, the SEC, etc. in fact their motto for years has been “Ohio State vs the World.”

I'll take your word on that, C-Ave. But those Buckeye fans must sure have some serious mental health issues if so. I suppose, to an extent, we Bearcat fans "threaten" them in some ways.

(11-14-2020 11:24 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 11:16 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 11:05 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  The most "college town-esque" city of more than 1 million MSA (metropolitan statistical area) population — in my humble opinion — is Louisville. The city in so many ways revolves around Cardinal sports. It truly is impressive.

Columbus and Austin, as some in this thread have noted, have a somewhat noticeable "college town feel" for large cities. But it's simply not the same as with Louisville/UofL. Ohio State and the University of Texas offer the most significant athletics programs and fan bases in their respective states. In contrast, the University of Louisville simply doesn't have nearly as many fans overall as the University of Kentucky. As such, Louisville fans are rabid and militantly protective of their city. It's an "us vs. the rest of the state" mentality on a level that I doubt is found in Columbus and Austin.


Maybe I'm a bit biased since my sister-in-law is a UofL graduate and I loosely root for the Cards, but my vote for the "largest college town with a P5 league member" ... Louisville.

Bill, I lived in Columbus for a dozen years. You have to understand the mentality of Buckeye fans in Columbus, despite being of the elites, they think the whole world is conspiring against them- be it the NCAA, ESPN, the CFP committee, the SEC, etc. in fact their motto for years has been “Ohio State vs the World.”

I'll take your word on that, C-Ave. But those Buckeye fans must sure have some serious mental health issues if so. I suppose, to an extent, we Bearcat fans "threaten" them in some ways. :pbjtime:

Here’s the thing..... if Louisville football or basketball is bad.... no one outside of KY cares. If Ohio State is bad at football.... ESPN sends the calvary, 95% of the people in Franklin County is ready to burn the city down and the donor base is pulling their money until they get a new coach or AD.

(11-14-2020 12:52 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I forgot Ft. Worth was pretty big. What cultural issues led CU to the PAC-12?

Boulder was (and is) way closer to the overall cultural vibe (whether in its politics, recreation, religion, etc) of the Pac compared to the Big 12. CU gets a lot of students from California as well. Made a lot of sense from that perspective to switch so that the likes of Berkeley and Seattle were their peers instead of Ames and Lubbock.

(11-14-2020 10:07 AM)utpotts Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 09:11 AM)Gamecock Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 09:04 AM)utpotts Wrote:  Largest P5 college town..... Columbus, and it’s not even close.

Southern Cal and UCLA are both in Los Angeles

Neither one of those schools have the pull or the fan base that Ohio State does. Everything in Columbus revolves around Ohio State.....

L.A. and its surrounding area is home to about 18 million people, probably more. There’s plenty to do on any given day because of the nice weather plus there’s plenty of competition with pro sports which the NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS and NHL have two teams there. A football blue blood and a basketball blue blood are 10 miles apart.

It’s an apples to oranges comparison.

(11-14-2020 12:47 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  

(11-14-2020 12:52 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I forgot Ft. Worth was pretty big. What cultural issues led CU to the PAC-12?

Boulder was (and is) way closer to the overall cultural vibe (whether in its politics, recreation, religion, etc) of the Pac compared to the Big 12. CU gets a lot of students from California as well. Made a lot of sense from that perspective to switch so that the likes of Berkeley and Seattle were their peers instead of Ames and Lubbock.

I wouldn't focus only on the college towns, because the decisionmakers and donors are not just people who live in town. The townspeople of Boulder don't get to decide on the university's athletic conference, just like the townspeople of Tallahassee weren't the ones deciding whether Florida State would join the SEC or ACC.

Manhattan KS, Ames, IA, West Lafayette IN, Corvallis OR, Iowa City, IA and Champaign IL are all less than 150K populations with a P5 university. Stanford, CA is not a municipality, just a CDP, so that should not account according to me