Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[Jeff Buchanan]

uhhhhh, I have some issues with this.

One, academic oversight of the various universities that have big time athletic programs is not at all uniform. Degree granting institutions have no single standard for academic rigor in the awarding of a baccalaureate degree.

Two, one of the reasons it is more difficult to gain admission to and to complete a degree in Big Ten Universities is that all the schools in the Big Ten, except Nebraska, are members of the Association of American Universities (AAU). This organization IS a body that standardizes academic rigor for undergrad and grad programs. Moreover, because of these guideposts for degree granting programs, student athletes actually have to do real coursework, pass exams and get acceptable grades. That is not at all the case in some football programs.

I'm not sure I would want to have to go through what M and yes, even osu football players, have to go through to compete at the elite athlete level and, at the same time, complete the required course work for a degree. Its tough.

So, screw that list. It is just about worthless.

[Wild Hoss]

Sorry, but the AAU is an outdated joke. The difference between Nebraska being a member and being outed is the fact our Med school is in Omaha instead of Lincoln.

[entropy]

Jeff... You mean the AAU that won't count certain types of research???

I agreed with you that not all schools are equal and would tell you not all degrees from schools are equal as well (shall I remind you of the majors mich football players gravitate towards... Or tell you stories about the classes mich MBA students take??)..but using the AAU... You might as well said the SEC cares about more than winning...

[entropy]

Hoss... Amazing, UNL is a better school today than 30 yrs ago... When it was a member of the AAU. The standard is a joke.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I'm totally buying that the smartest athletes in the country attend New Mexico State and Winona State

[entropy]

Doc.. I wouldn't...

But if you talked about grad rates and attending classes, etc... Then they probably do a good job.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Maybe the AAU is a joke (I don't think it is and neither do participating schools) but the point I made remains entirely defensible.

I'm not taking any cheap shots at Neb. They're on the list for sure and not without some merit. But give me a break. Assailing the credibility of the AAU as a means of poking holes in the point made in my post is silly.

[Wild Hoss]

Maybe the AAU is a joke (I don't think it is and neither do participating schools) but the point I made remains entirely defensible.

I'm not taking any cheap shots at Neb. They're on the list for sure and not without some merit. But give me a break. Assailing the credibility of the AAU as a means of poking holes in the point made in my post is silly.

If you're going to use the AAU as your standard then it should bear up to scrutiny. It doesn't.

Frankly, I do not believe its held in high regard by many anymore. My nephew is pretty high up in the Computer Science Dept at NU, working on his doctorate (in between being flown around the world by IBM to consult) and I asked him about this when we first got booted. He chuckled about it, and said that none of his compatriots at Big Ten schools- whom he works with a good deal, even before we joined the league- think the label is worth anything other that a point for old academicians to brag about at cocktail parties. His words on the distinction: "Its never come up in conversation." FWIW

I don't disagree with the gist of your post, just your use of the AAU as a standard. Its misguided.

[iam416]

It frustrates me that simpletons non-AAU schools like UNL drag down the B10. Plus, they can't play defense for shit.

[Wild Hoss]

Hoss... Amazing, UNL is a better school today than 30 yrs ago... When it was a member of the AAU. The standard is a joke.

This is just the thing; its not even about how "good" a school NU is, or was. Its about research dollars. Period.

We didn?t meet AAU standards on that because of the Med School?s location, and because Ag research doesn?t count...even though everybody I know considers food pretty important. Its my understanding that if either criteria were allowed, we're still in. Both, and we cleared the bar easily.

The AAU may been relevant at one point, but today it?s little more than a lapel pin.

[Wild Hoss]

It frustrates me that simpletons non-AAU schools like UNL drag down the B10. Plus, they can't play defense for shit.

...

[iam416]

Hoss bears a hateful grudge against the AAU on account of its ancient ways. After watching Coach Bo coach up that defense, I'd kick UNL out of any organization that had them as a member.

At the end of the day, justice was served.

BTW, Hoss, do you think Coach Bo has found a way to defend that newfangled jet sweep? Perhaps UNL could transfer some of it's soybean research dollars to that project and get re-admitted to the smart kids club.

[Wild Hoss]

Maybe we could add a Tatoo removal major.

[iam416]

No research dollars in that, Hoss. However, I still maintain UNL needs to spend gads of money to figure out how to defend that jet sweep thingy. I mean, sure, Wisky has speed to burn, so maybe there's no defending it -- but it needs to be looked into. By top people. TOP people.

[entropy]

talent.. i've met and worked with a lot of OSU grads. the AAU membership is not based upon quality of students.

as for bo's defense.. only an OSU fan would equate performance in football to academics... then again, none of us should be surprised.