Can you be an Elite Academic Institution and be an Elite Football Program?

AnObfuscator

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UF is not elite academically. Very good, but not elite.

That's public only. "University of anywhere" is not elite.

Here's the top colleges period:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

UF is 35th. My opinion: I would draw the elite line at #18. Again, UF is getting very good.

Based on the USN&WR rankings, we are tied for #35 out of 312 ranked universities, and tied for #8 out of 132 ranked public universities. So we're in the 93rd percentile for ranked public universities, and the 88th percentile for all ranked universities. Your ranking of #18 would be 94th percentile, so we're close to elite for public universities, but have a ways to go for all universities. That seems fair.
 

Gator By Marriage

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Tay Bang

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Just out of curiosity, why#18? I realize it's as arbitrary as any other number but usually the norm for various lists is top 10, top 20, top 25, etc.

Arbitrary. I was of the opinion that every college up to UCLA was "elite". I don't feel UCLA is elite. And none of the colleges below UCLA are overly impressive. I had to stop there. Also, out of 312 colleges, that is the top 5 - 6%, which seems like a good number. Maybe it's because 95% is a big number in engineering. 2 sigma.
 

Gator By Marriage

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Arbitrary. I was of the opinion that every college up to UCLA was "elite". I don't feel UCLA is elite. And none of the colleges below UCLA are overly impressive. I had to stop there. Also, out of 312 colleges, that is the top 5 - 6%, which seems like a good number. Maybe it's because 95% is a big number in engineering. 2 sigma.
Fair enough
 

no1g8r

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Arbitrary. I was of the opinion that every college up to UCLA was "elite". I don't feel UCLA is elite. And none of the colleges below UCLA are overly impressive. I had to stop there. Also, out of 312 colleges, that is the top 5 - 6%, which seems like a good number. Maybe it's because 95% is a big number in engineering. 2 sigma.

So by drawing the line at #18, because the highest rated public university on the list, UCLA, doesn't "feel" elite to you, you are saying that only private universities can be elite. Do I have this right?
 

G8trwood

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Ohio State is a tier 1 research school like UF
 
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Tay Bang

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So by drawing the line at #18, because the highest rated public university on the list, UCLA, doesn't "feel" elite to you, you are saying that only private universities can be elite. Do I have this right?

I didn't realize the first 17 were all private. I guess it shows how tough it is for a public college to reach the top 25. My opinion is obviously quite subjective. One thing I do know is that the "University of This State" and the "This State University"'s are not elite.

Yes Rocket, that means UF is not elite. I'm not sure how you can argue otherwise.
 
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Tay Bang

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UF is part of the Association of American Universities, which makes it academically elite. Our Members | Association of American Universities
It is definitely one of the elite athletic universities, being the ONLY university to finish in the Top 10 for the Director's Cup for all around athletic department performance every year that they have done the rankings.

I just can't apply the word "Elite" to sixty different American universities. That's too dilute/
 

Ocalaman

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I just can't apply the word "Elite" to sixty different American universities. That's too dilute/
I guess you're the one who decides, huh? There are 4360 Title IX institutions of higher learning in the U.S. - being in the Top 60 puts that university in the Top 1.4%. Pretty sure that meets the criteria for ELITE.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Donkey:

I had a UGA Prof tell me UGA is now harder to get into then GT as a Freshman. I had a freind of mine, who lives in ATL say the same thing - it was recently put out in the media.
I'm not really talking about the specifics of Ugly vs GT. I just mean the stats in general. I can tell you for instance that Crackumbus pretends to have very high standards (and shows a very high median SAT, higher than ours I believe) but I know in reality that almost everyone who applies gets in. It is very community college-ish.

They manipulate their stats. I know first hand of a couple of others schools that do the same.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Just out of curiosity, why#18? I realize it's as arbitrary as any other number but usually the norm for various lists is top 10, top 20, top 25, etc.
#18 in particular has MANY special programs that allow admission of certain people WELL below their listed SAT thresholds. I've run into several that were dumber than nails. ND is far from elite IMO.
 

Tay Bang

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I guess you're the one who decides, huh? There are 4360 Title IX institutions of higher learning in the U.S. - being in the Top 60 puts that university in the Top 1.4%. Pretty sure that meets the criteria for ELITE.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve carefully written “opinion” and “subjective” in this thread to avoid triggering the sensitive, but there only 300 or so real universities in this country. 312 on the US News list worth rating. The rest are not real and are much more honest about being diploma mills. Get over it. UF is not “elite”. Look at that top 25 list. We ain’t there.
 

InstiGATOR1

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Great thread CR!

The only team in the final AP rankings in the top 25 that I would call "elite" academically is Notre Dame. Stanford is at 27 if counting the votes. Of course I'm not looking at historical rankings at the moment.

I do not consider UF "elite" academically. Nor UM.

Well the problem here is it is harder to determine "elite" or even rank academic institutions. Famously one year the crappy US News rankings had Wake at something like 7 and UNC-Chapel Hill one below them. Personally, I can not imagine someone getting into both going to Wake.

Other problems are is Chicago "elite?" They have some of the finest graduate programs in the world. They maybe have produced more Nobel winners than any other university. But as an undergrad school they are a bit more Vandy like, ie top regional private school rather than national.

As for your particular opinions, I would not call UND elite academically, but of course it is very good. I would call Stanford elite academically. I would consider UMich elite if that is what your UM stands for (hence the abbreviation controversy that some small minds can not let go of here.) There is not one ranking for colleges and universities and VP's offices try to game the system in those rankings. In football there are fewer rankings that matter and it is probably easier to determine who is elite in football than academically.
 

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