The SEC is the dominant conference. We’ve heard it for years. The last 2-3 years it is very possibly true. But why? They’re faster, people say. Apparently the deep South breeds differently than the rest of the country.
Is it possible, though, that SEC schools are just able to take more athletes than other schools? Lower academic standards certainly make it a possibility. When looking at the academic reputations of the four major college football conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac Ten), it is clear that the SEC fails miserably.
Of the SEC’s twelve schools, only Vanderbilt (18) and Florida (49) make the top 50 of US News and World’s 2009 rankings. Only Georgia (58), Alabama (83), and Auburn (96) join them in the top 100. Two schools, Mississippi and Mississippi State, fall under the Tier 3 category (schools outside of the Top 100). Even when those two sub-par schools are excluded, the average ranking among the other 10 SEC schools is a below-average 89.1.
By comparison, the two worst Big Ten schools (Michigan State and Indiana) are both ranked 71st. That’s right, the worst Big Ten schools are ranked significantly ahead of the SEC’s average. In perhaps the most staggering statistic, the SEC only has three schools that rank ahead of the two worst Big Ten schools. The Big Ten ranks at the top of the four conferences with a 50.1 average ranking and all eleven of their schools in the top 100.
The Pac Ten ranks second with an average ranking of 62.1 and only one Tier 3 school (Oregon State). The Big 12 falls slightly ahead of the SEC with an average ranking of 86.4 and two Tier 3 schools (Oklahoma State, Texas Tech).
So what does all of this mean? In short, the SEC has a recruiting advantage. Anyone who follows recruiting even a little bit realizes that there are a lot of kids coming out of high school with poor grades, test scores, etc, that are extremely talented athletes. It’s not a stereotype. Different kids have different reasons for their academic shortcomings, many of which are beyond their control. When a school has lower academic standards, they can (in general) accept more recruits than schools with higher standards. Even if their entrance standards are decent, an easy trip to college appeals more to kids that are dead set on going to the NFL. Let’s face it, student-athletes are not student-athletes anymore. If that were the case, kids would be flocking to the Big Ten. Or, recruits would be lining up to go to Vanderbilt, by far the best school in the SEC. Oh… but there’s this little thing called reality. So are SEC players faster? Maybe. But it sure sounds like they’re getting an easier ride.
This might not be as humorous as you expect from an article on the Angry T. But, well… the truth is funny enough.
The Massacre
Editor’s Note: Don’t worry SEC fans, your chicks are probably much hotter than chicks from major other conferences that require more than a pulse as grounds for admission. Just kidding with the pulse comment. It’s clear that the chicks below have a lot more to offer than simply a pulse.
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If a kid signs with a “tier 3″ school from the SEC, knowing that he’ll get twice the exposure to the public and the best preparation for the NFL, how does that make him “dumb”? The person with the accounting degree from Michigan State or Inidiana will be doing that guy’s taxes
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tier 1 rankings go from 1-130, not 1 to 100. so actually 10 sec schools are tier 1 schools. and besides, since when has academics been the for front of recruiting, if you have enough talent, you’ll get into any school. big ten or sec
There are plenty of dumb football players at almost all schools. I know OSU has had some real idiots (Clarett, Katezenmoyer) that would have been taken by most schools just based on their athletic ability. Athletics and academics are two separate things.
The first logical thing to do you moron is to understand how those “rankings” you refer to are calculated. Get serious man.
It sounds like the SEC fans are getting defensive. “I think, though dost protest too much.” You can’t argue with facts. Southern schools have never cared about academics. It starts in grade school and continues through college.
Just yesterday a school in Georgia became the first school iln 40 years to lose accredidation. Just more ammo for the bigger, faster, dumber truth.
Our chicks are definitely hotter. I went to Purdue for a tour when I was in high school and, while definitly a great school, the girls looked like trolls. Over weight trolls. Plus, I figured it was only a matter of time before this arguement came up. How else would all of the northern football fans keep their heads up, other than thowing weak attacks at southern schools. You guys obviously can’t beat us on the field, so just poke fun at our athletes and lust after our women. We don’t mind.
I bet the SEC has dumber athletes. The dumb ones always want to play in warm weather, be surrounded by hotter chicks, and be on tv and win national championships every year. Big Ten sux
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Tier 1 rankings go from 1-130, top 100 rankings in the article were calculated separately. The SEC has 5 schools in the top 100 and 5 more between 100-130.
Where was the ACC? I have to think with schools like Duke, UNC, Wake, UVA and BC all somewhere in the top 20 and Miami, VT and Clemson not far behind the ACC faired pretty well…. although the dumbasses at FSU probably brought the average down
Its a shame punks like you take shots at the SEC. I posted an article on my blog about this.
http://www.purplegrowl.com/2008/08/what-is-deal-with-angry-t-site.html
Good post. I’m from the south and when in high school we all knew people who went to LSU because they have an open admission policy. Even though the school is out-of-state, it’s lack of academic fortitude made it an attractive choice for the “C” students. I know the SEC students here try to claim that their athletes are smart because they’ll all make millions in the pros, but those are very, very isolated cases.
And trust me, the non-SEC schools in the south also feature hot girls.
ACC’s average ranking is 48.25 (beating the Big Ten just like in basketball, ha!), even though FSU is the lowest at 102. But the ACC has six schools in the top 35 to balance that out.
Right answer, but wrong reason. The US News and World report rankings are in general pretty worthless unless you’re talking prestige. But I did a term paper on this a few years back and yeah the SEC schools, in terms of schools graduating the most student athletes in b-ball, football, and baseball (the big ones) are the worst. The statistics are from an NCAA survey and are from the late 90′s into 2000. The only schools to consistently graduate everyone in all those sports are basically Ivy and Patriot league schools. B-ball is the dumbest sport overall then football. There were several years consecutively where Arkansas graduated NO b-ball players. Close to that mark were several other of the SECs.
I mean I hate Ohio St., but can someone tell me the last time the SEC had a player graudate w/ a degree in Molecular genetics (Craig Krenzel).
I find it funny that you eschew the virtues of the academic quality of the Big Ten. The last time I checked, the Big TEN has eleven teams.
JJD:
While I can understand the statistics related to graduating players, lest not forget that it would be important to adjust the NCAA method to exclude those students that leave early. Is it the program’s fault that they recruit the caliber of athlete that can go to the professional level prior to graduation? Should OSU be penalized in terms of not graduating athletes, like Greg Oden, who only attend due to the NBA age rules?
Granted, the days of the student-athlete are long gone, but the SEC should just give up calling their football factories “schools”. Just call it a minor league sports consortium, like it is. Too bad we can’t have a major bowl game in real football weather. Away games (usually for the Big Ten) in bowls are supposed to be a little tougher, of course.
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Those rankings really underrate the Pac-10. Oregon that low? Really. That’s some bias right there.
In looking at graduate schools, I have been repeatedly told that if I want to get into a quality program after earning a master’s degree DO NOT attend or even apply to an SEC school. I was then asked if I went to an SEC school for undergraduate studies (which I did not). After my reply of “NO”, I was simply told “Good, that would be a definite scar on your applications. Don’t waste the time or money”.
indiana high school basketball \’player rankings\’…
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Hey whatever makes you feel better about choosing a sub-par sports school in the mid-west(enjoy those winters!) While you are getting yelled at by the liberal beast of a woman you met in undergrad at some Big(and i mean BIG) 10 school, we in the south will be having our lovely ladies bringin us some nice cold sweet tea with the sexiest southern drawl, while we watch the BEST college football in the country.
If you want to rank schools based on overall college experience-girls, parties, sports, school spirit, weather, enduring left wing professors, etc., the SEC is a great choice for any RED BLOODED American undergrad looking to make the most of the best 4 years of your life.(the eye candy is GREAT down here)
Sincerely,
A Tennessee Vol who made the best decision of his life transferring from a Big 10 school.