jupitertoo

This is the thing that is most obnoxious about Akron fans. You have a sub-500 record in the MAC in football, yet you call it a "shitty" conference. You decry all of these other MAC schools that "don't" invest in their programs/facilities, yet in fact most of these schools spend more on athletics than you do. Akron is not in the top 5 MAC schools in terms of athletics budget or football budget. Yes, you have a beautiful new stadium, but most other MAC schools have had very nice on-campus facilities for YEARS. And these schools continue to invest in their programs -- BGSU has had an indoor facility for more than a decade. Can't State equally as long. Can't State, BSU, EMU, OU, Miami, and WMU have poured MILLIONS into continued updates of their facilities, including football stadiums. Many of these schools also have much, much nicer b-ball facilities than you, but, since you finally have an on-campus stadium, you feel it fair to accuse other schools of not investing in their programs. It's total BS and the facts prove it. Please remember these visions of grandeur when you are playing in front of your typical 15,050 crowd come late October.

My complaint is simple -- you guys don't show any respect to your conference members. And there's no reason for it. You certainly aren't outperforming anyone.

No rational reason, eh? How about how most of the MAC E has been in the ESPN "Bottom 10" lately, including OU, Miami, Can't St, and Toledo and EMU from the westPlease show me evidence that OU or Toledo has been in the Bottom 10 in the past three years. BTW, I believe you lost to OU last year. Two years prior, etc.Look it up yourself. It's called google, and it's easy to use.Typical lies. I assume you are in the band -- what an embarrassing organization for the school.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom100812theres on of OU on the waiting listhttp://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom100810waiting list againhttp://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10086there again at 1-5http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10084and here you crack the number 7 spot""Come Sail Away": The Bobcats have searched for tomorrow on Big Ten, MAC and MWC shores without success in '08. Time for them to pick up their Styx and come sail away with the Bottom 10."http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom10083another honerable mentionI imagine your just going to pretend this post never happenedOf course I won't ignore it. Nor the one from Tuba fanboy. It's hard to ignore the sheer number of grammatical/spelling errors you guys make. "Your" should be "You're.""Sight" should be "site." Perhaps a demonstration of why Washington Monthly's annual college edition, released yesterday, has Akron ranked BELOW Cleveland State in academic rankings, and 120 or spots below my alma mater. Lowest public school in the state, I believe. Because Akron is essentially a high school extension.As to the Bottom Ten, well, we were on the list once (waiting doesn't count). And that one time was early in the season after a tight loss to OSU, 1 point loss to Wyoming at Wyoming, etc. But the key is that we beat Akron. Just like we beat Akron for the MAC East title two years before that.And by the way, "Ohio's Pride?" My god, if Ohioans saw your marching band, they'd think it was a high school band...which it sort of is.Let's get back to facts: You guys have been, what, 5-7 or so the last couple of years and you're talking divisional dominance? You've got your senior quarterback back (as do many schools, including OU)? A quarterback who has been, at best, erratic over his career? You've got "new coaches?" Including the worst coach ever to hold the position at Miami U? Have you read about the mess they've been cleaning up there in his wake? He had no disciplinary program and his replacement has been trying to get the team to understand what hard work really means. They're having to change the entire culture. OU beat him like a drum three consecutive years. And Walt Harris? Hmmm, oh that's right, he restored the dominance of the Pitt program, right? They've got a half-empty new stadium every Saturday. Which sounds familiar...Your premier win in the past three seasons has been Syracuse. They're on that list every week! OU beat Illinois at Illinois -- the same year Illinois beat Ohio State.So have fun, boys. And get back to engineering your Goodyear radiator hose and fan belts.

No rational reason, eh? How about how most of the MAC E has been in the ESPN "Bottom 10" lately, including OU, Miami, Can't St, and Toledo and EMU from the westPlease show me evidence that OU or Toledo has been in the Bottom 10 in the past three years. BTW, I believe you lost to OU last year. Two years prior, etc.Look it up yourself. It's called google, and it's easy to use.Typical lies. I assume you are in the band -- what an embarrassing organization for the school.

No rational reason, eh? How about how most of the MAC E has been in the ESPN "Bottom 10" lately, including OU, Miami, Can't St, and Toledo and EMU from the westPlease show me evidence that OU or Toledo has been in the Bottom 10 in the past three years. BTW, I believe you lost to OU last year. Two years prior, etc.

We should win the East. Anything less than an East championship is a huge disappointment. Buffalo lost their top QB and RB. OU is terrible, and we beat them in Akron with great regularity, K.e.n.t. is horrible, there's a reason BG has a new coach/staff, and we have Temple @ home. The teams we are competing for a championship against are the dregs of Division 1 football. We should sweep the MAC East.Please explain what it is about Akron's recent performance that justifies you having such little respect for other football programs in the MAC East. You did finish 3-5 last year, right? Not flaming...just wondering what dramatic changes, beyond a stadium, have occurred to rocket the Zips to anticipated dominance of the league this year. Was it Elton Alexander's prediction? If so, Heaven help you. Many other prognosticators have differing opinions. It's one thing to set expectations, another thing to trash every other program in the league for no rational reason.

In games like this, MAC teams need to just stay healthy. I'm sure you want to have key starters available for Indiana.

Here's the page summary from US News. Sorry.Ohio UniversityWork Athens, OH 45701Work(740) 593-4100Admissions E-mail: admissions@ohio.edu Web site: http://www.ohio.edu * 115Rank * 37ScoreTier 1College Category:National Universities

OU is NOT tier 1!!!!!If so, then where's tier 2 because it would seem to go directly from tier 1 to tier 3. USN&WR used to rank only down to 50. That was tier 1. Then, they had a Tier 2 that was grouped together alphabetically, then the tiers 3 and 4 also grouped alphabetically. Since they enlarged numeric rankings down to a little over 120, OU has always been at or near the bottom. While one can argue whether tier 1 is still only the top 50 or the top half of the numerically ranked schools (which would currently put the cutoff at 64), OU is nowhere close. OSU at 53 is arguably near the bottom of tier 1. Miami at 77 is in the middle of tier 2, and OU at 115 is near the bottom of tier 2And watch for UC to pass you shortly. THey're already attracting more very well qualified students (30+ ACT) than OU. They're just being held back at the bottom of the freshmen class by still having largely open admissions. In terms of research and grad programs, they passed OU by a long time ago, and they have a much larger endowment and better fundraising--not to mention the desire of the Cincy business community to build them up.Like I said, watch for UC to climb into the second tier within a couple of years while OU drops down into the 3rd.Here you go, Champ: US News. Sorry to interrupt you with facts. You might notice that Cincinnati is not on the list. Nor Akron.Best Colleges: Top Public Schools: National UniversitiesUniversity of California--BerkeleyBerkeley, CA Rank 1University of California--Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA Rank 2University of VirginiaCharlottesville, VA Rank 2University of Michigan--Ann ArborAnn Arbor, MI Rank 4University of North Carolina--Chapel HillChapel Hill, NC Rank 5College of William and MaryWilliamsburg, VA Rank 6Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, GA Rank 7University of California--San DiegoLa Jolla, CA Rank 7University of Illinois--Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL Rank 9University of Wisconsin--MadisonMadison, WI Rank 9University of California--DavisDavis, CA Rank 11University of California--Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA Rank 11University of WashingtonSeattle, WA Rank 11University of California--IrvineIrvine, CA Rank 14Pennsylvania State University--University ParkUniversity Park, PA Rank 15University of FloridaGainesville, FL Rank 15University of Texas--AustinAustin, TX Rank 15Ohio State University--ColumbusColumbus, OH Rank 18University of Maryland--College ParkCollege Park, MD Rank 18University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA Rank 20University of GeorgiaAthens, GA Rank 21Clemson UniversityClemson, SC Rank 22Purdue University--West LafayetteWest Lafayette, IN Rank 22Texas A&M University--College StationCollege Station, TX Rank 22University of Minnesota--Twin CitiesMinneapolis, MN Rank 22Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey--New BrunswickPiscataway, NJ Rank 26University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT Rank 26University of DelawareNewark, DE Rank 28Indiana University--BloomingtonBloomington, IN Rank 29Michigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI Rank 29University of California--Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CA Rank 29University of IowaIowa City, IA Rank 29Virginia TechBlacksburg, VA Rank 29Colorado School of MinesGolden, CO Rank 34Miami University--OxfordOxford, OH Rank 34University of Colorado--BoulderBoulder, CO Rank 34SUNY--BinghamtonBinghamton, NY Rank 37SUNY College of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuse, NY Rank 37Auburn UniversityAuburn University, AL Rank 39Iowa State UniversityAmes, IA Rank 39North Carolina State University--RaleighRaleigh, NC Rank 39University of VermontBurlington, VT Rank 39SUNY--Stony BrookStony Brook, NY Rank 43University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL Rank 43University of California--RiversideRiverside, CA Rank 43University of KansasLawrence, KS Rank 43University of Nebraska--LincolnLincoln, NE Rank 43Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL Rank 48University of ArizonaTucson, AZ Rank 48University of MissouriColumbia, MO Rank 48University of OklahomaNorman, OK Rank 48University of Massachusetts--AmherstAmherst, MA Rank 52University of TennesseeKnoxville, TN Rank 52Washington State UniversityPullman, WA Rank 52University of New HampshireDurham, NH Rank 55University of South Carolina--ColumbiaColumbia, SC Rank 55New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNewark, NJ Rank 57Ohio UniversityAthens, OH Rank 57University of OregonEugene, OR Rank 57Arizona State UniversityTempe, AZ Rank 60Michigan Technological UniversityHoughton, MI Rank 60University at Buffalo--SUNYBuffalo, NY Rank 60University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT Rank 63Colorado State UniversityFort Collins, CO Rank 64Louisiana State University--Baton RougeBaton Rouge, LA Rank 64Missouri University of Science & TechnologyRolla, MO Rank 64University of ArkansasFayetteville, AR Rank 64University of KentuckyLexington, KY Rank 64

In all seriousness, congratulations on you success as a business owner. That is no easy task.Instruction by Faculty Report Fall 2006University Main CampusesOhio University / Fall 2006 / 64%University of Akron / Fall 2006 / 49%You were a little off... or are priviy to data that we aren't.I find it interesting that you rip the quality of UofA instructors and then say that you are/were one. What does that say about yourself?Good luck helping students write resumés and business letters in your communications class.Ohio State University 43% 42% 42% 45%(2006)OSU is ranked much higher than OU with fewer full-time faculty...might The OSU bring in specialists working in the industry? Part-time faculty may enrich the educational experience.I think we all know that adjunct faculty are used, by and large, to save money on salaries. Adjunct faculty make peanuts compared to tenured faculty. And they aren't unionized, so you can treat them like garbage. It's a common occurrence -- Can't does it, too, as does Cleveland State. Perhaps OU would, as well, but since the school isn't in an urban area it doesn't have a large pool to rely on (and exploit). Which ultimately is better off for the students.As to the OSU rankings, I think we can all agree that Ohio State is the "apple of the state's eye," particularly the Ohio legislature. As a result, they get the lion's share of state provided research funding and they have not historically been forced to control tuition increases -- the only school exempted by the state. They have more of everything than every other state school combined, which is a crime...but a fact. And all of those resources make for higher rankings in U.S. news and elsewhere.

Be happy to answer your question. I graduated with a dual major in journalism and communication technology. I own a mid-size publishing firm. Founded 12 years ago, very successful. We handle conventional print as well as electronic media, primarily in the high-technology markets. Eleven employees. I do quite well and donate quite generously to my alma mater.I'll tell you a story. When I was a junior at OU, I was badly injured one quarter and was forced to leave mid-term to recuperate at home in the Akron area. At the time of my injury, I was taking an advanced composition course and, unfortunately, had to drop it about two-thirds through the term. My professor was Daniel Keyes, author of the award-winning novel "Flowers for Algernon."After recuperating, I decided to pick up a couple of classes at Akron to help make up the lost hours before heading back to Athens in the fall. I enrolled in essentially the same course, advanced composition, and was surprised to discover that the "professor" was a part-time instructor who had been my 10th grade English teacher at East High School. Imagine my surprise...and disappointment. The instructor told me not even to bother showing up to class; the rest of the students were high school-caliber writers, at best. I got an "A." Akron continues to lead all Ohio four-year universities in using not only untenured faculty, but "adjunct" faculty who may or may not have any teaching skill. Believe me, I know: I have taught several communication courses there over the years.I ask you, where are you getting a better value -- at a school at which 70% of your courses are taught by tenured faculty (OU), or 37% (Akron). Those are Ohio Board of Regents numbers, by the way.This whole thread got started when an Akron fan said something about Ohio not having an academic edge over Akron. I've offered plenty of measurable evidence, and about all you can come back with is, "OU's a party school." And on that subject, well, yes, it is a hell of a lot of fun to go to school there -- and the weekends can be very enjoyable. But let's face it, have you ever spent a weekend on High Street in Columbus? It's not really even close. Nonetheless, OU fans are very fond of their alma mater and it's a special experience to go there. I'm sure you feel the same about Akron.As to what those academic metrics were, I summarize:* Average test score of incoming freshman (OU significantly higher)* Acceptance rate (OU lower)* Number of applications received annually (OU 2X that of Akron)* Number of tenured faculty (not even close -- OU higher)* Number of tenured engineering faculty (OU higher)* Job placement rate by four and five-year graduates (OU significantly higher, per Board of Regents)* Endowment (OU 5X higher)* Research budget (OU higher)* Graduate students (OU higher)* University budget (OU significantly higher, in spite of Akron's higher enrollment)* U.S. News results -- OU Tier I, Akron Tier IV. One other point. Remember my question about showing proof that Akron's Polymer Science School was still ranked in the top 5? You provided a published statement from the university that appeared on the summary page of the U.S. News site. Read the statement very carefully: It reads, "U.S. News ranked (past tense) the Polymer Science school in the top 5 nationally." I'm in the publishing and advertising biz -- I can parse words with the best of them. Fact is, Akron's program hasn't been ranked in the top 5 for several years, probably due to the fact that much larger, better funded universities have added programs in the interim. I don't mean that as a criticism -- it's just that you threw out polymer science as an example of Akron's engineering school superiority over Ohio, when, in fact, neither school is ranked in the top 100 nationwide. On a head-to-head basis, I'll give you polymer sciences, since we don't offer it, but we win in biotechnology, where OU is one of the Edison Centers of Excellence.I'll go away now. I promise. But please know there is absolutely no jealousy about your new football stadium. It's about time you got one.

That must be why so many new students are choosing OU over UA....oh wait, they're not. OU attendance only increased 132 students, while Akron increased 1,127, and is third in Headcount growth behind tOSU and Cincinnati (this is based off last year. The Ohio Board has not released this year's totals.)Also:UA's College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering is currently ranked second in the nation by the magazine. The University of Akron is the only university in Ohio with a science and engineering program ranked in the top five nationally by U.S. News.The I/O Psychology Program is also ranked 6th nationally. I could go on, but I won't.You realize that as an open enrollment school, you accept anyone with a pulse, right? OU capped its freshman class last year to control growth. Additionally, as you no doubt are aware, the economy tanked and parents pulled their kids out of residential schools to cut costs. OU doesn't accept you based on the existence of a pulse. They had over 14,000 applications for the freshman class last year. Please, by the way, show me US News' ranking of UA polymer science in top 5 nationally. That claim comes straight from Proenza's old TV commercial and he has stopped making that claim.Akron also counts its "Summit College" community college numbers, so it's even less impressive. US News ranks U of A 248th of 260 universities in overall academics.

Thought you would fine this interesting. Maybe, like the US News study, you'll will say it's meaningless. This is the latest College Board report on Ohio high school juniors who specified a school of interest prior to taking their ACT. Ohio ranked 4th. Akron 10th. In fact, Akron was lowest of all the MAC schools in Ohio.1. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY COLUMBUS OH Public 6,094 25.6 2. MIAMI UNIVERSITY OH Public 5,657 23.8 3. UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI OH Public 4,775 20.1 4. OHIO UNIVERSITY ATHENS OH Public 2,819 11.9 5. Can't STATE UNIVERSITY OH Private 2,773 11.7 6. UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON OH Public 2,519 10.6 7. BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY OH Private 2,174 9.1 8. CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY OH Public 1,846 7.8 9. UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO OH Public 1,828 7.7 10. UNIVERSITY OF AKRON OH Private 1,828 7.7 11. XAVIER UNIVERSITY OH Public 1,639 6.9 12. WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY DAYTON IN Public 1,502 6.3 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR IN Public 1,181 5.0 PURDUE UNIVERSITY WEST LAFAYETTE IL Private 1,121 4.7 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY IN Public 1,105 4.7 INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON KY Public 1,078 4.5 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LEXINGTON OH Public 938 3.9 CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY IL Scholarship 934 3.9 MIDWEST ACADEMIC TALENT SEARCH NY Private 925 3.9 CORNELL UNIVERSITY OH Private 861 3.6 JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY OH Private 835 3.5 OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY KY Public 816 3.4 NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY IN Private 786 3.3 UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MA Private 781 3.3 HARVARD UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS OH Private 780 3.3 BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE IL Private 766 3.2 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO NY Private 741 3.1 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY IL Scholarship 734 3.1 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM MO Private 670 2.8 WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY PA Private 654 2.8 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY NC Private 641 2.7 DUKE UNIVERSITY TN Private 618 2.6 VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY OH Private 617 2.6 OTTERBEIN COLLEGE CT Private 616 2.6 YALE UNIVERSITY PA Public 616 2.6 PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY OH Private 587 2.5 DENISON UNIVERSITY NJ Private 570 2.4 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CA Private 570 2.4 STANFORD UNIVERSITY OH Scholarship 566 2.4 OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GIFTED PROG OH Private 553 2.3 CAPITAL UNIVERSITY MA Private 552 2.3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY DC Private 534 2.2 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY OH Private 529 2.2 OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

Yup. That was a very misleading statement from your brother. Miami doesn't even have a college of engineering. They only offer certain degrees in some sort of paper engineering that you mentioned. The reality is that BG and Can't don't have a college of Engineering, and OU's COE is practically non-existent(as you pointed out). I'm sure 90 million will certainly help their cause, but they still will have a LOT of catching up to do.Frankly, the only Ohio MAC schools that have Engineering that are worth a damn would be Akron and Toledo.That's just absolutely hilarious. 1,600 undergraduates in the Ohio COE and 290 graduate students. 79 faculty members (full time) -- Akron has 64.Job placement rate in the top 89% among schools nationally.Those numbers of undergraduates and graduate students just kinda makes the statement "never see any" even more sad for you. there are all these students yet non of them seem to make it outside of college. I'm sure their are a few but face it if other top COE's haven't heard of you and actual engineers themselves haven't heard of you then there’s probably something wrong that you'll need far more than 90mill to fixYou are delusional. First, you call yourselves a "top engineering program." You're not even listed in the top 100, dude. Job placement -- top 89% nationally among engineering schools.Just go back to your tire mold project and have fun. OU grads are working at NASA, leading pharmaceutical and biotech firms, etc.Bye.

Yup. That was a very misleading statement from your brother. Miami doesn't even have a college of engineering. They only offer certain degrees in some sort of paper engineering that you mentioned. The reality is that BG and Can't don't have a college of Engineering, and OU's COE is practically non-existent(as you pointed out). I'm sure 90 million will certainly help their cause, but they still will have a LOT of catching up to do.Frankly, the only Ohio MAC schools that have Engineering that are worth a damn would be Akron and Toledo.That's just absolutely hilarious. 1,600 undergraduates in the Ohio COE and 290 graduate students. 79 faculty members (full time) -- Akron has 64.Job placement rate in the top 89% among schools nationally.

Geez, that hurts. Shall I dust off the "my roommate is a convicted felon" stories?

Because high school guidance counselors are the best metric of Universities. That's a new one. Points for creativity sir. :rolleyes: What is a good metric? So far you have rejected: US News, Carnegie Foundation and High School counselors with college placement responsibility. I'm sure Akron would rank high on, say, a listing of plasma sales by students? Most empty seats at sporting events? Least full-time faculty? Most parking garages? Least parking spaces per enrolled student? Most NCAA violations for a single b-ball coach? Least football recruits to return after freshman year?(Psst. I've taught classes there -- and I don't have a teaching degree.)

$202 million of our capital campaign consisted of a single gift for our engineering program, from one small software company with no connections with the university but they just liked what they saw.It was a gift of software, not cash. You can't spend software.OU's $90 million was cash.I assume your endowment was immune to market conditions? Its value went up when the stock market tanked? Amazing. I suspect things have recovered nicely.

http://www.uakron.edu/president/detail.dot...campaign%20goalAkron endowment: $53 millionOhio Endowment: $312 millionAkron graduation/retention score: 247 of 260 universitiesOhio: 97 of 260 universitiesYou don't understand what capital campaigns consist of -- actual cash in hand (versus free software given by a corporation, as one example of Akron's campaign) makes up endowments. You can't fund research and scholarships with "services in kind."As for your capital campaign, Ohio got a single $90 million from one alumnus specifically for the engineering school.

TRUTH SQUAD: "Akron Biz school top 6%"Truth: Rankings of national university programsOhio -- 116Can't, BG -- 158Akron -- not in top 200

And I would counter that--unless you are strictly an elite liberal arts school like Kenyon or Oberlin--how strong your doctoral programs are is directly related to how good your faculty and how good your university is. Funny, OU actually offers MORE doctoral programs than Akron, yet the strength of Akron's gives Akron a higher overall ranking.Also two of the five categories are traditional liberal arts: humanities and social sciences. Two of the other three are traditional hard sciences and still traditional liberal arts & sciences: biological sciences and physical sciences. Only the fifth category of engineering could be said to be outside of the traditional arts & sciences disciplines. Which--despite the brain washing in Athens--are generally considered more indicative of a university's quality than a journalism program.The strength in engineering and the sciences is why I think you'll see both UC and Akron eventually move into the second tier (where OU is near the bottom at 115: not in the first tier, which is the top 50 or 60) and OU drop down into the third tier in the next few years.How good a school's business program is doesn't mean anything beyond how good their business program is. Here are some schools that--despite having world class business schools--don't even offer undergrad business majors. It doesn't seem to damage their undergraduate reputation too much.HarvardChicagoColumbiaSeveral University of California campusesYaleOK, so were gonna start making stuff up, guys?How about a deeper dive into the facts of the rankings. Someone mentioned that UA's business school is ranked in the "top 6% nationally." Strangely, they don't show up that way in the actual rankings.Yes, there are over 100 doctoral programs. OU has far more than the 41 that are measured here. Akron's programs tend to be more geared toward engineering. That's fine. Yet, your engineering rankings are not higher than OUs.As for OU dropping down a tier in engineering in the near future, I take it you have some inside knowledge of its program? Did you know they got a $90 million gift to the engineering school last year and are building their third new engineering facility in the past five years? Don't count on a drop in their standings.To answer your criticism of the ranking methodologies, US News asked high school counselors to rank schools. Among "National Universities," Ohio ranked 89. Akron ranked 248, in a tie with Cleveland State. Bottom ranking was 260.Our little school in the hills also has an endowment twice that of Akron.

That's not entirely true. The National Research Council conducts an extremely thorough survey and ranking of universities and individual departments. They take several years of data into account, which is why they come out less than once a decade. The next rankings are due out this year or the next I believe.Here's a link to the last ones that came out in the 90s. Our OU compatriots might not like what they see.http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/nrc1.htmlAkron--79Miami--82OU--86Nice try, but if you read the introduction at the top of the file, it clearly states that those are rankings only of doctoral programs (not undergrad) and only in 41 categories, mostly sciences related. No business. No communications. No undergrad. There are over 100 doctoral program categories overall.

That's interesting. Only one school in the MAC chose not to participate -- EMU. Akron did participate, and always has. In fact, virtually every school in the state took part. So 75% are boycotting, you say?Hmm.ps: Carnegie rankings (absolutely non-political) present the same basic position between the two schools. Akron is one of the three lowest rated schools in the MAC.

The "article" is written by a senior in high school who obviously just looked at ESPN's ratings. Nothing to get worked up about, anyone can write for that site.Because another MAC school is ranked ahead of you, it has to be wrong? Each of Ohio's recruits were very well rated. Together they made for a stronger overall recruiting class, in the writer's opinion. Quit being so whiny.

Look at any of the academic rankings lately? The new U.S. News & World Report places Akron in the lowest category ("Tier 4") and Ohio in Tier 1. Do you "get" that?