[Mick]

About 30 people post on Cardboard football threads.   This is a very small echo chamber.    The prevailing attitude seems to be. “I’m interested in football so all students should be interested in football”.    Do a handful of 70 year old, die-hard football fans know what 18 year old students are interested in?

There is a website College Confidential about college topics.  It has a very big message board.  I’ve frequently posted on this board for twenty years; particularly on threads involving Stanford.   Many threads are discussions by students about what top colleges they will be applying to.   I’ve never seen a post, “I’m thinking of applying to Stanford but I’m concerned about how many games the football team will win”.

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The other argument that has been made is that while no one will say “I am considering applying to Stanford due to its football team”, a successful football team with a rabid fanbase contributes to the overall environment, which contributes to the “gestalt” as to how people feel about the school, which does drive how people apply or decide to go to the school.  I think Mick has provided some data to back up the fact that schools see a bump in applicants after successful sports seasons.
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BC

Funny, because I first considered applying to Stanford because of its football team. To be more more specific, I fell in love with the '71 Rose Bowl team with Jim Plunkett at quarterback. Even though I lived in Texas, Stanford became my team. I loved the uniforms, the style of play, the California setting, Prince Lightfoot...you name it. I never wanted to go to school anywhere else. Only later did I learn the academics were solid. But it was football that won me over.

I did always wonder about the band, though.

***********************************

Branner,

I have attended both a Texas A&M home game & at UT home game.  AWESOME !

I would recommend to any Stanford Alum, to put these 2 events on their 'sports bucket list'.

I attended Oregon State vs. Michigan at the Big House in Ann Arbor in 2015 with my brother, an OSU alum. 109,651 fans, including about 6k OSU fans. Incredible experience, helped by a bunch of happy UMich fans given that the final was 35-7 UMich.

If you get a chance, it's worth it. Separately, my brother is an amateur photographer, and we spent about two hours driving around Detroit taking photos. This was right after Detroit emerged from bankruptcy in December, 2014 and it was a...unique experience. 100,000+ unoccupied residences within the city limits.

[Mick]

About 30 people post on Cardboard football threads.   This is a very small echo chamber.    The prevailing attitude seems to be. “I’m interested in football so all students should be interested in football”.    Do a handful of 70 year old, die-hard football fans know what 18 year old students are interested in?

There is a website College Confidential about college topics.  It has a very big message board.  I’ve frequently posted on this board for twenty years; particularly on threads involving Stanford.   Many threads are discussions by students about what top colleges they will be applying to.   I’ve never seen a post, “I’m thinking of applying to Stanford but I’m concerned about how many games the football team will win”.

...
The other argument that has been made is that while no one will say “I am considering applying to Stanford due to its football team”, a successful football team with a rabid fanbase contributes to the overall environment, which contributes to the “gestalt” as to how people feel about the school, which does drive how people apply or decide to go to the school.  I think Mick has provided some data to back up the fact that schools see a bump in applicants after successful sports seasons.
...
BC

Funny, because I first considered applying to Stanford because of its football team. To be more more specific, I fell in love with the '71 Rose Bowl team with Jim Plunkett at quarterback. Even though I lived in Texas, Stanford became my team. I loved the uniforms, the style of play, the California setting, Prince Lightfoot...you name it. I never wanted to go to school anywhere else. Only later did I learn the academics were solid. But it was football that won me over.

I did always wonder about the band, though.

***********************************

Branner,

I have attended both a Texas A&M home game & at UT home game.  AWESOME !

I would recommend to any Stanford Alum, to put these 2 events on their 'sports bucket list'.

I attended Oregon State vs. Michigan at the Big House in Ann Arbor in 2015 with my brother, an OSU alum. 109,651 fans, including about 6k OSU fans. Incredible experience, helped by a bunch of happy UMich fans given that the final was 35-7 UMich.

If you get a chance, it's worth it. Separately, my brother is an amateur photographer, and we spent about two hours driving around Detroit taking photos. This was right after Detroit emerged from bankruptcy in December, 2014 and it was a...unique experience. 100,000+ unoccupied residences within the city limits.