[Mick]

I'd say football, but that may be colored by my undergrad days. When I was in school in the late 60s, everyone went to the football games. (Girls all wearing white blouses and red skirts.) I didn't know anyone who went to the basketball games on any sort of routine basis. Of course, if all of the undergrads had wanted to go to the basketball games, it would have been impossible because the Old Pavilion seated what, 2,000 people? But the football stadium was pretty much full up for most home games.

The win/loss percentage for each program is virtually identical.  Stanford has won 605 football games, lost 440 and tied 49.  If we assume each tie is worth exactly half a win and half a loss, then the winning percentage for the football program throughout its history is 57.54%. 

The Stanford men's basketball team has won 1,519 games and lost 1,137.  That means they won 57.19% of their games.  To put it in perspective, if the football team had lost just four more games in its history, it would have a lower winning record that Stanford basketball.  So consider it virtually identical.

The postseason is a different story.  Stanford is 11-13-1 in football games, a 46% winning percentage (I counted the conference championship games as part of the regular season, same with the basketball conference championships).  In basketball, however, Stanford's record was 63.16%, with 36 wins and 21 losses.

Stanford has played football for 106 seasons (from 1892 to 2013, less four years for WWI and WWII and 12 years where they played rugby and not football -- which I didn't count for these purposes) and basketball for 99 seasons (101 years since 1913/1914, less two years for WWII).  Stanford went to the football postseason in 22.6% of those seasons.  Stanford went to the basketball postseason in 24.2% of those seasons.

So is it a basketball school or a football school?  Well, it should be both.  But football has the slightly upper hand, as it has played in what would be the equivalent of the NCAA Basketball's "Elite Eight" four years running now.

[Mick]

I'd say football, but that may be colored by my undergrad days. When I was in school in the late 60s, everyone went to the football games. (Girls all wearing white blouses and red skirts.) I didn't know anyone who went to the basketball games on any sort of routine basis. Of course, if all of the undergrads had wanted to go to the basketball games, it would have been impossible because the Old Pavilion seated what, 2,000 people? But the football stadium was pretty much full up for most home games.

The win/loss percentage for each program is virtually identical.  Stanford has won 605 football games, lost 440 and tied 49.  If we assume each tie is worth exactly half a win and half a loss, then the winning percentage for the football program throughout its history is 57.54%. 

The Stanford men's basketball team has won 1,519 games and lost 1,137.  That means they won 57.19% of their games.  To put it in perspective, if the football team had lost just four more games in its history, it would have a lower winning record that Stanford basketball.  So consider it virtually identical.

The postseason is a different story.  Stanford is 11-13-1 in football games, a 46% winning percentage (I counted the conference championship games as part of the regular season, same with the basketball conference championships).  In basketball, however, Stanford's record was 63.16%, with 36 wins and 21 losses.

Stanford has played football for 106 seasons (from 1892 to 2013, less four years for WWI and WWII and 12 years where they played rugby and not football -- which I didn't count for these purposes) and basketball for 99 seasons (101 years since 1913/1914, less two years for WWII).  Stanford went to the football postseason in 22.6% of those seasons.  Stanford went to the basketball postseason in 24.2% of those seasons.

So is it a basketball school or a football school?  Well, it should be both.  But football has the slightly upper hand, as it has played in what would be the equivalent of the NCAA Basketball's "Elite Eight" four years running now.