[StanUSwagU]

A&M is hosting LSU tonight and wearing all-black uniforms for the first time at home. The stadium is packed (100,000 plus). Somehow, virtually all of the spectators are also dressed in black, wearing #12 jerseys for the "12th man" tradition. A&M has an institutional commitment to excellence in football, even if it often falls short of that standard.

Consider the young man who wants to study engineering in college and is also an excellent football player. Why choose Stanford over Texas A&M? Both have good engineering programs, but the former provides a near-empty stadium, the latter an incredible game-day atmosphere.

I continue to believe Stanford can compete at the highest levels in the sport, but not without a level of commitment comparable to what we see among other Power 4 members.

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

Hi Branner,

1. I 100% agree with You !

2. Unfortunately, I think we are in the minority at our University, in having this perspective of seeing the value to the University of having a consistently Top20 Football Program, and the benefits & positive interest having a Top20 Football program, brings to the University as a whole, and to its Academic Operations.

3. I think only when we get kicked out of the ACC for being 'a dead weight Football program', and that leads to the elimination of all other Sports (Olympic & otherwise) having a Top Flight conference to compete in, ....then & only then ...will Urgency about Football be a Top Priority, but at that point ...it will be too late.

4. We were a 'dead weight Football program, that no Major Power Conference saw our Football & Mens Basketball programs as 'bringing Eyes & Interest to their conference or MediaTV partner, for Football & Mens Basketball, and that is a large reason why we were almost left out in the cold of the 'musical chairs invitation of Pac12 schools to a Power Conference, ...after the Pac12 dissolved. And we could easily have been Oregon State or WSU. The fact that our Football & Mens Basketball has been so bad over the last 7yrs is also, why we literally had to beg to be invited into the ACC (and accept being a non-paid member of the ACC for many years); One would think that EMBARRASING episode of having to beg the ACC for admittance, (with the ACC spending many weeks thinking we Stanford were not worthy of an Invite into the ACC) would have taught us the Lesson to never let Football & Mens Basketball languish. One would also think & hope the UniversityAdministration, its Non Football & Mens Basketball athletes, & its Academically inclined students, even those who have No Interest in Football, would see the correlation between having a Top20 Football Program & a Top20 Mens Basketball program, and the ability of StanfordUniversity to Attract Billions of Dollars in the Future, ..or to eventually suffer the opposite fate of succumbing to becoming Cornell, BowdoinCollege, or Dartmouth ... who dont attract Billions of Dollars of Interest ! [If that trend were to persist long enough, say goodbye to New Science & Engineering laboratories, (which in the future will cost Billions), and all the other Nice Things that having a consistently Top20 Football & Mens Basketball program brings to a University, ...Weird how NotreDame, USC, & Michigan & the Majority of their students & faculty see the benefit of a Top20 Football program to the University in generating Millions of Dollars that can get used by the University for the Academic Side, but here at Stanford many of our Admin, Students, and Faculty ...dont see that correlation.]

Just my $.02

[StanUSwagU]

A&M is hosting LSU tonight and wearing all-black uniforms for the first time at home. The stadium is packed (100,000 plus). Somehow, virtually all of the spectators are also dressed in black, wearing #12 jerseys for the "12th man" tradition. A&M has an institutional commitment to excellence in football, even if it often falls short of that standard.

Consider the young man who wants to study engineering in college and is also an excellent football player. Why choose Stanford over Texas A&M? Both have good engineering programs, but the former provides a near-empty stadium, the latter an incredible game-day atmosphere.

I continue to believe Stanford can compete at the highest levels in the sport, but not without a level of commitment comparable to what we see among other Power 4 members.

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

Hi Branner,

1. I 100% agree with You !

2. Unfortunately, I think we are in the minority at our University, in having this perspective of seeing the value to the University of having a consistently Top20 Football Program, and the benefits & positive interest having a Top20 Football program, brings to the University as a whole, and to its Academic Operations.

3. I think only when we get kicked out of the ACC for being 'a dead weight Football program', and that leads to the elimination of all other Sports (Olympic & otherwise) having a Top Flight conference to compete in, ....then & only then ...will Urgency about Football be a Top Priority, but at that point ...it will be too late.

4. We were a 'dead weight Football program, that no Major Power Conference saw our Football & Mens Basketball programs as 'bringing Eyes & Interest to their conference or MediaTV partner, for Football & Mens Basketball, and that is a large reason why we were almost left out in the cold of the 'musical chairs invitation of Pac12 schools to a Power Conference, ...after the Pac12 dissolved. And we could easily have been Oregon State or WSU. The fact that our Football & Mens Basketball has been so bad over the last 7yrs is also, why we literally had to beg to be invited into the ACC (and accept being a non-paid member of the ACC for many years); One would think that EMBARRASING episode of having to beg the ACC for admittance, (with the ACC spending many weeks thinking we Stanford were not worthy of an Invite into the ACC) would have taught us the Lesson to never let Football & Mens Basketball languish. One would also think & hope the UniversityAdministration, its Non Football & Mens Basketball athletes, & its Academically inclined students, even those who have No Interest in Football, would see the correlation between having a Top20 Football Program & a Top20 Mens Basketball program, and the ability of StanfordUniversity to Attract Billions of Dollars in the Future, ..or to eventually suffer the opposite fate of succumbing to becoming Cornell, BowdoinCollege, or Dartmouth ... who dont attract Billions of Dollars of Interest ! [If that trend were to persist long enough, say goodbye to New Science & Engineering laboratories, (which in the future will cost Billions), and all the other Nice Things that having a consistently Top20 Football & Mens Basketball program brings to a University, ...Weird how NotreDame, USC, & Michigan & the Majority of their students & faculty see the benefit of a Top20 Football program to the University in generating Millions of Dollars that can get used by the University for the Academic Side, but here at Stanford many of our Admin, Students, and Faculty ...dont see that correlation.]

Just my $.02