Ranking the Big Ten Campuses

[teachercd]

http://athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-big-ten-college-towns-expert-poll

 

Kind of fun to read

[Red Five]

The media hates us!

[NUance]

Big Cities are great:

"A revitalized [Columbus] downtown offers more to do than most typical college towns."

"If you like big cities, few places in the world compare to The Windy City."

"East Lansing could be one of the quicker developing cities on this list."

"The Twin Cities offer plenty for visitors and residents alike."

 

OTOH, Small cities suck:

"State College isn't easy to get to..."

"Bloomington has a time-capsule feel."

"There isn't a lot to do in Lincoln..."

 

 

Seems like the judges gave bonus points for campuses in big cities that have more to offer outside the campus than smaller and midsized B1G cities. I have entirely the opposite view. When a school is in a smallish/medium sized city—say, a quarter million or so—the activities of the city center around the university. But in a city of a million or more the college scene is just an afterthought. Really, when you were in college how much time did you spend off campus going to museums, pro-sports games, and the social events of the city? I spent most of my time on campus, or at the bars near campus. Given this, I'd rank the top B1G campuses as:

 

Bloomington

Wisconsin

Nebraska

Michigan

Iowa

Penn State

 

/JMHO

[NUinID]

 

Big Cities are great:

"A revitalized [Columbus] downtown offers more to do than most typical college towns."

"If you like big cities, few places in the world compare to The Windy City."

"East Lansing could be one of the quicker developing cities on this list."

"The Twin Cities offer plenty for visitors and residents alike."

 

OTOH, Small cities suck:

"State College isn't easy to get to..."

"Bloomington has a time-capsule feel."

"There isn't a lot to do in Lincoln..."

 

 

Seems like the judges gave bonus points for campuses in big cities that have more to offer outside the campus than smaller and midsized B1G cities. I have entirely the opposite view. When a school is in a smallish/medium sized city—say, a quarter million or so—the activities of the city center around the university. But in a city of a million or more the college scene is just an afterthought. Really, when you were in college how much time did you spend off campus going to museums, pro-sports games, and the social events of the city? I spent most of my time on campus, or at the bars near campus. Given this, I'd rank the top B1G campuses as:

 

Bloomington

Wisconsin

Nebraska

Michigan

Iowa

Penn State

 

/JMHO

 

This is basically the way I feel about it. I am sorry, but the big draw in Minneapolis is not the University of Minnesota. I would say Columbus is close to Minneapolis in that appeal. Maryland and New Jersey are just one big city anyway.

[ColoradoHusk]

NUance, I agree with you in that I think it's cool to be in a town/city that the focus is on the college/university. I don't know if I would want to be at Northwestern, because Evanston is basically just part of Chicago, which is HUGE. The actual college gets lost in that city a bit.

 

I think specific college towns that are close to big cities make the best cities for campuses. Now, I hate the city of Boulder because of the people there, but I think it's cool that it's only 30-40 minutes from downtown Denver. KU is relatively close to Kansas City. Athens, GA is within 1 1/2 to 2 hours of Atlanta.

[NUance]

NUance, I agree with you in that I think it's cool to be in a town/city that the focus is on the college/university. I don't know if I would want to be at Northwestern, because Evanston is basically just part of Chicago, which is HUGE. The actual college gets lost in that city a bit.

 

I think specific college towns that are close to big cities make the best cities for campuses. Now, I hate the city of Boulder because of the people there, but I think it's cool that it's only 30-40 minutes from downtown Denver. KU is relatively close to Kansas City. Athens, GA is within 1 1/2 to 2 hours of Atlanta.

 

Yeah, I think the worst B1G campus is Maryland. College Park is basically part of Washington D.C. And not a particularly good part either. OTOH, West West Lafayette is probly a bit too small for my tastes. Champaign-Urbana is a nice sized city. But U. of IL is just an ugly campus from what I've seen.

[huKSer]

Title of thread should have been ranking the Big Ten Campus Towns - I'm pretty OK with the list in that context

 

I would like to see a ranking of the actual campuses - parking, dorms, layout, how close to entertainment venues,safety, # of bicycles stolen by football players etc

[ColoradoHusk]

 

NUance, I agree with you in that I think it's cool to be in a town/city that the focus is on the college/university. I don't know if I would want to be at Northwestern, because Evanston is basically just part of Chicago, which is HUGE. The actual college gets lost in that city a bit.

 

I think specific college towns that are close to big cities make the best cities for campuses. Now, I hate the city of Boulder because of the people there, but I think it's cool that it's only 30-40 minutes from downtown Denver. KU is relatively close to Kansas City. Athens, GA is within 1 1/2 to 2 hours of Atlanta.

 

Yeah, I think the worst B1G campus is Maryland. College Park is basically part of Washington D.C. And not a particularly good part either. OTOH, West West Lafayette is probly a bit too small for my tastes. Champaign-Urbana is a nice sized city. But U. of IL is just an ugly campus from what I've seen.

 

I wish I have been able to go to more college campuses that I have been. I think college campuses are just really cool places, and that's not just because of the potential for hot 18-22 year old chicks.

 

I live in Colorado, and my kids are pretty young. I tell my wife and friends I won't let them go to CU-Boulder, just because I hate Boulder with a passion. I think CSU is a decent campus, and it should get better once they build their on-campus football stadium (should be complete in 2017). Other than that, I would recommend to my kids that going to a "big college" is fun because of sports, being part of a big campus, and being an alumni of a major, D-1 school is great. My wife went to Nebraska Wesleyan, and I have a nephew that may go to Hastings College. I know that big colleges aren't for everyone, but I couldn't imagine going to a school that small. I still can't believe that some of those small colleges are able to survive.

[STL Husker]

Title of thread should have been ranking the Big Ten Campus Towns - I'm pretty OK with the list in that context

 

I would like to see a ranking of the actual campuses - parking, dorms, layout, how close to entertainment venues,safety, # of bicycles stolen by football players etc

Agreed. This isn't a ranking of campuses, but the towns they are in. I have the same feeling about Madison as I do about Boulder. They are amazing college towns despite their residents. I would say the same about Iowa City, but it doesn't do enough to overcome its residents. I haven't been to many of these cities, but Columbus feels like a bigger version of Lincoln so I don't see how it ranks so high. Minneapolis is a really cool city but I guess it gets knocked down because there isn't a big connection with the university. I don't think Northwestern has figured out if it wants to be considered part of Chicago or not. They bring it up with recruiting, but they also make it clear that they are in Evanston almost like they are above being part of Chicago. Champaign is nothing to write home about except for the fact that it's so easy to get football tickets and turn their campus red.

[Landlord]

 

Big Cities are great:

"A revitalized [Columbus] downtown offers more to do than most typical college towns."

"If you like big cities, few places in the world compare to The Windy City."

"East Lansing could be one of the quicker developing cities on this list."

"The Twin Cities offer plenty for visitors and residents alike."

 

OTOH, Small cities suck:

"State College isn't easy to get to..."

"Bloomington has a time-capsule feel."

"There isn't a lot to do in Lincoln..."

 

 

Seems like the judges gave bonus points for campuses in big cities that have more to offer outside the campus than smaller and midsized B1G cities.

 

 

When a school is in a smallish/medium sized city—say, a quarter million or so—the activities of the city center around the university. But in a city of a million or more the college scene is just an afterthought.

 

 

 

What? No they didn't.

 

Chicago, the largest city in the conference, is 7th. Columbus, the second largest city in the conference, is 4th. Minneapolis is 9th.

 

Further, there are 9 cities in America with a million or more people, and none of them has a blue-blood college program. That's pretty obvious and also reflected by this list.

[NUinID]

 

 

Big Cities are great:

"A revitalized [Columbus] downtown offers more to do than most typical college towns."

"If you like big cities, few places in the world compare to The Windy City."

"East Lansing could be one of the quicker developing cities on this list."

"The Twin Cities offer plenty for visitors and residents alike."

 

OTOH, Small cities suck:

"State College isn't easy to get to..."

"Bloomington has a time-capsule feel."

"There isn't a lot to do in Lincoln..."

 

 

Seems like the judges gave bonus points for campuses in big cities that have more to offer outside the campus than smaller and midsized B1G cities.

 

 

When a school is in a smallish/medium sized city—say, a quarter million or so—the activities of the city center around the university. But in a city of a million or more the college scene is just an afterthought.

 

 

 

What? No they didn't.

 

Chicago, the largest city in the conference, is 7th. Columbus, the second largest city in the conference, is 4th. Minneapolis is 9th.

 

Further, there are 9 cities in America with a million or more people, and none of them has a blue-blood college program. That's pretty obvious and also reflected by this list.

 

There is a lot more cities in America with at least a million people than nine. How bout LA, I think UCLA and USC qualify as blue blood college programs. I think Washington would be considered blue blood for a college and it is in Seattle. I am sure I could come up with some more if I think real hard.

[Ric Flair]

Lincoln's campus is pretty nice, but Lincoln is a complete dump. Take the university out of it, and Lincoln is a Hastings/Council Bluffs hybrid.

[bale]

 

 

Big Cities are great:

"A revitalized [Columbus] downtown offers more to do than most typical college towns."

"If you like big cities, few places in the world compare to The Windy City."

"East Lansing could be one of the quicker developing cities on this list."

"The Twin Cities offer plenty for visitors and residents alike."

 

OTOH, Small cities suck:

"State College isn't easy to get to..."

"Bloomington has a time-capsule feel."

"There isn't a lot to do in Lincoln..."

 

 

Seems like the judges gave bonus points for campuses in big cities that have more to offer outside the campus than smaller and midsized B1G cities.

 

 

When a school is in a smallish/medium sized city—say, a quarter million or so—the activities of the city center around the university. But in a city of a million or more the college scene is just an afterthought.

 

 

 

What? No they didn't.

 

Chicago, the largest city in the conference, is 7th. Columbus, the second largest city in the conference, is 4th. Minneapolis is 9th.

 

Further, there are 9 cities in America with a million or more people, and none of them has a blue-blood college program. That's pretty obvious and also reflected by this list.

 

 

Yeah but there are 58 metro areas with more than a million and those have tons of blue-bloods (if considering all sports). And just considering football, Texas, Ohio State, Miami, and USC are all blue-bloods, and tons more of them have great history (Tennessee, Washington, UCLA, etc)

[teachercd]

Minny sucks...I was soooooo not impressed.

[HuskerNation1]

I've been to many of these places, and these rankings are a joke. Most people I know that have lived in most of these locations speak very highly of Madison and Lincoln, and I've heard good things about Columbus (I'm talking both campus and the community), but some of the others are not much to call home about.