Nebraska Booted from the AAU

[HuskerExpat]

1. I went to UNL and I'll still have a job tomorrow, no questions asked;

2. AAU membership means nothing for the success of our football team.

Conclusion:

I couldn't care less about AAU membership.

 

[Enhance]

1. I went to UNL and I'll still have a job tomorrow, no questions asked;

2. AAU membership means nothing for the success of our football team.

Conclusion:

I couldn't care less about AAU membership.

The average fan doesn't care, but the universities in the Big 10 do. Not enough to revoke our membership, but it's still not good.

 

[bball_backer]

As you can see by my many 'replies' this issue has really upset me. I've been reading other message boards from the rest of the teams in the B1G and many of them are really angry. This DOES make the B1G look bad and why did it have to be Nebraska, who was being welcomed into the B1G with open arms, to spoil everything?

However, I did find this thoughtful post on, of all things, an Iowa Hawkeyes message board. There is still hope that NU will be reinstated but it's going to take some time, I'm afraid.

"A bit of history. When Michigan State became a member of the conference it was not a member of the AAU. It did not become an AAU member until 1964 after joining the conference in 1953. Purdue's AAU membership did not begin until 1958 after joining the conference in 1896. Also remember the Big Ten conference was formed before the AAU was formed. I think it is a mistake to think Nebraska would not have been admitted because of its AAU status. Obviously AAU members know what other members' status is.

I expect that Nebraska will begin work to attain membership once again."

Notre Dame is not an AAU member yet the B1G has been courting them for years so there are some huge inconsistencies here. I also learned that UNMC WAS once part of the NU system but they parted ways a long time ago. Does anyone have any history on this?

The whole thing just stinks. I don't know about anyone else but it rather taints our entrance into the B1G 10. Blah.

I don't understand what is so upsetting about all this. UNL is still going to the B10 and is still a great academic institution. Just because someone doesn't compliment me at bedtime on a job well done that day, doesn't mean I'm any less proud of what I accomplished since waking up that morning. Frankly, this is nothing to even bat an eye at. Let graduation rates, academic all-americans, and alumni success speak for itself.

 

[Hercules]

1. I went to UNL and I'll still have a job tomorrow, no questions asked;

2. AAU membership means nothing for the success of our football team.

Conclusion:

I couldn't care less about AAU membership.

The average fan doesn't care, but the universities in the Big 10 do. Not enough to revoke our membership, but it's still not good.

The universities in the Big Ten might care about it, but the AAU says nothing about what kind of education anyone will receive at UNL. That's all anyone should care about it, and the AAU doesn't measure that even remotely effectively by counting the amount of research dollars pouring in to only part of a school.

Nebraska fans/alumni should stop being butthurt about this and should instead use this situation to point out how ridiculously out of touch the academic system is.

 

[typ3kal]

1. I went to UNL and I'll still have a job tomorrow, no questions asked;

2. AAU membership means nothing for the success of our football team.

Conclusion:

I couldn't care less about AAU membership.

The average fan doesn't care, but the universities in the Big 10 do. Not enough to revoke our membership, but it's still not good.

The universities in the Big Ten might care about it, but the AAU says nothing about what kind of education anyone will receive at UNL. That's all anyone should care about it, and the AAU doesn't measure that even remotely effectively by counting the amount of research dollars pouring in to only part of a school.

Nebraska fans/alumni should stop being butthurt about this and should instead use this situation to point out how ridiculously out of touch the academic system is.

As an alumni I certainly care about the school's academic ranking. Probably more than its football ranking. It is not the academic system that is out of touch, but rather the state legislature that they can continually squeeze university funding without some sort of result. In my honest opinion, I think UNMC should be lumped with UNL. There is no need for redundancy of higher up administration and we should abolish UNK and roll that funding into UNL's and grow the size of the university. The majority of wasted money in the state system comes from having multiple buildings across the state for the same function. Plus, rolling the 6,500 students into UNL would raise the size of the university to be more on par with other B1G schools.

 

[Hercules]

1. I went to UNL and I'll still have a job tomorrow, no questions asked;

2. AAU membership means nothing for the success of our football team.

Conclusion:

I couldn't care less about AAU membership.

The average fan doesn't care, but the universities in the Big 10 do. Not enough to revoke our membership, but it's still not good.

The universities in the Big Ten might care about it, but the AAU says nothing about what kind of education anyone will receive at UNL. That's all anyone should care about it, and the AAU doesn't measure that even remotely effectively by counting the amount of research dollars pouring in to only part of a school.

Nebraska fans/alumni should stop being butthurt about this and should instead use this situation to point out how ridiculously out of touch the academic system is.

As an alumni I certainly care about the school's academic ranking. Probably more than its football ranking. It is not the academic system that is out of touch, but rather the state legislature that they can continually squeeze university funding without some sort of result. In my honest opinion, I think UNMC should be lumped with UNL. There is no need for redundancy of higher up administration and we should abolish UNK and roll that funding into UNL's and grow the size of the university. The majority of wasted money in the state system comes from having multiple buildings across the state for the same function. Plus, rolling the 6,500 students into UNL would raise the size of the university to be more on par with other B1G schools.

I'm an alum too, and I do care about maximizing efficiency, and you might have a point as far as combining the separate campuses throughout the state.

However, I really don't care about "academic ranking." It's the University of Nebraska, not Harvard, and membership in the AAU is not going to change UNL's academic prestige to the point where alumni get more respect nationally. Nobody gives a damn about the AAU except for a few other academics. The best way for UNL to increase its prestige is for its alumni to succeed in their chosen field - it's never going to get that much respect in arbitrary academic rankings which favor research funding over job placement.

 

[typ3kal]

1. I went to UNL and I'll still have a job tomorrow, no questions asked;

2. AAU membership means nothing for the success of our football team.

Conclusion:

I couldn't care less about AAU membership.

The average fan doesn't care, but the universities in the Big 10 do. Not enough to revoke our membership, but it's still not good.

The universities in the Big Ten might care about it, but the AAU says nothing about what kind of education anyone will receive at UNL. That's all anyone should care about it, and the AAU doesn't measure that even remotely effectively by counting the amount of research dollars pouring in to only part of a school.

Nebraska fans/alumni should stop being butthurt about this and should instead use this situation to point out how ridiculously out of touch the academic system is.

As an alumni I certainly care about the school's academic ranking. Probably more than its football ranking. It is not the academic system that is out of touch, but rather the state legislature that they can continually squeeze university funding without some sort of result. In my honest opinion, I think UNMC should be lumped with UNL. There is no need for redundancy of higher up administration and we should abolish UNK and roll that funding into UNL's and grow the size of the university. The majority of wasted money in the state system comes from having multiple buildings across the state for the same function. Plus, rolling the 6,500 students into UNL would raise the size of the university to be more on par with other B1G schools.

I'm an alum too, and I do care about maximizing efficiency, and you might have a point as far as combining the separate campuses throughout the state.

However, I really don't care about "academic ranking." It's the University of Nebraska, not Harvard, and membership in the AAU is not going to change UNL's academic prestige to the point where alumni get more respect nationally. Nobody gives a damn about the AAU except for a few other academics. The best way for UNL to increase its prestige is for its alumni to succeed in their chosen field - it's never going to get that much respect in arbitrary academic rankings which favor research funding over job placement.

USNews which everyone pays attention to certainly uses job placement. I feel like UNL gets ragged on a lot despite it being a decent university. I'm sure a lot of us here would agree, but all of us on this forum are homers. I feel like the university is under ranked for what it offers, but it can't do much moving in the rankings without a large boost to it's ACT/GPA #'s. That's not really possible at a state university- especially one in such a small state.

 

[Enhance]

I'm an alum too, and I do care about maximizing efficiency, and you might have a point as far as combining the separate campuses throughout the state.

However, I really don't care about "academic ranking." It's the University of Nebraska, not Harvard, and membership in the AAU is not going to change UNL's academic prestige to the point where alumni get more respect nationally. Nobody gives a damn about the AAU except for a few other academics. The best way for UNL to increase its prestige is for its alumni to succeed in their chosen field - it's never going to get that much respect in arbitrary academic rankings which favor research funding over job placement.

I don't care and I'm sure many of the fans don't.

But the Big 10 and the Big 10 commissioner do care. Not enough for us lose membership, but it's not just a "few academics" that care about it, which is why from an academic standpoint this is a bit of an embarrassment for Nebraska.

It's overrated, but not to some people.

 

[bball_backer]

USNews which everyone pays attention to certainly uses job placement. I feel like UNL gets ragged on a lot despite it being a decent university. I'm sure a lot of us here would agree, but all of us on this forum are homers. I feel like the university is under ranked for what it offers, but it can't do much moving in the rankings without a large boost to it's ACT/GPA #'s. That's not really possible at a state university- especially one in such a small state.

Umm... I don't, nor have any of my bosses (not that I've had many bosses, but the couple I've had have not)

 

[typ3kal]

USNews which everyone pays attention to certainly uses job placement. I feel like UNL gets ragged on a lot despite it being a decent university. I'm sure a lot of us here would agree, but all of us on this forum are homers. I feel like the university is under ranked for what it offers, but it can't do much moving in the rankings without a large boost to it's ACT/GPA #'s. That's not really possible at a state university- especially one in such a small state.

Umm... I don't, nor have any of my bosses (not that I've had many bosses, but the couple I've had have not)

Sorry, I should clarify. The consumers (choosing students) and the academics hold USNews in the highest regard. This isn't to say the ranking is even a good one but it is generally judged as the supreme ranking of schools. If UNL's rank goes up then more consumers will seek it. A good example of this is the huge surge of college counselors in Minneapolis / Denver/ Chicago areas overwhelming university representatives this year. More students means more $ for the university. There have been more than a couple dozen deans of graduate schools and undergraduates alike that have been fired over slips in USNews Rankings.

 

[ladyhawke]

I don't understand what is so upsetting about all this. UNL is still going to the B10 and is still a great academic institution. Just because someone doesn't compliment me at bedtime on a job well done that day, doesn't mean I'm any less proud of what I accomplished since waking up that morning. Frankly, this is nothing to even bat an eye at. Let graduation rates, academic all-americans, and alumni success speak for itself.

For me, it's been weeks of hearing how excited the B1G is in having NU join the ranks, how great it's going to be to have us in the B1G then this happens. It just stinks.

But as others have pointed out, we're the same institution we were when they invited us. They knew we were having difficulties with our AAU membership so this is not surprising to the powers that be-it's just plain embarrassing. We ARE a great academic institution. It's like my Dad always says: "The sun WILL rise in the morning-everything going to be ok.'

 

[jayhawk]

Sorry to hear it.

 

[husker_hurdler]

For those of you that don't "get it"...

This is a big deal!!!! Reasons can be found in previous posts by other posters (yea, feeling a little lazy tonight).

 

[Hercules]

USNews which everyone pays attention to certainly uses job placement. I feel like UNL gets ragged on a lot despite it being a decent university. I'm sure a lot of us here would agree, but all of us on this forum are homers. I feel like the university is under ranked for what it offers, but it can't do much moving in the rankings without a large boost to it's ACT/GPA #'s. That's not really possible at a state university- especially one in such a small state.

Umm... I don't, nor have any of my bosses (not that I've had many bosses, but the couple I've had have not)

Sorry, I should clarify. The consumers (choosing students) and the academics hold USNews in the highest regard. This isn't to say the ranking is even a good one but it is generally judged as the supreme ranking of schools. If UNL's rank goes up then more consumers will seek it. A good example of this is the huge surge of college counselors in Minneapolis / Denver/ Chicago areas overwhelming university representatives this year. More students means more $ for the university. There have been more than a couple dozen deans of graduate schools and undergraduates alike that have been fired over slips in USNews Rankings.

If the reason we care about academic rankings is for more $, how about we just lower our academic standards and allow more students in?

If I were recruiting students to the University of Nebraska, I'd be looking for students who believe in the mission of the university, and who are going to invest themselves in that mission. I wouldn't be interested in recruiting students who are looking merely for a line on their resume, or students who think that they will find success because their institution is high on the USNews Rankings.

 

[Hercules]

For those of you that don't "get it"...

This is a big deal!!!!

It's really not. Name some significant, tangible consequences that will be felt over the next ten years because of UNL's exclusion from the AAU.