amckillip said:
I completely disagree as a Valley fan I still feel that Big Ten is a very good conference and really, probably, as of now, should be ahead of the MVC, bradley ahd its chance twice to prove other wise and came up short. And the Big Ten has had some great teams as of late, in basketball they've had Illinois, MSU, and IU make the final four recently, Wisconsin and Ohio State have been tough, and in football OSU is one of the most consistent teams in the nation. And by the way lets not insult the Big Tens academics because with schools like Michigan, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Penn State, you have a pedigree the Valley cant even began to compare with.
I'm not saying the Big Ten isn't a good conference. They just don't live up to their excessive hype. You can still be a good conference and also overrated.
I never said the Valley was better than the B10. This year, I think they're pretty even. The difference being, the Valley has little-to-no hype to live up to, while many Big Ten fans I know still talk about themselves as the best conference in the nation.
And even with BU's two disappointing losses, the MVC still has a winning record in the series.
As for academics, I never brought that into question. Clearly, with my last line, I was referring to the uneducated, toothless segment of their fans. I give them the benefit of the doubt that there is little crossover here.
But now that you mention it, I have to disagree with your academic assessment of the Valley vs. that of the Big Ten.... at least at the undergraduate level. The difference is as simple as the missions of the schools: research vs. teaching. At B10 schools, you're taught by TA's (some of whom don't even have their undergraduate degree yet), sometimes via cold Powerpoint reading, in oversized classrooms in an assembly line fashion. Few profs make themselves accessible, especially if they have tenure or are overburdened with research.
Due to their size, B10 schools just happen to be some of the worst offenders of this.
Illinois is more difficult to get into than BU or ISU, but BU and ISU are more difficult to graduate from. Profs actually read what you write in Valley schools for the most part, as opposed to heavy Scantron testing.
So, give me UNI or Drake instead of Iowa. BU or ISU instead of UIUC.
If you plan on getting a degree in Indiana, come to Evansville or Terre Haute. If you just want to hit da gym and da club, go to Bloomington....