Fuller's Field

Jimmer/Romney 2012 Sign Saga Gone Full Circle

2011-09-09T09:06:00.005-05:00

Just a Bunch of Info . . . unformated and pasted for BYU to the BIG XII

2010-06-19T04:18:00.016-05:00

First time visitor here . . . but long-time college sports and BYU fan. I've lived in SEC, BigXII, Big 10, ACC, and PAC 10 country at different times in my life and have always had my pulse on college football in particular. Currently, I reside in Baton Rouge, LA and am married to a Alabama grad. I live and breath college sports . . . especially football. I liked my last trip to Big XII country for sure . . . watching my Cougs take down the Sooners at the christening of Jerry's World in Arlington was awesome. We also got around 20K fans to that game making a good showing for the travel potential of our team.

Anyways, most hard core BYU fans have felt that we'd fit better in the Big XII than the PAC 10 (the opposite of Colorado) and have pined for the last few years for such a time to come. With Nebraska and CU jumping ship we see this as our opportunity.

First, do you really believe in this 10-team conference is long-term? I know Mack and Bob have made comments about how they hate the Conf champ game, but now that the Big 10 and PAc 10 will be having them I think they have less room to complain. The revenue from the title game is hard to pass up as well, and we know that the coaches don't call these shots anyways.

Beyond that, assume that the Big XII needs to add 2 teams. Beebe has said that if teams are added, they'd be from states "outside the current footprint" of the Big XII (no TCU or Houston). Arkansas has been bantered around, but looks like they might be staying in the SEC. Jerry Jones wants his Hogs and Notre Dame in, but he doesn't always get what he wants (Does he?). If Arkansas does make the jump who would be the next team? I've heard BYU, Louisville, and Air Force are possibilities. What do y'all think of BYU as a potential Big XII member? And is "no Sunday play" gonna be a deal breaker?

At our main board http://www.cougarboard.com/ I posted convincing evidence that BYU's athletics program is much better currently and historically than Utah's and have pasted that in below for your perusal (consider it our resume). Many of the numbers will pale in comparison to powerhouse programs like yours . . . but we're definitely THE powerhouse of non-AQ schools AND much better currently than MOST BCS conference schools in many areas. We've done ourselves quite proud working from the arena of not being in a BCS conference. (plus, you'll never have to worry about NCAA sanctions against us . . . we've never even been investigated). So here you go . . .

University Enrollment (2009):
BYU: Over 35,000
Utah: Over 26.000

Total Alumni--living (active chapters):
BYU: 370,000 (105)
Utah: 210,000 (15)

Athletics Booster Organizations--Members (Satellite Chapters):
Cougar Club: "nearly 4,000" (15)
Crimson Club: 4,400 (ZERO) . . . Utes give free membership to all recent graduates for at least one year . . . artificially inflating their numbers.

TV markets/Fan base
This is difficult to quantify for various reasons. We all know SLC is a low-mid 30's media market and that BYU has more of a handle on this market than Utah does. But that is about the extent of the Utah fan base by in large. Being a state-run school it tends to draw in-state students that then tend to stay in state . . . all of this at a much higher rate than BYU students. BYU can claim significant fan bases (whether BYU grads, or LDS-cheerers) in the following top-50 media markets: LA #2, Bay-area #6, Phoenix #12, Seattle #14, Denver #18, Sacramento #20, Portland #23, San Diego #27, and Las Vegas #43. Then, add high concentrations of BYU fans in niche markets (Idaho, Hawaii, smaller CA markets), and respectable clusters of fans/alumni/LDS in other top media markets (Dallas/FW #5 and D.C. #9) and you truly have a national following of which TV contracts negotiators will take note. In fact, during the '90s, BYU frequently appeared on ESPN and, according to our associate athletic director, BYU had five of the top 10 highest-rated football telecasts in ESPN history (at least up until that point). As that link also shows, Utah cannot quite match BYU even in it's home market, and it pales in comparison outside the Wasatch front. One recent opinion piece summed it up nicely while suggesting that BYU take Colorado's place in the BigXII:

"BYU replaces Colorado. When it comes to the premiere sport, and what realignment is all about, the Cougars have the Buffs beat hands down. They play better football and have been a perennial top-20 team that consistently gets into, and performs well in bowls. They play in a bigger stadium (64,000+ versus 50,000) to sold out crowds. And they have much better TV ratings. Their home market, Salt Lake City, is smaller than Denver by about 35 percent and they split it with Utah. Colorado, however, also shares the Denver market with Colorado State, Air Force, the Broncos of the NFL, and until the end of September, pro baseball. Salt Lake is also one of the fastest growing markets in the country. By taking BYU the Big 12 can draw a line n the sand and compete against the PAC, who is busy grabbing Utah in said Salt Lake market. Although the Utes have performed well as of late, BYU has a larger following in the Salt Lake City market and a longer legacy of football success. With their LDS affiliation, BYU also has a big national following, and per ESPN figures is one of the best draws in the nation from a television rating standpoint. Simply stated, The Cougs draw wellat home, away, and on the tube. Therefore, the Big 12 can actually grab the premier team in the Salt Lake market, one that has a national following, defend themselves against further PAC incursions, and actually increase their revenue. Finally, the Cougars also perform well in other sports, while Colorado does not."

LDS population by State
(Just as an FYI)
Arizona: 374,839 members, 784 congregations
California: 757,900 members, 1,356 congregations
Colorado: 139,887 members, 288 congregations
Idaho: 410,764 members, 1,063 congregations
Iowa: 24,229 members, 68 congregations
Kansas: 33,798 members, 75 congregations
Missouri:65,122 members, 144 congregations
Nebraska:22,372 members, 61 congregations
Nevada:174,639 members, 317 congregations
New Mexico:66187 members, 132 congregations
Oklahoma:42,515 members, 83 congregations
Oregon:146,429 members, 306 congregations
Texas: 286,902 members, 554 congregations
Utah:1,884,377 members, 4,734 congregations
Washington:263,710 members, 503 congregations
Wyoming:61,430 members, 151 congregations

Athletic Revenue (2007-8)

BYU: $36.7 million (64th nationally . . . 2nd in MWC behind TCU's 57th; but TCU, followed by BYU, were the top two non-AQ revenue teams in the nation; meaning that 62 out of the top 63 revenue earning NCAA schools were from BCS conferences . . . that revenue-sharing for TV contracts and bowl payouts goes a long way, eh?

Utah: $26.9 million (80th nationally . . . SEVENTH in the MWC, and 13th among non-AQ schools)

Additionally, this Database search of PUBLIC ONLY NCAA teams in 2004-5 had Utah at $25.5 million . . . which was behind UNM and SDSU (safely presumable that they were behind BYU, TCU, and AFA that year as well) . . . and barely ahead of UNLV.
A cash-cow Utah Althletics is not.

Athletics Budget (2009):
BYU: $30 million (spending much less than we made)
Utah: $27 million(spending a tad more than they made)

Football Attendance (2009):

BYU: 64,497 capacity . . . sold out 20 consecutive times (only 20-25 teams NATIONALLY average a sell out each year). 26-27th nationally for total average attendance per home game for the last 4 years (Source for this and below)

Utah: 45,017 capacity . . . often sell out (but usually only the bigger games or in the better years as evidenced by plenty of empty seats being plainly noticeable for games against "lesser" teams every year.) Utes came in at 49-57th nationally for total average attendance per home game for last 4 years.

Basketball Attendance (2009):

BYU: 17th nationally at 14,097 per home game (Marriott Center capacity 22,700; 62% full . . . we can definitely do better here!)

Utah: 56th nationally at 9,202 per home game (Huntsman Center capacity 15,000; 61% full)

BYU has averaged over 13K and Utah averaged UNDER 10K for the last four years running.

Now switching gears from demographics and financial matters to athletic accomplishments . . .

Sears Director's Cup Standings--total final ranking of all NCAA sports (current and incomplete 2009-2010):

BYU: 34th (should go up quite a bit with our strong softball and track finishes this year)

Utah: 67th

Average of last decade: BYU 29th-ish, Utah 60th (also, BYU averaged in the mid to high teens through most of the 1990s . . . we want Rhondo back!!)

Deseret Duel (started in 2007):
BYU 2 wins, Utah. 1 win (BYU owned Utes in 2009-10 with final tally of 45-15)

NCAA Football National Titles:
BYU: 1984
Utah: None

BCS Games/wins:
BYU: None (though snubbed at least twice and not invited to play 1995 & 2001)
Utah: 2 games and 2 wins (same BCS performance as State

Bowl Games (record):
BYU 28 (10-17-1)
Utah 15 (12-3) . . . Utes are, admittedly, amazing in Bowl games.

HARDWARE . . . (This and other BYU Hardware link here)

Heisman Trophies:
BYU: Ty Detmer (1991)
Utah: None

Doak Walker Awards:
BYU: Luke Staley (2001)
Utah: None

Davey O'Brien Award:
BYU: Four (1981-91)
Utah: None

Sammy Baugh Trophy:
BYU: Seven (1974-1996)
Utah None

Outland Trophy:
BYU: Two (1985-9)
Utah: None
(sensing a pattern here on the grid-iron?)

Wooden Award
BYU: Danny Ainge (1981) . . . oh yeah, and Jimmer Freddette will win it this year.
Utah: Andrew Bogut (2005)

All-Americans (all-time and all sports):
BYU: 1060
Utah: Couldn't find it, but I'd wager quite a hefty sum that it's much less than a thousand.

Academic All-MWConferenc 2009-10:
BYU 67
Utah 44

If you go through this data and think that Utah is/was the crown jewel of the MWC then you're just not willing to accept the facts. Two BCS bowl wins are impressive for sure, but Colorado didn't need any BCS bowl accomplishments to gain admission to the PAC-10. Therefore, the reason BYU wasn't chosen for the PAC-10 was due to being blacklisted by the California schools due to the heavy LDS involvement in Prop 8 and the fact that we will not play sports on Sunday (these factors are well known in the highest circles at BYU and the PAC 10, but have not been aired to the media outlets). The "Academic profile/Med School/Research School" issue is a load of crud . . . ASU, OSU, and WSU don't have med schools and stink academically on the national scale; plus, BYU has a WAY better academic ranking for the undergraduate school than Utah.) The religious issue is what it is and we are what we are. I guess we can complain about non-athletic factors impacting and limiting our academic access, but it's a reality that's not changing for us and we can only hope that it will continue to be respected by the NCAA and whatever conference we belong to.

Well, I guess we shouldn't have our feelings hurt TOO badly, because Cal also looks like they blacklisted Baylor from the PAC-10 due to them being a religious school.

Baylor officials were hoping beyond hope that some 11th-hour change would happen to either save the Big 12 or allow them to get on the train out west.

But one Baylor official told Orangebloods.com, "It's probably 90 percent sure the other Texas schools are gone, but we have to hold onto that 10 percent that something could change."

Orangebloods.com was the first to report Wednesday that Baylor, which has strong ties to the Baptist church, was being met with some resistance in the Pac-10, namely Cal-Berkeley, because of its religious affiliation.

So if those nasty Utes or pompous PAC-10ers try to say that we just have a persecution complex about religious bigotry, we can cite, not only sources that leaked that BYU had been blacklisted by Cal/Stanford . . . but that Cal's so anti-religious that they couldn't stand the thought of being in a conference (even in another division that they would almost never have to play) with a BAPTIST school . . . let alone an LDS one.

Texas	101,175
Oklahoma	84,778
Texas A&M	76,800
Missouri	64,120
Oklahoma St.	53,719
Kansas	50,581
Texas Tech	50,249
Kansas St.	46,763
Iowa St.	46,242
Baylor	36,306
Avg of Avg:	61,073

BYU	64,236
TCU	38,187
Air Force	35,656
Boise ST.	32,782
New Mexico	26,944
Colorado St.	23,643
UNLV	22,775
Wyoming	19,494
Rice	13,552

Colorado	50,088
Nebraska	85,888

2009 NCAA DIVISION I FBS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Rank	Division	Teams	Games	Attendance	Average
1	Southeastern	12	86	6,560,738	76,288
2	Big Ten	11	77	5,526,237	71,769
3	Big 12	12	82	5,155,739	62,875
4	Pacific-10	10	64	3,467,899	54,186
5	Atlantic	12	81	4,151,171	51,249
6	Independents	3	19	923,915	48,627
7	Big East	8	53	2,374,604	44,804
8	Mountain West	9	55	1,826,091	33,202
9	Conference USA	12	73	1,941,825	26,600
10	Western Athletic	9	53	1,205,690	22,749
11	Sun Belt	9	49	806,687	16,463
12	Mid-American	13	74	1,133,434	15,317

ACADEMICS:
The second observation that seems appropriate is that BYU, which Pac-11 fans bleat endlessly is too far beneath the conference academically to even be considered a possible member, is ranked No. 71. BYU is ranked ahead of six Pac-11 schools, including new member Colorado that most see as the academic shining light of the Rockies (that would make 7 of the 12 now that UTAH is in the PAC 10)

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/

http://texas.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=61&tid=144259894&mid=144259894&sid=902&style=2
Wasatch Horn

Re: BYU would be great add to BigXII

Reply

I personally think BYU would be a great add, like I said, the two biggest obstacles are Baylor and the no play on Sunday. Neither are big obstacles but they are obstacles.

What is not in the OP post that would make a better argument is how nice it would be to roadtrip up to Provo Utah for a game.

While living in Utah I attended a BYU/TCU game. I went there cheering for TCU but by the end of the game I was pulling for BYU. It was a fabulous experience. I had my son with me and he loved it also.

If anyone has ever been to Aspen Colorado, they would love Park City Utah.

Most important is that BYU actually plays in a real stadium, Utah plays in a stadium that looks like some of the nicer high school stadiums here in Texas.

Trust me when I say this. I have lived in the following cities: San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco CA.

When I retire I will make one home in San Antonio and another in Salt Lake City.

Posted on 6/19 6:13 PM IP: Logged

BYU by the numbers...population estimates for Big XII consideration: (just so people know about the numbers...).

Here are some population numbers and estimates for the Big XII to consider
Listed is the State, current population (a bit outdated, Utah's population, and other states now higher), current population rank, and projected population for 2030 with projected state rank for 2030, (estimates from US Census)

Population estimates

Texas	20,851,820	2	.Texas		33,317,744	2
Missouri	5,595,211	17	.Missouri	6,430,173		19
Oklahoma	3,450,654	27	.Oklahoma	3,913,251		29
Kansas	2,688,418	32	.Kansas	2,940,084 35

Potential Candidates include AFA, Arkansas, and BYU

Colorado	4,301,261	24	.Colorado	5,792,357	22
Arkansas	2,673,400	33	.Arkansas	3,240,208	32
Utah	2,233,169	34	.Utah	3,485,367	31

Also, here are the LDS membership data from 2008 by state:

Alabama: 33,968 members, 72 congregations
Alaska: 30,169 members, 81 congregations
Arizona: 374,839 members, 784 congregations
Arkansas: 25,878 members, 60 congregations
California: 755,747 members, 1,356 congregations
Colorado: 137,145 members, 288 congregations
Connecticut: 14,579 members, 32 congregations
Delaware: 4,716 members, 11 congregations
District of Columbia: 2,200 members, 3 congregations
Florida: 131,621 members, 238 congregations
Georgia: 74,644 members, 143 congregations
Hawaii: 68,128 members, 132 congregations
Idaho: 406,764 members, 1,063 congregations
Illinois: 55,111 members, 128 congregations
Indiana: 40,529 members, 69 congregations
Iowa: 23,519 members, 68 congregations
Kansas: 33,050 members, 75 congregations
Kentucky: 31,000 members, 73 congregations
Lousiana: 27,628 members, 48 congregations
Maine: 10,350 members, 30 congregations
Maryland: 39,258 members, 80 congregations
Massachusetts: 24,478 members, 53 congregations
Michigan: 42,599 members, 107 congregations
Minnesota:30,006 members, 79 congregations
Mississippi:20,811 members, 44 congregations
Missouri:63,666 members, 144 congregations
Montana:45,517 members, 119 congregations
Nebraska:22,372 members, 61 congregations
Nevada:173,639 members, 317 congregations
New Hampshire:8,115 members, 21 congregations
New Jersey:30,896 members, 57 congregations
New Mexico:64,872 members, 132 congregations
New York:75,852 members, 151 congregations
North Carolina:74,185 members, 148 congregations
North Dakota:6,140 members, 16 congregations
Ohio:57,045 members, 124 congregations
Oklahoma:41,547 members, 83 congregations
Oregon:145,429 members, 306 congregations
Pennsylvania:48,477 members, 112 congregations
Rhode Island:3,661 members, 6 congregations
South Carolina:35,968 members, 61 congregations
South Dakota:9,525 members, 33 congregations
Tennessee:43,179 members, 92 congregations
Texas:278,492 members, 542 congregations
Utah:1,857,667 members, 4,734 congregations
Vermont:4,323 members, 12 congregations
Virginia:84,876 members, 188 congregations
Washington:257,710 members, 503 congregations
West Virginia:16,711 members, 38 congregations
Wisconsin:24,019 members, 68 congregations
Wyoming:61,430 members, 151 congregations

LDS Population in America 6,058,907 (Equivalent to the 15^th largest State)

LDS Population in West 4,581,892

LDS Population in West minus Utah (2,724,225)

Projected population LDS US population

2030 11 million (Slightly larger than Arizona or roughly the 10^th largest state)

School
Enrollment
Endowment??
Living Alumni
Distance from OU
Sears Director's Cup
Tradition/Hardware
Media Market
Population AND trends
Recruiting advantages
Geographically expanding footprint of BigXII (per Beebe)
Academic ranking
Football Attendance
Basketball Attendance
Football Rankings last 5 years
Revenue
Do Big XII fans want to road trip there/Vacation Destination/Direct flights?

BYU, Tulsa, Rice, TCU, Arkansas, Memphis, Louisville, AFA, Houston, Utah, CSU, UNM, and all current BigXII teams.

UTE SMACK TALK
Wow, I kind of feel bad for these ute fans. Why are they posting here again? Good question. They want to talk facts? Yes, let's talk facts.

Only two Division I-A programs have managed to reach 10+ wins in football and manage to reach the NCAA tournament in basketball 4 consecutive years. Those two programs? BYU and Texas.

Now with regards to these Ute fans and their delusions, I will compare.

BYU has as many top 15 finishes in the last 4 years (3 of them) as Utah does in the ENTIRE 100+ year history of the program. Ouch.

Utah has 6 top 25 finishes in the entire 100+ year history of the program (that's two more than BYU has had in the last 4 years). BYU's also had 17 top 25 finishes since 1977 (or better than 50% of the time does BYU finished ranked...including finishing ranked the last 4 years consecutively).

Utah has five ten+ win seasons in the history of program. BYU has had 4 consecutive ten win seasons...and 16 of them since 1979. Ouch.

BYU has more 11+ win seasons in the last 4 years (3 of them) then Utah has had in over 100+ years (two total in 100+ years of playing football for the Utah program).

Utah has three outright conference titles since 1957 (BYU has two in the last 4 years). BYU has 22 conference championships since 1976.

Utah has finished ahead of BYU in the conference standings just one time in the last 5 years in football (and just five times total in the last 40 years). BYU has finished ahead of Utah outright 4 times in the last 5 years and over 30 times in the last 40 years. Ouch.

In the last 5 years, Utah has finished in the MWC conference as follows: 6th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, 3rd. BYU has finished as follows; 2nd, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 2nd.

The overall series all-time is 50-31-4 (not 58-28 as a ute fan proclaimed above). However, BYU has won 3 of the last 4 and 29 of the last 41 in this series. Utter domination. Utah fans have to look to their great grandaddies to find someone that remembers an era where Utah was better than BYU. Pretty sad. Simply put, very few "rivalries" has been as lopsided as this one (in BYU's favor, I might add) in the last 40 years. If one team is winning 75% of the time, then who is this a "rivalry" to anyways?

Now onto bowl records........Utah fans talk about their "12-3" bowl record. But, remember, nine of these 15 bowl games have occurred since 1999. Utah only started to qualify for bowls when the bowl season become so watered down that any 6 win team would qualify. Prior to the late 90's you actually had to be GOOD to make a bowl game. Not so much anymore. As a result, the vast majority of these "bowl wins" have come against second tier opponents. Since 1995, Utah has played two bowl opponents that managed to finish with a winning record and rank in the final Sagarin top 40. One of those teams destroyed Utah 38-10. The other was Alabama. Since 1999, here is the list of the teams Utah has played in bowl games: WAC Fresno State, 6 win USC, C-USA Southern Miss, 7 win Pittsburgh, 7 win Georgia Tech, C-USA Tulsa, Navy, Alabama and Pac-10 6th place Cal. That is not murder's row. In fact, other than Alabama, that bowl resume is TERRIBLE. What credit should Utah deserve for beating Navy or Tulsa or Fresno State or Southern Miss when they were getting blasted in the regular season by the likes of New Mexico, UNLV, Wyoming, or Colorado State? Bad, bad, bad.

More evidence of Utah's ineptitude: Utah has not beaten a major conference team on the road that finished with a winning record in nearly a generation. Utah has just one victory in the last 15 years against a non-league opponent that was ranked the day they played and who also FINISHED ranked in both polls (non-inspired Alabama team). And to cap it off......Utah has ONE victory in over 100 yerars of playing football against a major conference team that finished with less than 4 losses. One. That's it.

As you can see, Utah has been historically (or at least in the last 50-60 years) one of the worst Division I program in college football. Very few programs boast such few accomplishments (virtually never finishing ranked, virtually never winning a league title, nor beating anyone of consequence).
I

As for BYU, included in all many great BYU seasons above (a plethora of ranked seasons, bowl games, and 10+ win seasons) is included the following: A national championship, a Heisman trophy winner, 2 Outland trophy winners, several Davey O'Brien winners, several top 5 Heisman voting finishes, and a Doalk Walker winner. BYU has also had many consensus All-Americans. BYU has multiple QB's go onto the NFL and be starters on prominent Super Bowl winning teams (such as Jim McMahon with the '85 Bears and Steve Young with the '95 49ers). In fact, Steve is still the highest rated passer in NFL history. Utah's claim to NFL fame? Alex Smith! LOL. Pathetic.

In addition to all the above, we know that BYU has vastly superior facilities, vastly higher attendance at games (both home and away), and brings in a much wider viewing audience.

There is no comparing these two programs in any way. I guess for Utah fans, their entire history revolves around 3 months in 2004 and 3 months in 2008. If it didn't occur in those small windows then it is an ugly blemish that must be forgotten. Unfortunately, they can hide from their past. It's bad.

As for basketball, you've all seen the numbers. BYU blows Utah away in attendance and ratings here, as well. Utah likes to talk about their nice, little basketball program. But, what is it? It's a program that's had 4 losing seasons (in MWC play) in the last 5 years. It's a program that has played in a grand total of ONE NCAA game in the last half decade (getting abused and tossed to the side by a 12 seed in that one game). And a program that historically is vastly overrated (two elite apperances in the last 40 years) in addition to its last half decade of futility. Utah also has just one outright MWC title in is entire basketball history. Ouch.

BYU, meanwhile, hasn't finished behind Utah in the league standings in hoops in 5 years. BYU's been in 4 straight NCAA tournaments...and battled Kansas State tough in the round of 32 this past spring after spending most of the season ranked. BYU has beaten Utah 7 of the last 8 meetings in hoops...and BYU's won 3 of the last 4 MWC crowns.

Now that we've exposed these clowns for who they are (that's a program with an intense little brother syndrome......similar to A&M to Texas). Economically, competitively, fan following. Any way you cut, BYU wins here. And wins by a large margin.

Oklahoma Sooners

Enrollment – 30,000+

City, Population and TV market size – Norman – 106,900+/45^th (OKC)

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Football, Gymnastics, Tennis, Track & Field and Wrestling

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – 82,112

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Lloyd Noble Center – 12,000

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $807.5 million

Texas-El Paso Miners (UTEP)

Enrollment – 21,000+

City, Population and TV market size – El Paso – 751,000+/98^th

Men’s Sports – Basketball, Track & Field, Cross Country, Football and Golf

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Rifle, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Sun Bowl Stadium – 52,000

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Don Haskins Center – 12,200

Academic standing – Tier 4

Endowment - $151.2 million

Distance from Norman – 725.5 miles (10 hr 43 min)

Rice Owls

Enrollment – 5,500+

City, Population and TV market size – Houston – 2.1+ million/10^th

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Rice Stadium – 47,000 (expandable to 70,000)

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Tudor Fieldhouse – 5,200

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $3.6 billion

Distance from Norman – 435 miles (6 hr 25 min)

North Texas Mean Green

Enrollment – 36,000+

City, Population and TV market size – Denton, TX – 119,000+/5^th (DFW)

Men’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Fouts Field – 30,500 (new stadium being built by 2011?)

Basketball Arena/Capacity – UNT Coliseum (Super Pit) – 10,000

Academic Standing – Tier 4

Endowment – $81 million

Distance from Norman – 150.7 miles (2 hr 15 min)

Texas Christian Horned Frogs (TCU)

Enrollment – 8,800+

City, Population and TV market size – Fort Worth – 703,000+/5^th (DFW)

Men’s Sports – Football, Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Swimming/Diving, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Volleyball, Cross-Country, Equestrian, Golf, Rifle, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis and Track & Field

Football Stadium/Capacity – Amon G. Carter Stadium – 44,000

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Daniel Meyer Coliseum – 7,166

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $974.7 million

Distance from Norman – 183.3 miles (2 hr 50 min)

Southern Methodist Mustangs (SMU)

Enrollment – 11,000+

City, Population and TV market size – Dallas (University Park) – 1.4+ million (23,300)/5^th (DFW)

Men’s Sports – Basketball, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming/Diving and Tennis

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Equestrian, Golf, Rowing, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Gerald J. Ford Stadium – 32,000

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Moody Coliseum – 9,000

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $1+ billion

Distance from Norman – 191.2 miles (2 hr 53 min)

Houston Cougars

Enrollment – 37,000+

City, Population and TV market size – Houston – 2.1+ million/10^th

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Robertson Stadium – 32,000

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Hofheinz Pavilion – 8,500

Academic Standing – Tier 4

Endowment - $497 million

Distance from Norman – 432.7 miles (6 hr 23 min)

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Enrollment – 4,100+

City, Population and TV market size – Tulsa – 385,000+/61^st

Men’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium – 30,000

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Reynolds Arena – 8,355

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $646.7 million

Distance from Norman – 126.4 miles (1 hr 57 min)

New Mexico Lobos

Enrollment – 34,600+

City, Population and TV market size – Albuquerque – 522,000+/44^th (Albuquerque-Santa Fe)

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Skiing, Soccer, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Skiing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – University Stadium – 38,634

Basketball Arena/Capacity – University Arena (The Pit) – 16,290

Academic Standing – Tier 3

Endowment - $279.7 million

Distance from Norman – 564.5 miles (8 hr 6 min)

Air Force Falcons

Enrollment – 4,500+ cadets

City, Population and TV market size – Colorado Springs, Co – 414,000+/92^nd (Colorado Springs-Pueblo)

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Cross-Country, Fencing, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lacrosse, Rifle, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Water Polo and Wrestling

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Fencing, Gymnastics, Rifle, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Falcon Stadium – 52,480

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Clune Arena – 5,939

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment – N/A

Distance from Norman – 602.7 miles (9 hr 43 min)

Colorado State Rams

Enrollment – 27,000+

City, Population and TV market size – Fort Collins – 136,500+/16^th (Denver)

Men’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Track & Field, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Volleyball and Water Polo

Football Stadium/Capacity – Sonny Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium – 32,500

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Moby Arena – 8,745

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $148.1 million

Distance from Norman – 750.6 miles (10 hr 51 min)

Memphis Tigers

Enrollment – 20,000+

City, Population and TV market size – Memphis – 670,000+/50^th

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Rifle, Soccer, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Rifle, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium – 62,380

Basketball Arena/Capacity – FedEx Forum – 18,119

Academic Standing – Tier 4

Endowment - $213.5 million

Distance from Norman – 478 miles (7 hr)

($10 million sign-on bonus)

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (La Tech)

Enrollment – 10,900+

City, Population and TV market size – Ruston, LA – 20,500+/82^th (Shreveport)

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Bowling, Cross-Country, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Joe Aillet Stadium – 30,600

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Thomas Assembly Center – 8,000

Academic Standing – Tier 3

Endowment - $53.4 million

Distance from Norman – 439.9 miles (6 hr 27 min)

Louisville Cardinals

Enrollment – 20,800+

City, Population and TV market size – Louisville, KY – 713,800+/49^th

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium – 60,000 (2010)

Basketball Arena/Capacity – KFC Yum! Center – 22,000 (Opens 2010 season)

Academic Standing – Tier 3

Endowment - $783.3 million

Distance from Norman – 780.4 miles (11 hr 14 min)

Tulane Green Wave

Enrollment – 11,000+

City, Population and TV market size – New Orleans – 336,600+ (1.1+ million metro)/51^st

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Louisiana Superdome – 72,968

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Avron B. Fogelman Arena – 3,600

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $1+ billion

Distance from Norman – 707.3 miles (10 hr 20 min)

Arkansas Razorbacks

Enrollment – 19,800+

City, Population and TV market size – Fayetteville – 73,000+/100^th (Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers)

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium – 76,000

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Bud Walton Arena – 19,368

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $858.8 million

Distance from Norman – 235.1 miles (3 hr 41 miles)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Enrollment – 11,700+

City, Population and TV market size – South Bend, IN – 107,700+/91^st (South Bend-Elkhart) Huge national following though

Men’s Sports – Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Fencing, Football, Golf, Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming/Diving, Tennis and Track & Field

Women’s Sports – Basketball, Cross-Country, Fencing, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming/Diving, Tennis, Track & Field and Volleyball

Football Stadium/Capacity – Notre Dame Stadium – 80,795

Basketball Arena/Capacity – Purcell Pavilion – 11,418

Academic Standing – Tier 1

Endowment - $5.5 billion

Distance from Norman – 878.2 miles (12 hr 49 min)

Memphis

Enrollment – 20,465
City, Population and TV market size – Memphis 670K... Metroplex 1.3 Million #48

Football Stadium/Capacity – Liberty Bowl 64,000
Basketball Arena/Capacity – Fed Ex forum 18,400

Distance from Norman – 510 miles (8 hr39 min)

LARGEST CITY IN TENNESEE..... AND 400 Miles from Uof Tenn.. there is a large seperation.

New Mexico

Enrollment – 25,760
City, Population and TV market size – Albuqureque 857,503 #44 ... IN '07 was 6th fastest growing city in US

Football Stadium/Capacity – University Stadium 38,634
Basketball Arena/Capacity – The Pit 18,018

Distance from Norman – 563 miles (9 hr 01 min)

LARGEST CITY IN NEW MEXICO

Louisville
Enrollment – 20,734
City, Population and TV market size – Louisville 1.2Million metroplex #50
Football Stadium/Capacity – Papa Johns 42,000
Basketball Arena/Capacity – The Pit 18,018

Distance from Norman – 861 miles (13 hr 28 min)
LARGEST CITY IN KENTUCKY

BYU
Enrollment - 34K and I've read 29K... ?? pick one.
City Population and TV market size Provo-Orem Metro 555K.. AND only 43miles from SLC metroplex of 1.3M.. top 50 mkt.. plus morman following natioinwide.
football Stadim Capacity - LaVelle Edwards Stadium 64,000
Basketball Arena/ Capacity - Marriot Center 22,700 (WOW)
Distance from Norman - 1054 miles (19hr 8 min).
Like Norman, but bigger w/ 555,000 and just outside of a major city SLC and owns the states mkt share.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/best-colleges/2010/03/05/brigham-young-university-is-nations-most-popular-national-university.html

Admissions and demographics

BYU accepted 68% of the 10,409 people who applied for admission in the summer term and fall semester of 2009.^[28] The average ACT score and GPA for these admitted students was 28.2 and 3.8, respectively.^[28] U.S. News and World Report describes BYU's selectivity as being "more selective" and compares it with such universities as the University of Texas and The Ohio State University.^[29]^[30]^[31] In addition, BYU is ranked 26th in colleges with the most freshman Merit Scholars, with 88 in 2006.^[32] In 2010, BYU outranked every university in the country including Harvard University for the percentage of accepted applicants that go on to enroll (78% vs. 76% for Harvard).^[33]

Students from every state in the U.S. and from many foreign countries attend BYU. (In the 2005-6 academic year, there were 2,396 foreign students, or 8% of enrollment.)^[32] Slightly more than 98% of these students are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2006, 12.6% of the student body reported themselves as ethnic minorities, mostly Asians, Pacific islanders and Hispanics.^[34]

For 2010, the U.S. News & World Report ranked BYU as #71 in the country overall.^[43] The Princeton Review has ranked BYU the best value for college in 2007,^[44] and its library is consistently ranked in the nation's top ten--#1 in 2004 and #4 in 2007.^[45] BYU is also ranked #19 in the U.S. News and World Report's "Great Schools, Great Prices" lineup, and #12 in lowest student-incurred debt.^[46] Due in part to the school's emphasis on undergraduate research, BYU is ranked #10 nationally for the number of students who go on to earn PhDs, #1 nationally for students who go on to dental school, #6 nationally for students who go on to law school, and #10 nationally for students who go on to medical school.^[47] BYU is designated as a research university with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.^[48]

UTES

Admissions and demographics

In 2007–2008, the university accepted 94% and admitted 80% of its 16,933 domestic undegraduate applicants; accepted 94% and admitted 66% of its 1,017 international undergraduate applicants; accepted 80% and admitted 44% of its 6,773 domestic graduate applicants; and accepted 70% and admitted 38% of its 1,992 international graduate applicants.^[50]

Of admitted freshmen, the average GPA was 3.4 and the average ACT score was 23.5.^[50] The university uses an admissions index number that gives equal weight to GPA and ACT/SAT scores. If a freshman applicant's index number is at or above the current cutoff, they are guaranteed admission, assuming the student has or will graduate from an accredited high school, has satisfactorily completed all course requirements, has a cumulative high school GPA of at least 2.6, and has an ACT score of at least 18 or SAT score of at least 860. Special requirements apply to non-accredited high schools.^[51]

In 2008, the undergraduate and graduate student body was 28,211, with 21,526 undergraduate students and 6,685 graduate students. 69% of students were full-time, 55% were male and 45% female, 85% were Utah residents, and 7% were foreign students.^[2]

FB Attendance (capacity)

BB Attendance (capacity)

Academic Tier 1 Ranking

Enroll-ment (total)

Enroll-ment (Under-grad)

Endow-ment (millions)

Sear’s Directors Cup Rank (2007)

Driving Miles fromNorman,OK

BYU

64,236 (64,000) #27

14,029 (22,700) #17

71 (1)

34,244

30,912

$868

1054

Akansas

65,112 (76,000) #24

13,128 (19,368) #25

128

19,194

15,426

$858

235

Lousiville

32,450 (60,000) #71

19,397 (22,000) #3

Tier 3

20,834

15,352

$783

780

Air Force

35,656 (52,480) #66

2,522 (5,939)

N/A

4,537

n/a (your tax $ via deficit spending)

201

602

Memphis

25, 795 (62,380)

16,489 (18,400) #8

Tier 4

20,214

15,813

$213

126

478

TCU

38,187 (44,000) #63

3,686 (7,166)

110

8,696

7,471

$974

183

Houston

25,242 (32,000)

3,202 (8,500)

Tier 4

36,104

28,800

$497

432

New Mexico

26,944 (38,634)

13,595 (16,290) #22

Tier 3

25,754

20,047

$279

564

Colorado State

23,643 (32,500)

3,329 (8,745)

128

27,800

21,783

$148

123

750

Boise State

32,782 (34,000) #70

3,061 (12,820)

Tier 1?

19,667

17,574

$76

1,518

Cincinatti

33,957 (35,000) #68

8,076 (13,176) #64

Tier 3

29,617

20,914

$1,095

196

877

Nebraska

85,888 (81,067) #10

9,964 #45

23,573

18,526

$191

Colorado

50,088 (53,750) #42

6,267 #86

32,191

26,725

$354

Utah

45,155 (45,634)

9,202 (15,000) #56

126

28,211

21,526

$507

Now that's better . . . hmmm. As you can see . . . from these figure's, we should be the prettiest girl around (who's lookin to hook up at least).

BYU Athletics >>> Utah

2010-06-18T02:16:00.000-05:00

I am re-posting some research I did last night after I tried to post it from my iPhone while driving an RV across Nebraska this afternoon. It's essentially a rundown comparing the Y and the U in athletics. As suspected, BYU dominates in everything except bowls (wins/winning percentage/BCS bowls) . . . but I didn't expect the Cimson Club to have more members than the Cougar Club; 4,400 vs. 4,000 per websites (see below). I joined the Cougar Club last night (it was far past time). Let's make a push to surpass them.

Update: FuriousMonkey pointed out that the Utes give their recently graduated students a free membership for the first year, thus artificially inflating their numbers . . . but we should still push membership to the Cougar Club . . . see benefits and join now here . . . )

University Enrollment (2009):

BYU: Over 35,000

Utah: Over 26.000

Total Alumni--living (active chapters):

BYU: 370,000 (105)

Utah: 210,000 (15)

Athletics Booster Organizations--Members (Satellite Chapters):

Cougar Club: "nearly 4,000" (15)

Crimson Club: 4,400 (ZERO)

TV markets/Fan base

This is difficult to quantify for various reasons. We all know SLC is a low-mid 30's media market and that BYU has more of a handle on this market than Utah does. But that is about the extent of the Utah fan base by in large. Being a state-run school it tends to draw in-state students that then tend to stay in state . . . all of this at a much higher rate than BYU students. BYU can claim significant fan bases (whether BYU grads, or LDS-cheerers) in the following top 50 media markets: LA #2, Bay-area #6, Phoenix #12, Seattle #14, Denver #18, Sacramento #20, Portland #23, San Diego #27, and Las Vegas #43. Then add high concentrations of BYU fans in niche markets (Idaho markets, Hawaii, smaller CA markets), and respectable clusters of fans/alumni in other top media markets (Dallas/FW #5 and D.C. #9) and you truly have a national following of which TV contracts negotiators will take note. Utah cannot quite match BYU even in it's home market, and it pales in comparison outside the Wasatch front. One recent opinion piece summed it up nicely while suggesting that BYU take Colorado's place in the BigXII:

"BYU replaces Colorado. When it comes to the premiere sport, and what realignment is all about, the Cougars have the Buffs beat hands down. They play better football and have been a perennial top-20 team that consistently gets into, and performs well in bowls. They play in a bigger stadium (64,000+ versus 50,000) to sold out crowds. And they have much better TV ratings. Their home market, Salt Lake City, is smaller than Denver by about 35 percent and they split it with Utah. Colorado, however, also shares the Denver market with Colorado State, Air Force, the Broncos of the NFL, and until the end of September, pro baseball. Salt Lake is also one of the fastest growing markets in the country. By taking BYU the Big 12 can draw a “line n the sand” and compete against the PAC, who is busy grabbing Utah in said Salt Lake market. Although the Utes have performed well as of late, BYU has a larger following in the Salt Lake City market and a longer legacy of football success. With their LDS affiliation, BYU also has a big national following, and per ESPN figures is one of the best draws in the nation from a television rating standpoint. Simply stated, The Cougs draw well…at home, away, and on the boob tube. Therefore, the Big 12 can actually grab the premier team in the Salt Lake market, one that has a national following, defend themselves against further PAC incursions, and actually increase their revenue. Finally, the Cougars also perform well in other sports, while Colorado does not."

Athletic Revenue (2007-8)

BYU: $36.7 million (64th nationally . . . 2nd in MWC behind TCU's 57th; but TCU, followed by BYU, were the top two non-AQ revenue teams in the nation; meaning that 62 out ot the top 63 revenue earning NCAA schools were from BCS conferences . . . that revenue-sharing for TV contracts and bowl payouts goes a long way, eh?)

Utah: $26.9 million (80th nationally . . . SEVENTH in the MWC, and 13th among non-AQ schools)

Additionally, this Database search of PUBLIC ONLY NCAA teams in 2004-5 had Utah at $25.5 million . . . which was behind UNM and SDSU (safely presumable that they were behind BYU, TCU, and AFA that year as well) . . . and barely ahead of UNLV.

A cash-cow Utah Althletics is not.

Athletics Budget (2009):

BYU: $30 million (spending much less than we made)

Utah: $27 million (spending a tad more than they made)

Football Attendance (2009):

BYU: 64,497 capacity . . . sold out 20 consecutive times (only 20-25 teams NATIONALLY average a sell out each year). 26-27th nationally for total average attendance per home game for the last 4 years (Source for this and below)

UTah: 45,017 capacity . . . often sell out (but usually only the bigger games or in the better years as evidenced by plenty of empty seats being plainly noticeable for games against "lesser" teams every year.) Utes came in at 49-57th nationally for total average attendance per home game for last 4 years.

Basketball Attendance (2009):

BYU: 17th nationally at 14,097 per home game (Marriott Center capacity 22,700; 62% full . . . we can definitely do better here!)

Utah: 56th nationally at 9,202 per home game (Huntsman Center capacity 15,000; 61% full)

BYU has averaged over 13K and Utah averaged UNDER 10K for the last four years running.

Now switching gears from demographics and financial matters to athletic accomplishments . . .

Sears Director's Cup Standings--total final ranking of all NCAA sports (current and incomplete 2009-2010):

BYU: 34th (should go up quite a bit with our strong softball and track finishes this year)

Utah: 67th

Average of last decade: BYU 29th-ish, Utah 60th (also, BYU averaged in the mid to high teens through most of the 1990s.)

Deseret Duel (started in 2007):

BYU 2 wins, Utah 1 win (BYU owned Utes in 2009-10 with final tally of 45-15)

NCAA Football National Titles:

BYU: 1984

Utah: None

BCS Games/wins:

BYU: None (though snubbed at least twice and not invited to play 1995 & 2001)

Utah: 2 games and 2 wins (same BCS performance as Boise State)

Bowl Games (record):

BYU 28 (10-17-1)

Utah 15 (12-3) . . . Utes are, admittedly, amazing in Bowl games.

Heisman Trophies:

BYU: Ty Detmer

Utah: None

(This and other BYU Hardware link here)

Doak Walker Awards:

BYU: Luke Staley

Utah: None

Davey O'Brien Award:

BYU: Four

Utah: None

Sammy Baugh Trophy:

BYU: Seven

Utah: None

Outland Trophy:

BYU: Two

Utah: None

(sensing a pattern here on the grid-iron?)

Wooden Award

BYU: Danny Ainge

Utah: Andrew Bogut

All-Americans (all sports):

BYU: 1060

Utah: Couldn't find it (maybe they're not proud of their figure?), but I'd wager quite a hefty sum that it's much less than a thousand.

Academic All-Americans 2009-10:

BYU 67

Utah 44

If you go through this data and think that Utah is/was the crown jewel of the MWC then you're just not willing to accept the facts. Two BCS bowl wins are impressive, for sure, but Colorado didn't need any BCS bowl accomplishments to gain admission to the PAC-10. Therefore, the reason Utah (or maybe even Colorado for that matter) is in a BCS conference over BYU is because of the homophilic and anti-religious tendencies of the Bay-area PAC 10 schools which black-balled BYU because of who we are, and what we stand for (the "Academic profile/Med School" issue is a load of crud . . . ASU, OSU, and WSU don't have med schools and stink academically on the national scale; plus, BYU has a WAY better academic ranking for the undergraduate school than Utah.). It's religious profiling, plain and simple. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

2006-12-25T13:04:00.000-06:00

AFAMichigan; EternalVigilance; BryanFischer; JohnnyZ; SDGOP; JRochelle; areafiftyone; sitetest; Jaysun; ElectricStrawberry; LiveFree99; Alter Kaker; newgeezer; Radix; Asclepius; sasportas; LowOiL; glorgau; Rocky; Unmarked Package; Utah Girl;bahbah; Squire of St. Michael; NeoCaveman; Txsleuth; azcap; rhombus; xuberalles; Swordfished; Plutarch; WestSylvanian; JewishConservative; Obilisk18; DBrow; MassachusettsGOP; circumbendibus; KingArthur305; teddyballgame; GregH; slowhand520; Lonesome Rhodes; Logical me; MIchaelTArchangel; Tolerance Sucks Rocks; Fierce Allegiance; Howlin; ilovew; TChris; Ms. AntiFeminazi; Registered; De Civitate Dei; justshutupandtakeit; Domandred; B Knotts; PDR; catholicfreeper; Carolinamom; onyx; Common Tator; Rex Anderson; The Shrew; SwinneySwitch; unsycophant; Nightmare; Amelia; MAF; Ben Ficklin; Interesting Times; MikefromOhio; Texasforever; blau993; Terpin; libbylu; freedomfiter2; Anarchist; Maceman; Extremely Extreme Extremist; AVNevis; Moderate right-winger; Kaslin; Utah Binger; Unam Sanctam; Reaganesque; Risha; teddyballgame; Aussie Dasher; Panerai; NutCrackerBoy; NorthEastRepublican; KevinDavis ; Kuksool; WashingtonSource; Dante3; BW2221; iowamark; CWOJackson ; acapesket ; DTogo; Right_in_Virginia; Vigilanteman; stockstrader; taxed2death ; fabian; sgtbono2002; Sunsong; rlmorel; tiger-one; Clemenza; Petronski; GummyIII; SevenofNine; veronica; Xenalyte; CheneyChick; Melas; EveningStar; neverhillorat; nowandlater; jbonham76; Torie; Ragtop; VillageDamien; Valin; MikeA; frankjr; Menehune56; zarf; surrey; streetpreacher; Jeff Fuller; truth_seeker; To Hell With Poverty;

New Blogger Photo

2006-12-02T15:45:00.000-06:00

Blogging Continued @ Iowans for Romney

2006-05-22T16:05:00.000-05:00

Go to Iowans for Romney to see my continued blogging.

Shifting Gears -- New "Iowans for Romney" blogsite

2006-05-05T12:35:00.000-05:00

Since this personal blogsite was gravitating toward announcements and links revolving around Mitt Romney I decided to join the state blog sites movement. I am trying to do this synergistically with the other Iowa-Romney blogsite (Romney for Iowa--will remain first link on the right) and wanted the name to conform to the format most state blogsites have seem to taken (thus, it will be easier to find when every state has a blogsite for Romney here in a few months.) I will continue to post the more in depth commentaries here as well as at Iowans for Romney (dual posting), but the links to current articles and information will be focused at there.

Dispelling the Mormon Myths

2006-05-05T00:43:00.000-05:00

An excellent article was written regarding Romney's religion and is an excellent source for dispelling some of the fears of evangelicals.

Romney's Commonwealth PAC site is up and running

2006-05-03T02:28:00.000-05:00

Just within the last 24 hours the site has been launched. There's a wonderful bio, great photos, and even a couple of video links. Of course, they've made it easy to donate since that is the whole purpose of the PAC. They've also added a function where anyone can subscribe to eNews about Romney and his PAC .

(Speaking of videos, I've added some links to streaming video of Mitt at different events/interviews)

Massachusetts Health-Care Law Launches Romney into GOP’s Top Tier

2006-04-30T01:36:00.000-05:00

As a physician, I feel I have a few insights to share about Mitt Romney’s “Universal Health Care Plan” signed into Massachusetts law on April 12th, 2006 (which some have dubbed: “RomneyCare”). By way of background see the links below.

Those “in the know” see the potential of Romney . . . this is the second round that he’s held the #2 spot at The National Journal.

The Heritage Foundation’s take is quite supportive (granted, they have a vested interest)

Here is a link that links to several other op-ed pieces and are generally favorable (if not celebratory)

If you’ve got time . . . you can watch Mitt himself giving a 25 minute speech/PowerPoint with a 15 min Q&A session following about his plan (given at The HeritageFoundation)

First off, I preface my remarks by stating that the United States medical care is the best in the world. This is largely because of our free-market system in both clinical care and biomedical research. People are living longer and healthier lives because of innovation, dedication, and the “desire for wealth” which spurs individual and corporate enterprises. I am proud to be part of this system which is unparalleled worldwide.

Romney’s plan does not represent “socialized medicine” or even a step down the slippery slope that could lead there . . . no, this is not the road to HillaryCare. Every physician I know cringes at the idea of socialized medicine (for the negative effect it would have on us and our patients—a true “lose-lose”). On the flip side, every physician I’ve spoken to lately seems very supportive and intrigued by Romney’s plan. This is significant, and should allay any fears of this being a stepping stone toward socialized medicine.

The plan is not even a “government takeover” of medicine as some are claiming. There are no new “government insurance plans” to sign up for. The government’s involvement is mainly in oversight to ensure that everyone is insured (just like the good old car insurance analogy . . . by the way, is anyone complaining of a “government take over” of the car insurance industry?) Romney recently rebuffed such claims of “big government” by responding that "making the individual responsible for his own health coverage is a lot more conservative than a permanent program of government handouts to hospitals."

Edmund F. Haislmaier stated that “those who want to create a consumer-based health system and deregulate health insurance should view Romney's plan as one of the most promising strategies out there.”

Although libertarians may cringe at the “government mandate” that this law institutes what they must realize is that this simply supplants previous mandates. This law appropriately shifts the burden of the uninsured away from the Emergency rooms and hospitals (who under COBRA and EMTALA federal laws, ARE CURRENTLY MANDATED to treat all comers for emergency services regardless of their insurance—or lack thereof) to the individuals . . . exactly where it should be (hey, most people don’t flinch one bit about plopping down several hundred dollars to have their teeth worked or to get glasses/contacts . . . so why does almost everyone seem convinced that medical care should not have any out-of-pocket expenses?)

Another great aspect of this plan is that it requires even the poor to pay at least something for their healthcare (excluding Medicaid recipients). Romney keeps saying that this plan will eliminate the “free lunch” mentality toward healthcare that most low-incomers have. This will also build self-worth and individual accountability as the self-defeating hand-out system will diminish greatly. The private insurance premiums will be subsidized by the government on a sliding-scale for lower-income individuals and the very poorest will still be captured and covered by the federal Medicaid system.

A fascinating component of the Mass. plan is “The Connector” which came about through Romney’s reaching out to the conservative think tank “The Heritage Foundation.” This entity will allow the self-employed or part-time workers to obtain the benefit of pre-tax dollar utilization for insurance premiums (a benefit currently reserved for those whose health care coverage is provided by their employers.) In effect, this amounts to a tax-cut/tax-break (true to Republican principles . . . even in the Bluest of Blue states . . . how did Gov. Romney get this done?). In addition, “The Connector” will allow portability of insurance plans as individuals change their employment as well as allowing folks with multiple jobs to pay pre-tax off of multiple paychecks. Slick and practical stuff.

“Where is the accountability built into this system?” you may ask. Those who do not obtain insurance will lose out on their state personal tax exemption (among other penalties for individuals and businesses). This straightforward enforcement/incentive program will yield results quickly. People will also be blocked from obtaining/renewing driver’s licenses if they cannot provide proof of healthcare insurance. Some have criticized Governor Romney’s veto of the $295/employee fee (per annum) for employers who do not offer insurance for full-time employees. Everyone knew that his veto would be overturned by the legislature and this play of events ended up being a “win-win” for Romney. He can claim to be business friendly and for smaller government (which he honestly is)—while inclusion of the fee gives the plan itself an even better chance of being fiscally successful. If this plan is successful it will bode very well for Romney in 2008.

Will it work? I predict that since people will have insurance they will seek outpatient primary (preventative) care early in their disease course instead of stumbling into emergency rooms on death’s door. If this helps keep people out of emergency rooms and hospitals where costs are massive then this will work AND improve the general public health.

The bigger money-saver, however, will be in getting non-emergent patients out of emergency rooms for their primary care. Uninsured and poor people know that, by law (COBRA & EMTALA) emergency rooms have to see and evaluate them for ANY complaint they may have. My brother is an ER physician and is constantly amazed how the ER system is abused by so many patients . . . like coming in at 3 AM because they’ve had “the sniffles” for a week.

Governor Romney’s response when asked by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball if such a plan could work for the nation highlights many of these points: “Well, it will work for Massachusetts, and that’s of course the thing that I had to focus on. There are certain aspects of it that I think would work across the country, perhaps better in some states than others. Of course the great thing about federalism is you let a state try it and see how it works before you spread it out.

“But there’s some key features and I think this is one of them, which is that we are already spending billions of dollars in our country and in my state, about a billion dollars, giving free care to people who don’t have insurance. And the question was, if we took that money and helped them buy insurance, could we have everybody insured and the answer is yes.

“We don’t need new money. We don’t need new taxes. We could use the money we’re currently spending and get people better health care without having the burden and the cost of the uninsured being borne by everybody else.”

By the end of this interview Chris Matthews exclaimed: “God, it sounds wonderful. I’m not supposed to cheer here, but I mean, I think it’s wonderful.” This is what happens when you mix a good plan with the right man. I’m pretty sure that this is the right plan . . . but everything I’ve seen so far tells me that Romney is definitely the right man.

Fuller's Field--Launching a New Blog

2006-04-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late coming into the "Blog-o-sphere" but the time has come.

The impetus for starting this blog is to help others in the cyberworld know about my support for Mitt Romney's election to the White House in 2008--so that they too can catch the vision and support Romney. My worry for him is not in the general election----as a moderate-leaning conservative from the northeast who has ties to the Midwest (born and bred in Michigan--where his father was a beloved governor and businessman) and a proven track record for getting things done across party lines he would be primed to capture independent and/or moderate voters nationwide, making him the clear favorite over any Democrat that I could imagine. No, my worry for Mr. Romney is that much of the GOP base will not look past the labels that are slapped on him ("Northeasterner", "RINO"--Republicans in name only, or"Mormon") and find out that he is a morale and fiscal conservative that is wise and pragmatic enough to work with both sides of the isle and make great and needed changes in our system of government.

I also have other passions which include my family (wonderful wife Laura and four young boys ages 6-1), my job (as a retina specialist), and a desire for a college football playoff system (i.e. I am staunchly anti-BCS--Bowl Championship Series). I have "blogged" in the pre-blog era quite a bit about the BCS and may bring back some of those blogs.