Great point, and as related to my earlier long post and the comments of the person I cited, I feel that OHIO has a significant "opportunity" to increase its marketing presence in state, and is clearly presently under-performing, at least to my taste. The press will do OHIO no favors relative to tOSU's positioning.

I resigned from the Alumni Association Board of Directors a couple of years ago, and in my resignation letter I stated that I felt the largest issue the Alumni Association faced was capturing and retaining the share of mind with our in state alumni relative to our alumni's view of tOSU, and felt that tOSU and its prominence (particularly in the press) was a serious threat to our success in keeping our alumni engaged in OHIO. Many of my peers on the Board contacted me after reading my letter and stated politely that they had no idea what I was talking about, not understanding why I could feel so. Many of my 20 peers on the Board were open about their dual allegiance to OHIO and tOSU, and most were not diploma holders of the Scourge on the Scioto. Many of them are living examples of my point.

My message to them: Many of OUr alumni hold the view that while they love OHIO, they also view tOSU as being in the "big leagues", primarily related to athletics but also in academics. I believe that much of this can be attributed to the fact that tOSU is regularly in the press in all markets across the state, and it puts the other state institutions at a competitive disadvantage in getting out their message and competing for a share of voice.

The passage of the Eagleson Bill in 1906 by the Ohio Legislature solidified tOSU's advantage in becoming the state's flagship, assuring it of a funding advantage from the state FOREVER and establishing that it would be the only school allowed to offer doctoral education or conduct basic research for an extended timeline. Those things cemented tOSU as being the largest institution in the state. This of course extended to its acceptance into the largely closed club of AAU shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, many of our alumni equate quantity with quality, and fail to acknowledge that our alma mater is nationally prominent in many fields, and is worthy of praise beyond tOSU in many disciplines.

I hear folks stating here that they justify their support of tOSU because they play "big boy sports", and we are in the "minor leagues", and there is nothing you can say to be more condescending to our student athletes that are investing daily just as much as their ICA peers in Cowtown. I am of the opinion that many of our pedestrian alumni also allow this view to seep into their opinions regarding our academic status as well, which is incredibly condescending to our administration, faculty and staff, not to mention students AND alumni, and it frankly pisses me off.

I've unfortunately accepted that our largest problem in competing with tOSU has less to do with tOSU itself, and more to do with the fact that many of our alumni simply do not take OHIO seriously, and don't wear OHIO's achievements as a badge of honor both in academics and athletics, but primarily in academics. They love the campus, they love the town, they love their experience during their time on campus, but they don't own and promote the history and OUr academic achievements past and present. It is simply too easy for them to fall in line with the endless litany of tOSU press and accept the prevailing (and often flawed) sentiment of the general populace.

What OHIO has achieved it has done without the legislated advantage that State has had for over a hundred years, and I find that to be incredibly admirable, more so than simply having a built in advantage against its competitors. If we as alumni don't take OHIO as a serious enterprise and act as its largest cheerleaders, then why should we expect anyone else to take OHIO as serious as they do tOSU?

As I believe you know, Dave, you long ago earned my respect. Still, I found troubling some elements of your post. Foremost, I detected a degree of whining. I also found myself disagreeing with some of your conclusions as, for example, your charge that "many of our alumni do not take Ohio seriously." In your view, I'm not sure what you mean by "many." As an involved alum for many years, my conclusion is that most Ohio alums do take Ohio seriously.

To be sure, Ohio can and should continue to strengthen itself and its ability to serve students. Heck, back in 1990, I was first invited to guest lecture after I sent a letter in which I pointed out some gaps in curriculum that existed back in my student days. Some of those gaps have since been closed.

Few universities, if any, don't have such gaps, and the best are continuously working to close them and strengthen processes and products.

RJ, is it good journalism to have almost daily preseason stories on the OSU basketball team run on the state AP wire and virtually none on Dayton, last year's best Buckeye State basketball team?

I think they tried to but were unsuccessful (someone feel free to set the record straight if that isn't true). Instead, they killed quarters, and for that crime their names should forever be cursed.

#Quarters4Lyfe

I attended a local high school basketball game last Friday night. At the end of the 3rd period the announcer mentioned the upcoming game and told everyone to stand while "hang on sloopy" was played. The game was in Ohio in the Upper Ohio Valley. Only about 60-65% stood or clapped. I remained seated and did not participate, as did most around me. I was impressed.

. . . Next thing you know, someone will ask us to remove our hats for Alma Mater Ohio like it's the national anthem or something.

I attended a local high school basketball game last Friday night. At the end of the 3rd period the announcer mentioned the upcoming game and told everyone to stand while "hang on sloopy" was played. The game was in Ohio in the Upper Ohio Valley. Only about 60-65% stood or clapped. I remained seated and did not participate, as did most around me. I was impressed.