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Post by mumd on Jan 17, 2016 13:39:13 GMT -5
IMHO Mercer moving into the SoCon has been a very good one - for both Mercer and the conference. I'll be honest, I thought it would only benefit football when first announced. But this basketball season has been very exciting so far, and the Bears are competitive in nearly every sport. Our presence overall improves the conference RPI in about every sport. Travel times are much more reasonable, and I think fans much prefer the Furmans and Chattys and Citadels to the likes of Northern Ky and even FGCU. I'm a happy Bear.
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Post by mumd on Jan 17, 2016 13:45:12 GMT -5
And I'd be curious to know what fans of the other schools think. I got the impression some thought we were beneath them when the new members were announced.
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Post by smokeybear on Jan 18, 2016 13:44:25 GMT -5
That is usually the case when a conference loses one or more of its elite teams. The SoCon was losing its top basketball school and its two top football schools. Do you think there were A10 fans who questioned if Davidson would be able to compete at the A10 level? Of course there were. They had just lost their top two programs to the Big East.
And just like Davidson in the A10, MU has been very competitive.
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Post by jackal on Jan 20, 2016 8:21:29 GMT -5
And I'd be curious to know what fans of the other schools think. I got the impression some thought we were beneath them when the new members were announced. I think it has been a good move for Mercer and the Conference. The SoCon needed a Georgia presence, and Mercer provides that. If you look at where the SoCon has moved over the last 15-20 years, adding Wofford, Elon, Samford, etc. Mercer clearly fits that mold and the trend. I think that move towards smaller private institutions was one of the issues App State and Georgia Southern had (though the SoCon was still predominately public institutions at the time). Furman fans have had a bit of a transition. Unlike the other SoCon schools, we had great rivalries with App State and Georgia Southern in football. I am sad to see those games go, as I don't ever see the atmosphere of those contests being replicated. As I said when they left though, the conference has stood for close to 100 years going through transition. Teams will step up to fill the void. FCS football is a much different environment than it was 15-20 years ago. There are far more teams, far more competition for recruits. I think Mercer has fit well into that changing environment. Mercer brings a lot to the table that the SoCon was looking for. Good academics, financially self-sustaining, centrally located to the conference footprint, and a commitment to athletics. Glad to see them. Also gives me a way to watch Furman athletics without having to drive through daggum Atlanta. So, bonus for me. |
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 12, 2017 11:13:07 GMT -5
Latest US News College Rankings are out. Mercer moved up two spots in the national universities category. news.mercer.edu/articles/2017/mercer-moves-up-two-spots.cfmHere is where all SoCon schools landed in the 2018 Rankings. National Universities 133. Mercer ETSU – Not ranked UNCG – Not ranked National Liberal Arts 53.Furman 65. VMI 71. Wofford Regional Universities - South 3. Samford 4. Citadel 38. WCU 57. UTC |
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Post by midganearstonewall on Sept 21, 2017 2:30:35 GMT -5
I'm a Monroe Countian, born and raised, now living about 15 miles from Lexington, Virginia. As you can imagine, VMI and Mercer being in the same conference makes me a happy camper.
This area has enough scenery and history to make it maybe the best road trip in all the SOCON. I've lived here for three and a half years and have not come close to seeing all the sights nor hiking all the trails (and I hike a whole bunch).
A suggestion: in the future, when you come up here for a game, leave a little early and get on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Ashville and go until you get to Beuna Vista, Virginia. Lexington is about 7 miles to the west on US 60.
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 12, 2018 12:04:29 GMT -5
2019 Update: National Universities 140. Mercer (down 7) ETSU – Not ranked UNCG – Not ranked National Liberal Arts 51.Furman (up 2) 81. VMI (down 16) 72. Wofford (down 1) Regional Universities - South 4. Samford (down 1) 3. Citadel (up 1) 34. WCU (up 4) 65. UTC (down 8) Methodology change for 2019: The magazine took its "outcomes" measure and increased its weight from 30 to 35 percent of its formula. Part of that is graduation rates, and part of the formula credits colleges that "outperform" expected graduation rates based on their student demographics. New this year in the outcomes section are two social mobility factors that together make up 5 percent of the total ranking. One looks at the graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients, and the other compares Pell-recipient graduation rates to those of all students. Both of those figures are then adjusted for the share of all students who are Pell recipients. So if two colleges have the same Pell graduation rates, but one has a larger share of Pell recipients, the second college would earn more points in the formula. U.S. News counts the graduation rate formula as also indicating social mobility and so says that 13 percent of its formula is now based on social mobility. The magazine killed one part of its methodology -- the acceptance rate -- that has long been seen as rewarding colleges for the number of applicants they reject. But this was worth only 1.25 percent of the formula. U.S. News reduced the weight on, but kept in, standardized test scores at 7.75 percent, down from 8.125 percent. This factor has long been criticized by those who have noted that students from wealthier families earn, on average, higher scores on the SAT and ACT than do those who aren't wealthy. U.S. News also decreased modestly (from 22.5 to 20 percent) "expert opinion," which is based on surveys of college administrators and high school counselors -- and has long been derided for rewarding colleges for having good reputations over time, largely a result of prestige and history. Some factors that favor wealthy colleges over others are unchanged: 20 percent of the formula is based on "faculty resources" and 10 percent on spending on students. Frankly, I am surprised Mercer did not go up in the ranking based on the change in methodology. Mercer has done a good job of attracting highly qualified students form mid to lower socioeconomic populations. Can I assume that they are not graduating above the predicted graduation rate? Latest US News College Rankings are out. Mercer moved up two spots in the national universities category. news.mercer.edu/articles/2017/mercer-moves-up-two-spots.cfmHere is where all SoCon schools landed in the 2018 Rankings. National Universities 133. Mercer ETSU – Not ranked UNCG – Not ranked National Liberal Arts 53.Furman 65. VMI 71. Wofford Regional Universities - South 3. Samford 4. Citadel 38. WCU 57. UTC |
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 9, 2019 7:26:18 GMT -5
2020 Update. Samford and UTC were reclassified from regional to national: National Universities147. Samford (new to National Classification) 153. Mercer (down 13) 227. UNCG (previously not ranked) ETSU – Not ranked UTC - Not ranked National Liberal Arts46.Furman (up 5) 72. VMI (up 9) 72. Wofford (no change) Regional Universities - South2. Citadel (up 1) due to Elon being reclassified 23. WCU (up 9) Not SoCon schoools, but MU's peers Belmont (166) and Elon (84) were reclassified as National Universities.
It appears that Mercer's drop can mostly be attributed to other schools joining the National Universities classification.
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 14, 2020 8:18:44 GMT -5
2021 Update
National Universities
143. Samford (up 4)
160. Mercer (down 7)
258. UNCG (down 31)
ETSU – Not ranked
UTC - Not ranked
National Liberal Arts
52.Furman (down 6)
69. VMI (up 3)
69. Wofford (up 3)
Regional Universities - South
2. Citadel (no change)
25. WCU (down 2)
Fourth straight year MU has dropped since joining the National Universities classification.
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 15, 2022 8:16:58 GMT -5
2022 Edition of US News
National Universities 127. Samford (up 16) 166. Mercer (down 6) has fallen every year since being included in the National category. Five years ago, MU was 133. 219. UNCG (up 39) 263. WCU (new to National Universities category)
317. ETSU – previously not ranked Not ranked - UTC National Liberal Arts 45. Furman (up 7) 70. VMI (down 1) 70. Wofford (down 1) Regional Universities - South 2. Citadel (no change) |
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Post by mumd on Sept 22, 2022 22:31:12 GMT -5
2022 Edition of US News
National Universities 127. Samford (up 16) 166. Mercer (down 6) has fallen every year since being included in the National category. Five years ago, MU was 133. 219. UNCG (up 39) 263. WCU (new to National Universities category)
317. ETSU – previously not ranked Not ranked - UTC National Liberal Arts 45. Furman (up 7) 70. VMI (down 1) 70. Wofford (down 1) Regional Universities - South 2. Citadel (no change) Not understanding the rationale for the rankings, especially when it comes to Mercer and Samford. Mercer is number 36 in undergrad teaching, tied with Cornell and Stanford. Samford is 66. Mercer is 34 in best value, Samford 106. I’ve never known ANYONE apply to Samford and not get in, including a friend’s son who ranked something like 295/300 in his HS class. I compiled an interesting chart comparing SAT scores for admitted students to SoCon schools. Most telling was percentage of students with SAT 1200-1600 and percentage over 1400: Furman 89% 27% Mercer 89 20 Wofford 77 12 Samford 48 5 VMI 45 2 Citadel 34 1 The other public schools’ numbers were way down there (VMI and Citadel are public). |
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 18, 2023 15:33:40 GMT -5
Lot of movement in the rankings this year
2024 Edition of US News
National Universities
170. Mercer (down 4) has fallen every year since being included in the National category. Five years ago, MU was 133.
185. Samford (down 58)
216. UNCG (up 3)
227. WCU (up 36)
320. ETSU (down 3)
345. UTC (previously not ranked)
National Liberal Arts
46. Furman (down 1)
63. VMI (up 7)
59. Wofford (up 11)
Regional Universities - South
2. Citadel (no change)
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Post by ha on Sept 18, 2023 19:09:02 GMT -5
On a positive note, Elon and Belmont fell to 133 and 236, respectively.
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Post by FUBeAR on Sept 18, 2023 19:11:52 GMT -5
Lot of movement in the rankings this year 2024 Edition of US News National Universities 170. Mercer (down 4) has fallen every year since being included in the National category. Five years ago, MU was 133. 185. Samford (down 58) 216. UNCG (up 3) 227. WCU (up 36) 320. ETSU (down 3) 345. UTC (previously not ranked) National Liberal Arts 46. Furman (down 1) 63. VMI (up 7) 59. Wofford (up 11) Regional Universities - South 2. Citadel (no change) Obviously, Mercer, Samford, ETSU, and Furman are not properly greasing the correct palms that must be properly greased for schools to move up in these sham rankings. |
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Post by Clueless Fan on Sept 20, 2023 9:10:11 GMT -5
The US News made significant changes to its methodology. Success of first gen college students and publication/citation of faculty have been included. Which kind of surprises me that Mercer didn't jump because of this.
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