I'm not sure that kids pick a school just because of its sports program, although good players do want to be accepted into the schools with the best teams.

And, of course, not all students will be playing on sports teams. But good programs do tend to make schools more well known. For example, how many of you have heard of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia? It has even been called the "Harvard of the South" and ranks very highly in its academics, such as in the U.S. News and World Report. When it was established, the decision was made NOT to have a big school sports program. So, it's not in The ACC, etc. Yet I'd put its academics and offerings against Duke and many Ivy League Schools.

"The Ivy League," by the way, actually refers to a bunch of schools who play each other in sports, like the Atlantic Coast Conference is a bunch of schools who play each other.

Yes, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill hold their players to higher standards, but I bet you that some of them would not have been accepted had they not been selected for ball teams. I know ball players at some prestigious schools don't have to have as high GPAs and SAT scores as the general population of applicants. And look at what these folks tend to major in....