<p>Medium-to-large universities in the Northeast with prominent football and basketball programs and above-average academics: Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Maryland, UConn, Boston College.</p>
<p>A bit outside the Northeast: Ohio State, Michigan, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Kentucky. </p>
<p>Farther away, but still east of the Mississippi River: Clemson, Florida, Florida State, U of Miami, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt.</p>