Providence College, Butler University
Xavier University
Also people really like Scranton and Catholic University.
Wyoming? I know someone who likes it there.
Check out Colorado State
I cant tank you all enough for these suggestions, I was feeling kind of like there was nothing out there.
These were some that we had on his list prior to my question here. Thoughts? Some have already been recommended. Very interested in thoughts on “no way”
Lynchburg College
Bellarmine University
Furman
Stetson University
High Point
Christopher Newport
University of Denver
University of Tampa
Salisbury University
University of Idaho
University of NH
Appalachian State University
Miami University
University of Delaware
Towson University
Ohio University
Florida State
University of Arizona
University of Florida
I don’t know the size of the other schools on your list, but Furman is small, under 3,000. It is a good school but not one I would call mid-size. Beautiful campus. Lots of research opportunities for the students.
Bowling Green? Appalachian State? Iowa? W. VA?
Appalachian State has popped up a few times…know anything about it?
Quinnipiac’s ice hockey team is often in the top 10 – not sure how that translates into school spirit but may be worth looking into. Also as noted above many Catholic schools have strong basketball programs (ex. Xavier, St. Joes, Marquette, Gonzaga)
U of Mississippi.
The surrounding area around Appalachian State is beautiful! The campus seemed to have quite a bit of school spirit when I visited.
James Madison in VA is a little larger than target, but an undergraduate focused university, a very friendly campus, and loads of school spirit. Quite a few kids here from NY, NJ, PA, MD, and New England. The average admitted student GPA seems to be more in the B+/ A- range, but they take a relatively holistic admissions approach. If you decide to visit CNU,and/ or Lynchburg College a stop off I-81 to look at JMU.
Lynchburg is a small southern city with a number of colleges in town… Sweet Briar, Lynchburg College, Liberty University, Randolph College… it is a little difficult to get to easily, a bit off the beaten path.
If you look at UNH, you may also want to look at Plymouth State, also in NH. A little smaller than target, but a great small school depending on the intended major. Cute small college town.
I went to Syracuse…it is bigger than your target number, and the campus is pretty spread out… although I was a drama major, and our main class building was not on the main campus, so that may add to my perception of physical size since it was a trek to get from dorm to most major classes, from major classes to geneds, and from major classes to campus dining. I imagine if in a major with building(s) on the main campus quad it would feel much smaller. Lots of school spirit! Even with the freezing cold, sunless winters. I loved it, although am now happy to live in a milder climate 
thank you very much. my oldest goes to JMU & loves it but God forbid my youngest might run into him!
Most of my ideas have already been listed so 2nd votes for University of Dayton, Marquette, Xavier, Butler.
I have a kid with similar stats and wants. Here’s what is topping the list so far: Iowa State and University of Vermont. UVM very pricy out of state though. The size is right at UVM. There aren’t a lot of mid tier type flagship universities under 15k (and Iowa State is at least double that). We are mid-atlantic folks and both of those were comfortable for the east coast types that we are. Cade Western and Rice were ideally sized and about perfect but the combo of price and hard to get into may put them out of the running. I will be interested to see what others suggest. We have yet to look at the UNC’s below Chapel Hill but they might work.
This is bigger than he wants but: Ohio University (not Ohio State)
@spal1979 Of course I don’t know your kids and their relationship, but I would hesitate to toss out a college that is a very good match for your son because a sibling is there. The school is sufficiently large that they won’t be bumping into each other all the time. And as a freshman and an upperclassman they will be in different social circles. My brother ended up at the college I attended (he did ask me if it was OK which was sweet) and it turned out very nicely. We only overlapped for a year. The first week or two I heard from him a good bit but once he settled in we would have to set up an appointment to meet for lunch once a month or so. And as adults having a shared alma mater with some shared experiences is a nice thing.
Also if seriously interested in forensic science, West Virginia University. An interesting town and varied set of programs. And cheap. But large.
I think University of Maine at Orono is offering tuition matches for students from some states. It’s midsized, like UVM kinda sorta.