<p>tarhunt,
I agree with your comments about the relative superiority of weather in California and Houston over the South and I know what you mean about some of those freezing days in the South. Not every winter day in Durham, Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem or Nashville is going to be good for golf or ultimate frisbee. 
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<p>The temperature numbers that I gave were averages and I am sure there have been plenty of winter days over the last few years when you could play almost any outdoor sport in 60+ degree weather at any of those Southern schools. And given that the school year commonly ends in early May, if you like outdoor living, this makes the comparatively warmer weather at the Sunbelt schools all that much more attractive.</p>