<p>"That makes two threads in a row where we've agree...my head is spinning...what is this-the great spring thaw??"</p>
<p>Could be Hawkette. Maybe we are "twitterpated!" LOL! And Hawkette, we are not likely to experience anykind of thaw in Dubai. Today's high is likely to tickle the 100 mark! I don't think it dipped below 65 degrees this winter! Of course, I am pretty sure you weren't being literal, but I could not resist boasting about our beautifully mild winters.</p>
<p>hawkette:</p>
<p>What about ski teams? :D</p>
<p>UCLA is a No. 1 seed in the West Regional.</p>
<p>Cal plays New Mexico in the NIT...woohoo...:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Just a note to mention.....Rice didn't have any "home" basketball games this year. While Autry is being renovated, the basketball teams played in several arenas (even at high schools and other colleges) for all its "home" games.</p>
<p>alex,
Re our spring thaw, the hi-low yesterday for Ann Arbor was 38-29. Today the expected hi is 44. Balmy! :)</p>
<p>bluebayou,
Thanks for reminding me. The national water-skiing rankings are:
1. U Florida
2. U Miami
3. USD
4. Pepperdine
5. Dartmouth</p>
<p>....just kidding about Dartmouth...:) but I'm guessing they are pretty tough in the snow skiing....</p>
<p>In the event that some were wondering about the purity of the student-athlete experience at these high-achieving colleges that are going to the Big Dance, following are their respective Graduation Success Rates as defined by the NCAA. Particular kudos to U North Carolina which is the favorite in the tournament and also is the only school with a graduation rate that is BETTER than the rate for its overall student body. Here are all of the comparisons:</p>
<p>Men's Basketball Graduation Success Rates as reported by the NCAA</p>
<p>91% Notre Dame (96% for school)</p>
<p>86% U North Carolina (84% for school)
83% Vanderbilt (89% for school)
82% Georgetown (94% for school)</p>
<p>67% Duke (94% for school)
67% Stanford (95% for school)</p>
<p>29% USC (84% for school)</p>
<p>na Cornell (92% for school)</p>
<p>^ How come you are not including UCLA in your analysis?
It is a No. 1 seed and ranked higher in USNWR than USC and UNC.</p>
<p>Hawkette:</p>
<p>Speaking of Dartmouth....they took 4th in the NCAAs skiiing championships. Top three were Denver, Colorado and Utah. Middlebury (D3) was 5th.</p>
<p>what about women' bowling? Nebraska is ranked #1.</p>
<p>ucb,
Yikes!! I screwed up. Of course, the Bruins are a # 1 seed. Somehow they got left off my original spreadsheet that I was copying from. Pretty glaring omission. Wholly unintended. Sorry.</p>
<p>As for their grad rate data,</p>
<p>40% UCLA (89% for school)</p>
<p>bluebayou,
Congrats to the Big Green and to Middlebury as top schools with equally top snow skiing teams....</p>
<p>As for women's bowling, now you're really stretching it. I'm a fan of women's sports, but even I have a hard time taking that one too seriously. I did check the NCAA sports website and they list rankings according to the NCTA (whatever that is). Vanderbilt is the only USNWR Top 30 school in the national rankings and they are ranked # 3.</p>
<p>More on the BIG DANCE for the women…..</p>
<p>The brackets have been announced for the NCAA National Championships for women's basketball. Following are colleges that are ranked in the USNWR Top 30 national institutions and which have achieved great success in their women's basketball programs this year. </p>
<h1>1 seed: U North Carolina</h1>
<h1>2 seed: Stanford</h1>
<h1>3 seed: Duke</h1>
<h1>3 seed: UC Berkeley</h1>
<h1>4 seed: Vanderbilt</h1>
<h1>4 seed: U Virginia</h1>
<h1>5 seed: Notre Dame</h1>
<h1>16 seed: Cornell</h1>
<p>To close the loop on this thread, I wanted to be sure that a few colleges ranked in the USNWR Top 30 get recognized for their terrific athletic achievement during the winter season.</p>
<p>For Men's Basketball, U North Carolina advanced to the Final Four where they lost to eventual national champion U Kansas</p>
<p>For Women's Basketball, Stanford reached the title game for the national championship and lost to U Tennessee</p>
<p>For Men's Ice Hockey, Notre Dame reached the title game by defeating U Michigan in the national semi-finals. In the finals, ND was beaten by Boston College. </p>
<p>For Women's Ice Hockey, Harvard advanced to the Frozen Four.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all of these schools on their outstanding play this season and I hope that the students and the fans of these colleges enjoyed the ride.</p>