Illinois creates Chicago Athletics Advisory Board.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-fighting-illini-news-illinois-creates-chicago-athletics-advisory-board-20130212,0,2733184.story

In response, Northwestern University has created a Middle of Nowhere Advisory Board.

They beat NU to the punch this time. Chicago's Big Ten Advisory Board!

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The Court will accord substantial deference to the government's immigration policies, particularly those that implicate matters of national security.

Is that Sir's Hard Bake on the board. Nothing says deep chicago roots like a nondescript sports guy on a local affiliate that no one watches.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Will they meet in the Evanston neighborhood of Chicago?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I just hope the rubes down there don't find out he's black since everyone down there is a racist, Southern-drawlin' redneck farmer.

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My Maserati does 186.

Poor Reason

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

I promise you this thing devolves over the next decade into a pipeline for paying off chicago coaches and players.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

They are using that picture for the Penn State game.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the ... ncaab.html

It better, damn it.

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Fire Phil Emery

i had no idea that Mike Thomas had done this last year. Apparently the Cat's are just followers with their Wrigley deal. The Illini are well on their way to being "Geneva's Big Ten Team"

http://www.fightingillini.com/genrel/052212aaa.html

I the opposite of care about this insipid Northwestern/U of I pissing contest. The metropolitan area cares not for either of you. Go away.

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Would love to win the first pitch on that night and wear my Iowa gear.

Don't make me go all Dylan Thomas on yo' ass.

As a hockey fan, I would expect more sympathy from you.

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My Maserati does 186.

A Child's Christmas in Evanston

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I think it's cute when Northwestern and Illinois fight to be Chicago's 4th favorite Big Ten team.

NU's attempt to ascend within the ranks of BCS football is being driven by the university's main benefactor. He is a former football player and pushed the idea of creating a new football training facility on some of the last bit of open space on the lakefill. The football facility is going to cost approximately $225 million. Meanwhile, the Cats will continue to play in a horrible stadium, will maintain academic standards that will prevent them from recruiting top athletic talent, and will remain mired in mediocrity for the foreseeable future. I really don't understand the emphasis on the football program. Many of the university's alumni actively resent athletics; and many of the faculty are deeply concerned about the direction of the university. We'll see how this plays out.

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TM you teach at Northwestern?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Wow... I'm not sure where you are getting some of this stuff. I'm sure you could find some academics at every institution that "resents athletics", I would be surprised if you could find one alumni that could really back that up. The atheltics programs fund themselves. There is no support from the endowment. There is no basis for resentment. As for the faculty being "deeply concerned" about the direction of the university, I literally have ZERO idea of where you are getting that. The school isn't having difficulty attracting students, its funding is up, and the endowment is one of the strongest in the country.

As for mediocrity, I suppose its all how you measure it. I'm ecstatic to achieve 10 wins in a major conference. That's not mediocrity in my book. I'm sure you'll blame a soft schedule or bad mouth the Big Ten's competitiveness, but some of us aren't all about national championships. Seeing competitive college football a quick el ride north of the city is a treat. There isn't a bad seat in the house. Sure there are no luxury boxes, but for the average football fan, there is no better sports value in town, in my opinion. Wolves maybe a close second.

I'm not going to engage you in detail on this matter, but I am extremely confident that you are wrong about just about everything you wrote in this post. You are correct about the endowment, but that issue is irrelevant to the discussion. I won't comment any further.

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What part don't you agree with?

- Athletic program fund themselves? Are you thinking I meant that every program funds themselves or that the Athletic programs as a whole are funded separately from the academic endeavors of the school which are funded through grants, tuition fees, and the endowment? Athletic programs are INDEED funded separately and are partially endowed by the Wildcat Fund... separate from the Endowment fund that is often quoted in the press.

- Faculty being deeply concerned? Perhaps you know something I don't, but for a higher level academic institution that is financially stable and well regarded research institution, you aren't going to have any problem attracting professors. And perhaps that is why Northwestern boasts one of the lowest levels of professor turnover of any higher education institution in the country.

- The school isn't having difficulty attracting students? Applications have been up consistently over the last decade. Not sure what more you want there.

- The endowment is one of the strongest in the country? I'd love your thoughts there. Northwestern has the 10th largest endowment in the country at $7.1 billion

- Mired in mediocrity comment? Clearly I was expressing an opinion, which can't necessarily be proven right or wrong.

- Best sports value in town? Once again, I expressed an opinion.

Sorry, TM. I didn't mean to go all BoilermakerRick on you with the line items. As you can tell, I'm pretty passionate about Northwestern. Nonetheless, I think your view is very antiquated (another opinion). There was a time during the previous administrations, that Northwestern's faculty was at odds with the athletics program. That time is very long gone. We have the most supportive administration towards athletics that we've ever had with Morty Shapiro. The guy is one of the most loved NU Presidents in the last 50 years.