OMT: These teams should get a star boost in 2010

[Bama83]

Quote: Originally Posted by dirtycashdylan

I think you're on to something there. ND should start with 10. Bama, OU, OSU, USC with 9. Mich, Nebraska, Miami etc. with 8.

Well, I wouldn't put ND above Bama, OU, USC and Michigan. Notre Dame is a prestigious school with a long history, but to say it has a step above these other programs? I don't know.

If it was a 10 point scale, I'd put (perhaps not limited to):
Bama, ND, USC, Michigan, OSU, Texas, Penn

A 9 would be:
Miami, FSU, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska
Those teams just ooze tradition and can be mentioned in the same breath.

[DonkeyJote]

I disagree strongly that tradition should be the determining factor in * ratings. Nor do I think that recent success should be that factor. But I think you have to look at it objectively - which schools are the most prestigous NOW. Notre Dame is definetly in that class. Kids still go to Notre Dame because it's Notre Dame. But really, how many athletes are going to Nebraska because it's Nebraska. They're still going to get rewarded for the tradition (that's what the Program Tradition pitch is for), but they are no longer an elite program. I think the 6* schools should only be those elite programs. Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC, Florida, LSU would be my six stars. Programs that have that prestige that makes kids go there just to wear the uniform. Florida State, Miami, Penn State, Auburn could all make strong cases for 6 stars. But 5 stars isn't a travesty for them. Then the schools like Nebraska, Georgia, Alabama, teams that aren't quite perennial top teams or traditional powers on extended down turns (Alabama would be one more great year from 6* for me) would be your 5*. The teams that have been great the last few years but don't have much tradition would be limited to 4*.

I think the star rating is all about how much you'd want to play for the school just to wear that uniform. It should take a lot of things into consideration, but some of you want it to be all tradition. Well tradition is in there too. Prestige means something different for me.

[kestrel]

So kids choose to go to schools like Syracuse because they have history? That may be a determining factor but if that's the only factor, then it's stupid. Syracuse today is not the Syracuse of decades past. Having "Syracuse football player 2000-2003" on your resume does not carry that much weight. Why? Because the program is not that prestigious...it's not as prestigious as it used to be. But, go ahead and live in the past.

And are you going to deny that Michigan lost a few looks because of a horrible year? It certainly looks better to go to Ohio State now than Michigan. A player can compare the two programs and see that Ohio State is a place where they can be part of something successful and maybe even be successful themselves. Yes, some will still choose Michigan because it's Michigan and because there's a chance to build that program back up (something that looks a fair way off at Syracuse, if at all).

And you're comparing Michigan and Boise State? So, the choice is between a school that plays in a national conference (go ahead, use the word prestigious) against the likes of Ohio State and Penn State and Iowa or one that plays in the middle of nowhere against teams like Hawai'i and Louisiana Tech and, well, who else? It's not just wins that factors into a team's prestige but who those wins are against.

What I'm getting at is that prestige is not just about history and tradition, but there is a lot of how things are currently going that is factored into it. Just because ESPN rated some teams as historically prestigious using an arbitrary formula (for instance, I'm sure I can create one that says Vanderbilt is the best) does not mean that EA has to start handing out 6-star ratings to those teams that in the past 5, 10, or 20 years haven't had the success they used to.

[youALREADYknow]

Quote: Originally Posted by kestrel

And are you going to deny that Michigan lost a few looks because of a horrible year? It certainly looks better to go to Ohio State now than Michigan. A player can compare the two programs and see that Ohio State is a place where they can be part of something successful and maybe even be successful themselves. Yes, some will still choose Michigan because it's Michigan and because there's a chance to build that program back up (something that looks a fair way off at Syracuse, if at all).

You're clearly part of the instant gratification, can't remember past yesterday crowd. Michigan will clearly be back in the national picture within the next year or two because they are still getting 4-5 star commitments. Last year, they had 17 4-star commitments and this year they are on pace for 12 4-star commitments and 1 5-star.

Add this to the fact that they sellout every home game in the largest football stadium in the country.... and the 43 current NFL players who went to Michigan, I'd say they are pretty damn prestigious.

I'm a Florida State fan, so I have no reason to butter Michigan's bread. The bottom line is that prestige is not a 1 year award.

[seawolves9]

Prestige shouldn't down grade from year to year. Well for those teams who are known as prestigious schools from year to year.

I know I like to build up small programs into powerhouses, and the way the prestige works right now is that that is fairly easy to do, mainly because if you have a winning season, your prestige rating goes up a star. Or vice versa. The way things should happen is depending on the scale of the success, the prestige should go up after years of success. But you can't have a user with a small school who has been putting out 10+ win seasons for 3 or 4 seasons in a row, wait as long as a user with a small school has had mediocre seasons for the same amount as time. This could go the other way with a top tier program as well. A 6 star program who has had a few 9-10 loss seasons in a row should drop. Where as a 6 star program who has just had 6-7 loss seasons in a row shouldn't. Of course there's other things that play into this, like, bowl appearances in between those season, the star value of the recruits you pull in, and if they have it sometime in this franchise, how many coaches that team has been through.

I just simplified it to the casual gamer, or the instant gratification, by using the wins as the lone example. Personally, I would like it to take years to gain or lose a prestige star. It'd make me want to make dynasties last longer. But the fact is, EA is reaching out to a different audience than the hardcore gamers.

[Bama83]

There should probably be two or three rankings.

Traditional Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the amount of prestige the school has on the aspect of tradition. Bama, Texas A&M, Nebraska, USC, Michigan, ND are all examples of 9-10s. Shouldn't change much or often unless they fade to obscurity or mediocrity for extended periods and should often be based on fanbase.

Buzz Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the short term (last few years), buzz factor surrounding a school. UF, OU, Texas, Bama, LSU, USC would be examples of 9-10s.

Generational Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the prestige that the current generation has for your team. FSU, Miami, Texas, OU, UF, UGA, LSU, USC are examples of 9-10s.

[shigogouhou]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bama83

There should probably be two or three rankings. Traditional Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the amount of prestige the school has on the aspect of tradition. Bama, Texas A&M, Nebraska, USC, Michigan, ND are all examples of 9-10s. Shouldn't change much or often unless they fade to obscurity or mediocrity for extended periods and should often be based on fanbase. Buzz Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the short term (last few years), buzz factor surrounding a school. UF, OU, Texas, Bama, LSU, USC would be examples of 9-10s. Generational Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the prestige that the current generation has for your team. FSU, Miami, Texas, OU, UF, UGA, LSU, USC are examples of 9-10s.

I like that one. A bit of something for everybody (and that refers to both us gamers as well as the in-game recruits; some will be wooed by current success and others wooed by long-term tradition and prestige)

[youALREADYknow]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bama83

Buzz Prestige (1 to 10) - this is the short term (last few years), buzz factor surrounding a school. UF, OU, Texas, Bama, LSU, USC would be examples of 9-10s.

They already have all of these:

Program Tradition = Traditional Prestige
Championship Contender = Buzz Prestige
Main "Star" Prestige = Generational Prestige

They just need to fix the system and rankings because the way it's done in NCAA 09 is terrible.