WI/AHC: The Magnolia League Universities (Southern Ivies) Idea Works

So, according to the Southern Ivy article on Wikipedia:

"The effort to create a Southern athletic conference originated during the 1950s. Harvie Branscomb, then-chancellor at Vanderbilt University, originally attempted to establish a rivalry between Vanderbilt and traditional Ivy League schools to foster relationships with academically-oriented schools. The school followed through on this effort and played a game against Yale in October 1948. However, after the Vanderbilt Commodores shut out the Yale Bulldogs, 35-0, Yale said they no longer wanted to play Vanderbilt. This caused Branscomb to call a meeting with the presidents of other Southern private universities in the late 1950s—Southern Methodist University(SMU), Rice University[1][2], Duke University and Tulane University— where Branscomb suggested they try to establish a new sports conference where small, academically-inclined private schools could compete.[3]

In the early 1960s, the idea for the "Magnolia Conference" gained popularity. In 1963, Tulane was frustrated by its level of competition within the Southeastern Conferencesince many of the schools had lower academic expectations for football players. They considered withdrawing from the SEC to compete with schools with similar aims.[4]According to the Rice Thresher, the era was a time when "the academic disparity between show-me-the-money schools and the schools less inclined to compromise academics was just beginning to become more evident."[citation needed] The "Magnolia Conference" had the vision to "maintain high-end Division I budgets and schedules, while avoiding some of the crasser extremes of the big business of college sports".[citation needed] However, this "Southern Ivy League" never got off the ground. Duke did not want to give up its rivalry with the University of North Carolina, and SMU and Rice were not willing to give up their shares of revenue flowing from the then-lucrative Cotton Bowl Classic because of its tie-in with the Southwest Conference.[3]"

So, what if the Magnolia League, consisting of Vanderbilt, Southern Methodist University, Rice University, Duke University, and, Tulane University, actually were successfully created? Would any other private Southern institutions join the Magnolia League and be regarded in similar fashion to the Northeastern Ivies? How would the overall reputation of Magnolias/Southern Ivies rate nationally and abroad? Might we see Magnolias/Southern Ivies rise to prominence in politics and the Supreme Court rather than the extremely Ivy dominated path we have taken in OTL?
 
I suspect that the success of such a venture would have little to do with football. Indeed, while it would have been very difficult (and perhaps suicidal) for major southern universities to diminish the role of football in their relations with alumni, other donors, and the general public, they might have been able to do a great many things that made them more competitive in the academic realm. These might have included an increase in academic scholarships, an increase in the proportion of classes taught by senior faculty (as opposed to teaching assistants), and the promotion of graduate programs in areas that were obviously "brainy." (Astrophysics and rocketry come to mind.)
 
What's your POD? This is an intriguing idea, but I think you're going to need more than five universities...how about adding Emory University in Atlanta and William and Mary (although public) in Virginia...
 
If the rest of the teams were ok with UNC and Wake Forest joining (thus keeping the UNC-Duke Rivalry). It just leaves Rice's Cotton Bowl Money (SWC members got a substantial cut that Rice didn't want to loose) as a major obstacle, along with travel.

This leads to a 7-team league. Possible Final 8th Members include

Georgia Tech (Public, but very good both Academically, and Athletically, could lead to a more Engineering Focused Southern Ivies)

By far the best 8th team

Other Options in No Particular Order

Emory (very small, DIII sports, although good for that level, good academic fit)
WashU (Better DIII sports, but worse location, great academic fit)
UVA (Public, Good at Sports, Southern, but the State Govt. won't liek it, especially if in-state admin. policies have to be changed)
William and Mary (Ditto, but less friendly to in-staters, but lwss good at sports by a good margin)
U Miami (decent Academically, definetly lower end of the conference, not good at sports at the time)
THe Citadel, VMI (Military, Southern, but probably not selective or elite enough)
Navy (Might be too far north, not southern, but solid academically)
Georgetown (Ditto, worse football, Catholic, less southern, and no commitment to the sport of football)

Most Likely Conference

1. Tulane
2. SMU
3. Rice
4. Duke
5. Vanderbuilt
6. UNC
7. Wake Forest
8. Georgia Tech

Not a Power Conference Athletically, but definitely above the midmajors. I wonder if this butterflies Duke and UNC Basketball. Getting a Bowl Game might be tough, but possible. Expect GT, SMU to dominate football, and Duke and UNC Basketball. It would also be a hell of a league in Olympic Sports, especially baseball and tennis (only two Olympic sports I know much about).

I'd expected the Magnolia to be degrees better than the Ivy League athletically, given these schools' traditions.

the academic effects might be really interesting, especially long term as far as "Southern Identity", and with the space race. could be a real positive to have a more united southern private school consortium. Maybe even a third standardized test to add to the SAT and ACT.
 
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