re: The next time someone says Big 12 is smarter than SEC,

A tie.

Here's a comparison using the same data I pulled for the AAU discussion here.

In brief, an NSF survey for FY2009 indicates that there was a total of about $55 billion in total R&D expenditures for all universities and colleges, so percentages below are of $55B.
Also, In 2005 the Carnegie Foundation removed the "Research I" nomenclature and modified the classification methodology, instead classifying Doctorate granting Universities as RU/VH (Research Universities / Very High research activity), RU/H (Research Universities / High Research activity), and DRU (Doctoral / Research Universities). So that's what the RU or DRU tags mean.
The #rank is ranking of total R&D expenditures from the NSF (links in the AAU thread linked above).

So, this comparison looks more at the research investment of each institution, and in my mind is probably more objective than the US News rankings. Anyway, check it out...

The list comparing the SEC to the Big 12-2-1+1-1+1 is as follows:

The percentage of total R&D funding going to SEC schools (plus Mizzou) is:
#20 TAMU - 1.148% ($631M) - RU/VH
#23 Florida - 1.078% ($592M) - RU/VH
#39 Vanderbilt - 0.786% ($432M) - RU/VH
#43 LSU - 0.731% ($401M) - RU/VH
#49 Kentucky - 0.680% ($373M) - RU/VH
#55 Georgia - 0.637% ($350M) - RU/VH
#70 Tennessee - 0.519% ($285M) - RU/VH
#78 Mizzouri - 0.446% ($245M) - RU/VH
#86 Mississippi State - 0.395% ($217M) - RU/VH
#99 USC(e) - 0.340% ($187M) - RU/VH
#114 Auburn - 0.261% ($144M) - RU/H
#128 Arkansas - 0.192% ($105M) - RU/VH
#140 Mississippi - 0.165% ($91M) - RU/H
#197 Alabama - 0.066% ($37M) - RU/H

The SEC is averaging $292M per member institution in R&D expenditures.

The average expenditure ranking is 81.5 for the SEC.

The percentage of total R&D funding going to the (alledged) Big 12-2-1+1-1+1 schools for R&D expenditure is:
#32 Texas - 0.922% ($506M) - RU/VH
#79 Kansas - 0.411% ($226M) - RU/VH
#81 Iowa State - 0.408% ($224M) - RU/VH
#94 Oklahoma - 0.358% ($197M) - RU/VH
#112 Kansas State - 0.266% ($146M) - RU/H
#116 WVU - 0.254% ($140M) - RU/H
#121 Oklahoma State - 0.219% ($120M) - RU/H
#146 Texas Tech - 0.146% ($80M) - RU/H
#278 Baylor - 0.021% ($11M) - RU/H
#353 TCU - 0.008% ($4M) - DRU

The Big "12" is averaging $165M per member institution in R&D expenditures.

The average expenditure ranking is 141.2 for the Big "12". (NOTE: TCU brought the average ranking down a LOT).

Honestly, I have been REALLY surprised looking at these numbers... and pretty damned proud, too!

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Honestly, I have been REALLY surprised looking at these numbers... and pretty damned proud, too!

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I am too. No disrespect, but I am surprised how high LSU's numbers were and more than a bit surprised to se Vandy's number not higher. SEC is a hell of a lot more rounded than our former dance partners.

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That's pathetic and should be unacceptable. I know a lot of people that could not get into A&M with a 3.8 on a 4.0 scale in HS. You better be in the top 20% of your class with a over a 1200 on your SAT or 28 on your ACT if you want a chance to get into A&M or Texas

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We have Tceh for those people. WV doesn't.

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We have Tceh for those people. WV doesn't.

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This.

The academics piece to all this is bs. I like the fact that WVU gives more people a chance to get a higher education. More Universities should do this more often. There have been many people who got a chance, straightened up got a degree and did well for themselves. Yes, a lot do fail out, but everyone who PAYS THEIR OWN MONEY should have a chance at higher education.

From WVU's admissions website:

"West Virginia residents must have at least a 2.0 grade-point average and either a composite ACT score of 19 or a combined Math and Critical Reading SAT score of 910."

LINK

Texas higher education vs WV higher education is an apples to oranges comparison. Texas and A&M as state schools have lower schools (like UT-Arlington, UTEP, TTech, Houston, UT-D, UT-SA, and many others) to ensure that the lesser students have a shot at a degree. WV is not a populous enough state to warrant many schools, so they have one big one that covers the range from good in-state students to not so good ones. Their mission has to be different than that of A&M and Texas.

And no, I'm not saying they should be given a pass for that and bumped up in the ranking, but there's a reason they are where they are from a selectivity standpoint. They could up their requirements and trim their school to a size that basically only includes students that scored comparable numbers to the "top 10%-ers" that get into UT and A&M, but purely from a state population standpoint they wouldn't have enough students to make a decent-sized state university.