re: What does the nation outside of Louisiana say about LSU?

When I come into contact with people around the country and they find out I'm from LSU, they usually want to ask about football and the SEC. They don't get too deep into it though. Not like we talk about football here.

Academically, when I tell people I went to LSU, they are neither impressed nor unimpressed. About the same reaction I give/see when someone else talks about where they went to school. There's really only a handful of schools out there that will get an "oooh" out of someone if you say you went there. Outside of the Ivy League and Oxford (England) no one gives a crap.