Not true on the academics.
Louisville is ranked #189 by US news.
WVU is #249. One of the worst so-called “national universities” on that list.
so when I talk about a conference full of “low ranked universities” In the new b12x that’s what I mean. Texas was the best academic institution they had by far. Was listed among the original eight Public Ivies - with UVA, Berkeley, Miami University in Ohio, Michigan, etc.
en.m.wikipedia.org
So the new b12 didn’t just replace grand old sports programs with huge budgets; they traded out what academic powerhouses they had (mainly Texas), with low ranked low profile and lower budget institutions which have much fewer involved, supportive, successful, and proud alumni.