Allister Departing Minnesota for Stanford

[schwabach]

Not that this will likely be an issue p ) but if my DD was being recruited by Stanford or an SEC team, knowing that in women's sports playing at the professional level is likely not going to set her up for life, I would strongly suggest she go with Stanford. Of course not everybody thinks that way and is probably one of the reasons why Stanford has been struggling of late. It will be Allister's job to make kids think this way.

I went to Tufts for undergrad and Duke for grad school and now teach at University of Oklahoma. I have seen with my own eyes the difference in the educational experience at top level academic schools (Tufts,Duke) vs. middle to lower level quality academic chools (OU) and it is mainly due to the other students you are surrounded by and not necessarily the level of instruction received.

Very true. I was not a very disciplined student in college but I did attend a very demanding university and what you say here is so, so true.

 

[djcarter1966]

Not that this will likely be an issue p ) but if my DD was being recruited by Stanford or an SEC team, knowing that in women's sports playing at the professional level is likely not going to set her up for life, I would strongly suggest she go with Stanford. Of course not everybody thinks that way and is probably one of the reasons why Stanford has been struggling of late. It will be Allister's job to make kids think this way.

I went to Tufts for undergrad and Duke for grad school and now teach at University of Oklahoma. I have seen with my own eyes the difference in the educational experience at top level academic schools (Tufts,Duke) vs. middle to lower level quality academic chools (OU) and it is mainly due to the other students you are surrounded by and not necessarily the level of instruction received.

This ^^^^^^^^^^

A close friend of mines son was a DI football recruit and had offers from Notre Dame and Standford but chose OU after a few years actually ended up transferring to Univ of Houston to graduate.

If it was me and you have those options in front of you that Stanford or Notre Dame diploma will stay will you for a lifetime and its free if you just put in the work and treat sports as your job that is your ticket to the diploma.

 

[MNDad]

Not that this will likely be an issue p ) but if my DD was being recruited by Stanford or an SEC team, knowing that in women's sports playing at the professional level is likely not going to set her up for life, I would strongly suggest she go with Stanford. Of course not everybody thinks that way and is probably one of the reasons why Stanford has been struggling of late. It will be Allister's job to make kids think this way.

I went to Tufts for undergrad and Duke for grad school and now teach at University of Oklahoma. I have seen with my own eyes the difference in the educational experience at top level academic schools (Tufts,Duke) vs. middle to lower level quality academic chools (OU) and it is mainly due to the other students you are surrounded by and not necessarily the level of instruction received.

I agree about attending top academic school like Stanford, but I wouldn’t consider OU or any major public university “middle to lower quality”.

 

[schwabach]

The big universities offer the world to motivated students who seize the opportunities they provide. But if you are the type of student who does the minimum amount necessary to get by, the minimum at a big state school is less than the minimum at, say, MIT.

 

[sleepwalker]

Going out on a limb and thinking this is one of those places where you do not go to play softball. More grad students than undergrad.

I don't know. The previous Stanford coach took Stanford to the NCAA tournament 16 times out of the 18 years he coached there. Stanford went to the WCWS in 01 and 04, I believe. Stanford had at least one all American in 15 seasons of that 18 year time frame. I am sure that there are several SEC schools that can't lay claim to that much success in Softball over the same time frame.

 

[_MIA_]

I agree about attending top academic school like Stanford, but I wouldn’t consider OU or any major public university “middle to lower quality”.

OU is somewhere between Stanford and Jucos and to be honest from what I have seen the student body is closer to Jucos then it is to Stanford. Note this is only for my area
of expertise (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering). In other areas, Meteorology for example, OU has one of the top programs in the country but that is mainly due to
our location in the Tornado belt (yay!!) that the Federal government decided put a National Weather Center here. Music department and Petroleum Engineering dept (again location) are also
good.

 

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

Going out on a limb and thinking this is one of those places where you do not go to play softball. More grad students than undergrad.

Seriously? Stanford Softball History - GoStanford.com | Stanford Athletics

Great location, best combo of athletics and academics in the nation IMO, and I'm guessing a lot less travel for her to recruit. Hate to see Minnesota lose a good coach but I can understand why she would accept Stanford.

 

[Elk Grove Hurricane]

I get your point.

But Stanford is very competitive in some sports.
Football, Volleyball, Swim, Tennis, Womens Basketball, and Track come to mind.

McCaffrey in the NFL is the latest of dozens they have graduated. National Football League: NFL Draft History - by School
The WNBA list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Stanford_Cardinal_women's_basketball_players.
The MLB list: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/college/stanford_university_baseball_players.shtml;
Stanford is a fantastic research school, but don't overlook their athletic excellence. They typically place pretty high in the President's Cup

 

[Gambler Bob]

I wonder if Sydney Smith (P, transfer from LSU) was privy to this news before committing to transfer?

As much as I would like to think that the coach would be very upfront about that kind of information, I find it very doubtful that the coach made the transfers aware of that situation.

 

[Twintrouble]

Kind of wondering what kind of contract she got. I know MN was offering her some type raise and extension about 2/3rds of the way into last season.