(08-07-2023 07:23 AM)woomba Wrote:  I'm sure it goes back decades but the Michigan - Michigan State "little brother" statement from Mike Hart goes back to 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GCEOuJ_GCM

This hit home with every MSU alum and will continue to sting for decades / generations to come. The phrase has nothing to do with sports. Their entire lives were summarized by two words from a hired mercenary by the university who was there (along with every member of the football program) to provide a form of entertainment for the masses.

You will always hear the story of the MSU alum who claims they got into Michigan, as there's always outliers. The overwhelming majority of their student body consists of students who weren't intelligent enough to get into Michigan.

I will never look at someone driving their car with a customized MSU license plate the same.

Another way to say "Little Brother": "Backup School" (courtesy of FOX Sports and Colorado alum Joel Klatt)

https://twitter.com/BNKonFOX/status/1703054784977068274

(08-13-2023 09:36 AM)thrill_house Wrote:  

(08-07-2023 07:23 AM)woomba Wrote:  I'm sure it goes back decades but the Michigan - Michigan State "little brother" statement from Mike Hart goes back to 2007

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GCEOuJ_GCM

This hit home with every MSU alum and will continue to sting for decades / generations to come. The phrase has nothing to do with sports. Their entire lives were summarized by two words from a hired mercenary by the university who was there (along with every member of the football program) to provide a form of entertainment for the masses.

You will always hear the story of the MSU alum who claims they got into Michigan, as there's always outliers. The overwhelming majority of their student body consists of students who weren't intelligent enough to get into Michigan.

I will never look at someone driving their car with a customized MSU license plate the same.

I get what you're saying, but I think you may be conflating different concepts, or else I don't fully understand it. As I understand it, Little Brother is strictly an athletic term. It may hold true in academics as well, but maybe not.

For example, consider USC-UCLA. I don't think there's much doubt that UCLA is Little Brother in that dynamic, not on the football field, at least. But having said that, I note that one of USC's nicknames is University of Second Choice.

(08-09-2023 08:40 PM)foulball33 Wrote:  

(08-09-2023 10:47 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  The school founded first in your state is always Big Brother.

Im thrilled to learn my alma mater, Athens State, is the Big Brother of Alabama and Auburn!

William & Mary = Big Brother
University of Virginia = Little Brother

(08-13-2023 09:36 AM)thrill_house Wrote:  ....
You will always hear the story of the MSU alum who claims they got into Michigan, as there's always outliers. The overwhelming majority of their student body consists of students who weren't intelligent enough to get into Michigan.
....

You mean 'who didn't have the test scores.' People can make far too much of things like this when trying to score provincial points.

Many factors go into admissions. Some universities admit more out-of-state and international students, which raises the bar for local students. Many research universities deliberately limit the number of undergraduates they accept.

Every year Michigan State produces grads who once 'couldn't get into Michigan' who can now give Ann Arbor a miss for grad school because they got admitted to Yale or Stanford. This is not a rare occurrence.

In real life, all kinds of things happen.

(08-07-2023 06:57 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Two words are often considered an insult at this board and in college sports: "Little Brother".
....

It's a cliché we could do without, honestly.

Universities are far more interesting. Each is an academic community with an evolving mission and history. Both are linked inextricably to the character of the society that founds and maintains this community.