WOW! Why is it so hard to phantom that BU is a brand and each and every graduate will have to use their diploma as part of their own brand to sell themselves in the labor market, like it or not? The closer BU is associated with outstanding education the easier it will be for graduates to get a high paying job or excepted to a high ranking graduate school or recruit the best educators in their field or imagine a vast network of very influential people to help each other in the business world.
No disrespect to Florida but the value put on an Ivy school diploma is much greater over a lifetime then any SEC school save Vanderbilt. There are reason we are closer to winning an NCAA basketball championship then a Nobel prize winner. I still believe BU would be best served by being the best academic institution it can be with the basketball team as a tool to create a diverse and fun collegiate atmosphere. I'm not saying we can't have both but if I had my choice I'd rather have a Harvard diploma over a Florida any day of the week.