Bobcats tops in Pride
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:54 pm
I had this article sent to me and I thought it was pretty cool. Speaks pretty highly of MSU's pride. Kudos to MSU on this.
http://www.bu.edu/research/
Boston, MA
According to a Boston University study, the level of pride within student athletes for their respective programs vary widely, and the results may surprise many fans. Supposed "top-tier" programs like USC, Oklahoma, Florida and others, "did not fare as well as we would have guessed", Research Professor Duane Bovington said. "Many smaller programs such as Western Michigan, Montana State and East Carolina had surprisingly high numbers".
Bovington is at a loss to completely explain the variance, but he does see trends among the top three universities. "Montana State for example. Year in and year out, they have little to play for but pride by the time they reach their game with their cross-state rival. We feel that this 'play for pride' mentality has a very strong correlation to building pride in the program". Similarly-sized programs, like MSU's primary rival, the University of Montana, "have much higher aspirations", said Bovington. Therefore, they do not have the opportunity to play simply for pride, and those universities tended to score lower in the study.
http://www.bu.edu/research/
