Let's talk numbers......

I want to start my post with a big, sincere congratulations to Big Blue and the Old Dominion fans for currently holding the #1 spot in both overall record and total number of votes.  Awesome job!!!


Just like you, I've wondered 1000 times.....how the heck are they doing it?  How is such a "small school" getting so many votes?  I've seen more than a few ODU fans claiming to have "more heart with less students than the big schools."  I've seen the interview* with ODU's blogger  and Danielle Smith, and several remarks were made about ODU being "such a small school" and despite their "small numbers" their fans are more dedicated.


I work in biomedical research, so numbers fascinate me.  It always amazes me how, when taken out of context, numbers can be misinterpreted.  I also put a whole lot of stock into facts.  So, naturally after hearing so much about how small Old Dominion is, I was curious and wanted to do some fact checking.   Guess what, people......Old Dominion isn't that small.  Current enrollment is 24,013 students.  And, get a load of this, ODU's enrollment is in the TOP 50% of the 16 schools included in the mascot challenge.  Yep.....THE TOP 50%.  I get that they haven't had football for very long.  And I admit that in the football community, a lot of fans are saying, "Old Who??" But just because ODU isn't topping (or even on) the BCS and coaches polls doesn't mean they are the "small school" that some of their supporters claim.   They have had some pretty good basketball teams in their day, and have an established fan base for their athletics.  Yes, football is new to ODU, but sports and sports fans are not.


Since ODU fans love to talk about how well they are doing for such a small school, let's see how they measure up.....proportionally.   

First, let me say that no matter how you crunch the numbers, their performance has been impressive at 36.96 votes per student (VPS).  But here's the thing.....that number pales in comparison to the University of Montana's 49.26 VPS.  With only 15,642 students, the University of Montana's total vote tally of 770,463 is EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE, and is proportionally kicking ODU's butt.  Other surprising variances between the actual standings, and my VPS standings.....UTEP only comes in ranked at #6 with 27.89 VPS.   Ohio State is #11 with 11.1 VPS.  Oregon sits at #4 in both polls (but Old Dominion, just so you know.....you also have more students then them.  Sure they have an awesome #1 ranked football team, but they don't have as many students to rack up votes).  And, just to be fair in my writing, I must admit that my beloved LSU ranks in at #13 with a very disappointing 7.0 votes per student.  LSU has a student enrollment of 28,771 (not that much bigger than ODU), but still we are not competing well against ODU.  At all.  I don't know where all the Tiger Fans are....but I can assure you that our lackluster performance has nothing to do with lack of love for Mike the Tiger.

Here is my favorite gem from this exercise in simple math.....The United States Air Force Academy, with THE LOWEST ENROLLMENT of the 16 schools involved with just 4,537 students ranks as #3 with 35.73 VPS....a difference of just 1.23 VPS from Old Dominion.  And when you consider all the extra requirements that those students have on top of what the rest of the schools require, it is all the more impressive.  The cadet candidate’s typical day is very demanding.  It consists of Students academic classes, military training, mandatory individual and team sports, and a mandatory study period each evening. In addition, they must fit in all the normal activities of life: eating, sleeping, cleaning their rooms and dorms, washing clothes, etc. Students must learn to plan their time and organize their efforts in order to successfully complete each day's activities.   The cadets at USAFA don't have a whole lot of extra time to send in votes to support their Bird.....but you know  what, when you look at them proportionally next to ODU, they are running neck and neck.  So guess who's the real underdog in the Mascot Challenge.....it sure isn't Old Dominion.


What does this mean to the Capital One Mascot Challenge?  Absolutely nothing.  Capital One has their rules layed out quite nicely, and I'm not arguing with how those rules currently stand.  It is very clear how the winner will be decided.  And it looks like it will probably come down to a hard fought battle between ODU and UTEP.  Both of those schools have done very admirable jobs in showing support for their mascots. This post is not intended to take anything away from the schools on top.....this post is just meant to put the contest in proportional  perspective.  If it weren't for the fact that I've heard claim after claim about how "small" they are, I would have just taken the (massive) beating gracefully and congratulated them on a job well done.   But they continually reference their size.....inaccurately.


Anyone who claims to have "more heart" than the "big schools," I challenge you to make a trip to Baton Rouge (or Eugene, Oregon; Columbus, Ohio;  Los Angeles, California; or even Colorado Springs, CO) on any given home football game day, look around the campus, stand among the thousands of people who are there WITHOUT TICKETS....the ones who are there to support their team regardless of whether or not they get inside the stadium, and then try to stand there and tell me with a straight face that you have more heart than we do.  I'm not saying we have more than you.....I'm just saying that YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MORE THAN US.  You just have more votes.


So here it is......VOTE FOR MIKE or THE AIR FORCE BIRD in the Capital One Mascot Challenge!!!!




*FYI....Despite the report in the below video, a reminder to support Mike the Tiger in the mascot challenge IS on the JumboTron at EVERY home game in Tiger Stadium.  Unfortunately, with 93,000 people inside the stadium, and another 50,000 or so fans outside the stadium.....cell service is kind of slow on game days.   And just a reminder, the enrollment at LSU is roughly 28,771 students....only 4,758 students more than ODU.  Considering Ohio State is in the 60,000-ish student range....LSU isn't really a "big school" like you continually reference....we just have extremely enthusiastic and dedicated fans who make it seem so.