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Not the usual suspects where it's a massive university that dominates the town with little else there, nor where campus is on the outskirts and separated from downtown. Population ideally under 100K. Features an active, revitalized/kept up downtown area. The college/university has a sizable athletics program (preferably Division I or 1-A though maybe flexible) that keeps the town hopping. Below national average housing costs (buy/rent) and NOT in a solid red state preferably. Ideally the Midwest, Northeast, Midatlantic or Mountain West. Looking past the majority of Power 5 conference schools most likely.
One city/college I forgot about in all of this... The University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. It's a small town of ~32K. Apartments seem to rent around $800 - $1000 per month. The school is in the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and the Mountain West Division, and typically has a competitive football and men's basketball teams. I've traveled through town several times, but never on a home game weekend, but I'd suspect the town is very supportive of its university. I'd guess it's not the most racially diverse university and not the bluest state, but you can make your own liberal corner most anywhere, and likely find a core group of like minds. Fort Collins, CO is only a couple hours away when you need a liberal weekend.
Edit: I reread your initial message. I'm guessing Wyoming would be too red for you. Though red states tend to be more tolerant than blue states in my experience. Anyway, OP, I didn't see where you stated whether you are looking for this perfect college town so you can attend school there, or are you an adult looking for that weekend college experience to socialize around other adult alumni and sports fans?
Greenville NC
- ECU campus adjacent to multi-block downtown; also a county seat and (academic) medical center, largest & fastest-growing of Eastern NC's smaller cities
- 89K population; ECU has 29K students
- D1-A, American conference
- Median home list price $285K (vs. mid-2020 national median, pre-Covid run-up, of $323K)
- Purple state, though the surrounding counties are solid red
I think you're on the right track by excluding Power 5 conference schools -- these are going to be too large.
Greenville NC
- ECU campus adjacent to multi-block downtown; also a county seat and (academic) medical center, largest & fastest-growing of Eastern NC's smaller cities
- 89K population; ECU has 29K students
- D1-A, American conference
- Median home list price $285K (vs. mid-2020 national median, pre-Covid run-up, of $323K)
- Purple state, though the surrounding counties are solid red
I think you're on the right track by excluding Power 5 conference schools -- these are going to be too large.
If we go by the initial criteria, it may not fit due to being in the South and the part of NC it is in.
I’m also thinking that Iowa City was a front runner all along due to another thread where the OP mentioned the city in terms of its urbanity. It is in a growing county of now 150,000 people or so and its metro has about 172,000 people. So, this may be more of a validation thread and the population criteria it appears is for the city proper.
I know in the Northeast, if you strip away the D1 criteria, places like Indiana PA(east of Pittsburgh, good D2 program), Brockport NY(west of Rochester, good D3 program) and maybes for Kutztown PA(minutes from/in between Reading and Allentown/with Philadelphia not too far away, good D2 program) and Cortland NY(20-40 minutes from/in between Ithaca, Syracuse and Binghamton, good D3 program), among maybe a few others, are places that fit some of the other criteria and are close enough to bigger city options as well. Basically think of a Lewisburg PA, but having mid sized/bigger city options within a reasonable drive(Williamsport is the closest decent sized city to Lewisburg, with Harrisburg about an hour away).
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 02-28-2023 at 07:11 AM..
Boise would be nice, but it's expensive, too big, and not much of a "sports" town, even though the Broncos have done great in the past many years. Unless you drive up Broadway Ave, past the stadium, you'd hardly know there was a football game going on in Boise. It just isn't a real sports town.
Boise would be nice, but it's expensive, too big, and not much of a "sports" town, even though the Broncos have done great in the past many years. Unless you drive up Broadway Ave, past the stadium, you'd hardly know there was a football game going on in Boise. It just isn't a real sports town.
I'll take your word for it but that's kinda hard to believe. Ever since Petersen turned them into a known entity ~ 15 yrs ago, the game days (and who could forget the very distinguishable blue turf field) have always given off the impression that BSU was some football crazy school and atmosphere. Granted the program has dropped off in the last 5+ years since Petersen left but back in its heyday whenever I watched their games it always left me with the impression that it was football mania there, guess not. It's amazing how watching on TV can sometimes really sway your view of things.
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