Transfer portal

[HFO]

Lehigh dropping like a rock since 2003.
https://www.universityrankings.ch/insti ... ersity-usa

SHJ Ranking 2003 251-300 2022 801-900 principally focused on academic publishing/citations
QS Ranking 2010 401-450 2024 258 no arguments with their rankings, the best schools are in the Top100
Leiden Ranking 2014 178 2023 789

Not impressed with Simon or Helble. Lehigh alum who convince themselves otherwise know little to why premier academic institutions DO NOT DROP LIKE A ROCK. It starts with mediocre recruitment, no different than in hospitals that lose prestige.

If you are not contributing in a major way to the body of knowledge through research, you quickly become irrelevant. Lehigh has been on a path to irrelevance for most of the last 20 years if not longer.

[Justafan]

Lehigh dropping like a rock since 2003.
https://www.universityrankings.ch/insti ... ersity-usa

SHJ Ranking 2003 251-300 2022 801-900 principally focused on academic publishing/citations
QS Ranking 2010 401-450 2024 258 no arguments with their rankings, the best schools are in the Top100
Leiden Ranking 2014 178 2023 789

Not impressed with Simon or Helble. Lehigh alum who convince themselves otherwise know little to why premier academic institutions DO NOT DROP LIKE A ROCK. It starts with mediocre recruitment, no different than in hospitals that lose prestige.

If you are not contributing in a major way to the body of knowledge through research, you quickly become irrelevant. Lehigh has been on a path to irrelevance for most of the last 20 years if not longer.

I suppose, ugliness like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There is an irony that the graph begins in 2003, the year that Bethlehem Steel was sold to International Steel Group after years if not decades of collapse. If we are completely honest, any perceived greatness that Lehigh enjoyed was at the behest of that once great company, akin I suppose to Stanford's rise built on Silicon Valley. It was Bethlehem's Steels largesse that provide the research dollars as well as the projects, the jobs, the money etc. when you attended college.

Reviewing your link, it appears that Lehigh never had the sterling international reputation that may have been perceived. The changes are due primarily to increasing the data set.

Shanghai 401-500 out of 500 in 2005-2013 Today 801-900 out of 1,000
QS 401-450 out of 500 in their 1st year (2010) Now we are at 548 out of 1,497
Times 300-350 out of 402 in their 1st year ()2012 Now we are at 600-800 out of 1,202

Leiden seems to be the only assessment bucking the trend.

Lehigh isn't dropping like a rock internationally. If anything, we are improving.

From my understanding, international evaluations are not really based on the undergraduate level but graduate school. Lehigh's graduate school is painfully small compared to the schools we are being evaluated against. I believe we currently carry about 1,800 grad students.

Lastly, In order to improve our reputation internationally, we need to open our minds and go out and find the best students the world has to offer and not confine ourselves to the past. I think we are certainly making progress in that regard.

[LUEngineer]

Back to wrestling. Success from our 2 freshman All Americans must be the building block for recruiting.

We must continue to stress Lehigh’s legacy of national championships & All Americans where we rank #6 & # 8 respectfully.

We need to differentiate ourselves for those not seeking a wrestling degree to focus on our Engineering & Business reputations & focus. For the true wrestling focused student athlete in the East, Lehigh should be branded as the absolute best private school option.

It’s all about branding & marketing!!!

[Oracle]

Agree with your sentiment about branding and marketing.

Trouble is -- will the University 'brand wrestling' as their premier sport? Compared to wrestling , all other sports combined (men and women) have precious few AAs in their history. It is utter nonsense not to designate Wrestling as THE sport at Lehigh. Then and only then will branding and marketing work. IMO.

It's not up to Pat to brand and market. It's up to Pat to recruit and coach .... that's how he executes the branding and marketing. The Athletic Dept (AD) doesn't need anyone's permission to effect this strategy. AD Sterrett could have done this at any time if he so desired. He doesn't. Woke to the core I'm afraid. Nothing changes for any other sport. They continue on competing regionally against PL teams. Wrestling competes nationally against all major conferences--year-in and year out.

In the end, I agree with HFO. It's a leadership issue at Lehigh. Starts with the AD. Why would the President care if the AD doesn't?

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>>>>I see it from a different perspective.

I believe it is 100% on the head coach to establish and maintain the current ‘brand’ for a program. A supportive AD and administration helps, but a program, at heart, reflects the coach.

For example, Missouri and Smith’s ‘tiger style’ brand speaks for itself.

A coach, imo, has to do three things well to build/maintain a high level program.

1,) Recruit elite wrestlers
2.) Raise significant money
3.) Coach ‘‘em up—— this includes/involves hiring quality assistants

All three are inter-related.

[Mountain Hawk]

Lehigh dropping like a rock since 2003.
https://www.universityrankings.ch/insti ... ersity-usa

SHJ Ranking 2003 251-300 2022 801-900 principally focused on academic publishing/citations
QS Ranking 2010 401-450 2024 258 no arguments with their rankings, the best schools are in the Top100
Leiden Ranking 2014 178 2023 789

Not impressed with Simon or Helble. Lehigh alum who convince themselves otherwise know little to why premier academic institutions DO NOT DROP LIKE A ROCK. It starts with mediocre recruitment, no different than in hospitals that lose prestige.

If you are not contributing in a major way to the body of knowledge through research, you quickly become irrelevant. Lehigh has been on a path to irrelevance for most of the last 20 years if not longer.

I suppose, ugliness like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There is an irony that the graph begins in 2003, the year that Bethlehem Steel was sold to International Steel Group after years if not decades of collapse. If we are completely honest, any perceived greatness that Lehigh enjoyed was at the behest of that once great company, akin I suppose to Stanford's rise built on Silicon Valley. It was Bethlehem's Steels largesse that provide the research dollars as well as the projects, the jobs, the money etc. when you attended college.

Reviewing your link, it appears that Lehigh never had the sterling international reputation that may have been perceived. The changes are due primarily to increasing the data set.

Shanghai 401-500 out of 500 in 2005-2013 Today 801-900 out of 1,000
QS 401-450 out of 500 in their 1st year (2010) Now we are at 548 out of 1,497
Times 300-350 out of 402 in their 1st year ()2012 Now we are at 600-800 out of 1,202

Leiden seems to be the only assessment bucking the trend.

Lehigh isn't dropping like a rock internationally. If anything, we are improving.

From my understanding, international evaluations are not really based on the undergraduate level but graduate school. Lehigh's graduate school is painfully small compared to the schools we are being evaluated against. I believe we currently carry about 1,800 grad students.

Lastly, In order to improve our reputation internationally, we need to open our minds and go out and find the best students the world has to offer and not confine ourselves to the past. I think we are certainly making progress in that regard.

Do I detect a member of the Board perhaps? Trustee?

The natives aren’t happy.

[LUEngineer]

Coach can in fact brand as part of recruiting & if you walk through the Caruso Wrestling Complex you do see the essence of that branding on the walls. Highlighting the

AD doesn’t have to nor ever will anoint Wrestling as our most important sport. But wrestling is the only sport at Lehigh that has an NIL entity in place.

Wrestling is the only sport at Lehigh with an Olympic Training Center bringing in post Collegiate Athletes training at the same facility with the Collegiate wrestlers.

The only downside now is the weakness of the EIWA which now is the equivalent of the Patriot League plus lesser schools that is a weaker league than the rest of our athletic teams.

We need to minimize the EIWA part of our schedules & step up duals against ACC & Big schools IMO.

[ngineer]

From what I hear, next year's schedule could be quite tough.

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>The ACC was a weaker conf than the old EIWA———but that did not stop VaT or NCSt from developing quality programs.

And the old PAC conf did not keep ASU or Stanford from developing AAs.

The 6 team Ivy conf will be weaker than the revised EIWA but that will not stop cu.

The new EIWA should not negatively impact Lehigh from developing AAs.

[Spladle1989]

Doubtful but maybe, but will it hurt in recruiting them?