Dont know if its been posted elsewhere, but Ralph Wilcox lays out the case for why USF should be achieving AAU status, presumably before FSU. Relevance is to B1G/FSU/AAU, etc. http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-usf-well-positioned-to-lead-research-drive/2113160 It's relevant to the overall brand of USF. FSU's motive for AAU status is to look good for the Big Ten. We just need to take those steps to become a better university overall, so that schools in the ACC/Big 12 see us as a legitimate academic and collegiate environment, where students consistently get a quality learning experience and graduate on time. EDIT: I believe we're there in reality, but we need to improve some metrics, like graduation rate Please keep in mind that Nebraska lost its AAU status and they invited ND, who is NOT an AAU member... it's not an end all, be all.