They absolutely are. Has nothing to do with being private or public. As for Vandy's endowment, it is true that it is significant. An institution is only as strong as its endowment. Thus why you see the largest endowments come from the best public/private schools. Tuition at many of these schools is in the 50-60k/year range. A significant endowment allows schools like Vandy to recruit nationally - and when i say recruit, i don't limit it to student-athletes. Vandy is very proud of their diversity, basically having a student from every state in the Union, but this diversity isn't just geographic, it covers EVERY demographic. So to get high intellectual kids from various economic backgrounds, the endowment provides the financial means for kids from families that couldn't dream of paying for their kid to attend Vandy. Its called Opportunity Vanderbilt. This program wasn't designed for Tim Corbin's baseball program, and is something that every school has, including South Carolina. Their endowment helps, but its not the advantage some on here want to assign to Vandy's 7-8 year run in baseball. This endowment was just as significant before Corbin arrived in the early 2000s. Their success stems from playing in the best baseball conference in college, they expanded Hawkins Field, their school is a perfect fit academically and culturally for the typical college baseball prospect. But most importantly, Tim Corbin is a master of his craft and works his tail off to be as successful as he is. Sometimes its just that, and credit should be given where credit is due. But that is tough for many of you because he spent a few years at Clemson. He also has a daughter with a degree from South Carolina. Ask Coach Tanner and he will have nothing but the finest things to say about Tim Corbin both as a coach and a human being.
