# When someone mentions, "Harvard of the South"... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324 "2013-05-02T16:46:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/41 "2013-05-02T21:37:01Z")
I knew a guy who claimed it for [Millsaps College](http://www.millsaps.edu/)… ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/42 "2013-05-02T21:45:40Z")
Duke or Emory. Davidson maybe a close third. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/43 "2013-05-02T22:09:50Z")
William and Mary. Not just because it is an excellent school, but because it is old. It is the 2nd oldest university in the U.S after Harvard. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/44 "2013-05-02T22:16:52Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I’ve heard this about Tulane. My first thought, too. Or maybe The U (Miami) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/45 "2013-05-02T22:18:06Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Who’s the Brown of the south? Grambling? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/46 "2013-05-02T22:24:44Z")
I’ve heard it from University of Florida. I think it was even on some of their brochures and/or catalogs at some point… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/47 "2013-05-02T22:29:57Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I think this was a joke on a _Simpsons_ episode (maybe the one where Homer flies on Mr. Burns’s private jet with Lionel Richie?) I think the pilot says he attended the Harvard of the South, but then never divulges the actual name. Stephen Colbert’s character delivers the line, but otherwise that’s right. He says it’s further south than Duke and Vanderbilt, but he’s too ashamed to name the actual school. I think I first heard this designation applied to Emory and I didn’t realize so many other places claimed this made-up honor. And on that note- in another Simpsons episode, Lisa notes that “Anything that’s the ‘something’ of the ‘something’ isn’t really the anything of anything.” ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/48 "2013-05-02T22:31:52Z")
I’m a Vanderbilt alumnus and heard this alot when I was there. Really, any of the so-called “Magnolia League” schools could make this claim though. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/49 "2013-05-02T22:48:17Z")
Antarctica State. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/50 "2013-05-02T22:48:31Z")
Vanderbilt is the first to come to my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/51 "2013-05-02T23:27:38Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > By the way, I just want to be clear that I didn’t mean this pejoratively. I attended William & Mary. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/52 "2013-05-02T23:27:59Z")
George Will once described Harvard as “the Rice of the Northeast.” I can find references to the quote, but am striking out on finding the quote itself online. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/53 "2013-05-03T00:03:32Z")
I thought of Emory. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/54 "2013-05-03T00:09:40Z")
Duke. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/55 "2013-05-03T00:10:54Z")
I grew up in a big UVA household and am now married to an Emory grad. I still thought of Duke first. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/56 "2013-05-03T01:38:30Z")
Vandy was my first thought too. ---
**Author:** ![Blkshp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blkshp/32/7135_2.png) [@Blkshp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blkshp)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/57 "2013-05-03T03:01:27Z")
Duke. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/58 "2013-05-03T03:33:56Z")
Vandy and Duke were the first schools that occurred to me first. Atlanta native, and I never once thought about Emory. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/59 "2013-05-03T03:37:32Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Duke was the first thing that came to mind. Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324/60 "2013-05-03T04:17:05Z")
I’ve only ever heard it about Tulane. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-someone-mentions-harvard-of-the-south/657324.md?page=4)