Is the fanbase / student pop anything close to the actual populations of Arizona? Isn't ASU some ultra party school?
The Tempe Normal School - If a bottom-feeder PE firm effected a hostile takeover of a middling public university and both were afflicted with severe delusions of grandeur the result would look an awful lot like ASU. This is a university that told one of its highly-ranked professional programs, "Yeah, you're not profitable so we're probably going to zero out your budget soon," which resulted in said program giving the university the finger, acquiring their own digs downtown, and farming their students out sweatshop-style to the community they serve. They have an athletic department only because Crow hasn't found a way to sell it off yet. On the upside they have about 3 KSUs worth of students that are online only; 3 more KSUs worth of full time students on the main campus and 2 KSUs worth of students at various satellite campuses.
The University of Arizona & Tucson High - Tucson wanted the territorial mental hospital but the reps were drunk and arrived late to the meeting where monies for civic projects were divvied up across the territory. As the losers they got the university but made the best of it by establishing a high school in the same building so the project wouldn't be a total loss. If you're cute, blonde, grew up in SoCal, aren't smart enough to get into Stanford or Berkeley and daddy doesn't have the $$$ to buy you a spot at the University of Spoiled Children your consolation prize is a place at one of Tucson's famous brothels / sororities. Yes, it's a great party school but Steve Dave is too young to really appreciate it.
