A president who wants to excel beyond third place and pull Drake into the ring with the big dogs. We are the Bulldogs after all. As a university with an opportunity to employ a strong president and retain respected faculty, Drake can present the top ranking midwestern universities with a challenge. Creighton and Valparaiso are currently ranked as the number one and two schools in the midwest, according to U.S. News and World Report. Drake should look at what makes these schools better, and learn from it.
Third place is good.
But it's not the best. Drake could and should be improving. Rankings in recent years have shown otherwise. It's fine for Creighton and Valparaiso to hold their position. But it's not fine for Drake to consistently remain stagnant.