Ha! Everything is a meritocracy, you either influential or you get influenced.Nobody handed BSU any of that. We weren't even FBS until 1996 and our starting point was a small school, that used to be a JC, from a tiny town in Idaho, place that nobody cares about (which we prefer). You perform and you get paid, you also have to perform more than once, just like in real life.. Performance over time garners genuine respect. The real basis of this argument is that some people will always feel entitled to handouts while others prefer to go out and earn a larger piece of the pie and in turn, don't wish to hand it to those who sat there while they did what it took to move ahead.