And no, it's not like we were a flash in the pan. We were preforming for years before that and years after.
And "Power Conferences" didn't exist as an idea until perhaps the BCS, 15+ years later.
Also, were yewts not a part of "bigtime football" until they joined the PAC12 (and had a losing record in it for the first three years)
Also, is Vanderbilt "bigtime foogball?" Rutgers?