Sports can be big in a country, sure, but US is the only country I can recall where sports matters as a criteria to choose a university to go to (as an in op).

But just in case - it’s cool, I wasn’t being judgmental.

You may be reading too much into the original question, which was simply:

> What does stanford offer undergrads that berkeley doesnt? IMO access to legacies and the larger alumni network is about it

Non-academic advantages (e.g. athletics programs, student housing, etc.) are still advantages.

Berkeley has its own set of non-academic advantages, such as closer proximity and access to San Francisco (via BART).