If you are willing to go truly BIG, also consider Ohio State (in Columbus), U Minnesota (in Minneapolis), U Washington (Seattle), or U Texas (Austin). For something more akin to Syracuse (bigger private school near urban w/ sports), I echo the suggestion ms of Tulane, BC, U Miami, and also SMU (Dallas), TCU (Fort Worth/Dallas metro), Vanderbilt (Nashville), USC (Los Angeles), or Northwestern (Chicago).