re: What schools comprise the true SEC "blue bloods"?

That is not the actual definition . . .it is a pretty ironic term really and if people understood its historical use it would not be such a coveted status. .

The term Blue Blood means "a person of noble birth" . . . .nothing to do with money. It came about because the once influential families of early America suddenly found themselves out earned and not able to keep up younger, more brash, and much more connected entrepreneurs. All they could do was create social registries and brag their great grandfathers were something special decades prior.

So the term is really fitting for certain programs that kicked arse in the 1970s and have not done much since.