1) Ya, This thread has really opened my eyes to how many Texas fans apparently put a lot of their self worth into how the UT football program (that they have zero to do with) is performing (but not actually performing on the field, just how much money they make). Sure sign that said individuals have nothing in their personal lives to really hang their self esteem on. Glad you got what you should out of UT - a fantastic education/ research dollars/ publications. It's a place that can absolutely open tremendous doors, but also one where you can skate by and do more or less nothing with it (like most big universities).
2) I did my PhD at Berkeley and am torn on this. I can attest to the fact that for the most part, no one gives a damn about any football game except for Cal vs Stanford, with a little secondary care about the USC game, and it's true on both campuses (I was at Stanford for a year on fellowship and went to every home game). On the other hand, when the team is doing well (those rare, elusive times), some pretty big crowds do appear. But the campus admin just isn't there to support big-time football (at both, but at Cal especially).