One is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, synonymous with dreaming spires and David Cameron's formative years. The other is a former polytechnic whose famous alumni include Panther from the TV series Gladiators.
But when the vice-chancellors of Oxford University and its neighbour Oxford Brookes University testified together before a Commons committee last March, they were united on one thing. Asked how a 2:1 in history from one could possibly be worth the same as a 2:1 from the other, given their differing intakes and teaching methods, both went to great lengths to avoid answering.
The exchange became so heated that Phil Willis, chairman of the select committee on innovation, universities and skills, later wrote and apologised. But Oxford University was still smarting this weekend at what a spokesman called the "inappropriate" demand to compare "apples and oranges".