tdol said:
In British English, there is a creeping tendency towards the plural in cases such as this. Teams, universities, etc, are routinely labelled plural. It seems to be an area where there is difference between the US and the UK. In BE, the sentence would be generally viewed as acceptable, though some would say the same as Susie.
Many also use singular for the plural (There's three...), just to make things harder.
;-)
Many things are acceptable in informal speech. People start saying something and others imitate them and suddenly it's widespread and acceptable and eventually even considered grammatically correct. When I went to school I was taught how to use may/can and shall/will, etc. We all know what happened to those rules - the same thing that is happening to the present perfect. How many people do you know who say, "He don't ........."? Just wait ... we may live to hear grammarians say this is "acceptable in informal speech" .
Back to university, team, class, etc. -
Collective nouns are singular when a group is considered a unit, but plural when the individuals are indicated.
The team built its reputation on honesty.
The team are taking their baths.
Expressions of time, money, and distance usually require a singular verb.
Five hours of sleep is enough for me.
Ten dollars is too much to pay.
Five thousand miles is too far to drive.
There's also that wise saying: "Three's a crowd", and it is a very wise one indeed. :wink:
