Tag: Texas Longhorns

College sports waits on the choice Notre Dame makes, but why?

Since the summer of 2021, the world of college athletics has been flipped on its head, and the end game is anybody’s guess. It was last summer when name, image and likeness (NIL) became a thing, and the athletic students (oops…I sarcastically mean student athletes) couldn’t wait to finally cash in. The transfer portal, like NIL, became a point of contention for coaches and athletic directors alike, but it would be fair to question if it’s because the power has been taken out of their hands due to the new age of player empowerment. By the way, Texas and Oklahoma announced intentions to move from the Big 12 to the SEC in due time, making an already-dominant conference even stronger. The Big Ten, in an attempt to keep up, is adding USC and UCLA (out of all teams) from the Pac-12 soon, and the rest of the teams from that conference are apparently up for grabs. With the NCAA becoming increasingly obsolete as a governing body with each passing day, everyone is waiting to see what happens next, and the chess piece being watched the most is Notre Dame. Excuse me if I missed something, but I’m not understanding why the Fighting Irish are looked at as a needle-mover.

With the last sentence, this isn’t me trying to deny what Notre Dame has been in the historical sense. There is a lot of prestige that comes with the brand, and the fact they are an independent entity adds to it. What the program is at this current time is overhyped and outdated if we are to look at football, which is the sport driving all of the realignment. The Fighting Irish haven’t won a national championship since 1988, and any time they come close to breaking through, they got smashed by a squad with superior talent. The truth might hurt Notre Dame fans, but the golden dome has been gradually tarnished over the three decades that has followed their last claim to glory. While football is the premier sport leading to changes, it’s not a secret the money train is what everyone is following. We’re far removed from the early-90s, and just like the elite programs in football, the money trail has left the Fighting Irish behind.

Back in the day, Notre Dame was the team everyone wanted to watch. They were actually good in football, and because of the independent label, NBC thought enough of them to have a contract in place to air their home games in 1991. At that time, network television was the only way to catch games on Saturdays. ABC would have the occasional nationally televised game, but in most cases, it was regional programming. CBS had a period where they weren’t even broadcasting college football, and ESPN (ABC’s cable sister) was still relatively young in the broadcasting game. All of that combined to make the Fighting Irish beyond marketable. The millions of dollars also stayed with the university because of the aforementioned independence. If Notre Dame was in a conference, all of the money from the contract with NBC would have to be equally distributed through all of the teams within the league. So back then, this deal was a ground-breaker, and it’s also why the Fighting Irish would continue to stay independent in football, while joining the ACC in all other sports.

Fast forward to current times, and things are drastically different. Streaming services are everywhere we turn, making college football games as accessible as ever. Just about every conference has some sort of a network that brings in boatloads of money, hand over fist, and the notoriety that came with being independent is almost all gone. By being an ACC member in all sports except football, it’s not like Notre Dame is not aware of this. The school is just trying to have all of the spoils they can get, but not being a winner on the football field is also a major problem. The Fighting Irish, in this regard, are no different from Texas, USC and Miami (“The U”), schools who are trying to live off of their history, but are struggling to capture the magic from back then. Mix all of this up, and Notre Dame is not the power player many in the media world and Fighting Irish fan base seem to think.

With that said, Notre Dame watch continues for most, and it will be a huge story when a decision about their independent football status is made, but why that is baffles me. If recent history is a clue, then it’s the ACC the Fighting Irish might join. Geographically (and perhaps for more sustainability) the Big Ten could look more appealing. Independency is always an option as well, but again, we’re not living in 1991. If you ask me, Notre Dame is yesterday’s news, and Lou Holtz isn’t coming through to save Touchdown Jesus anytime soon. The elite football and money train has left the station. The choices are either the Fighting Irish catch up, or continue to fall further into irrelevancy. Where does this domino fall? The world waits, while I sleep.

History only tells part of the tale for once storied programs

Championship weekend in college football has come and gone. A few of the big winners for the day were Alabama, Michigan and Cincinnati, who along with Georgia, make up the four teams who will battle it out in the College Football Playoff. While watching the conference title games, one couldn’t help but notice how a few of the most storied programs in the history of the game were not playing on this day. While these teams have rich traditions, it’s been a long time since the word “elite” could be used to describe these teams, let alone be mentioned in any sort of national championship discussion. What’s sad for the fan bases (I’m a fan of one of the teams that will be detailed) is it could still be a while before that title talk becomes a topic. In other words, a person can only hold onto history for so long before it becomes ancient.

The first team holding onto past history is USC (University of Southern California). The Trojans haven’t had a lot of fight in them lately. Their last title, which was won in 2004, was vacated because of NCAA sanctions connected to running back (now FOX Sports analyst) Reggie Bush. Other than that, it’s been since the 1970s when USC could claim a national title. Ever since Pete Carroll left the college to coach the Seattle Seahawks in 2009, it’s been a nightmare finding another head man that can rekindle the long lost glory days. Five men have taken over the position after Carroll left, with minimal success. The sixth comes in the form of Lincoln Riley, who was coaching Oklahoma before heading out to Los Angeles last weekend. It’s no secret the Trojans have all of the ability to run the Pac-12 Conference, and possibly be back in the national championship conversation, if used correctly. Is Riley the man to lead them? Most people think so, but let’s remember it’s not the same situation it was with the Sooners, where he was promoted to head coach after being the offensive coordinator for a already-loaded roster. Only time will tell if Riley can actually build a program from scratch, but the contract he has says he nothing less will suffice.

Another team that’s holding on to the glory days from yesteryear is Texas (this is the team I’m a fan of). The Longhorns haven’t won a national title since 2005, and 2009 was the last season they won the Big 12 Conference (and last appearance in a national championship game). After ’09, the eyes of Texas have been constantly crying, seeing the Mack Brown tenure come to an ugly end, three rocky seasons under Charlie Strong and four underachieving years with Tom Herman. Now it’s Steve Sarkisian‘s turn in an attempt to bring the Longhorns back to prominence. If the first year in Sark’s tenure is any preview, that won’t happen anytime soon. Texas was 5-7, making it all but a guarantee they’ll miss out on bowl season. The campaign was filled with games that saw the Longhorns pull defeat from the jaws of victory, including one to Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout (I know it’s called the Showdown these days) that saw the Longhorns blow a 21-point lead. A loss to Kansas was also included in the record, and that’s probably a fireable offense in and of itself if this wasn’t a first year head coach. Needless to say, Texas has a lot of work to do if they’re ever going to get back to being mentioned with the great programs in the state, let alone the country. For the fans, they can only watch so many replays of the 2006 Rose Bowl on the Longhorn Network, reminiscing about the past success.

Finally, it’s time to take a look at “The U” for another institution still holding on to back in the day. Miami was once known as a university that had NFL-caliber players being grown from the roots of south Florida. Anyone who remembers the 2001 version of the Hurricanes know how many players went on to have sustainable pro careers. Unfortunately for Miami and their fan base, that was the last year they could claim a championship, and there hasn’t been much to celebrate in the two decades after. Any hint of a return to dominance gets swallowed up by the media, only for those hype machines to get shut down when the Hurricanes catch a humbling defeat. Since the end of the 2003 season, which was right before they joined the ACC, Miami has only been to one Bowl Championship Series or New Year’s Six bowl game. Like USC and Texas, the Hurricanes have had bad recent history, but hope comes with the arrival of coach Mario Cristobal, who is taking over for Manny Diaz after spending the previous four seasons in Oregon. Games aren’t won off the field, but the Hurricanes might have won a battle with the hire of Cristobal.

While these three universities all have storied traditions, recent history says they’re yesterday’s news. Having said that, there are reasons to believe the future can be brighter. One is with these respective schools being in California, Texas and Florida, the resources and talent available to assist in a rebuild are practically unlimited. Another is they can look at the Wolverines as a model for returning to the glory days. Before breaking through against Ohio State and ultimately winning the Big Ten Conference, Michigan was in a long drought that had them missing out on title talk since their last victory in 1997. If the Wolverines can do it, there’s no reason to believe USC, Texas and Miami can’t do the same. No longer should it be acceptable to keep living in the distant past. Enough time has gone by since these institutions were good in football. The only thing I ask is to wait until they at least win their conferences before we say they’re officially “back.”