"recruitsreadtheseboards, post: 1456394, member: 2328"]When you look at this list.....it speaks to you. Many programs can rise up and have a great (top 10 season or 2).
As I see it now, the Conferences now bringing Big Incomes to all Members have at least made sure that all 85 Scholarships can be funded now. Few know it, but Indiana, Illinois, Duke, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Northwestern, TCU, Temple, BC, Cal once had as little as 67 to 70 Players on Scholarship in 1990s and early 2000s. This alone kept many of those Programs hard to win, attract Great Coaches, and build up a Fan Base, Summer Camps, and Coaching Clinics and Recruiting Staffing.
When Walt took over Pitt only had 67 Players on Scholarship and even as late as 2002 still only had 80. It took a few years to get to 85 and Wannstedt one goal to keep funding not just all 85 Scholarships but get bigger Rosters.
In addition, the bigger Income Programs could afford bigger rosters that exceeded 105 and 110 players with Walk-Ons that often became Role Players Back-Ups even in 5th Year, that gave them an edge when Injuries happen? This was big advantage Paterno Vision knew he had to build on when he took over in 1966 and started bringing in 35 Redshirts every year in spite of having limits on 25 Scholarships under the Big Four Agreement. Pitt, Wvu, and Cuse limited their Programs to 10 Medical Redshirts until 1972. Penn State always had Back-Ups that practiced for those 5 years not just 4 years and could fill in right away. Joe often gave them Scholarship in their 3rd or 5th years too
Moreover, those Big Income Programs have the ability to create Academic Curriculum's that Smaller Undergraduate Schools and especially Urban Universities Programs would not approve nor afford. This made it easier fund Tutors and majoring in Landscaping, Food Services, and Golf Course Management was not exactly having to take Foreign Language Requirements like at Private Academic Universities that pretty much disappeared by the 1970s.
Beano Cook would always talk about how the bigger State Schools could hide Players on Bigger Rosters even after the 1975 NCAA Reforms that limited Scholarships that the Big Four had adopted in 1960.
Now that Conference TV Money can fund better coaching, recruiting and at least 85 Scholarships at all 65 Power Conference Schools and why so many Non-Power Schools are chasing to become one like BYU, ECU, Temple, UCincy, Memphis, UCF, USF, UConn, SMU, Houston, etc etc. going after Big-12 Expansion in hopes of getting a share of that money. I think this is why the Temple President was fired he knows he had to build facilities to get into a Power Conference.
Still, even with more money making all programs competitive, the Top Income Programs will always make sure they have an advantage with bigger Rosters, Bigger Salaries & Staffing, Summer Recruiting camps, High School coaching Clinics, with bigger Attendance, Luxury Boxes, Boosters Contributions, and Alumni Support etc etc.
Furthermore, when one the now Growing income Programs do find a Great Coach he moves on like Dantonio did from UCincy to MSU, and Dantonio would have left MSU for OSU if invited before they attracted Meyers?
Other once less income and Athletic Resources Programs that have built that model by keeping a Great Coach are now MSU, NW, DUKE, GT, UCLA, Arizona, and until recently Baylor?
Others now rebuilding Programs with Big Conference Money are WVU, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, BC, Iowa State, Kansas, Cuse, Wake, Vanderbilt and how Pitt will doit too?
The remaining Non-Power Programs with up and coming Great Coaching are Houston and Temple that soon will be gone and hired when they choose to go, as seen Memphis's Fuente and BYU's Mendenhall, just lost those Coaches to UVA & VT? CFB is very competitive and making more money just makes it more competitive.
But when you see perennial also rans all of a sudden become powers, well you know they have decided to not do business as usual if you get what I mean. Oregon. Ole Miss. Baylor.
I agree, and it causes those Programs trouble down the line. Yet, the pressure to win especially in SEC causes changes if Coaches don't win Titles or NCS or go 11+ Wins and sometimes that is not good enough. SEC has so much a Higher Standard. You make my other point, notice all SEC Schools have improved with Bigger Money Funding so Ole Miss, Missy State, Kentucky, Vandy, South Carolina.
However, BAMA, AUBURN, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, UTENN and look at LSU wanted to dump to Miles with 10 wins but lacking Titles, SEC with B1G Um, OSU, P-12 USC, ACC FSU, ND, and B12's UT and OU are CFB Trend Setters of Excellence!
They are also are driving CFB Costs way up in their pursuit to attract Elite Head & Assistant Coaches as well as keep them, that demand bigger Compensation, but then must Win Championship not just 10+ Games. Now Arkansas, A&M, and Missouri are in hopes of recapturing Titles as well but finding 10 Wins harder to do in SEC too?
TCU. I am mostly looking at you guys.
I find TCU is a different class much like Wisconsin. TCU has been able to keep Patterson that has turned down many jobs is still a Top 10 to 15 Winning Teams without being a Top 25 Income Program. Notice they have a President with a great vision that hired a smart Athletic Director, that got them in a Power Conference with an Alumnus names Jamie Dixon that helped them do it and now a BB coach there? The TCU President & AD knows how to attract and keep Great Coaches is far but Patterson is something special and so far not a Cheater, but I thought that of Briles and was clearly wrong. If Patterson ever leaves TCU, they may find it hard to find another Coach so good?
Wisconsin did it by taking Barry Alvarez in the 1990s and then making him Athletic Director that knows how to find Coaches that will follow and accept his advice without being the Head Coach. Odd to say, that Barry Alvarez actually wanted the Pitt job way back in 1989, but Pitt was too stupid to grab him. Boy, Nordenberg was a refreshing Chancellor replacement for J. Dennis O'Conner.
in my opinion, Barry being a Pittsburgh Native Son and Nebraska Alumnus helped Pederson rebuild Pitt but Alavarz was a Coach that became an Athletic Director and now AD-COACH Mentor at Wisky and can keep Wisky Winning under any Coach?
In my opinion, Pederson had the weird ego idea he could do the same thing at Pitt and was miserable failure at Nebraska and Pitt second tenure. In my opinion, Pederson was a rebuilding Athletic Director for lesser Programs and should have left Pitt to rebuild other programs, but he had an Ego thinking he could do it anywhere and he ruined his own Alma Mater of Nebraska that is struggling to overcome his buyout legacy. As Pitt is rebuilding too under far better management friendly to Alumni not the Windmills of Pederson Over Blown Mind?
I now also suspect that Penn State's James Franklin is much like Pederson better suited to being a Rebuilding AD but Franklin may be just a Rebuilding Coach for lesser Program. They are good for a few years to rebuild a program but can't maintain Winning at a Large Powerful Program?
i see him much like Former WVU's Coach Rod that was able to rebuild WVU into a Top 25 Program and improving Arizona but failed at Michigan? Muschamp may be in the same Boat! Graham at ASU may just burn out or be fired for his lack of character. I also suspect the New USC Coach lacks smarts too. We shall see?
However, once a Program finds a a Great or Elite Coach that stays there like Beamer did at VT, or TCU's Patterson that can win in the Top 10 over 10-15 years, they got something special and they can build a Top 25 Program. But that is rare and I hope Pitt Narduzzi is that category and if not, I will settle for NW's Fitzgerald, GT's Johnson, MSU's Dantonio, Iowa's Ferentz or Duke's Cutcliffe.
Patrerno did the same with Penn State and was terrific Winning Coach. Clearly, also a Great at Winning to build not only a Top 15 Program in Income and Resources but actually impact on making the University bigger and better as well with no denial of that at all. Why many Universities know that the perception of Winning in Athletics can also build Academics!
Yet, Joe got too big along with his own ego and drive to gain a competitive edge even with his hard work, and Penn State lost Institutional Control over him, and of course his great legacy left Penn State's Name in Shame as divided now by ignoring Victim's Voices that I feel was unintentional at first, and then did not care and wanted that 409 Victory and one week later Victim's Voices will always be louder in history by Joe ignoring them and that ruined his legacy on building such a Program!
Well, I never blames Penn State for building a bigger Income Program with vision, as Pitt sat on its past, but I see a brighter horizon's for Pitt now under Chancellor Gallagher and have confidence in Narduzzi staying a long time but so little done and so much ,more to do, and has to win in the Top 25 next 10 years to build a Top 25 Program like TCU is doing?
We shall see?
