Real life NCAA ?: Do programs ever go from high prestige to very low prestige?

[jbrew2411]

I think a point that has not been made enough is how much coaches and systems play a huge part in all this. When a winning coach leaves a team and the next guy does not have the success as the coach before him then the program takes a hit. Florida is a prime example of this. Ol' Ball Caoch leaves for the NFL and Ron Zook steps in. He looses a few games and goes to non-BCS bowls and he is out. Florida was loosing to MSU, Tenn, UGA among others. Then the school hires Myer and his system and year one wins it all with Zooks players.
So the coach and their system can be the make or break. Zook was not the right coach for UF and after loosing more games then the fans were use to thing got bad. In steps Myer and they are one of, if not, the top program in the nation.
Same could be said for USC. The coach turned things around and they are top 3 in the nation year-in and year-out. A program is only as good as its coaches.

[fistofrage]

Quote: Originally Posted by jbrew2411

I think a point that has not been made enough is how much coaches and systems play a huge part in all this. When a winning coach leaves a team and the next guy does not have the success as the coach before him then the program takes a hit. Florida is a prime example of this. Ol' Ball Caoch leaves for the NFL and Ron Zook steps in. He looses a few games and goes to non-BCS bowls and he is out. Florida was loosing to MSU, Tenn, UGA among others. Then the school hires Myer and his system and year one wins it all with Zooks players. So the coach and their system can be the make or break. Zook was not the right coach for UF and after loosing more games then the fans were use to thing got bad. In steps Myer and they are one of, if not, the top program in the nation. Same could be said for USC. The coach turned things around and they are top 3 in the nation year-in and year-out. A program is only as good as its coaches.

I would agree with this to a point. BUT there are reasons why Utah will never be a 6* school. They may do well under a coach like Meyer, but they will never pay him market value and the recruits will never come there to sustain success.

Spurrier can't get anything really going at South Carolina.

So I would say that a school's success depends alot on their tradition and fan supports. There are only about 20 schools nationally that I feel can sustain success and thats if they get a marquis coach. A marquis coach alone won't do. See Spurrier above.

[Son of Sam99]

I agree with the above statement. I think at this point in college football the great programs will stay great and the mids will generally stay in the middlle. Programs like Michigan and ND will bounce back after only a few losing seasons and programs like Florida and Texas will probably slip a little.

In terms of the point about Utah stated above Geography has a lot to do with success. Southern Cal, Texas (tech and A & M also), Florda (& State), Ohio, Michigan, & Oklahoma etc will constantly be in the picture of the best teasm because the HS football in thier area is hugly important. Teams like Utah, Boise St., BYU, TCU can never (in my opinion) truly make the jump to the level of the elite because they arent located in football hotbeds where players aren't as much born as they are made.

[doom41]

Quote: Originally Posted by Son of Sam99

I agree with the above statement. I think at this point in college football the great programs will stay great and the mids will generally stay in the middlle. Programs like Michigan and ND will bounce back after only a few losing seasons and programs like Florida and Texas will probably slip a little. In terms of the point about Utah stated above Geography has a lot to do with success. Southern Cal, Texas (tech and A & M also), Florda (& State), Ohio, Michigan, & Oklahoma etc will constantly be in the picture of the best teasm because the HS football in thier area is hugly important. Teams like Utah, Boise St., BYU, TCU can never (in my opinion) truly make the jump to the level of the elite because they arent located in football hotbeds where players aren't as much born as they are made.

You do know that TCU (Texas Christian University) is located in the same hotbed as the other Texas schools, right?

[South318]

Quote: Originally Posted by yankeesgiants

To this day I think the NCAA regrets decision to give them the death penalty. What happened there was criminal and should never ever happen and people should have gone to jail in some cases. They were awful from the time Doak Walker left 1949 until the early 80's. The "Pony Express" revived the program for a few years and thats no excuse for what happened but the penalties they received were over and beyond. The full list of penalties: The 1987 season was canceled; only conditioning drills would be permitted during the 1987 calendar year. All home games in 1988 were canceled. SMU was allowed to play their seven regularly scheduled away games so that other institutions would not be financially affected. The team's existing probation was extended until 1990. Its existing ban from bowl games and live television was extended to 1989. SMU lost 55 new scholarship positions over 4 years. SMU was required to ensure that Owen and eight other boosters previously banned from contact with the program were in fact banned, or else face further punishment. The team was only allowed to hire five full-time assistant coaches, instead of the typical nine. No off-campus recruiting would be permitted until August 1988, and no paid visits could be made to campus by would-be recruits until the start of the 1988-89 school year. The story for those to young to remember or where not born yet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souther...otball_scandal

I was born when they got caught. I never knew they were a winning program AT ALL!

[Herky]

Peaks and valleys for the most part. Oklahoma and USC have had down years for example but they bounced back rather quickly.

Iowa was very good in the 30's and 50's and was utterly terrible in the 70's. They then became solid in the 80's and 90's under Hayden Fry until his last season (1998) when they went 3-8. Fans then went through a 1-10 and 3-8 season under Kirk Ferentz before returning respectable again in 1997.

Schools with football tradition usually can bounce back with the right coach.