Firings and Resignations Critique, Part 2

Bill Lynch   19-30 (6-26)
Indiana
Fired 11/28/10

Indiana is probably the hardest place to build a winning program at in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have to recruit against Purdue, Notre Dame, and Louisville locally and also hold the stigma of being a “basketball school”. Lynch had a .388 winning percentage, the third best winning percentage of the last 12 Indiana head coaches. Only Terry Hoeppner (.391) and Bill Mallory (.463) had better winning percentages than since 1947, and both of those coaches were short of breaking even. Lynch’s players bought into his program and achieved the late Terry Hoeppner’s dream of getting Indiana to a bowl for the first time since 1993. The Hoosiers did seem to be improving as a team, but not winning enough conference games (.188) was Lynch’s downfall. Indiana also had a few games decided by bad officiating, in particular, against Michigan and Iowa during the 2009 season. The icing on the cake was losing to Wisconsin by 63 points on November 13^th. Indiana’s defense appeared inept. In the end, it is time for Indiana to move on and give defensive guru Kevin Wilson a try. Unless Wilson can pull off some upsets, he will be out of a job after four seasons as well.


Rickey Bustle   38-56 (28-31)

UL-Lafayette

Fired 11/29/10

After nine seasons in Lafayette with no bowl appearance and one conference title in 2005, Rickey Bustle needed to be cut loose. Bustle was able to compile 6-6 records in 2008 and 2009, but the team regressed to 3-9 in 2010, finishing sixth in the Sun Belt. Bustle had four six-win seasons, but he was never able to exceed six W’s. In the Sun Belt conference, it is not uncommon to go 0-4 in the nonconference season when playing ragdoll to BCS conference schools. However, the conference standing of a team should indicate how well the program can compete with teams at the same level of talent. During Bustle’s tenure, the Ragin’ Cajuns were below .500 in conference winning percentage.  New energy is needed to reinvigorate Louisiana-Lafayette to a breakthrough season.

Steve Roberts   37-47 (25-22)

Arkansas State
Resigned 11/29/10

After nine seasons in Jonesboro, the athletic department at Arkansas State had decided the football program had become stagnant and needed change. The administration forced Steve Roberts to resign with one year left on his contract. Under Roberts, Arkansas State won the Sun Belt title in 2005 and led the Red Wolves to their first and only bowl appearance, the 2005 New Orleans Bowl. The Red Wolves were bowl-eligible in four of Roberts’ nine seasons. Under Steve Roberts’ tutelage, the program had notable non-conference wins over Tulsa, Army, SMU, Memphis, and Texas A&M. The 2008 win over the Aggies is the Red Wolves first and only win over a BCS automatic qualifying conference opponent since ASU joined the FBS. Roberts last two seasons ended with disappointing 4-8 records. Arkansas State is not an easy place to coach. Losses and injuries build up playing against teams from the big conferences during the nonconference schedule, and the Sun Belt is more competitive than ever. Interestingly, offensive coordinator High Freeze was promoted to take over as head coach of the Red Wolves. I am not so sure they Freeze will be able to do any better at this assignment.

Dave Wannstedt   42-31 (24-18)

Pittsburgh

Resigned 12/7/10

Dave Wannstedt was pressured by the University of Pittsburgh to step down after failing to meet expectations. Wannstedt failed to win the conference outright and get to a BCS bowl game during his six years. The Panthers went 7-5, after the Big East Media Poll predicted them to be the strong favorite to win the Big East Championship during the preseason. Wanny got the Panthers to bowl games in his final three seasons, 2008-2010. In 2009, Wannstedt led Pitt to its first 10-win season since 1981. Wannstedt was popular among his players, most of whom wanted him to remain the head coach. Surely, Pitt saw talent leave early for the NFL with the ouster of Wanny and recruits change their commitments. The University of Pittsburgh needs to realize, that despite a few untimely losses, Dave Wannstedt did far more good than bad for Panther football. It is not the 1980’s anymore. The program could very well bottom out in the coming years.

Ralph Friedgen   75-50 (43-37)

Maryland

Fired 12/20/10

I do not see the point in firing Ralph Friedgen. The Fridge went 9-4 with a Military Bowl victory over East Carolina and has performed admirably over the last ten football seasons at a school that was a doormat in the decade before Friedgen arrived. Friedgen was 5-2 in bowl games and won the ACC title in his first season. He holds is the first Terp head coach to have a winning record since Bobby Ross (1982-1986). Friedgen, a former offensive guard at Maryland, was passionate about his alma mater’s football program; it was his destination job. There is no way Randy Edsall will have the same passion for Terrapin football, and that may become evident to boosters when a better job becomes available. Other than a down season in 2009 (2-10), the Fridge did a great deal with little at a program that is not a national powerhouse in football.

Mike Haywood   0-0 (0-0)

Pittsburgh
Fired 1/1/11

Mike Haywood was rightfully fired from the head coach position at Pittsburgh after only sixteen days on the job. Haywood committed domestic battery on the mother of his child. Before X’s and O’s, a college football coach needs to be a good role model for young men. Felons need not apply. Haywood only had two years of head coach experience at a mid-major, so his hiring as a head coach at a BCS school with little experience was controversial to begin with. The whole Haywood-Pitt episode makes athletic director Steve Pederson’s decision to force out Dave Wannstedt look stupid.


Rich Rodriguez   15-22 (6-18)

Michigan
Fired 1/5/11

Rich Rodriguez was rightfully dismissed from Michigan after taking a once-dominant football program to a new all time low. Rodriguez has the lowest winning percentage of any Wolverine head coach ever at .405. Michigan’s 2008 season (3-9) was its worst in the 131-year history of Michigan football. During his three seasons at Michigan, Rodriguez never beat either of the Wolverines’ chief rivals: Ohio State and Michigan State. A 52-14 massacre at the hands of Mississippi State in the 2011 Gator Bowl was the last straw. Rodriguez and his staff were criticized for offensive language and belittling players, resulting in players transferring out of Michigan and recruits not committing to the school. Michigan committed five major NCAA rule violations and many minor violations during the Rich Rodriguez-era. Prior to Rodriguez’s arrival, Michigan football had never in its history committed major NCAA rule violations. The Josh-Groban-reciting coach could not win on the field and all around lacked class. He had to go.

Big Ten Home Attendance Figures

	Illinois			Indiana
Memorial Stadium			Memorial Stadium
S11 Southern Illinois	52,217		S2 Towson	35,242
S18 Northern Illinois	50,569		S25 Akron	42,258
O2 Ohio State	62,870		O2 Michigan	52,929
O23 Indiana	53,550		O16 Arkansas State	40,480
O30 Purdue	50,371		O30 Northwestern	37,818
N13 Minnesota	55,549		N6 Iowa	42,991
AVERAGE	54,188		AVERAGE	41,953
	Iowa			Michigan
Kinnick Stadium			Michigan Stadium
S4 Eastern Illinois	70,585		S4 Connecticut	113,090
S11 Iowa State	70,585		S18 Massachusetts	110,187
S25 Ball State	70,585		S25 Bowling Green	109,933
O2 Penn State	70,585		O9 Michigan State	113,065
O23 Wisconsin	70,585		O16 Iowa	112,784
O30 Michigan State	70,585		N6 Illinois	111,441
N20 Ohio State	70,585		N20 Wisconsin	112,276
AVERAGE	70,585		AVERAGE	111,825
	Michigan State			Minnesota
Spartan Stadium			TCF Bank Stadium
S4 Western Michigan	75,769		S11 South Dakota	49,554
S18 Notre Dame	78,411		S18 USC	50,442
S25 Northern Colorado	70,926		S25 Northern Illinois	49,368
O2 Wisconsin	73,108		O2 Northwestern	49,228
O16 Illinois	74,441		O23 Penn State	48,479
N6 Minnesota	71,128		O30 Ohio State	48,717
N20 Purdue	71,111		N27 Iowa	50,805
AVERAGE	73,556		AVERAGE	49,513
	Northwestern			Ohio State
Ross Field, Wrigley Field*			Ohio Stadium
S11 Illinois State	25,471		S2 Marshall	105,040
S25 Central Michigan	30,075		S11 Miami	105,454
O9 Purdue	33,847		S18 Ohio	105,075
O23 Michigan State	41,115		S25 Eastern Michigan	105,017
N13 Iowa	47,130		O9 Indiana	105,291
N20 Illinois*	41,058		O23 Purdue	105,387
			N13 Penn State	105,466
			N27 Michigan	105,491
AVERAGE	36,449		AVERAGE	105,278
	Penn State			Purdue
Beaver Stadium			Ross-Ade Stadium
S4 Youngstown State	101,213		S11 Western Illinois	47,301
S18 Kent State	100,610		S18 Ball State	54,124
S25 Temple	104,840		S25 Toledo	42,068
O9 Illinois	107,638		O16 Minnesota	47,319
O30 Michigan	108,539		N6 Wisconsin	45,227
N6 Northwestern	104,147		N13 Michigan	50,268
N27 Michigan State	102,649		N27 Indiana	50,136
AVERAGE	104,234		AVERAGE	48,063
	Wisconsin
Camp Randall Stadium
S11 San Jose State	78,469
S18 Arizona State	81,332
S25 Austin Peay	77,224
O9 Minnesota	80,328
O16 Ohio State	81,194
N13 Indiana	80,477
N27 Northwestern	80,011
AVERAGE	79,862

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Michigan	111,825
Ohio State	105,278
Penn State	104,234
Wisconsin	79,862
Michigan State	73,556
Iowa	70,585
Illinois	54,188
Minnesota	49,513
Purdue	48,063
Indiana	41,953
Northwestern	36,449

Big Ten Division Names, Legends and Leaders

The Big Ten has reemerged as a football power on the field this season, but what is going on at conference headquarters is a big joke. On Monday, the names of the divisions for football were announced: Legends and Leaders. Reaction to the division names has been overwhelmingly negative. A Chicago Tribune poll has 95.4% of voters disapproving, while 4.6% of voters approve of “Legends and Leaders”.

Legends: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern

Leaders: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin

The new Big Ten logo. Notice the "10" formed into the "BIG".

These names are generic and pompous. Saying stuff like, “X team will win the Leaders,” or “the Legends is the tougher division,” just doesn’t sound phonetically right. The headers Legends and Leaders are not specific to the Big Ten as there are legends and leaders in every conference. Most suggestions coming from Big Ten fans for the new division names reflected the uniqueness of the central part of the United States. Popular fan suggestions were: Plains/Prairies, Great Lakes/Great Plains, and Heartland/Midwest. My submission to the call for suggestions for the Big Ten divisions on the ESPN Big Ten Blog was the La Salle Division and the Jolliet Division, named after two early explorers of the area that would later become Big Ten Country: Robert de La Salle and Louis Jolliet. That would have definitely been more unique than Legends and Leaders.

The Big Ten also announced eighteen new annual trophies and awards, all of which are named after two figures from Big Ten history. For example, the Big Ten title will now be the Stagg-Paterno Trophy. Why the favoritism toward the University of Chicago and Penn State? One school is no longer in the Big Ten and the other has only been in the conference seventeen years. Why should Alonzo Stagg or Joe Paterno be put on a pedestal above all of the arguably better Big Ten coaches? Then there’s the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year Award. Just because Woody and Bo had a good rivalry doesn’t mean either were the best coaches to ever lead a Big Ten team. Additionally, there are too many awards and trophies already in college football to keep track of. Add more and the existing ones become even more meaningless. NCAA football is becoming like Pop Warner football, where everyone gets a trophy for something, so no one feels left out.

Big Ten expansion has really been all about the money from the beginning. Sure, Nebraska has a great football program and volleyball program, but what else does it bring to the conference? It is way out on the west flank, 301 miles by car from its nearest conference-mate in Iowa City. Its academics are inferior to the current eleven members of the Big Ten, all of which are members of the Association of American Universities. The academic tradition of the conference was cast aside for athletic revenue, mainly in football. Why not take it a step further and name the divisions for the corporate sponsors willing to pony up the most paper?