An outside view
Without thinking name the top 15 college football programs in the country.
My off the cuff list in no particular order: Southern Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Florida State, and Miami. You could argue about this team or that one but the list is pretty much right on.
But how many of these schools can also win at basketball? Well, it’s been said winning in basketball and winning in football don’t mix. Bruce Pearl heard that when he took the job at UT. Knoxville was Phillip Fulmer Country. And there was reason to believe that. The popular Kevin O’Neil left The Hill because of favorable treatment received by football players.
Billy Donovan heard it when he went to Florida where Steve Spurrier walked on water. Pearl and Donovan have proven the skeptics wrong. But still, could there be some truth in the old saying you can’t win in basketball at a football school?
Take a look at the Associated Press’ current college basketball poll. How many football powers can you find in the Top 25? From my unofficial list above, only 3 teams make the grade. Tennessee comes in at #4, Texas is #6, and the Fighting Irish sit at #14. That’s it.
We can also compare the final AP College Football poll with the current basketball poll. Only 5 schools made both lists. Those would be Tennessee, Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin, and BYU.
The fact is some football schools break through and win at both sports but Tennessee and Texas appear to be the exception rather than the rule. It’s the little guys who don’t necessarily care that much about the pigskin who are dominating the basketball polls. If you don’t believe me, consider that Duke, Georgetown, Xavier, Butler, Vanderbilt, Gonzaga, Davidson, and Marquette are in the basketball poll. When was the last time you saw one of those schools in a BCS Bowl? On second thought, when did you ever see one of them in any bowl? North Carolina, Memphis, and UCLA who sit atop the hoops poll, don’t exactly strike the same kind of fear in the fall when the guys put on the pads and helmets. Kansas is the only team in the basketball Top 25 who appeared in a BCS Bowl.
So what conclusions do we draw from all of this? Well, for one thing it only makes what Bruce Pearl has done that much more impressive. Many said it couldn’t’ be done and no one could have expected the excitement surrounding Big Orange hoops. Basketball tickets are getting harder to come by and UT fans are as excited about the NCAA Tournament as any football bowl.
Can you win basketball at a football school? You can if your name is Pearl.
[More at http://seymourherald.com]
