<p>The ACC expansion is a good case of ‘be careful what you wish for.’ The benefit to Boston College and Miami is minimal thus far, if any. I guess Miami having shorter road trips by not be required to travel to NJ and upstate New York [Syracuse] is a benefit. Clearly VaTech has enjoyed and profited from its move to the ACC. But as was previously stated, the ACC Football Championship game is no big deal, either for the TV networks or the fans of the ACC.</p>
<p>Incidentally, I believe that Texas Christian is making a mistake by moving to the Big East Conference. For two years in a row they’ve made it to a BCS game as a non-BSC conference member. And I really don’t see where TCU got any concessions from the Big East, like adding another football playing big school in a potentially lucrative market. Why the Big East passed on Ohio University and Miami University years ago, I’ll never know. Present Big East members Louisville and South Florida will never bring the resources that the conference needs to maintain its BCS status. Also, it’s time for the Big East to divide into a second basketball-only conference.</p>
<p>Football (or any of the other sports) doesn’t define UW, there is so much more to that school. It is nice to win, and recent students have enjoyed winning seasons. I was disappointed in not getting to hear the much of UW Marching Band during halftime- they’re excellent and as much a part of Wis football as the players. Sports seem to have a life of their own, unrelated to the academics. It is over, and at least the Packers made it to the playoffs so the weekend wasn’t all bad…</p>
<p>Easier said than done. The supply of such boys is very limited. Think about it - there is a limited group of college applicants who are really smart and aspire to attend a high-end school. There is an even smaller group of males with the talent to play Div. I football. And the overlap of those two groups is far smaller still. </p>
<p>There is no big, untapped pool of very smart, very talented football players with no good scholarship offers sitting around waiting for Vandy to swoop in and recruit them. Stanford and a handful of other schools have most of those guys already sewn-up.</p>
<p>For Vandy to move up they are going to have to either lower their academic standards for football players or figure out a way to poach some of the players that otherwise would have chosen Stanford.</p>
<p>I think Vandy could recruit more heavily from the privates that are football powerhouses. Maybe Vandy needs to recruit more outside of the area.</p>
<p>mom2- Don’t you think Vandy knows all this? They aren’t exactly a new program. The hope is that the new coach can be a very strong recruiter, but it’s all going to take awhile. The fact is, even the strong prep school players will be coveted by University of Texas, Michigan and other schools where they can get a great education and still be on a strong team with better positioning for the pros, if that should be in the cards. I have hope for Vandy.</p>
<p>Beast, you and all WVU fans are going to love Dana Holgorson as an offensive coach. He learned under the troubled genius Mike Leach. IMO, he actually improved upon Leach’s spread offense because he likes to run the ball and uses more motion to confuse defenders, etc.</p>
<p>There is some risk of Holgorson as a Head Coach because he is like Leach in some ways. Not a CEO type of leader, and not conventional in many ways. He has also been known to be a rounder of sorts. I hope he learns from some of the mistakes Leach made off the field, because Dana is a VERY gifted coach.</p>
<p>^ Yeah, I understand Holgorsen isn’t the prototype CEO coach, but myself and most fans are fine with that.</p>
<p>Our first year Athletic Director is Oliver Luck (Andrew Lucks father), who knows football better than any AD in the country and is also very intelligent (Rhodes Scholar finalist, JD from Texas) and accomplished (NFL Executive).</p>
<p>He will be handling alot of the business of the program like donor relations and PR. </p>
<p>Holgorsen is a talented guy, perhaps the best offensive mind in college football.</p>
<p>Has anyone else heard the rumor that based off of Virginia Tech’s Orange Bowl performance last night, the B10 is interested in them joining their conference?</p>
<p>On the other, just as the Big10 teams that played on January 1, Virginia Tech did as well as one could expect. Stanford did enjoy a very special year with an amazing collection of gifted athletes and extraordinary coaching. Except for one bad half of football against Oregon, Stanford could have played for all the marbles.</p>
<p>Regardless of the outcome of the Oregon-Auburn game, it is hard to argue that this year demonstrated that the SEC and the PAC-10 conferences were heads and shoulders above all the others. Some can anoint themselves Leaders and Legends; others play like it.</p>
<p>Well, we’re discussing all kinds of teams…so why is Vandy off limits.</p>
<p>and, yes, MOWC, I know that Vandy isn’t a new to football. But that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t gotten into a rut of mostly recruiting from within the area (which has been a SEC tradition). I was just “thinking aloud” by saying that I think they should attempt to recruit nationally from privates…the California Catholic high school powerhouse teams are loaded with kids who could do fine at Vandy…and they all can’t go to USC, UCLA, Stanford, and Notre Dame. My wish for Vandy is for it to step over Lane Kiffen and show those Calif players the beauty of Nashville.</p>
<p>Football (or any of the other sports) doesn’t define UW, there is so much more to that school. It is nice to win, and recent students have enjoyed winning seasons. I was disappointed in not getting to hear the much of UW Marching Band during halftime-</p>
<p>Yes, this is true…football is just one aspect of a school…and I agree…we should get to see/hear the marching bands during halftime. In the “old days,” we got to see them play/perform. But, with the costs involved, now halftime is a 100 commericials in a row.</p>
<p>^ That’s why the Rose Bowl is still the best bowl.</p>
<p>It has such great history and tradition behind it. I love the parade, the marching bands, floats, ect.</p>
<p>I don’t really get into bands, but I’d like to at least see a bit of their halftime show on TV. They are one of the traditions that make college football so great.</p>
<p>Also, I agree football doesn’t define a school, but it does pay alot of bills for the university. It’s much more than just a game, it’s a major revenue for schools and a big business.</p>
My wish for Vandy is for it to step over Lane Kiffen and show those Calif players the beauty of Nashville.</p>