From The SportingNews...
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:57 amhttp://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=340852
How to win big at a non-BCS school
Wasn't so long ago I was sitting with June Jones on Waikiki Beach and staring into the surf while Island Time eased by.
We talked about life and its lessons -- not football or run-and-shoot schemes or contract negotiations.
"Sometimes," Jones said, "you have to believe that dreaming can lead to doing."
Few words could translate better to the life of a non-BCS program in a BCS world. When Jones arrived in M anoa in 1999, Hawaii had just completed an 0-12 season and administrators were debating the future of the program. When he walked away earlier this month, Hawaii had completed a 12-0 regular season before losing in the school's first BCS game.
The transformation under Jones -- 76 victories, six bowl games, national exposure -- can happen anywhere in the non-BCS world with the right combination of vision and commitment. Despite the built-in obstacles, one thing stands clear in the have/havenot society of college football: The rewards of the few are more satisfying than the expectations of the fortunate.
"Hawaii goes to a BCS game, it's a lifetime experience," Jones says. "Georgia goes and the next question is, 'When are you going back?' " The report card
Or in this case, why can't we have a playoff?
The question: How do non-BCS schools reap the rewards of the few? The process:
It's so much more than X's and O's. The key to change begins with identity and culture.
When Jones arrived at Hawaii, the team had lost its ties to the Island people and less than 10 percent of the players on the roster were Polynesian. This past season, more than 70 percent were Polynesian.
When Bronco Mendenhall took over at BYU in 2005, the Cougars had veered from the tough-guy philosophy of LaVell Edwards and become a finesse team with no identity. Since then, BYU has won 21 of 2 4 Mountain West Conference games and has bowl victories over deep-pocket BCS schools Oregon and UCLA.
The university community must become more involved, both monetarily and emotionally.
When Steve Orsini was athletic director at UCF, he raised revenue for an on-campus facility even though the city of Orlando was in the early stages of planning for renovations to the aging Citrus Bowl. The Knights opened the 45,301-seat stadium last fall with sold-out home games and were the hosts -- and winners of -- the Conference USA title game. Before moving to the on-campus facility, UCF was fortunate to draw mosquitoes to the Citrus Bowl.
Now Orsini is doing the same thing at another C-USA school, SMU, which for two decades has been the definition of destitute. He found 20 boosters to contribute $100,000 a year to support a BCS-type coaching salary ($2 million per season) and pry Jones away from Hawaii.
Meanwhile, Jones already has connected with Euless Trinity High School -- the Class 5A Division I state champion with a strong Polynesian Community -- near Dallas and Fort Worth. Plus he has this to pitch to recruits in talent-rich Texas: newer facilities (the on-campus stadium opened in 2000), elite academics on a bucolic campus and his record of turning around programs.
The reality is, Jones is in a significantly better situation now -- including a more manageable conference -- than when he arrived at Hawaii a decade ago.
"The only way for SMU to go is up," Jones says. "I'm good at going up."
Dreaming leads to doing.
How to win big at a non-BCS school
Wasn't so long ago I was sitting with June Jones on Waikiki Beach and staring into the surf while Island Time eased by.
We talked about life and its lessons -- not football or run-and-shoot schemes or contract negotiations.
"Sometimes," Jones said, "you have to believe that dreaming can lead to doing."
Few words could translate better to the life of a non-BCS program in a BCS world. When Jones arrived in M anoa in 1999, Hawaii had just completed an 0-12 season and administrators were debating the future of the program. When he walked away earlier this month, Hawaii had completed a 12-0 regular season before losing in the school's first BCS game.
The transformation under Jones -- 76 victories, six bowl games, national exposure -- can happen anywhere in the non-BCS world with the right combination of vision and commitment. Despite the built-in obstacles, one thing stands clear in the have/havenot society of college football: The rewards of the few are more satisfying than the expectations of the fortunate.
"Hawaii goes to a BCS game, it's a lifetime experience," Jones says. "Georgia goes and the next question is, 'When are you going back?' " The report card
Or in this case, why can't we have a playoff?
The question: How do non-BCS schools reap the rewards of the few? The process:
It's so much more than X's and O's. The key to change begins with identity and culture.
When Jones arrived at Hawaii, the team had lost its ties to the Island people and less than 10 percent of the players on the roster were Polynesian. This past season, more than 70 percent were Polynesian.
When Bronco Mendenhall took over at BYU in 2005, the Cougars had veered from the tough-guy philosophy of LaVell Edwards and become a finesse team with no identity. Since then, BYU has won 21 of 2 4 Mountain West Conference games and has bowl victories over deep-pocket BCS schools Oregon and UCLA.
The university community must become more involved, both monetarily and emotionally.
When Steve Orsini was athletic director at UCF, he raised revenue for an on-campus facility even though the city of Orlando was in the early stages of planning for renovations to the aging Citrus Bowl. The Knights opened the 45,301-seat stadium last fall with sold-out home games and were the hosts -- and winners of -- the Conference USA title game. Before moving to the on-campus facility, UCF was fortunate to draw mosquitoes to the Citrus Bowl.
Now Orsini is doing the same thing at another C-USA school, SMU, which for two decades has been the definition of destitute. He found 20 boosters to contribute $100,000 a year to support a BCS-type coaching salary ($2 million per season) and pry Jones away from Hawaii.
Meanwhile, Jones already has connected with Euless Trinity High School -- the Class 5A Division I state champion with a strong Polynesian Community -- near Dallas and Fort Worth. Plus he has this to pitch to recruits in talent-rich Texas: newer facilities (the on-campus stadium opened in 2000), elite academics on a bucolic campus and his record of turning around programs.
The reality is, Jones is in a significantly better situation now -- including a more manageable conference -- than when he arrived at Hawaii a decade ago.
"The only way for SMU to go is up," Jones says. "I'm good at going up."
Dreaming leads to doing.
