Buck Harvey: Swoosh: What wears on the Horned Frogs
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Some TCU alums put up billboards near the Ohio State campus, but that was about it. No complaints, no anger, no daring the winner of Oregon-Auburn to meet for a final showdown.
But Gary Patterson should have said a few things. The TCU coach should have continued the argument for the undefeated and uninvited, as well as against the flawed BCS system. And along the way, he could have pointed out how remarkable TCU’s climb has been compared to, say, Oregon’s climb.
After all, TCU wears Nike gear.
But Nike covers Oregon.
Oregon and Auburn likely wouldn’t have been as nice had one of them been left out of tonight’s title game, but at least Auburn has taken its turn at this. Maybe that’s why Patterson was so accepting last week.
“We want our chance,†he told reporters, “but I think the Rose Bowl was our chance.â€
Maybe that’s the stance of a program that knows how far it has come. The Frogs completed their first perfect season since 1938, in storied Pasadena, and the evening punctuated a decade of struggle to build a successful program. With a move to the Big East combining with a revamped stadium, TCU can maintain what it has done.
As it was before, it won’t be easy. Patterson has to replace 26 seniors, and he has to replace them without the benefits that other programs have. Such as Oregon.
College alumni have backed sports programs for years. The names attached to the University of Texas football stadium, including that of Red McCombs, are there for a reason.
Auburn has its own. Bobby Lowder is the founder and former CEO of a banking empire, and he sits on Auburn’s board of trustees. He’s estimated to have given the school well over eight figures over the past three decades, and he’s supplied some grief, too.
In 2003, he commandeered his private jet to take school officials on a secret trip to woo Bobby Petrino — while Tommy Tuberville was still the Auburn coach.
But most schools have heavy-handed alums such as Lowder, and only one has Phil Knight. The only one close to the Nike boss is T. Boone Pickens, and it’s no coincidence that Oregon and Oklahoma State are both on the rise.
A few years ago, Mike Bellotti, the Oregon coach then, told Knight the school would eventually need an indoor facility because of the Northwest weather. Knight asked how long that would take to build, and Bellotti said there would have to be fund raising and surveys and such.
“No, no, no, no,†Knight said. “How soon can we get it built?â€
When Bellotti told him six to eight months, Knight answered with something that sounds like a Nike campaign slogan.
“Let’s do it,†he said.
TCU only gets to touch that Nike power. Nike has equipment deals with a lot of schools, from Florida to Boise State, and TCU is one of them.
The Rose Bowl displayed that. Then, the Frogs wore a new version of what Nike calls the Pro Combat Uniform, featuring jerseys constructed with a 4-way stretch-woven twill that “sheds moisture and provides superior breathability for thermoregulation.â€
Thermoregulation? Body temperature.
But Oregon gets more than dri-fit satisfaction. Knight provides a mix of money, support, presence and cool. He’s like an NFL owner, as one former player said, and his company has pushed the program to top-tier status in the Pac-10.
TCU has had none of this. It achieved without a power conference on its side, without 5-star recruits, and without someone such as Knight.
So stuck on the outside because of subjective data, with no chance to achieve college football’s ultimate trophy, Patterson should have said something.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:35 am