I just watched the documentary "First Dance" on BTN, which chronicled Northwestern Men's Basketball historic 2016/17 season, culminating in their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
It made me think about Rutgers' institutional identity and how it has influenced the university's historically tenuous - though changing - commitment to the athletic department. Northwestern shares many of the same institutional challenges, which gives me both hope and pause...and inspired me to do a bit of research; some of which I knew, some of which I didn't.
1) After terminating Coach Carmody (2013), who was on the cusp of the NCAA's - making the NIT in 4 of his final 5 seasons - Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips, who is slated to become the next commissioner of the ACC, "vowed to conduct an extensive coaching search."
2) Northwestern hired Chris Collins - great pedigree on paper. He made gradual progress in the first 2 years, then guided the team to a record of 20 - 12 and 24 - 12 in years 3 and 4.
3) Following their break-out 2016/17 season, Northwestern committed $110m to renovate Welsh-Ryan Arena.
4) In the 4-years since, Collins has gone 16 - 53 in the B1G and 42 - 67 overall.
Gulp. They appeared poised for continued success. What happened? Maybe Collins rode Carmody's players and a carry-over culture?
Conclusion: The B1G is brutal. Unless you're a Blue Blood, there is no room for error. It's both the Jimmies and the Joe's and the X's and the O's. Enjoy the season! There are no future guarantees.
It made me think about Rutgers' institutional identity and how it has influenced the university's historically tenuous - though changing - commitment to the athletic department. Northwestern shares many of the same institutional challenges, which gives me both hope and pause...and inspired me to do a bit of research; some of which I knew, some of which I didn't.
1) After terminating Coach Carmody (2013), who was on the cusp of the NCAA's - making the NIT in 4 of his final 5 seasons - Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips, who is slated to become the next commissioner of the ACC, "vowed to conduct an extensive coaching search."
2) Northwestern hired Chris Collins - great pedigree on paper. He made gradual progress in the first 2 years, then guided the team to a record of 20 - 12 and 24 - 12 in years 3 and 4.
3) Following their break-out 2016/17 season, Northwestern committed $110m to renovate Welsh-Ryan Arena.
4) In the 4-years since, Collins has gone 16 - 53 in the B1G and 42 - 67 overall.
Gulp. They appeared poised for continued success. What happened? Maybe Collins rode Carmody's players and a carry-over culture?
Conclusion: The B1G is brutal. Unless you're a Blue Blood, there is no room for error. It's both the Jimmies and the Joe's and the X's and the O's. Enjoy the season! There are no future guarantees.
