They still would have competed. Because they were well coached and good football teams. What's Duke facilities like? Cutcliffe has competed in Acc. We have better facilities than all 3. We are in a talent rich state and a stones throw from the greatest city in the world. Because of this we don't need to match facilities. We've flirted with top 25-30 classes- having won nothing in a weak big east conference. That shows you what RU can do with the right coaching hire. We can get competitive talent here. Now if we ever matched resources and facilities like those schools. It's a done deal. We are right there with them- for sure
Difficult to get the right coaching hire without great facilities, because great facilities are a proxy for the commitment to excellence.
You need to understand what recruits are looking for. Recruits prefer a program that's made a commitment to excellence, vs being a stones throw from NYC. They will sacrifice location for a top notch coach, top notch tradition of success, and top notch facilities. These three factors are a proxy for the commitment to excellence, that recruits look for.
If the opportunity were to arise,
Pretty sure that Greg Schiano wouldn't return here, unless we gave him iron clad assurances that facilities will be upgraded. Without this, it's too difficult to win, because he have to settle for your third and fourth recruiting choices. This is why he wants a Tennessee caliber program or better.
Much easier to compete in the ACC, whose schools don't facilities as good as those of the Big Ten. Of ACC Schools, only Clemson has facilities that can compete with the best of the best. In the Big Ten, you have Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State , and Nebraska.
Our facilities are good enough to compete, but to win recruiting battles against OSU, PSU,and Michigan, they will have to be upgraded.
Im 200; the Hale Center Weight Room was expanded and improved. This immediately spurred recruiting. I think we will need to
Asimilarlo improve Hale Center to see an uptick in recruiting.