In 1895, the presidents of seven Midwestern universities met at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago to form what we now call the Big Ten.
They created the world’s first school-based sports organization, predating even the NCAA. Soon the rest of the country’s colleges and high schools followed suit, forming their own leagues based on the Big Ten model. This included the Michigan High School Athletic Association, also the first of its kind, which borrowed the Big Ten’s charter as its own the next year, in 1896.
The Big Ten’s creation officially consummated the uniquely American marriage of academics and athletics – something no other country would even consider.
The Big Ten quickly established itself as the nation’s premier conference on the football field, too, and kept it up for decades. From 1900 to 1970, Big Ten teams won 39 national titles – more than one every two years.
When the Rose Bowl started pitting the Big Ten against the Pac-10 in 1948, the Big Ten won 11 of the first 12. Sometimes the Big Ten would send its runner up – and that team would crush the Pac-10 champion, too.
This was the Big Ten’s hey-day, and it looked like it would never end. This was the 1950s, after all, and if Silicon Valley impresses you today, the Motor City was at least its equal, dominating the region, the nation, and the world with its might. It attracted millions of people to work and live in the Midwest, and generated unprecedented wealth.
Some of these resources made their way to state universities, which grew in power and prestige. In just three decades, Michigan State alone exploded from 4,000 students to 40,000, while winning six national football titles.
But since 1970, the entire Big Ten has won exactly two national titles – exactly one every 22 years, not every two.
What changed? Almost everything.
The Big Ten states have been losing money, people and power ever since. College football remains a largely regional game, where most team’s players come to campus from just a state or two away, if that.
But thanks to the debut of the Big Ten Network in 2007, the Big Ten itself has never been more profitable. Amazingly, Northwestern now gets twice as much money from TV deals as Notre Dame does.
But all that money has not improved Big Ten football.
In this season’s second week, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State all went down. While the Southeastern Conference still has eight undefeated teams, the Big Ten can claim only two, Penn State and Nebraska, which squeaked by McNeese State, for cryin’ out loud. No, I didn’t know McNeese State had a football team, either.
Why is this? You can point to a lot of factors, including the exodus from the rust belt, the advent of spring high school football leagues in the South, and, I believe, lower ethical standards outside the Big Ten.
But if I had to pick one factor, it would the quality of the head coaches – something the schools can readily change.
15 years ago, when I was covering the Big Ten, I recall the economy of the rust belt wasn’t much better than it is now, but nine of the league’s eleven teams appeared in the Top 25 at some point that season, and seven were usually listed every week. They were led by six coaches who are now in the Hall of Fame – legends like Joe Paterno, Barry Alvarez and Hayden Fry — and three others who were the best their schools have had for a quarter century.
Of the current Big Ten coaches – now numbering 14, somehow – only four have been coaching their current team for more than four years. Only one, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame — and that’s not because of his two seasons in Columbus, but the two national titles he won at Florida.
When it comes to winning college football games, there is no substitute for leadership. And right now, the Big Ten simply doesn’t have it.
There’s your answer.
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Totally agree with your assessment. Bad hiring decisions and allocating fewer resources to the Football programs at the middle and bottom tier programs in the conference. Only recently have certain schools started to pay assistants competitive salaries.
I also think the Rust Belt theme is overstated. It’s not as if there has been a massive population shift in the last 5-10 years. Midwest is still growing but just at lower rate versus the sunbelt. Much of the National migration is attributed to baby boomer retirements. Many question the sustainability of the migration. Florida has a severe employment problem and California is seeing it population growth slowing. Texas has an excellent future as well as Georgia and other Mid-Atlantic states through the Carolina’s
The population shift that is important is not from the last 5-10 years, but well before then, it wouldn’t be people that have moved recently, but their parents who moved as part of the last migration out of the rust belt. Those areas have dominated the production of great atheltes.
Largely, I agree. Big 10 Schools do generally have a higher academic standard than many, although some PAC-12 schools do as well (my school, ASU, not so much.) Talent in H.S football may not be keeping up, or top recruits may be lured to warmer climates as well. Certainly facilities & budget for athletics should NOT be a handicap for the Big-10 schools, Michigan & Ohio State in particular. It is hard to even fathom how a Bowling Green, winless in almost 3 years, can even hang with Michigan for a half. You are smarter than I am… you figure that one out. 🙂 JM
John
While I couldn’t agree more that leadership is the key to any organization’s success, Bo and the others you mentioned did have talented players. The old saying great players make great coaches is true, but I think great coaches attract great players in addition to finding ways to make good players better. It does appear the big ten right now is lacking leadership in the coaching ranks. I was about to say you could write a book about what this would take, but then I remembered you already did!
Go Blue
Greg
” very nice” ….!!
As always you are ahead of the curve. I do agree the ethics of college football is really what has changed. Is it all about the money? To a degree I think so but not as much as others may think. How many players in other conferences are given scholarships and then cut before their freshman season begins simply because the school got the “player they really wanted”, ie. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, etc. and not just the SEC. Here is a task for you. Find out how many athletes in each conference graduate and the degrees they are getting, then do a follow up as to what they are doing 10 years after graduation.
John – I agree that the quality of head coaches is a factor in the decline of the B1G. I believe there are a number of other factors at play as well, including assistant coach salaries, and an uneven playing field when it comes to recruiting ethics.
I believe the biggest issue at play, though, is the talent differential. Think about this – according to Rivals.com, the B1G conference IN TOTAL landed only four 5-star recruits in the 2014 class. Alabama alone landed SIX 5-star recruits! The entire SEC landed 18 5-star recruits – 3x more than the B1G conference. Still don’t believe me? Let’s look at 4-star recruits. The B1G landed 36 of them in 2014 (and 12 of them went to one school – PSU). The SEC, on the other hand secured commitments from 96 – also about 3x more than the B1G. Multiply this talent differential by 4 or 5 classes of players that make up a team, and the result is a lack of elite playmakers and significant depth issues within the B1G as compared to other power conferences like the SEC. Just imagine if U-M was landing five Jabrill Peppers’ every year!
This begs the question — why is the SEC getting more of the top players? Most kids want to attend college close to home, as you have indicated. Declining populations in the Midwest and the popularization of 7-on-7 and year-round football in warm-weather states have led to a relative drop in the overall quality of high school football throughout the Midwest (which leads to fewer quality players in our conferences footprint). The B1G’s generally higher academic standards compound the problem. Not only are we trying to pry kids from 4 states away to come up north, but of the small pool of those kids who are interested, only a portion of that group might qualify academically. Until we can figure out a way to either improve high school football throughout the Midwest or recruit top talent nationally across the B1G, I don’t see the problem going away. The latter is the more plausible solution, and better on-field performance against non-conference foes would be a good place to start.
I watched games for my alma mater when I lived in NJ. It couldn’t cover the area well and there’s talent there and a strong football culture. To what extent has mid-west HS football slipped in quality in 25 years? I know it’s not the be-all and end-all in my home state of Indiana nor (dare I say) neighboring Ohio. Also second tier programs such as the MAC have expanded scholarships and the move to fewer scholarships has spread the wealth of talent around to benefit some and keeps Mich, Neb, etc. from stockpiling 110 scholarships as they did through the 1980’s. It’s a complicated but answerable question.
Hats off to Coach Fitz at NU for building something real in Evanston.
Minor Correction on math — use this one
John – I agree that the quality of head coaches is a factor in the decline of the B1G. I believe there are a number of other factors at play as well, including assistant coach salaries, and an uneven playing field when it comes to recruiting ethics.
I believe the biggest issue at play, though, is the talent differential. Think about this – according to Rivals.com, the B1G conference IN TOTAL landed only four 5-star recruits in the 2014 class. Alabama alone landed SIX 5-star recruits! The entire SEC landed 18 5-star recruits – over 4x more than the B1G conference. Still don’t believe me? Let’s look at 4-star recruits. The B1G landed 36 of them in 2014 (and 12 of them went to one school – PSU). The SEC, on the other hand secured commitments from 96 – almost 3x more than the B1G. Multiply this talent differential by 4 or 5 classes of players that make up a team, and the result is a lack of elite playmakers and significant depth issues within the B1G as compared to other power conferences like the SEC. Just imagine if U-M was landing five Jabrill Peppers’ every year!
This begs the question — why is the SEC getting more of the top players? Most kids want to attend college close to home, as you have indicated. Declining populations in the Midwest and the popularization of 7-on-7 and year-round football in warm-weather states have led to a relative drop in the overall quality of high school football throughout the Midwest (which leads to fewer quality players in our conferences footprint). The B1G’s generally higher academic standards compound the problem. Not only are we trying to pry kids from 4 states away to come up north, but of the small pool of those kids who are interested, only a portion of that group might qualify academically. Until we can figure out a way to either improve high school football throughout the Midwest or recruit top talent nationally across the B1G, I don’t see the problem going away. The latter is the more plausible solution, and better on-field performance against non-conference foes would be a good place to start.
John
The Big Ten ignored the fact that SEC money would eventually over come their (Big Ten) earlier competitive recruiting edge. The South may have lost the military
conflict to the North, but they have won most everything since 1865. Some of it with northern bred coaches.
Thanks for the column
bomberjohn5
There’s no doubt that top notch football programs ALWAYS have a coach with a commanding presence on the sidelines. Stoops at oklahoma, Saban at Alabama, Miles at LSU, etc. there’s absolutely no question who is in charge. The only two schools that currently have this in the big ten are michigan state and ohio state.
I feel you can add “extra”benefits and lack if dislike for off field antics to your list. FSU QB an example.
Another lousy Saturday in A2. Fortunately, I was not there to watch Michgan get embarassed. On the other hand, I was at our Cleveland Alumni Club’s game watching which was poorly attended. Question: Is this because of the lousy schedule or the mid-afternoon kickoff time. Perhaps it’s time for Brandon to go back into the pizza business.
Bo was right – College football is meant to be played at 1:00 p.m.
When LC & DB couldn’t hire Debord,Hoke, or English the first time & BM hired RR, Carr & Brandon put a phony NCAA investigation on UofM so they could get rid of BM and RR. They fired a coach who is brilliant who is credited with the development of the modern day spread option and did his best to revive M after taking over for the nuanced LC. BM not only did a great job modernizing our facilities he also hired Beiline & RR ,but LC & DB made sure RR would fail with their backstabbing and undermining and they could move in & assume the reigns of power. I believe BM was a true visionary when he hired RR as the spread option is now the dominant offense in modern day football & we are stuck with an outdated scheme with an outdated coach from Ball State & an AD who doesn’t understand one thing about hiring competent coaches and never played a down here yet he claims to be a former player. Go figure!
I think you have it analyzed absolutely correct. We have seen in the play of two quarterbacks RR recruited that they do not fit the offense Hoke is trying to run. RR will have a national championship eons ahead of Hoke, the Joke.
To understate it, there seems to be speculation about replacing Coach Hoke. What do you think of Coach Fitzgerald as a candidate? Supposedly he turned down the job during the last search. But, with the difficulties concerning unionization he might be ripe for a move. He is only 39 and has won in the Big 10 with talent inferior to that of Michigan. The Wildcats inauspicious start might help in that direction. Actually I am suspect that the union difficulties might be a contributing factor to the bad start in the sense that there might be dissension among the pro and anti union players.
On the union issue, I am surprised that the reporting seems to be of the simplistic “Well, they are going to have a union at NW.” I’ve been a labor lawyer in various capacities since 1962 and that underestimates the process. I won’t bore you with a long memo because you can do the research yourself and/or have labor lawyer friends. But, the NLRB General Counsel has to affirm the nutty ruling by the Chicago Regional Director. Then an election has to be mandated and the unit defined. Then there is an election campaign. I think NW can take the determination and eligibility rules to the Court of Appeals. Thence once there is an election the players have to actually vote for unionization. If they do, then NW will supposedly enter into bargaining with the union. But, they will do it slowly and parsimoniously. If the Union doesn’t like the deal then they will have to strike or charge NW with an unfair labor practice. That will go through a long process to the NLRB and eventually the Courts of Appeal.
Anyhow, even if all this is done and a contract reached, then we will have NW with a union contract and the other 13 teams in the Big 10 without one. So, is Michigan going to play NW when NWs players are getting paid $50,000 a year and UM’s aren’t? I don’t think so. So NW will be reduced to holding scrimmages with Purple vs. White on Saturdays. I can see the ads: “Come watch your Union Label Wildcats scrimmage on Saturday afternoon. No hard hitting will be permitted and all the players will actually get to play an equal amount. No score will be kept so that no feelings will be hurt.”
Coming from an SEC guy that married into a BIG TEN family (I’m Alabama, she is Michigan), I have much respect for the The Big Ten Conference but have noticed a decline for several years but thought the conference would over come it. It has gone to television where everyone is pointing it out now & it may now take years for the conference to rebuild. I would like to see Michigan, Penn St & Nebraska go back to their glory days & compete for National Championships but with the recruiting in the south, warmer weather, always something to do outdoors & close to beaches it may be hard. Coaches are also paid more & have more control over things (depends on which school) in which makes everything more flexible for them (as long as they win of course). Good luck to the BIG TEN, droughts never last forever!
I believe I saw #98 get pulled from the game (forutnately it was the “Old 98” but the Number should have never been given to any player. That was a bad idea from the start and it put too much pressure on the kid. If I am Mark or Kelly Harmon I go to the AD and ask for my Dad’s jersey back! I couldn’t image what Bo would say if a player asked him to change their number!! It would have been a very short meeting and possibly a career limiting incident. Did anyone see Alabama’s new OC put 42 on an SEC team (Not a MAC or Sub Division) on the board with an offense that isn’t as good as last year?
Dave Brandon’s obsession with Brady Hoke’s success spilled over to Hoke’s compensation, over $4 million per. He’s the 8th highest paid coach in college football. Brandon essentially negotiated against himself in a hugely unflattering example of wishful thinking. I thought Brandon was a shrewd businessman. A much better value? Mark Dantonio at $3.64 million, and that came after a Big Ten title and Rose Bowl victory. Dantonio made roughly $1.5 million last year. It appears that Michigan State’s AD Mark Hollis is a much better judge of talent and the marketplace.
I’m impressed. The quality of bloggers on this latest stream is quite incredible.. Got a Olympian who is also the last American to win the Boston Marathon, two great ex-M players and the greatest track and field coach there is.. And we all seem to agree one a major point, M football as you used to know it is gone, died, wished out to the cornfield by a egotistical, maniacal , and some have said, sociopathic Director of Athletics. I am not surprised that the good ship Brandon is about to capsize, just can’t believe he keeps defending this lame coach all the way down. I do not recognize these clowns as Michigan, with this pathetic coaching, lack of leadership and pure corporation first money grab face that Michigan Football has become. Fire Dave Brandon asap, get Brad Bates or Warde Manuel in and offer one of them the job. Do not let Brandon hire the new coach as it will only get worse.. Your internship at Michigan is over now Pizza Boy, time to move on, and by doing so, save Michigan Football..
I agree with all the previous comments by the previous commentors and would add that DB has lived up to his business philosophy of if it isn`t broke, then break it.
Paul
I’d comment, but Bill and Flame already said it all.
John, great as always, but I don’t think you go far enough. You’ve mentioned that the Big 10’s ethical standards are a notch above the southern leagues, and that the Big 10 only has one coach who is a shoe-in for the hall of fame. Why does your article fail to connect these two points which are, in my opinion, obviously related. ADs in the south hire coaches that are willing to play in the dirt, so to speak, while Big 10 programs are not interested in going down that road, Ohio State being the exception, as we’ve seen them stoop to hire Tressel in order to beat Michigan. I do not believe coaches like Meyer and Tressel would have been hired if Bo was still around, as he would not stand for compromised values in exchange for championships, or money. I wish your article would have addressed this compromise on the part of OSU. Thanks.
John has a point. The issue is that the Big Ten is unwilling to enter the “arms race” for coaching talent … how much does Saban make? That never would have happened at MSU. The opportunity Michigan missed was in developing one of its own … Ron English. There was a guy who could have kept the tradition alive and Michigan could have then developed a young talent into a quality guy into a great coach … from the grass roots. If you can’t afford to buy the best, then you need to build the best. Start with young talent and take a risk with them. We missed that chance to be a leader. It all starts at the top. We lost our way, in so much more than just football, under Coleman … too many flim-flam men have sold her down the river. Hopefully, the new President takes these marketing dudes to task and regains some substance to what it means to be Michigan.
Ok, we have to move forward from here. So what is the solution? Fire everyone and start over? I have to admit Billy Dufek is correct … our athletic facilities are the best of all time. So what is wrong? Out football program is just too damn commercial. I was at the Utah game and hated the experience. We can’t run a replay of every play on those huge screens after every play. Our halftime shows need to be more about increasing team spirit versus trying to sell products and people. God damn it, this is Michigan. The game-day atmosphere needs to equal the mission.
Case in point. My son is a freshman at U-M this year. So proud … until he tells me that the damn pre-game party is more important to upperclassman than attending the game. I said really, why? He said … its not like it was Dad, its not Michigan, its about advertising, its about money … its not about the students or the student athletes. Michigan students would rather do something else on a Saturday afternoon than cheer on their brothers. I knew Dufek, I knew Leach, I knew Leoni … the players and the students were together. Today’s program is too damn commercial. The athletes are not connected and the students are not connected. We are doomed if we can’t bring both back together. Grass root changes are needed. Out current AD said his motto is “if it ain’t broken, break it’ … OK, Dave, it is broken – so now what is your strategy?
When was the last time there was a pep rally on the Diag? Put the band on the Diag, get the students and athletes back together for the big games … otherwise we are doomed for generations to come. Grass roots, it is about that connection. Sustaining Michigan is about the students.
Well, as a U-M alum and former season ticket holder, I couldn’t agree more with most of the comments made here. Rather that being just part of the problem, I have taken the positive step and written to each of the Regents as well as new President Mark Schlissel urging them to bring in a “professional” athletic director to right this ship before we become the MSU of the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. I have no particular credentials to be recommending a replacement for Dave Brandon. I did however provide an example of a qualified candidate and suggest they look into the resume of Michigan alum Brad Bates who is now A.D. at Boston College. Someone with Brad’s character and experience is what we so desperately need in Ann Arbor. Please send letters and emails to the University Leadership to let them know how you feel! GO BLUE!
John
As they say, “money can’t buy happiness” and according to your article, the Big Ten schools can not buy winning coaches or a winning program with all the money they are bringing in from TV.
There are many factors that have contributed to the downfall of Big Ten football over the last 15 years or so. You have mentioned a number of them in your article. In my humble opinion, with no credentials as an ex college football player or coach, I believe the success of the SEC, can be attributed to a large pool of talent that has had extra training and development at High Schools who have spring football. This pool of talent also attracts the top tier football coaches and assistants. The other reality is that nothing stays the same forever. Life and football is a journey that ebbs and flows over time.
My question to you John, as well as the ex Michigan football players who have posted is this. Is the success of any football team based more on the talent level of its players and their ability to come together as a TEAM, or the leadership, organizational, teaching and developmental skills of the coach?
Also, is it better to have a head coach who is feared by his players, or, one that is highly respected by his players? The two coaches from the past who I believe had both traits are Bo and Woody. They were both feared and respected by many who played for them.
So what is it that contributes the most to a successful football team and program? There is a team and head coach who have been very successful in the last couple of years, right here in the state of Michigan. They have made a mark on the national level and now are recruiting top tier athletes across the country. That school is Michigan State, and their coach is Mark Dantonio.
With all the talk of fire Brady Hoke in the media and all the blogs, I decided to look up Dantonio’s record at MSU since becoming their head coach and his record prior to being hired. It was very interesting to see his past team records, which confirms my own personal belief. That belief is, don’t fire Brady Hoke. To all those who say fire Brady Hoke, I ask that you take the time to look up Dantonio’s coaching record at MSU, and then compare it against Brady Hoke’s record at Michigan.
With all the negative talk about Brady Hoke, how he is in over his head, he’s not qualified, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, how could any coach be successful when everything you do is being second guessed.
What ever happened to, “The Team, the Team, the Team” from Bo’s time as head coach. Remember, no one player, no one coach, comes before the Team. Too many so called “Michigan fans” want to fire Brady Hoke and run him out of town, just like they did Rich Rodriguez. It seems these people never read Einstein’s definition of insanity, “keep doing what you have always done and expect different results.” Do you really believe that by firing Hoke, you will attract the top coaches in the country?
Does anyone ever consider the continual onslaught of negative talk about the Michigan football team and its head coach, Brady Hoke, impacts the success or failure of the team? There are two kinds of energy, positive and negative. Positive energy is about love and trust. Negative energy is about fear and doubt. There is so much fear and doubt being spread through the media talking heads, so called “Michigan fans” and non fans, that there is no room for any positive energy to take hold and blossom.
As a past 35 year season ticket holder, I decided a number of years ago that Michigan football was not bigger than life, and that it was ridiculous that I allowed Michigan losing on Saturday to have such an impact on my emotions the following week. I was allowing the play of 18-21 year old kids to control my emotions and attitude. That is totally insane. I still love Mivhigan football, I’m very disappointed in the play of the team so far this year, but I also realize that five games does not make a season. The season still has many possibilities going forward. If the media and fans continue to focus only on the negative, then they possibly will get exactly what they are projecting towards the team. But if by chance, the media and fans were to change their focus towards the positives that are taking place during the development of young men and their success, that we might end up with a season when all is said and done, that people can be proud of, having come back from the brink of total collapse.
I for one am looking forward to the better days ahead for Michigan football.
Go Blue!
Until someone can show documentable proof that the Big Ten conference has higher “ethical” or “academic” standards for its football programs, such statements will continue to reek of smug arrogance and a false sense of superiority that is the losers refrain we’ve all come to love about the Big Ten (and Notre Dame). Please, that argument makes otherwise intelligent Big Ten alums look petty and foolish. Stop embarrassing yourselves.