One For the Road

January 3, 2006 is the day that will live in infamy, not just for the victory that my beloved Mountaineers had over the much favored Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. More importantly, it showed that the Big East truly belonged. One conference commissioner, was sitting in the press box of the Georgia Dome that night, with that Cheshire Cat grin, knowing that he had been right all along. I learned that Mike Tranghese was a man that I should never play poker against. Because when the chips were down, he was holding that royal flush the whole time.

Last week, Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year. With nearly 30 years with the conference, his time had come. He had been there since the beginning in 1979, when a small group of eastern basketball powers would form a league. It was he and then conference founder Dave Gavitt that took a chance with a relatively unknown entity at the time with ESPN. The decision in hindsight would be the first in many great decisions that would define his career. In an almost symbiotic relationship, the league and the channel would grow to unprecedented heights during the 1980's and beyond.

In 1990 when he took over as the commissioner, the next move was to try to fulfill Joe Paterno's dream of an eastern football conference. For years, the eastern powers wanted to do it except two teams, Pitt and Syracuse. They were afraid that an Eastern conference would destroy what they had in the Big East in basketball. They could not have been more wrong. In 1991, Penn State fed up with the stances of Pitt and Syracuse, decided to join the Big 10. Tranghese had enough foresight, to expand the Big East to include the football schools as a part of the league, bringing in WVU, Miami, Virginia Tech and Rutgers. The league would thrive.

The departures of Miami, BC and Virginia Tech could have been the end of the conference, but again, when the chips were down, Mike Tranghese was at his best. As much as it is not needed now, the relationship with Notre Dame was needed so the Big East could have a seat at the big boy table at the BCS fortress of ineptitude. With that secure, the conference needed to prove itself. Pitt's thrashing by Utah in the Fiesta bowl was not a good omen for the league.

What the league needed was an influx of talent and exposure. In one of his smartest moves, Tranghese negotiated with ESPN to broadcast their games on Thursday nights. As per usual the critics and traditionalists were in an uproar. How could they do something as crazy as play a game on a weeknight? It was, in hindsight, pure genius. The league was the only show in town on that night on TV. Instead of playing their marquee games on Saturdays, going against every other conference, they said why not play when there is no competition? The exposure and its results in upgraded recruiting and coaching are now bearing this out.

Since the departure of the three teams, The ACC has not won one BCS game. The Big East, however, have one the last three straight, beating the conference champs of the SEC, ACC and Big XII respectively. Karma is a bitch.

For all the venom, I had against Tranghese with the handling of the departures of VPI, Miami and BC, and his help in the formation of the BCS, I could not have been more wrong about that man. I have learned that sometimes, it's better to sit back and have faith that he will lead us through the darkness. That's what great leaders do. Now if only Jim Delaney at the Big Ten (11) would follow suit...

TTFN

P.S.

Rest in Peace, Jim McKay

For the Glory...

If the truth be told, I have been a life long Penn State fan. Yes I love my Mountaineers, but PSU will always have a special place in my heart. Yes I am a polygamist of college football fandom. I love two teams, well maybe the Gold and Blue a little more, but not by much. My father was a PSU alum and made me what I am today. I still remember going to games at Beaver Stadium with my dad. We would wake up at some ungodly time in the morning and make the five hour trek from our home in West Virginia for games. I dreamed of playing middle linebacker for Joe Pa, but speed, height and general lack of athletic ability quickly dashed this dream. So it was off to WVU for me and as they say, the rest is history.

372–125–3, 4 Undefeated Seasons, 2 National Titles, 2 Big Ten Titles, 1 Heisman Trophy Winner and an ice cream flavor named after him; these are the career records of one, Joseph Vincent Paterno, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. The records speak for themselves. His impact on the game is undeniable and the respect Paterno, has earned is unmatched. Now comes the hardest decision in all of Joe's long career. Many are asking, if the time has come, to hang up the black cleats? I decided to take a look at the last ten years of Joe's long career. Here is what I found.

Year Overall Big 10 League Bowl
1997 Penn State 9–3 6–2 T–2nd L 6–21 Citrus
1998 Penn State 9–3 5–3 5th W 26–14 Outback
1999 Penn State 10–3 5–3 T–4th W 24–0 Alamo
2000 Penn State 5–7 4–4 T–6th
2001 Penn State 5–6 4–4 T–4th
2002 Penn State 9–4 5–3 4th L 9–13 Capital One
2003 Penn State 3–9 1–7 T–9th
2004 Penn State 4–7 2–6 9th
2005 Penn State 11–1 7–1 T–1st W 26–23 Orange
2006 Penn State 9–4 5–3 T–4th W 20–10 Outback
2007 Penn State 9–4 4–4 T–5th W 24-17 Alamo

The numbers weren't great, but they weren't as bad as many have stated. The rules have changed. During Penn State's great years of the 1970's and 1980's there were no scholarship limits. In a talent rich state like Pennsylvania, Joe was able to bring in pretty much whomever he wanted. Now a school can only have 85 kids on scholarship. A former Don Nehlen assistant at WVU stated that in the early eighties whenever they went head to head with Penn State on a recruit, they lost. The kid would always pick PSU. The record from 1977 to 1987 bears this out.

1977 Penn State 11–1–0 W 42–30 Fiesta
1978 Penn State 11–1–0 L 7–14 Sugar
1979 Penn State 8–4–0 W 9–6 Liberty
1980 Penn State 10–2–0 W 31–19 Fiesta
1981 Penn State 10–2–0 W 26–10 Fiesta
1982 Penn State 11–1–0 W 27–23 Sugar*
1983 Penn State 8–4–1 W 13–10 Aloha
1984 Penn State 6–5–0
1985 Penn State 11–1–0 L 10–25 Orange
1986 Penn State 12–0–0 W 14–10 Fiesta*
1987 Penn State 8–4–0 L 10–35 Citrus
*Denotes National Title

As well the talent rich area of Western Pennsylvania is not what it once was. Factories have shut down. People have moved to the sunshine states and other places. The talent pool is not what it once was. The demographics have changed, but Paterno has not.

This is my cause for concern, with the change in rules and now technology, the times have changed. I'm fearful that this is Joe's Waterloo. In an article recently, it was stated that Joe only made one recruiting trip last year. I doubt he has spent any time on the recruiting websites that seem to be everywhere. The days of living by your name as a program are numbered. You need to be out there. I'm not sure if Joe can do that anymore. It was also brought up that he works from home more. Have you ever noticed that Joe does not wear a headset on the sidelines? So it seems that Joe may be the figurehead now. That is fine as long as you have competent coaches underneath you. Joe has that.

Where do we go from here? I'm not ready to ask Joe to step aside. He has earned the right to go out how he wants. I think for the good of the program, however, a succession plan needs to be put in place. It has worked at Wisconsin. Purdue and Kentucky just recently did the same. Recruiting is a dirty game and recruiters will use the uncertainty at Penn State to their advantage. All I'm asking is that Joe does the right thing like he always has for the glory of old state...