Cats lose to Illinois by 40 and are lucky it wasn’t by 50 or 60.
Mike Nolan
It is time to cut the cord with Chris Collins. While he did elevate the program halfway up the mountain, after thirteen seasons it is clear that he is unlikely to reach the top, much less stay there. Three +.500 conference seasons in thirteen years, the best being 12 – 8, doesn’t cut it. And here we back in the doldrums are at 2 – 10 with a team that appeared to have possibilities early on but has since demonstrated it is ill equipped to win. Donors have provided the university with state-of-the-art facilities. Where are the coaches and players to take advantage of those facilities?
You are not wrong although I have never been a Collins fan. In the new world of buying your team we have to decide how much basketball is worth and pay for players that can get us to the tournament consistently. I hate this, but this is the reality in football and men’s basketball.
And it is time to stop doing it. The next step will be to hire a football et al team who do not have to attend classes. According to one quarterback, that is exactly what he did for two years. Give players a cut of income that uses their likeness and cover their educational expenses, but that should be it. And the transfer portal needs to be reined in as well.
It will only get worse. If we value academics we really need to drop football and basketball. So sad as I love college football.
Given NU”s recent investments in renovating the basketball arena and building a new football stadium, dropping those sports isn’t likely to be in the cards any time soon, as it would effectively mean dropping out of the Big Ten.
Iowa contained Martinelli for much of the game this afternoon, though he wound up with 21 points, and the Cats couldn’t quite pull off the upset in Iowa. Good game to watch, though. If they can keep their freshman players the next couple of years may be worth watching.