re: USC is back into the top 10 in recruiting!

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USC football is dead

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mor·i·bund



adjective

(of a person) at the point of death.

Similar: some of these are great

dying

expiring

on one's deathbed

near death

near the end

at death's door <== fav

breathing one's last

fading/sinking fast

not long for this world

failing rapidly

on one's last legs

in extremis

with one foot in the grave

Opposite:

thriving

recovering

(of a thing) in terminal decline; lacking vitality or vigor.

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Because the AP said they were.

And the AP was still giving out their Championship trophy to their #1 team...just like it had since 1936.

How difficult is that still to fathom all these years later?

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The fact that they kept Helton to ensure a class this bad is mind boggling.

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Michigan State doesn't even have a coach and most of the staff probably won't be retained AND they finished ahead of USC in recruiting.

That really is pretty bad.

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What is the reasoning schools would have not putting an emphasis on Athletics? I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want a balance of both athletics and academics.

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It's happened at Notre Dame at times, most recently during the latter half of the Monk Malloy era.

It's typically driven by high-ranking academics and administrators that believe high-profile athletic programs, especially football, besmirch the reputation of the university on the academic and research side of things; in some circles of academia at institutions that consider themselves to be in or near the top tier, the quality of athletic programs is inversely correlated with the quality of the university's academics and reputation. They pounce on any mis-steps that the programs have and wiggle into the ears of university presidents and boards of directors.

Eventually (at least with what happened at ND, to some degree), big boys on the boards of directors will seize back control when they see things getting too far out of hand, try to right the ship, and tell the academics to stay in their lanes.

USC and Miami are going through it at the moment. Notre Dame has gone through it for sure. Stanford has gone through it. The Ivies and University of Chicago did and never recovered. I would imagine schools like Cal, Michigan, and UCLA have gone through it as well.

Right now, with USC especially, the problem is exacerbated for two reasons:
1. Many in academia see football as a dying and brutish sport
2. Because of (1), youth football participation has plummeted, especially in Southern California

USC is trying to climb and permanently stay in that top tier of American universities (they've been climbing for nearly a generation and are right on the cusp now); they've had lots of (non-football) scandals recently. They are in the abyss right now and are unsure what to do when the future of the sport is so uncertain, especially in their region of the country.

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What is the reasoning schools would have not putting an emphasis on Athletics? I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want a balance of both athletics and academics.

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Looking at the bigger picture, USC doesn't need athletics. It is an excellent academic university.

Good post. That's all true but USC problems has been the coaches they've hired.

Pat Haden was just a horrible AD for the football program. If a regular joe schmoe like me was aware of Sarks drinking problem, then Helton obviously knew as well. He just didn't care. Then he gives the job to a guy who should be coaching at the FCS level. He caused more harm than the sanctions ever could.

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Cristobal is building something great up there.

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With help of Nike $$$ and Nike gear.

That is the #1 reason

To USC football fans: Good luck with Carol Folt as your Chancellor. She's an Ivy League train wreck who HATES college football.

UNC ran her off last January. Glad she was able to find work.