It all starts with these two school’s location which was a land grant in a rural area. If these two schools were somehow in major media markets they would never have been left behind. This is no fault of their own, it is reality. On a smaller scale, it’s the same problem for the lower tier Mountain West teams. Where a college is located …
It all starts with these two school’s location which was a land grant in a rural area. If these two schools were somehow in major media markets they would never have been left behind. This is no fault of their own, it is reality. On a smaller scale, it’s the same problem for the lower tier Mountain West teams. Where a college is located (unless, of course, you have a Nike in your pocket) will always be a drawback in the age of national TV money going where the audience is.
Schools like Penn State and Virginia Tech are land grant universities that aren't exactly located in major markets. But they are located in regions where they could recruit enough good players in their area to compete on a national level. OSU and WSU have never had that advantage. PSU/VT also had successful coaches that stuck around for a very long time, so that continuity enabled them to build their brands over the long haul.
The landscape has changed now. If you have a great program and a good NIL collective, you can get players from anywhere in the country to come to you....the flip side is coaches never stick around for very long these days.
VA Tech has had losing seasons 4 of last 6 years. Broke a 3 yr losing record streak last year by going 7-6 and that’s in the ACC. Their joyride ended in 2011, Frank Beamer not roaming those sidelines ever again, they are irrelevant now.
Penn State has won the B10 4 times in 33 years and never made the CFP. They are more myth than legend these days. Last national championship was 1986, nearly 40 years ago.
VT made a poor coaching hire after Beamer retired. That has nothing to do with them being a land grant school located hours away from a major media market.
Yes but both schools have rabid fan bases which sell out their stadiums win or lose. Penn State gets 100,000 fans per game to remote State College vs. the 25,000 WSU averages.
Take Phil Knight away and Ducks are in same boat as WSU/OSU. All you have to do is look at the athletic history prior to Phil’s money and there was no national brand or success.
But it is a much more major market than Corvallis or Pullman, and UofO also delivers Portland (which OSU does not), and UofO (differentiate from Eugene) remade themselves into a regional brand they could and did market/transform into a national brand.
In part, but this is revisionist history. Rich Brooks pushed for investment and other moves to "get into the club" (his words) of the programs that were regularly, not just occasionally, in the picture, and the transformation was already underway, but of course also encountered obstacles, and alumni Phil Knight, with both resources and connections, asked "What do you need? How can I help?" That provided an enduring boost to what Oregon had to work with.
It all starts with these two school’s location which was a land grant in a rural area. If these two schools were somehow in major media markets they would never have been left behind. This is no fault of their own, it is reality. On a smaller scale, it’s the same problem for the lower tier Mountain West teams. Where a college is located (unless, of course, you have a Nike in your pocket) will always be a drawback in the age of national TV money going where the audience is.
Schools like Penn State and Virginia Tech are land grant universities that aren't exactly located in major markets. But they are located in regions where they could recruit enough good players in their area to compete on a national level. OSU and WSU have never had that advantage. PSU/VT also had successful coaches that stuck around for a very long time, so that continuity enabled them to build their brands over the long haul.
The landscape has changed now. If you have a great program and a good NIL collective, you can get players from anywhere in the country to come to you....the flip side is coaches never stick around for very long these days.
VA Tech has had losing seasons 4 of last 6 years. Broke a 3 yr losing record streak last year by going 7-6 and that’s in the ACC. Their joyride ended in 2011, Frank Beamer not roaming those sidelines ever again, they are irrelevant now.
Penn State has won the B10 4 times in 33 years and never made the CFP. They are more myth than legend these days. Last national championship was 1986, nearly 40 years ago.
VT made a poor coaching hire after Beamer retired. That has nothing to do with them being a land grant school located hours away from a major media market.
Yes but both schools have rabid fan bases which sell out their stadiums win or lose. Penn State gets 100,000 fans per game to remote State College vs. the 25,000 WSU averages.
Attendance has nothing to do with TV. Many schools have seat at table for no reason other than fact they were already in said conference.
WSU has punched above their weight pretty often; OSU did it lasy year. They are better teams than many others in rural areas.
Eugene is hardly a major media market.
Take Phil Knight away and Ducks are in same boat as WSU/OSU. All you have to do is look at the athletic history prior to Phil’s money and there was no national brand or success.
Their following is a major media market.
But it is a much more major market than Corvallis or Pullman, and UofO also delivers Portland (which OSU does not), and UofO (differentiate from Eugene) remade themselves into a regional brand they could and did market/transform into a national brand.
Show me the media numbers and source you have that says Oregon State doesn’t deliver Portland market.
They remade themselves with uncle Phil’s $$$
In part, but this is revisionist history. Rich Brooks pushed for investment and other moves to "get into the club" (his words) of the programs that were regularly, not just occasionally, in the picture, and the transformation was already underway, but of course also encountered obstacles, and alumni Phil Knight, with both resources and connections, asked "What do you need? How can I help?" That provided an enduring boost to what Oregon had to work with.
Not true. Well documented Bill Moos got Phil Knight on board. Moos got AD job in 1995. An assist from Kenny Wheaton.
And Bill Moos is a Coug.