mthoopsfan
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"Hall of Fame coach Dennis Erickson blames presidents' greed for Pac-12's downfall
When the Pac-12 ran out of lifelines amid the ongoing college football conference realignment, few were as disheartened as Dennis Erickson."
USA TODAY: https://apple.news/A2GzvQOxCQlK15AbPXbo-ZA
"While he's not happy with what is happening in major college football, Erickson is very happy where he is right now. He still enjoys watching football, especially Montana, where his son, Bryce, is coaching receivers. He spends time with his grandchildren, golfing and attending practices to talk to coaches.
And he believes coaches like Bryce are in a good spot at FCS (formerly Division I-AA) schools. It's not just the topsy-turvy world of realignment. Erickson is not a big fan of Name, Image and Likeness legislation, or the transfer portal.
"I'm starting to think the best jobs in college football right now are I-AA, the Big Sky and those guys," said Erickson, who played at Montana State. "They're playing for the right reasons. And it's fun. The football is pure, you got a playoff, they'll get a little TV. Nobody's outbidding anybody to get players. You recruit guys, you build programs and let 'em fly. That's what it's all about."
"It's really, really sad to see," said Erickson from his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. "The thing that upsets me the most, besides the conference falling apart, the reasons for it. You got all these presidents that talk about academics and talk about loyalty and the bottom line is they move because of one thing … money.
"It had nothing to do with education. It had nothing to do with players. It had nothing to do with the school. It had to do with money."
"That's just sad because they've been such solid members of that league for such a long time and they've been very competitive," Erickson said. And now they are left ... wherever they are left. I don't even know where they're left."
One option is the Mountain West, currently a Group of Five conference, and Pac-12 leftovers aligning. But Erickson believes any Pac-12/Mountain West union needs to be selective in which MWC schools are invited beyond the upper tier of San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State and UNLV.
"They could survive that and I think they'd have a pretty good league," he said. "You got to look at who they shouldn't take in that conference, too."
Erickson believes Oregon State and Washington State have more to offer than believed. He knows the hard work it has taken to build programs in Corvallis, Oregon, and Pullman, Washington.
"We developed a culture, we knew who we could get recruiting-wise to be very competitive," Erickson said about his time at Oregon State and Washington State. "(OSU's) Jonathan Smith has done it, too. He's not on the transfer portal every day, he's built a solid program at Oregon State. Same thing with Jake Dickert at Washington State.
"Now, it's gone in a year."
When the Pac-12 ran out of lifelines amid the ongoing college football conference realignment, few were as disheartened as Dennis Erickson."
USA TODAY: https://apple.news/A2GzvQOxCQlK15AbPXbo-ZA
"While he's not happy with what is happening in major college football, Erickson is very happy where he is right now. He still enjoys watching football, especially Montana, where his son, Bryce, is coaching receivers. He spends time with his grandchildren, golfing and attending practices to talk to coaches.
And he believes coaches like Bryce are in a good spot at FCS (formerly Division I-AA) schools. It's not just the topsy-turvy world of realignment. Erickson is not a big fan of Name, Image and Likeness legislation, or the transfer portal.
"I'm starting to think the best jobs in college football right now are I-AA, the Big Sky and those guys," said Erickson, who played at Montana State. "They're playing for the right reasons. And it's fun. The football is pure, you got a playoff, they'll get a little TV. Nobody's outbidding anybody to get players. You recruit guys, you build programs and let 'em fly. That's what it's all about."
"It's really, really sad to see," said Erickson from his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. "The thing that upsets me the most, besides the conference falling apart, the reasons for it. You got all these presidents that talk about academics and talk about loyalty and the bottom line is they move because of one thing … money.
"It had nothing to do with education. It had nothing to do with players. It had nothing to do with the school. It had to do with money."
"That's just sad because they've been such solid members of that league for such a long time and they've been very competitive," Erickson said. And now they are left ... wherever they are left. I don't even know where they're left."
One option is the Mountain West, currently a Group of Five conference, and Pac-12 leftovers aligning. But Erickson believes any Pac-12/Mountain West union needs to be selective in which MWC schools are invited beyond the upper tier of San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State and UNLV.
"They could survive that and I think they'd have a pretty good league," he said. "You got to look at who they shouldn't take in that conference, too."
Erickson believes Oregon State and Washington State have more to offer than believed. He knows the hard work it has taken to build programs in Corvallis, Oregon, and Pullman, Washington.
"We developed a culture, we knew who we could get recruiting-wise to be very competitive," Erickson said about his time at Oregon State and Washington State. "(OSU's) Jonathan Smith has done it, too. He's not on the transfer portal every day, he's built a solid program at Oregon State. Same thing with Jake Dickert at Washington State.
"Now, it's gone in a year."
