UF was the top of the mountain when Urban was here, per him. So what has changed since then? A continual series of poor hires due to arrogance, smugness and mostly very weak lazy research, imho. You either have the right guy, or you don’t, nothing in between. If you don’t, you have to keep sorting through them until you do, imho. The current dude might or might not be the guy, the jury is still somewhat out. It ain’t looking great though, please don’t force me to wager anything of value to me. He was given generational wealth ($51.8mil) after just a 2hr in home meeting, that’s obscene, imho.
Not gonna debate this but as a multi-generation gator Family, I care DEEPLY about being a top academic institution. I nor my predecessors or kids played a varsity sport at UF - just like the VAST majority of alumni. The ability of a top academic institution to create generational change for alumni thru investment, R&D, talent, and recognition has proven pivotal to the success of places like silicon valley and Austin. Focusing on the few hundred of athletes in this light is silly. I would gladly trade athletic success for athletic achievements. BUT, that is a false, bullshit dichotomy. UF can be wildly successful academically and athletically. Look at hoops lately - is our success this year b/c we lowered academics? No, we hired a promising coach. Likewise, our failures on the gridiron have nothing to do with academics and focusing on it shifts the spotlight from the root cause - our AD and UFAA being poorly run and making crappy hires. I especially like the comment about top academic institutions who also win in football. Michigan and Notre dame are cited with the comment that "we do not have the history of those blue bloods." My point is - why can't we be the newest blue blood? Why be some soul selling institution seeking wins at any cost like ole Miss when we can be the best at many things? Is FSU our model- don't give a damn about academics and only care about football? Why would we cower from the challenge in any area?
I think our culture has changed since those great years. The administration has evolved into an institution of International student service. The culture of state service is gone. Student are attending UF who wouldn’t know a Gator if it big em in the ass . Doubt they have Gators in Asia and Europe
I think it’s quite literally about having the right guy in place. Yes, there are lots of external factors, but the head coach is the factor. Alabama has been the king for years now because they had Saban, therefore it’s a great job. But before Saban? They were in the desert just like we are now with Shula, DeBose, Franchione, etc. Same with UGA. That’s considered the primo job right now, but was that the case before Kirby? I certainly don’t remember people saying UGA was the best job in America when Richt was there. So ya, having the right dude in place is pretty important. Certain schools have potential to be powers, and other schools don’t. UF is one of a few schools in the country where you get the right person in place and you can win titles.
Here is another thought: Georgia , Texas, Alabama have taken the lead in High School football. Why not Florida we ask? Because the HS coaches are not getting paid ! The great HS coaches are moving to these other states and are getting better coaching. Yes, Florida still has great players and talent but are not as “coached up “ . There are Head Coaches from Florida leaving and taking their coordinators with them . The level of coaching between Florida and Georgia is alarming. I can’t begin to tell you the difference. Pay , facilities, Friday night experience for players… and many other things. This translates to the colleges in those states vs Florida is going to be better and growing wider every year.
Have you been on campus checking out the woman lately? I mean how do you know what they look like? Lol. I see the ones on TV in the stands and those are not chosen to be there for their good looks... true. All kidding aside. Florida is a top COACHING DESTINATION... Top 10 for sure. And that has zero to do with our record lately... like some people (not you, wing) are posting right here in this thread.
From UF: “University of Florida reports having a total of 3,968 international students on campus, 846 of whom are undergraduates. This is out of a total of 53,372 students, 34,931 of whom are undergraduates.” Blaming international students for UF’s football failures is clearly belied by the data. Few observations: the world has changed radically thru globalization. Making $ as a real estate broker or such professional services is only going to get tougher. We have to create and build things in a globally competitive manner or our kids will lose this economic battle. That requires world class academics and students. Second, UFs students from in state are way more academically focused than in the past. They have tons of entertainment options and have seen a crappy product for 15 years. Give them a good product and they will show while also being world class students- and we all want Uf students to win at everything (including academics), right. In my opinion, focusing on anything but the ufaa and the hires we’ve made let’s the culprits off the hook.
Fun facts: The undergraduate student body at Alabama: Alabama: 42% Out-of-State/International: 58% Current students come from 92 foreign countries. The greatest percentage of international students come from: Kuwait China Saudi Arabia India Canada In contrast, UF is 84% in state students. Data would suggest we need more out of state students to compete in football with bama!! Or maybe, just maybe, coaching/AA is the real factor and this finger pointing at the 800 international students at UF as the cause of our “football culture problem” is a red herring.
Maybe I just want the University of Florida, to serve Florida students, because Florida students will end up in living in the state of Florida and servicing our workforce. I guess I’m a state first guy . Am I wrong for that?
It does serve Florida students by a far greater margin than most state universities as my prior post proves! And 50% of UF engineering graduates leave the state (most born in state) - including Malachowsky who just donated $100M+ as a founder of Nvidia. In the valley - that simply doesn’t happen in Florida -yet. And it will never happen if we don’t bring the best and brightest to our state and demand that our educational system produces talent that can compete with the best and brightest. In sports terms, you don’t want Percy harvin, Brandon spikes, Shane Matthew’s, etc at UF b/c they aren’t “Florida kids”, right? We want the best football players regardless of geography but when it comes to academic talent you say 16% of students from out of state is wrong? Worse, you blamed 800 odd international students (amongst 30,000 undergrads) for a “culture” problem? To answer your question, yes, you are factually incorrect as to the number/effect of foreign students and, in my opinion, and incorrect as to the full mission of UF in a global economy. Edit- forgot about Sachio. Visionary Alumnus Honored with International Philanthropist Award - Powering the New Engineer Good guy, gives generously to uf engineering. I might agree with you if UF was majority out of state like Bama, but I think you’re barking up the wrong tree here.
If you look at all the top programs, you will see that they all have A LOT of miserable fans, because of expectations. A Large number of Ohio State fans want Ryan Day fired and he's lost like 7 games in 5 years. UF fans are no worst than any other top programs, And i'm not talking about a small handful of fans that are miserable and unrealistic. They exist in all fan bases. When you look at the basics and fundamental things a College football program needs to be successful and sustain that success at a high level UF has it in spades.
Wish actual data meant something to you (damn 800 international students ruining our football squad!). Anyway, I’d say I’m not “getting you” rather than “getting it.” That is certainly true. Thank you - this was pretty civilized for the two of us!