Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Letters to the Editor reflect the view of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval.
How long are Colorado State University’s administration and the athletic department going to keep fooling themselves with the football program? We are now in year three of the Jay Norvell experience and, to be quite frank, year two of him and the program is a national embarrassment.
Ad
Do you know how poorly you have to conduct yourself for people to root for the Deion Sanders show in Boulder? I no longer reside in the state of Colorado, and the only time I hear about our program is when we play Colorado, and the week starts out with, “I hope you guys beat those cocky Buffs,” then during the game it turns into, “You guys are dirty and undisciplined. Toward the end, I was rooting against you.”
Then our move to the Pac-12 was announced, a conference with a bigger name but without any of the old prestige. Having the last Rocky Mountain Showdown in five seasons on our campus for the first time in decades, the Buffs’ general unlikability and inability to block should have made the game this past Saturday a coronation — a signal that the best way to build a football team and program is not from flash but from players like Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi who forgo larger name, image and likeness deals to stay with our school and players who play for each other as opposed to themselves.
Unfortunately, Norvell and the Colorado State coaching staff — for the second year in a row, mind you — have decided to take the lowest possible road. Last year, it was the frequent unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and general lack of discipline that had the country wondering if maybe we were the bad guys. This year, the rhetoric, both pre- and post-game from players and staff, coupled with on-field penalties and turnovers, have once again made Colorado State the laughing stock of the country.
And as always, the athletic department staff have proven that they are only good at one thing: hiring mediocre talent and failing students, alumni and fans. Norvell was paid a base salary of $625,000 his last season at Nevada, a school where his record was 33-26, a whopping .559 winning percentage. The athletic department found it fit to give him a $1 million raise for being just over 50, and his record at Colorado State is currently 9-18, a .333 winning percentage. Norvell’s selection comes after trusting Urban Meyer with our head football coaching selection, and he chose his buddy, terrible coach and overall bad person, Steve Addazio.
Maybe it is the old soul in me, or maybe I am just fed up with the dribble that comes out of the football program, but the quality of coach matters. Jay Norvell was never going to go from a career percentage of .559 to .600 or higher because he was given over a 250% raise.
John Weber, Joe Parker’s replacement, now has a decision on his hands. He can continue to fund less than mediocrity, or he can make his own mark on this program by getting it back on track. Let’s stop with the theatrics, focus on recruiting the right talent, coach them up and win football games with superior people.
As I said before, enough is enough. As a former CSU football player, CSU graduate assistant and University of Notre Dame graduate assistant, I can tell you that the football program stinks to high heaven, and it doesn’t smell like Greeley. It smells like more wasted taxpayer and student money.
It is time to move on from Norvell and find a football coach who is going to win on and off the field in a way that makes Ram students and alumni proud. The football program and the athletic program are both welcome to call me.
Tyler McDermott, CSU class of 2012
Ad
Send letters to letters@collegian.com. When submitting letters, please abide by the guidelines listed at collegian.com.
