Chutzpah and other questions.

[BuffsNYC]

http://www.buffzone.com/buffzonetopstories/ci_26389192/94-loss-huskers-game-changer-cu

Neill Woelk returns with an article about the great '94 Buffs and what might have been had they beaten Nebraska.

A few things jumped out at me. The first was McCartney insisting on trying to run against the corn instead of throwing early and often. Neill and I aren't the only ones who have noted McCartney's chutzpah in designing and sticking to a game plan that was destined to fail. He was like that sometimes, stubborn to a fault.

Also, while I can sympathize with going in-house to replace McCartney (though we can argue about whether they chose the right assistant), I now think it was a mistake. It was Marolt's mistake in thinking that CU could keep the wagon rolling instead of starting anew. We saw the same mistake when James left Washington and it seems Oregon may be in the same boat with Helfrich. It would have been hard for a new coach to come in to a program that just had a fantastic run, but it would have been the right choice. Marolt lacked the chutzpah to do it.

Finally, WTF was wrong with Judith Albino-lobbying to go to the Big 12 and not the Pac 10? It was clear to me when I was at CU that the culture was closer to the Pac schools than the Big 12 schools, add in the academic prestige and it was a no-brainer to ditch the Big 12. How could an academic have gotten that decision so wrong?

 

[Deleted member 807]

Finally, WTF was wrong with Judith Albino-lobbying to go to the Big 12 and not the Pac 10? It was clear to me when I was at CU that the culture was closer to the Pac schools than the Big 12 schools, add in the academic prestige and it was a no-brainer to ditch the Big 12. How could an academic have gotten that decision so wrong?

At the time, CU's chancellor Jim Corbridge was the chair of the Big 8. Corbridge and Bill Marolt had pride of ownership giving birth to the Big XII. They had been in negotiations with Texas to keep the Longhorns from joining the BIG 10. Keeping the Big 8 rivalries together and adding UT, A&M and the other two dingleberries was a career opportunity they couldn't pass up. It was a choice between keeping a leadership role in a conference they were building versus being an newb in the P12, far from historical rivalries. At the time, they did what they thought was right.

 

[Buffenuf]

"CHUTZPAH" :

Stubborness, especially in relying upon an old fogey OC, Uzelac---who never met a forward pass that he liked? Most definitely, but not chutzpah.
Y
ou been in New Yawk City too long, not to know the difference!

 

[BuffsNYC]

"CHUTZPAH" :

Stubborness, especially in relying upon an old fogey OC, Uzelac---who never met a forward pass that he liked? Most definitely, but not chutzpah.
Y
ou been in New Yawk City too long, not to know the difference!

Perhaps, but I still think it was chutzpah to design a game plan to run against that defense, i.e. nobody can stop our running game.

 

[BuffNut99]

I don't agree with the revisionism that theorizes that the Buffs would have landed in the PAC 10 in 1995 had they won that 1994 game at Nebraska. The Big 12 offered all of the trinkets we wanted back then. Plus, the game against Nebraska was moving to Thanksgiving and would be a national centerpiece for several years. The PAC 10 was down, period, and the Big 12 was looking (and acted like) the premier conference in the nation. Only in hindsight can anyone say that things would have worked out better otherwise.

 

[BuffsNYC]

I don't agree with the revisionism that theorizes that the Buffs would have landed in the PAC 10 in 1995 had they won that 1994 game at Nebraska. The Big 12 offered all of the trinkets we wanted back then. Plus, the game against Nebraska was moving to Thanksgiving and would be a national centerpiece for several years. The PAC 10 was down, period, and the Big 12 was looking (and acted like) the premier conference in the nation. Only in hindsight can anyone say that things would have worked out better otherwise.

I recall the enthusiasm for the Big 12 and can understand why CU went that way. What is harder for me to understand is Albino's contribution, I guess she was just listening to her athletic department.

 

[BuffWarHog]

I don't agree with the revisionism that theorizes that the Buffs would have landed in the PAC 10 in 1995 had they won that 1994 game at Nebraska. The Big 12 offered all of the trinkets we wanted back then. Plus, the game against Nebraska was moving to Thanksgiving and would be a national centerpiece for several years. The PAC 10 was down, period, and the Big 12 was looking (and acted like) the premier conference in the nation. Only in hindsight can anyone say that things would have worked out better otherwise.

This is why I wanted the Pac-10. I was afraid that if the 94 Buffs couldn't beat Neb, no Buff team ever would. And with the cultural similarities and the Pac-10 being down, I felt CU could step in immediately and establish dominance. Plus, like everyone else that went/goes to CU, I'm from CA.


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[Deleted member 807]

I recall the enthusiasm for the Big 12 and can understand why CU went that way. What is harder for me to understand is Albino's contribution, I guess she was just listening to her athletic department.

This was Albino's first appointment as a president of any university. She came from a SUNY campus a didn't have much experience in the politics of college athletics. Her appointment by the regents was, in part, to send a message that the university was not going to put up with some of the funding and fiscal controversies that Gordon Gee had left behind. Albino was appointed to make a statement that CU was first and foremost an academic and research facility.

Her direct report, Chancellor Corbridge was the chair of the Big 8, and a principle architect of the Big 12. To push for a Pac-10 invite back then would have caused Albino to friction with one of the most powerful and experienced leaders on campus at the time.

She was more focused on cleaning up the books and implementing internal controls. She was out of her depth on bigger picture issues relating to athletic conference realignment.