(09-19-2016 03:16 PM)salukiblue Wrote: He was 54-56 at UL. Took them to two bowl games in his 10 seasons there.
On campus Howard Schnellenberger statue NOW!!!
He won 8 games his first 3 years
Plus bowl games meant more back in the late 80s early 90s and there weren't a million of them
Ever hear of the Fiesta Bowl? 1991 Lousiville 34 Alabama 7
Oh and for the Jurich did everything crowd :
Schnellenberger's lasting legacy at U of L however, is Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, which he proposed from the minute he arrived. Schnellenberger planned and raised the money for its construction, but left for Oklahoma before the stadium opened. In 2006, Louisville named the Cardinals' football fieldhouse the Howard L. Schnellenberger Football Complex with Schnellenberger in attendance before U of L's game against Florida Atlantic University.[10] The most valuable player award for the UofL and UK is also named after him because he was born and raised in Louisville and he played college at Kentucky.
Then the next year he went 2-9, then 5-6. He didn't keep the momentum.
The next seven seasons (combined Howard and Ron Cooper) UofL went 35-43.
Then John L. Smith was hired. 5 straight winning records. 5 straight bowl games. 62-41 record. Then Pitrino.
Hell, UCF won a real BCS Bowl a few years ago. How has that worked out for them.
You don't get it. The Fiesta Bowl season was the one that made all of the bombast he came in with suddenly have substance. It's what made people really believe and the fundraising took off making PJCS a reality. It was sheer force of will to go from considering closing down the football program to an all or nothing gamble on the vision of a prodigal son in the waning days of the age of independents. The Liberty Bowl win over Michigan State in 1993 was reinforcement and it was onward from there.
But do you not agree that a lesser AD might have not taken that momentum and turned into what it has become today?
While it is not close to a Fiesta Bowl or a conference championship, we had some real momentum going in Memphis circa 2003/2004. We actually led the conference in football attendance without really even coming close to a conference championship. We had fans excited about the program and ready to take the next step.
What happened next? Nothing positive. We didn't do anything at all to improve facilities or take advantage of the excitement and the momentum. We soon fired the coach, hired a worse coach and slipped back into mediocrity.
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Everytime I watch Louisville play
