When GTech does return to it's National ways, Oh Man will the ACC boom!!!
FlossY out...

(04-21-2014 12:29 AM)opossum Wrote:  Duke deliberately de-emphasised football in the late 1960s for a variety of bad reasons...

That has definitely changed, especially with the hiring of AD White from Notre Dame and Coach Cut. Duke is pouring its considerable resources and support into football...

I think the leadership saw what Stanford was doing in football, and what football success was doing for Stanford. If Stanford can do it, there's certainly no reason Duke can't do it too...

Good info, Opposum! (and I hope you realize that the title of this thread was meant to be a joke)

From an outsider point of view it definitely seems like something clicked at Duke about 2 years ago. Maybe it was the realignment fever and the realization that even being a great basketball school wasn't good enough. Whatever the impetus was, it's obvious that Duke is more committed to football - which makes life for Va Tech and the rest of the Coastal division (however long divisions last) much tougher.

It is a welcome change, IMO.

(04-21-2014 01:21 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 12:29 AM)opossum Wrote:  Duke deliberately de-emphasised football in the late 1960s for a variety of bad reasons...

That has definitely changed, especially with the hiring of AD White from Notre Dame and Coach Cut. Duke is pouring its considerable resources and support into football...

I think the leadership saw what Stanford was doing in football, and what football success was doing for Stanford. If Stanford can do it, there's certainly no reason Duke can't do it too...

Good info, Opposum! (and I hope you realize that the title of this thread was meant to be a joke)

From an outsider point of view it definitely seems like something clicked at Duke about 2 years ago. Maybe it was the realignment fever and the realization that even being a great basketball school wasn't good enough. Whatever the impetus was, it's obvious that Duke is more committed to football - which makes life for Va Tech and the rest of the Coastal division (however long divisions last) much tougher.

It is a welcome change, IMO.

That happens every so often. I think the last time was when Spurrier was coach, and Duke eased up a bit on academic exception admissions. I wouldn't count on the current attitude lasting too long if Cut were to leave.

(04-21-2014 01:21 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 12:29 AM)opossum Wrote:  Duke deliberately de-emphasised football in the late 1960s for a variety of bad reasons...

That has definitely changed, especially with the hiring of AD White from Notre Dame and Coach Cut. Duke is pouring its considerable resources and support into football...

I think the leadership saw what Stanford was doing in football, and what football success was doing for Stanford. If Stanford can do it, there's certainly no reason Duke can't do it too...

Good info, Opposum! (and I hope you realize that the title of this thread was meant to be a joke)

From an outsider point of view it definitely seems like something clicked at Duke about 2 years ago. Maybe it was the realignment fever and the realization that even being a great basketball school wasn't good enough. Whatever the impetus was, it's obvious that Duke is more committed to football - which makes life for Va Tech and the rest of the Coastal division (however long divisions last) much tougher.

It is a welcome change, IMO.

No offense taken, NOBODY expected Duke to win the Coastal last year! It kind of spelled the "end of civilization" or apocalypse within the Duke family as well: the football program is claiming its place -- in the ACC, as well as at Duke.

The "click" happened about 6-8 years ago, it's just taken this long to translate into results on the field. Realignment had something to do with it (considering the fate of Kansas had the Big 12 fallen apart), but more the realization that football has really taken over college sports revenue (in some part because the NCAA controls the basketball postseason, but also because it's more popular). Playing at the highest level of college football without making the required commitment of support and resources is a losing hand (which Duke had deliberately held for 40 years). They realized that football doesn't have to be a drain, and investment in it can pay off.

ken d said:
That happens every so often. I think the last time was when Spurrier was coach, and Duke eased up a bit on academic exception admissions. I wouldn't count on the current attitude lasting too long if Cut were to leave.

Hiring Spurrier 27 years ago was pure dumb luck on Duke's part, it had nothing to do with Duke's commitment to football at the time. He was an unemployed ex-USFL coach with no college head coaching experience and a few years as a Duke assistant when Duke hired him. He stayed for three seasons, long enough to prove his chops and get an offer from Florida. Goldsmith (hired from Rice) had a 8-4 year in 1994 and lost in the Hall of Fame bowl. Nothing since, until Cut.

Unlike the Spurrier run, the current improvement is not dumb luck, it's part of a plan. If Cut retires from coaching tomorrow (he's not taking another job -- turned down Tennessee a few years ago), the Duke coaching search will be very different than the ones that produced Carl Franks and Ted Roof. The wallet will be open for someone with high level college head coaching experience (like Cutcliffe had). It's also a much more attractive job than it was 10-20-30 years ago. Unlimited resources, high potential, relatively low fan expectations.

(04-21-2014 01:21 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 12:29 AM)opossum Wrote:  Duke deliberately de-emphasised football in the late 1960s for a variety of bad reasons...

That has definitely changed, especially with the hiring of AD White from Notre Dame and Coach Cut. Duke is pouring its considerable resources and support into football...

I think the leadership saw what Stanford was doing in football, and what football success was doing for Stanford. If Stanford can do it, there's certainly no reason Duke can't do it too...

Good info, Opposum! (and I hope you realize that the title of this thread was meant to be a joke)

From an outsider point of view it definitely seems like something clicked at Duke about 2 years ago. Maybe it was the realignment fever and the realization that even being a great basketball school wasn't good enough. Whatever the impetus was, it's obvious that Duke is more committed to football - which makes life for Va Tech and the rest of the Coastal division (however long divisions last) much tougher.

It is a welcome change, IMO.

Did something click or did it have something to do with the Coastal Division being something like this

(04-21-2014 09:56 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 01:21 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 12:29 AM)opossum Wrote:  Duke deliberately de-emphasised football in the late 1960s for a variety of bad reasons...

That has definitely changed, especially with the hiring of AD White from Notre Dame and Coach Cut. Duke is pouring its considerable resources and support into football...

I think the leadership saw what Stanford was doing in football, and what football success was doing for Stanford. If Stanford can do it, there's certainly no reason Duke can't do it too...

Good info, Opposum! (and I hope you realize that the title of this thread was meant to be a joke)

From an outsider point of view it definitely seems like something clicked at Duke about 2 years ago. Maybe it was the realignment fever and the realization that even being a great basketball school wasn't good enough. Whatever the impetus was, it's obvious that Duke is more committed to football - which makes life for Va Tech and the rest of the Coastal division (however long divisions last) much tougher.

It is a welcome change, IMO.

Did something click or did it have something to do with the Coastal Division being something like this

Both. And things clicking at Duke has something (but by no means everything) to do with the perception of the Coastal as a train wreck. It will take some time for perception to catch up to reality.

The Coastal blows right now and has for a few years. That's an undeniable fact. Duke was also a good team last year, but not a very good team. Duke's gone 6-5 vs the Coastal the last 2 years. They've gone 0-3 vs FSU and Clemson the last 2 years, losing by an average of 38.33 points and never less than 36.

(04-21-2014 09:34 PM)opossum Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 01:21 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(04-21-2014 12:29 AM)opossum Wrote:  Duke deliberately de-emphasised football in the late 1960s for a variety of bad reasons...

That has definitely changed, especially with the hiring of AD White from Notre Dame and Coach Cut. Duke is pouring its considerable resources and support into football...

I think the leadership saw what Stanford was doing in football, and what football success was doing for Stanford. If Stanford can do it, there's certainly no reason Duke can't do it too...

Good info, Opposum! (and I hope you realize that the title of this thread was meant to be a joke)

From an outsider point of view it definitely seems like something clicked at Duke about 2 years ago. Maybe it was the realignment fever and the realization that even being a great basketball school wasn't good enough. Whatever the impetus was, it's obvious that Duke is more committed to football - which makes life for Va Tech and the rest of the Coastal division (however long divisions last) much tougher.

It is a welcome change, IMO.

No offense taken, NOBODY expected Duke to win the Coastal last year! It kind of spelled the "end of civilization" or apocalypse within the Duke family as well: the football program is claiming its place -- in the ACC, as well as at Duke.

The "click" happened about 6-8 years ago, it's just taken this long to translate into results on the field. Realignment had something to do with it (considering the fate of Kansas had the Big 12 fallen apart), but more the realization that football has really taken over college sports revenue (in some part because the NCAA controls the basketball postseason, but also because it's more popular). Playing at the highest level of college football without making the required commitment of support and resources is a losing hand (which Duke had deliberately held for 40 years). They realized that football doesn't have to be a drain, and investment in it can pay off.

ken d said:
That happens every so often. I think the last time was when Spurrier was coach, and Duke eased up a bit on academic exception admissions. I wouldn't count on the current attitude lasting too long if Cut were to leave.

Hiring Spurrier 27 years ago was pure dumb luck on Duke's part, it had nothing to do with Duke's commitment to football at the time. He was an unemployed ex-USFL coach with no college head coaching experience and a few years as a Duke assistant when Duke hired him. He stayed for three seasons, long enough to prove his chops and get an offer from Florida. Goldsmith (hired from Rice) had a 8-4 year in 1994 and lost in the Hall of Fame bowl. Nothing since, until Cut.

Unlike the Spurrier run, the current improvement is not dumb luck, it's part of a plan. If Cut retires from coaching tomorrow (he's not taking another job -- turned down Tennessee a few years ago), the Duke coaching search will be very different than the ones that produced Carl Franks and Ted Roof. The wallet will be open for someone with high level college head coaching experience (like Cutcliffe had). It's also a much more attractive job than it was 10-20-30 years ago. Unlimited resources, high potential, relatively low fan expectations.

I don't think the hiring of Spurrier reflected a change in Duke's commitment to football. I think the change came from his insistence that Duke ease up on their admission standards a bit after he got there. In any case, it didn't last long.