Started By
Message
What prevents Vanderbilt from competing in Football using Stanford's model?
Posted on 12/10/15 at 6:53 am
Posted on 12/10/15 at 6:53 am
Stanford has made itself into a consistent contender in Football by recruiting athletically gifted valedictorians from around the country. They don't reel in the top level talent that many SEC schools do, but they do get really good talent, and never fail to have the smartest athletes on the field. They almost always have one of the lowest penalty counts in the country, and they all grasp the mechanics of the schemes they run/play very well as a cohesive unit within that system.
I'm not a sucker for the "awwwhh shucks, that's what student athletes are supposed to be like/play like", but there is some truth to the claim that being smarter than the guy lined up across from you gives you an advantage barring an insane talent gap.
Why can't Vandy do the same? The SEC East is atrocious right now, and there are plenty of athletically gifted kids in the south who also have high academic achievement/interest. Vandy is the best school in the South (I don't consider Duke a southern school. Those are kids from New York/Jersey who put on boots for the first time at age 18), and i'm sure plenty of recruits from the Southeastern United States would love to play in the SEC, stay close to home, live in Nashville, and still be able to receive one of the best educations in the country. A degree from Vandy gets your foot in the door almost anywhere in this region in the country.
I would think the financial incentive would be there for Vandy to invest in Football given their proximity to some of the best recruits/Football fans in the nation.
I'm not a sucker for the "awwwhh shucks, that's what student athletes are supposed to be like/play like", but there is some truth to the claim that being smarter than the guy lined up across from you gives you an advantage barring an insane talent gap.
Why can't Vandy do the same? The SEC East is atrocious right now, and there are plenty of athletically gifted kids in the south who also have high academic achievement/interest. Vandy is the best school in the South (I don't consider Duke a southern school. Those are kids from New York/Jersey who put on boots for the first time at age 18), and i'm sure plenty of recruits from the Southeastern United States would love to play in the SEC, stay close to home, live in Nashville, and still be able to receive one of the best educations in the country. A degree from Vandy gets your foot in the door almost anywhere in this region in the country.
I would think the financial incentive would be there for Vandy to invest in Football given their proximity to some of the best recruits/Football fans in the nation.
This post was edited on 12/10/15 at 6:57 am
43
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:01 am to Grovewater
quote:
What prevents Vanderbilt from competing in football using Stanford's model
Their AD and it's commitment to football. They have the location, the facilities are getting better, and the education is second to none. There's no reason they couldn't be the Stanford of the East.
This post was edited on 12/10/15 at 7:07 am
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:14 am to Grovewater
Because Stanford is better in literally everything.
Stanford is a top 5 university in the world that can recruit anywhere in the nation. Vandy is a more regional university with clout in the southeast but not much elsewhere.
Stanford has much better facilities and winning tradition. Vandy is still trying to prove that winning there is possible while Stanford has been and currently is doing it.
Ever visited Stanford's campus? It is truly something to see, located in some of the nicest real estate in the world. Nashville is cool to you and I, but it also has a stigma of being a country music place where a lot of recruits would not feel comfortable.
Bottom line, Stanford and Vandy are not even comparable.
Stanford is a top 5 university in the world that can recruit anywhere in the nation. Vandy is a more regional university with clout in the southeast but not much elsewhere.
Stanford has much better facilities and winning tradition. Vandy is still trying to prove that winning there is possible while Stanford has been and currently is doing it.
Ever visited Stanford's campus? It is truly something to see, located in some of the nicest real estate in the world. Nashville is cool to you and I, but it also has a stigma of being a country music place where a lot of recruits would not feel comfortable.
Bottom line, Stanford and Vandy are not even comparable.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:20 am to Grovewater
I agree with your post but competing in the SEC versus the PAC is a killer for Vanderbilt.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:21 am to Grovewater
More smart athletes in California than in Tennessee.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:27 am to Grovewater
quote:
What prevents Vanderbilt from competing in Football using Stanford's model?
Stanford does not play an SEC schedule.
Seriously, Stanford avoids playing pretty much any and all SEC schools. Seems like Stanford has played SEC teams like a dozen times in their football history and most of those were with Tulane when they were in the SEC. Mason came from Stanford and look at how he has done paling an SEC schedule.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:30 am to Grovewater
3 big reasons.
Different conference - While the PAC12 is getting better, it's still not the SEC. Vandy is competing in the best conference in the country which magnifies the inherent disadvantages already in place.
Different recruiting landscape - Even at Franklin's recruiting peak (top 20 class), Vandy was still in the bottom 3rd of the conference in recruiting that year. By comparison, a top 20 class this year would rank 3 or 4 in the PAC12. Easier to win in your system in the PAC12 with a bunch of solid 3 and 4 stars.
Facilities disparity - As some have mentioned, Vandy hasn't put what is sorely needed into facilities. Franklin had to twist our AD's arm just to get the indoor practice facility and was trying to get stadium upgrades for our dump of a stadium. This facilities disparity is a big negative when recruiting against other SEC schools with much better facilities.
Different conference - While the PAC12 is getting better, it's still not the SEC. Vandy is competing in the best conference in the country which magnifies the inherent disadvantages already in place.
Different recruiting landscape - Even at Franklin's recruiting peak (top 20 class), Vandy was still in the bottom 3rd of the conference in recruiting that year. By comparison, a top 20 class this year would rank 3 or 4 in the PAC12. Easier to win in your system in the PAC12 with a bunch of solid 3 and 4 stars.
Facilities disparity - As some have mentioned, Vandy hasn't put what is sorely needed into facilities. Franklin had to twist our AD's arm just to get the indoor practice facility and was trying to get stadium upgrades for our dump of a stadium. This facilities disparity is a big negative when recruiting against other SEC schools with much better facilities.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:43 am to Grovewater
They're in Nashville, not Palo Alto...
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:48 am to Grovewater
Stumbling on a Harbough
Posted on 12/10/15 at 7:53 am to Grovewater
Stanford and Vandy operate in different spheres.
Vandy is academically and athletically in more competition with schools like Duke, Northwestern, and UVA when it comes to recruiting.
Vandy is academically and athletically in more competition with schools like Duke, Northwestern, and UVA when it comes to recruiting.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 8:03 am to Grovewater
Because they're Vandy.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 8:05 am to Grovewater
quote:
What prevents Vanderbilt from competing in Football using Stanford's model?
It's the anchor down thing. If recruits wanted gay sayings and traditions they'd go to A&M.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 8:11 am to Grovewater
quote:
What prevents Vanderbilt from competing in Football using Stanford's model?
I feel its the recruiting footprint. Standford really only has to compete for recruits with a couple schools athletically and have no competition academically.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 8:46 am to Grovewater
Luck, happenstance, and the SEC. If Vanderbilt had lucked in to Harbaugh when Stanford did, they would have found some success. However, in the SEC, it wouldn't have been as dramatic, and it would be harder to sustain.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 8:49 am to Grovewater
quote:
Stanford has made itself into a consistent contender in Football by recruiting athletically gifted valedictorians from ar
Stanford's marketing dept has done a wonderful job convincing people that they don't have any different standards for their athletes than their regular students.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 8:56 am to Grovewater
Facilities, Weather, Location, History, Tradition, pretty much everything.
Not to mention, what percentage of the African American majority football players are stoked about the Country Music capitol of the world.
Plenty of other "unsmart" schools around Palo Alto with attractive girls as well.
What Franklin did at Vandy is incredible...9 wins.
Not to mention, what percentage of the African American majority football players are stoked about the Country Music capitol of the world.
Plenty of other "unsmart" schools around Palo Alto with attractive girls as well.
What Franklin did at Vandy is incredible...9 wins.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 9:00 am to Grovewater
The obvious factors are terrible tradition and fan support.
The main factor is the University is not committed to football. You need to have that first to change the culture.
The main factor is the University is not committed to football. You need to have that first to change the culture.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 9:03 am to Grovewater
There is a limited amount of 4 & 5 star kids who are smart enough to go to a Stanford, Vandy, Duke, or Northwestern. As a Vandy fan, they'd be a fool to not go to Stanford if offered. Also, although Vandy fans on average have a higher income than their SEC brethren, I'd say that we lack in the number of people that have the money needed to donate $10M+ to get our program competitive. To make those kind of commitments, you either need some serious family money (not just your local wealthy family) or to be the founder of your own highly successful business. The latter either tend to go to Ivy League schools due to their genius, or are randomly dispersed throughout the other schools, so it's almost a lottery by numbers. Vandy only has 7k undergrad - half the size of the next smallest school in the SEC (Ole Miss).
TL;DR limited talent, limited resources, and when you do have those things, they have higher priorities than Vandy football.
TL;DR limited talent, limited resources, and when you do have those things, they have higher priorities than Vandy football.
Posted on 12/10/15 at 9:06 am to Grovewater
why does Stanford suck in basketball? Stanford really has no competition in the west for academic qualified football players. They probably could pluck enough players from California to field a good team but stanford can go national. Vanderbilt has to compete with the good academic ACC school's in a smaller pool and its more difficult to recruit national for them.
This post was edited on 12/10/15 at 9:17 am
Posted on 12/10/15 at 9:12 am to Grovewater
Northern California > Tennessee
Page 1 of 3
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News