The FSU Culture Problem Myth

A couple of weeks ago, RB Mario Pender was dismissed from the Florida State Football team for being a completely terrible human being. You do not ever hit a woman. EVER! No excuse for it. Jimbo Fisher as per usual did the right thing! With this dismissal, it did seem like a perfect time though to bring up the perception of Florida State Athletics to the country at large though.

There is a myth around college sports in general and especially Florida State Athletics when it comes to a culture problem. That being said, I do realize that Florida State has its issues and some things do need to tighten up. However, every issue at Florida State is completely overblown (other than when a serious crime actually happens and each time that player is dismissed!) and more reflective of the population at large. After reading this piece, you will see where I and so many other Seminoles are coming from.

First, this is nothing new, this myth it has been talked about since the early 90s and as early as I can remember liking football. You remember Free Shoes University? That's what Gator fans used to call us over a minor issue and when we started to become public enemy #1. The scandal was that agents bought $6,000 worth of Free Shoes for players. That seems like small potatoes today, but at the time was one of the biggest scandals ever, for some reason. Think of how many shoes athletes today get for free and tell me again how this is a huge deal. Also just try and tell me about a college kid that would turn down free shoes....I'll wait....

Oh, by the way one of those players that was linked to the free shoes scandal was Derrick Brooks. That guy, went on to become NFL Man of the Year. Derrick Brooks is regarded as one of the greatest humanitarians in the history of the league. He recently helped start a charter school here in Tampa. Brooks is well known for numerous charitable efforts. This is one of the greatest people to ever play football and he played at Florida State. While here, he was linked to that huge "scandal." I think we know that came out okay and any school would love to have Derrick Brooks as an ambassador for their program. The former linebacker now serves on Florida State's board of trustees.

Okay, so one good guy went to Florida State, so what?
Well, another NFL Man of the Year went to Florida State and played on the same team as Brooks. Warrick Dunn is that man who many would say is one of the best people in this country, not football players, but people. As of October 2015, Warrick Dunn had quietly given away 145 homes to single mothers. This dude dedicates his life towards providing a better life for single parents. I sure wish we had more ambassadors for college football programs like Florida State has in Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks.

The fantastic people to come out of Florida State does not end there....
Florida State has produced more NFL Men of the Year than any other school. This past year, Anquan Boldin, became the 3rd Seminole to win the Award. A school with a "culture problem" somehow managed to produce the most people worthy of being the greatest humanitarian in the NFL for that season. My favorite current football player won this award for the incredible amount that he does for his community. Sure is incredible since his school has such great culture problems,

So what?
You have 3 fantastic people that have come out of the school. That does not erase all the bad stuff they have done. Okay, let's look at every little issue since the "free shoes." We already talked about that issue already.

Randy Moss never played a game for Florida State. The school decided to give him a second chance after he was kicked off the team at Notre Dame, but he was unable to ever suit up for the Noles and was kicked out of the school after failing a drug test.

September 29, 1999, Laveranues Coles and Peter Warrick received $412.38 clothing for $21.40 after a friend of theirs illegally discounted the clothes. While obviously we all see this as horrible, I can see how a college kid sees nothing wrong with this. Warrick was suspended until the end of the investigation (2 games) while Coles was kicked off the team. The media would have you believe it is a double standard and that Warrick got special treatment Coles did not. What they won't report is that Coles was already on probation from the team for previous academic and legal issues. To that point Warrick had made no mistakes and 2 games seemed an adequate consequence for a college kid.

Travis Johnson in 2003 was accused of sexual battery by a female athlete. An all female jury acquitted Johnson after less than 30 minutes of deliberation. The case was pursued all the way to court though by State Attorney Willie Meggs.

Adrian McPherson tried to write a check to his friend forging someone else's name on November 18, 2002. Immediately upon hearing about the situation, Bobby Bowden kicked McPherson off the team. He was arrested and charged with felony grand theft on November 27. This was their starting QB and a guy that was 3-0 before his poor choice. McPherson was then charged with gambling in 2003 and bounced between the arena league and the NFL bench. Having nothing to do with this story, McPherson is currently the starting QB for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL.

AJ Nicholson was removed from the roster for the bowl game against Penn State in the 2006 Orange Bowl. The suspension was for an alleged sexual assault at the team hotel. When asked about the incident, Joe Paterno said "a pretty girl comes to your room, what are you supposed to do?" That quote by JoePa should tell you all you need to know about Bowden v. Paterno.

The Seminoles had an athletic cheating scandal across multiple sports that rocked the athletic department in 2007. What most people don't tell you though here is that it was an academic tutor that provided the athletes the benefits. The athletes were immediately suspended. There was also no coach that had any knowledge of wrongdoing. Most important to realize though is that FSU self reported the violation to the NCAA and enacted scholarship restrictions on their own! Quite embarrassing that this happened at all, but I am proud that the university took the accountability up themselves and self reported. They enacted some consequence on the athletic department immediately.

Preston Parker was kicked off the team due to legal issues.

Greg Reid was kicked off the team due to legal issues.

Greg Dent was kicked off the team due to legal issues.

Jimbo Fisher has kicked off every person that has had serious legal issues. He has let investigations finished when we did not know all the facts. Fisher also maintained that his players were innocent until proven guilty. Fisher has run a clean program and never had a team put on probation.

So let's be honest about what this is about. You people hate Jameis Winston and think he got away with something.

Let's take a look at Mr. Winston's past then.....
Jameis Winston became public enemy in 2013 when he was accused of rape. Almost a full year after the alleged rape actually happened and multiple extortion attempts. Jameis has not been charged by anyone that has reviewed this case. Not FSUPD, not TPD, not the state attorney, not a former supreme court justice in the state. He was not only never convicted of this alleged crime. He was not even charged with wrongdoing at all in this case. Not even in a code of conduct hearing by one of the most respected justices in Florida history. A judge that was chosen in agreement by the accuser.

There is other stuff he did though!

Sure, Jameis Winston shot BB guns, got a hookup at Publix for crabs that went wrong, and cursed in public. A college kid did college things. I have friends all across the country going to different schools, this stuff happens every hour on college campuses. Does not excuse what happened, but let's not crucify the guy. He was suspended for the crab legs and did community service and was suspended for cursing. Let it be. The guy has NEVER BEEN ARRESTED OR CHARGED. There are a lot worse characters than Jameis Winston playing this great game.

To assume some massive conspiracy involving Winston and/or FSU is insulting to far too many well respected and honorable people. You can believe FSU athletics, FSUPD, TPD, the State Attorney's office, justices, and lawyers all over the state or you can believe someone that changed her account multiple times and tried to extort money from Mr. Winston. Hopefully, you don't choose the latter.

Karlos Williams was another name frequently mentioned by the media. He was allegedly involved in a domestic abuse complaint, but no charges were filed and thus the case was dropped. Williams was also mentioned in some drug case, but it was only as some guy that the guilty guy knew. I know a few people from my HS that got arrested and are thus guilty too, we all do. This does not mean that Williams should be accountable for that in any way.

Dalvin Cook was accused of assaulting a woman outside of a club. However, after an incredibly suspect 911 tape was released and all the proof leading toward the woman lying, Dalvin Cook was declared not guilty in the court of law during a very short trial.

Shortly before the Cook situation arose, backup QB De'Andre Johnson was dismissed from the football team. Video was released of Johnson assaulting a female at a nightclub and he was dismissed immediately after proof of guilt.

And now, the Mario Pender issue happened. This is a very detailed history of the issues with Florida State Football Players, but let's not forget two important things....

1) State Attorney William Meggs
Meggs is well known as being a no nonsense district attorney that will prosecute to the furthest extent of the law. He also has a reputation as being more difficult on those involved with Florida State Athletics than the general population. Despite this though, critics will have you assume that Meggs covered up for the Seminoles and especially for Jameis Winston during his time as district attorney. Ignore the countless times he has tried to take down Seminole athletes, he is obviously a plant by the athletic department. That is why he pursued a rape charge against Travis Johnson with no evidence of wrongdoing, correct? Maybe he didn't pursue the case against Winston because Jameis is 100% innocent and even he realized any attempt to pursue the case would be futile.

2) No Seminoles Ever in Trouble in the League
Isn't it amazing that a team with this much alleged protection in Tallahassee and so many players drafted, never has an alumni with issues in the league. These guys are never in trouble outside of Tallahassee. Seriously, never! If the protection is so great, they'd have to get in trouble somewhere once they left that protection and enabled behavior. There are no cases though were Seminoles get into trouble in the league. Unless you count Randy Moss who never played a game for FSU or RB Sammie Smith who was drafted way back in 1989 there have been zero discipline issues involving people that came from FSU's program once they left FSU.

The facts are quite the opposite of what you would think of a school with a "culture problem." Instead of getting into trouble, FSU football players are winning awards for community service. If FSU has a "culture problem", I know a few other schools that could use a "culture problem." Let's help these other schools develop the incredible human beings that Florida State does.

In the interest of full disclosure before uncovering this information I will give my background and admit some bias (which most non-Seminoles do not do). I am a Florida State alum. I graduated in 2009 with a degree in Sports Management and came back to the school to get my Masters in Physical Education in 2011. Additionally, I met my wife at Florida State and that has just added to the fact that the school has held a special place in my heart my entire life. Now, knowing full well that I have been a Seminole fan my entire life and by reading this article, you can see things through my perspective.

-Noland

College Football Scheduling Issues

My favorite thing to watch on TV every year is college football. This is no different than any other red blooded American male. There are matchups I look forward to every week as I pointed out last week. It is really good to see exciting matchups all season long. These great matchups are always exciting to see and it is terrific to see some of the powerhouses step out and schedule elite out of conference competition. However, this does not always happen.

This year even my beloved Seminoles have fell victim to this trap. Usually, the Seminoles have some very strong out of conference opponents, but this year they play two FCS schools (well Texas State is really Sun Belt and not FCS, but I am still calling the Noles out!). This is not uncommon either for a powerhouse team. Half the SEC does it every year, by actually scheduling two FCS schools. Does that excuse the Seminoles weak schedule? No! It does however raise a question of how to get better football games. I answered that question with one, two, three posts last year. None of those are completely necessary though because all you have to do is make this type of scheduling illegal.

I have no problem with a team playing one cupcake early, but it should only be one game and it should only be allowed in the first or second week of the season as a tune up game. We want and we deserve better matchups as the American consumer. Florida State scheduling two games against such weak opponents should not have the 40th best preseason schedule according to the NCAA method. This schedule should be ranked much lower with those caveats. Sure, being in a power conference helps that ranking, but with two horrible teams there, it should be at least lower half, you would think. The schedule isn't ranked that low though and that is a problem.

Had any team that is guilty of this been only allowed to schedule 1 FCS opponent, that is about 50 or so better football games right there off the bat. (It would have also made scheduling SEC opponents easier. FSU does have matchups with Mississippi and Alabama in the next few years and they are trying to add a date with Auburn.) That is change I think everyone supports. Well except maybe the University of Florida....

The other power team in the state never plays anyone decent out of conference other than Florida State. In fact, the SEC as in general has been pathetic. Out of the SEC's 14 teams they are playing a combined 3 road games in Power 5 stadiums. Combined for the whole conference 3 road games in power 5 stadiums. One of those games is a rivalry matchup (Georgia v. Georgia Tech). 3 power 5 road games!

To get even more serious let's look at the Florida Gators real non-conference resume. The Florida Gators have not scheduled a non-conference game outside of the state of Florida since 1991! Since 1991! That means that they haven't really been tested outside of the SEC other than against Florida State. They haven't played someone since 1991 outside the conference and they don't even play Miami on any kind of consistent basis. Absolutely pathetic! That 1991 game was a loss to Syracuse by the way. Their last win in a non-conference road game was 1989 against Memphis State when I was 2 years old. That Memphis State team was 2-9. The last win for UF outside of the state in a non-conference regular season matchup against a team with a winning record came in 1947 against NC State. You read that correctly 1947. This team has the most pathetic history of scheduling opponents and more can be read about it here.

What about this year though?

This year, there are 88 teams with worse schedules in FBS than the Seminoles according to the NCAA method. That is just sad considering that FSU has two FCS opponents and Wake on the schedule for 2015. It needs to change, but before it is, lets look at the teams with the 10 worst schedules from Power Conferences.

10. Missouri Tigers SEC (73/128)
9. Oregon State Pac 12 (78/128)
8. UCLA Bruins Pac 12 (82/128)
7. Baylor Bears Big 12 (T-88/128)
6. Oklahoma Sooners Big 12 (T-88/128)
5. Kansas State Wildcats Big 12 (91/128)
4. TCU Horned Frogs Big 12 (93/128)
3. Wisconsin Badgers Big 10 (95/128)
2. Iowa Hawkeyes Big 10 (100/128)
1. Duke Blue Devils ACC(SOS 102/128)

Looks like the Big 12 has some explaining to do! Four of the 10 worst schedules in Power 5 are from Big 12 schools. Those with poor schedules include contenders Baylor and TCU. Let's see if that is brought up around playoff time.

Meanwhile the top 3 schedules according to the NCAA method belong to...
1. Washington Huskies PAC 12
Non-conference opponenets: Boise State, Sacramento State, Utah State

2. Arkansas Razorbacks SEC
Non-conference opponents: UTEP, Toledo, Texas Tech, UT-Martin

3. Miami Hurricanes ACC
Non conference opponents: Bethune Cookman, Florida Atlantic, Nebraska, Cincinatti

Not the most daunting non-conference schedule, but not cake either. Compared to the toughest non-conference schedule in my opinion belonging to Virginia....
UCLA, Notre Dame, William and Mary, Boise State!

Now, that is a non-conference schedule!

They don't all have to look like Virginia's schedule this year, but the state of college football would be a lot more exciting if they did. If every non-conference schedule looked a little bit more like Virginia's, we would be sitting pretty this year football fans. We sure would be sitting pretty. There will still be exciting matchups for sure, but we will get a lot of clunkers like Florida State v. Texas State thrown in there. That is a shame, that is an issue, and that should change.

Kudos to the Virginia Cavaliers though!

Until next week,

-Noland

NCAA Championships By Conference (2013-2014)

There is a lot of talk about which athletic conference is the best in the country. Usually, it defaults to the SEC because of their recent dominance in football. That conference sure has been successful, but as I have argued on here I believe that talk is inflated. Historically, the SEC has overrated their value in the sports landscape and their success. They also tend to take credit for things they don't deserve (like Ole Miss taking credit for an Alabama National Title because SEC!). Now, usually I do not try to indulge this talk, but sometimes I do. However, the SEC claimed 7 National Titles for the academic year (2013-2014) when they won 6 in NCAA sanctioned sports. They are claiming a title in the non-sanctioned sport of equestrian. That is like the Pac 12 counting a title in Ultimate Frisbee because Colorado won. I'd count Frisbee before I counted Equestrian, but that's just me. What's to be expected though when Auburn and Alabama claim national titles that don't exist all the time? Right?

Anyways, I decided to use the SEC's measuring stick since they are counting titles for the 2013-2014 academic year. However, I am only counting sports that are sanctioned by the NCAA. In order to save you time, I have separated these titles by conference. Additionally, I have only counted the traditional power (BCS) conferences.

ACC (5 Championships)
Women's Golf - Duke
Men's Lacrosse - Duke
Women's Lacrosse - Maryland (Leaving for the Big 10)
Football - Florida State
Men's Soccer - Notre Dame

The ACC had a strong showing during this past academic year with 5 championships. Eventhough one of those championships was by a team that is leaving the conference for the Big 10 with 14 teams. Louisville, will be taking Maryland's spot in the ACC and has just as good a shot to compete for titles next season. More importantly though, Louisville is much more competitive than Maryland in revenue sports adding to the conferences overall profile.

Florida State's win in the biggest money generating sport was huge for the ACC. However, I must admit that the win alone did not meet my expectations for Florida State overall. I thought that FSU would deliver two National Championships and they were very competitive in several, but not champions. The closest team was the Women's Soccer team that lost the championship to UCLA. Close doesn't count though and FSU fell short of my prediction. Can't complain about being champs in the greatest sport though.

Finally, Duke was huge this past year. They won the most championships in the conference with 2 and got much better in football. The Blue Devils took Johnny Football to the limit in the bowl game and reached the ACC Championship in Football for the 1st time in school history. Solid, but not spectacular year from the ACC as a whole.

American Athletic Conference (3 Championships)
Men's Basketball - UCONN
Women's Basketball - UCONN
Field Hockey - UCONN

The American Athletic Conference actually did pretty well on the championship front. This conference actually outperformed another power conference in the number of championships obtained. You will find that out later, but you will notice a trend in the national titles for the AAC. Every AAC title was won by UCONN. That's right, the UCONN Huskies won 3 National Titles in the 2013-2014 academic year. This school did a fantastic job in carrying the banner for the AAC. They owned the basketball world and showed up as big as possible in several sports. With UCONN tying a few other schools with 3 championships, the AAC should not be any more proud of UCONN. The question is whether UCONN will remain in the AAC much longer.

Big 10 (5 Championships)
Rowing - Ohio State
Fencing - Penn State
Men's Gymnastics - Michigan
Wrestling - Penn State
Women's Volleyball - Penn State

The Big 10 had a great year with 5 championships. They were led by a resurgent Penn State program that seems to have risen from the ashes of the scandal in a few sports. The Nittany Lions won 3 championships across their sports programs which is tied for tops in the country. Pretty amazing for a program that looked to be in shambles in the recent past. Their dominant volleyball team won another title and they were joined by Fencing and Wrestling on the championship front. A terrific season from Penn State.
The two other power programs from the conference (Michigan and Ohio State) also picked up a national title. Ohio State looks to be one of the favorites to play in the upcoming football playoff as well. The Big 10 is healthy as a conference on the championship front.

Big 12 (2 Championships)
Women's Gymnastics - Oklahoma (Co-Champion)
Rifle - West Virginia

The Big 12 struggled more than any other conference to get championships. These guys only picked up two championships for the entire conference and one of them was a split title. The other title was in rifle which many people didn't even know was a sanctioned sport. The Big 12 has got to pick it up. However, the Oklahoma football team is looking quite strong heading into the fall behind a big Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

Pac 12 (10 Championships)
Men's Tennis - Southern California
Women's Tennis - UCLA
Outdoor Men's Track - Oregon
Women's Water Polo - Stanford
Men's Swimming and Diving - California
Men's Indoor Track - Oregon
Women's Indoor Track - Oregon
Women's Soccer - UCLA
Men's Water Polo - Southern California
Men's Cross Country - Colorado

The Pac 12 had a dominant 2013-2014 Academic Year. These guys won 10 championships for the conference during the year which was the most out of any conference. Three programs won multiple national titles out of the Pac 12. One of those programs tied for the most in the nation by winning 3 separate national championships. Absolutely tremendous year for the Pac 12 from top to bottom.

When most people think of the Oregon Ducks, they think of all the crazy uniform combinations that the football team wears. However, Oregon is the birthplace of Nike and it was born and breed because of track. It is one of the many reasons that Oregon's track team is consistently near the top. This year the track program was beyond awesome. Oregon track won three national championships this past academic year. The men won in both indoor and outdoor, while the women won indoor. Absolutely amazing year from Oregon track.
USC and UCLA were no slouches in the past academic year when it came to sports. Each of these programs picked up a pair of national championships. Seven national championships between three schools is absolutely an incredible feat. Those three schools won more national championships than any conference just by themselves. Don't look for them to stop either. Oregon and UCLA are both strong contenders for the newly created college football playoff.

SEC (6 Championships)
Baseball - Vanderbilt
Men's Golf - Alabama
Softball - Florida
Women's Track Outdoor - Texas A&M
Women's Gymnastics - Florida (Co-Champion)
Women's Swimming and Diving - Georgia

So, we see that the SEC won the 2nd highest number of championships as a conference. An absolutely amazing job by the SEC, but not the level that their fans are promoting. They should be thrilled that they won 6 championships and proud of the conference. Everyone should be celebrating the incredible season that Vanderbilt baseball had, but that is not how they roll in the SEC. This conference has to justify that it pummels the rest of the country. It is a strong conference and better than the competition most years, but let's take a chill pill.
The SEC's championship total was boosted by the ladies of the University of Florida. They won two national titles and did so in impressive fashion. (Side Note: Interesting how when FSU girls dominate Florida it is because they were a girl school and UF doesn't care, but when UF wins its parade time). Florida had a very strong year from their women's athletic program.
The biggest win for the SEC had to be Vanderbilt's baseball championship. That championship put the SEC total at 6 and allowed them to finish in second place ahead of the ACC. Had Vanderbilt lost to the Cavaliers, the ACC would have had 6 to the SEC's 5. That awesome series victory for Vanderbilt was the banner moment of the season for the SEC.

This conference will again be strong in the 2014-2015 school year. It has several championship contenders in several sports. Next year they may pass the Pac 12 in championships, but for this year the Pac 12 reigns supreme.

-Noland