An article in the Sentinel.

One part that bugs me:

"At Louisville, Schnellenberger saved football and laid the foundation for what is a top-15 program. No one thought it was possible, except Schnellenberger, of course."

"Schnellenberger won't reach those heights at FAU, but just guiding a program he started to respectability would be impressive. Then he can fade into retirement with his reputation, sullied by that sorry season at Oklahoma, restored"


This is the second article I have read mentioning the fact FAU WON"T achieve the success of other mentioned colleges. The other article was concerning Doherty. I have to paraphrase because It has been a few months but the article talked about the success of other programs and that Doherty would not see that level at FAU.

Lets face it, the tone of this board has been that with these 2 coaches, make it 3 with baseball, the sky is the limit.

I do agree with the article that there is more financial pressure now and the market definitely is more saturated than it was 20 years ago. I am not sure how that will play out in the long run. More colleges are competing for players, tv time, attendance, donations, etc in Florida.


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-mikec09sep09,0,7960866.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines

The link didn't post properly, here is the article.

Schnellenberger knows the way

Commentary by Michael Cunningham
Sun-Sentinel
Posted September 9 2005


Miami Gardens ? Florida Atlantic University finally got the spotlight from ESPN2 Thursday night and promptly froze up against Oklahoma State.

The Owls kept fumbling. They couldn't score a touchdown. They couldn't fill the seats, so many of them empty at Dolphins Stadium that not even the typical television tricks could hide them.

In other words, it was a great night for the Owls. Hey, progress isn't always pretty.

It can be painful, incremental and potentially embarrassing. That's the risk with FAU's fledgling status and ambitious schedule, which also includes Louisville and Minnesota this season and is even more ridiculous in 2006.

It's coach Howard Schnellenberger's way, and it's the right approach for FAU. FAU fans must agree after watching the Owls play with the Cowboys of the Big 12 Conference before wearing down.

Really, it shouldn't have mattered even if the Cowboys had dominated the Owls. FAU football right now is Schnellenberger's vision, and that's about more than this game, this season or even the next. Schnellenberger has a history of seeing potential where others see nothing but potholes. He deserves the benefit of your doubts if not your outright endorsement.

Miami Hurricanes fans already know about Schnellenberger's rejuvenating touch. Well, at least the few UM fans who recognize it's not the program's birthright to be good.

At Louisville, Schnellenberger saved football and laid the foundation for what is a top-15 program. No one thought it was possible, except Schnellenberger, of course.

Schnellenberger won't reach those heights at FAU, but just guiding a program he started to respectability would be impressive. Then he can fade into retirement with his reputation, sullied by that sorry season at Oklahoma, restored.

This task will be tougher for Schnellenberger than his previous works, and not just because the Owls always will bring up the rear to Miami, Florida and Florida State.

At Louisville, fans had no distractions from April until October. Schnellenberger coached the Hurricanes from 1979-83, when there were less financial pressures and the local sports scene wasn't saturated.

So Schnellenberger is thinking bigger than he should again, but how can you not admire that? It's never been his way to settle.

The Owls will get manhandled at times along the way, but that's OK. Try, like Schnellenberger, to see beyond that and the meager home crowds and embrace the potential rewards in the future.

People will yawn when the big boys pound FAU. They'll take a look if the Owls play them close. They'll take the Owls seriously if they somehow win, and maybe even start showing up.

Even if all that doesn't happen, at FAU's level confidence doesn't require victories. Playing big-name opponents and learning from it is enough at this stage.

At the very least, FAU can cash those sweet checks from guarantee games until learning to swim. Judging by Thursday, when the Owls never quit competing even if they couldn't stop sputtering, they'll learn fast.

That's the kind of progress that's easy to see now. Leave it to Schnellenberger to see the future.

Michael Cunningham can be reached at [email protected].

I have to admit that after last night's loss, I was pretty down in the dumps, mainly due to outrageously unrealistic expectations. However, after reading this (very well-written) article, I am enthused and excited again. As far as always coming in behind FSU, Florida and Miami, those programs have had decades to become established. I just wish I didn't live up in Boston so that I could go to the darn games.

We will make it, there is just too much untapped talent in Florida. Look at Omar Jacobs, the only offers he had were Bowling Green and Buffalo and he turned out to be a stud of a quarterback out of Atlantic High. There is enough resources to go around they just need to get that new facilities to attract recruits. I have a friend who played for Tenn. He said he rather go to FAU if they had a program then so he could play in front of his family... I guess he got home sick.