Nebraska Cornhuskers 2011 Non-Conference update: Week 13

Is that all of the local media use Fresno as a stepping stone to move on to other places and they don’t seem interested in holding Pat Hill and the Athletics Department accountable. They like to play nice so that they can write good stories and then move on to a bigger city. (See Andy Katz, I know there have been several others, just can’t think of them off the top of my head)

The prior coach (Sweeney) built the program to it’s peak (defeating USC in the freedom bowl in 1992) and Pat Hill has allowed the program to slowly decline since he took over in 1997. Only conference championship was a shared title his first year as coach in 1997 and has done little of note since then. Their greatest accomplishment with Hill as coach was the David Carr years (no conf championship) and narrowly losing to 2005 USC.

Many in Fresno are of the attitude that Pat Hill is better than the alternative, which would most likely be a young coach that would use Fresno as a stepping stone. Most in Fresno look at where the program was when Hill took over, which was in much better shape than Boise State at the time, and see where it has gone, which is nowhere. While Boise State has taken off. Most people don’t see why what is being done at Boise couldn’t be replicated at Fresno.

The truth is, Pat Hill has looked at several coaching vacancies around the country over the last few years, but has never really been considered a serious candidate by those schools. I know Washington was one and there were a few others. There is a reason that no one has hired Hill away from Fresno. No one wants him. Or, at least no one is willing to pay him as much as Fresno does.

There have been several setbacks in the Athletic Department over the years, budget cuts, lawsuits by fired coaches, the Tark years when it seemed like every player had a rap sheet, Title IX violations and men’s sports cuts, and more budget cuts. I don’t see Fresno ever returning to where they were 10 years ago, especially after the elimination of the school’s ability to accept Prop 48 kids, which was a major asset to them, as it was to Nebraska back in the day.