"A Golden Moment"

[Nukem2]

What exactly did dropping football cost Marquette?  The university has a healthy enrollment, a good endowment, a successful basketball program, etc.  I understand the medical college thing, but the football thing?  It would have been a second class program and a drain on resources - playing in the AAC or the MAC at best.

Yeah, football was not a good fit for this urban university.  There was little interest and was a cash drag which would only have gotten larger.  Keeping FB would have ultimately kept MU at a low mid-major level and BB program would have suffered and never gotten to the levels it has achieved over the decades. This has always been Packer and Badger country for FB.

[Galway Eagle]

Yeah, football was not a good fit for this urban university.  There was little interest and was a cash drag which would only have gotten larger.  Keeping FB would have ultimately kept MU at a low mid-major level and BB program would have suffered and never gotten to the levels it has achieved over the decades. This has always been Packer and Badger country for FB.

The only comparable example is BC having football right?

[Nukem2]

The only comparable example is BC having football right?

Different strokes for different folks.  MU did not have an on campus stadium and it's urban campus had no room for one.  Just a bad fit with administrations that were not at all FB oriented.

[The Sultan]

The only comparable example is BC having football right?

And is one of 2 D1 programs, and the only P5 program in New England. And they're not very successful.

Again where do you think Marquette football would be right now if they kept it?  What conference would we be members of? 

Easy to Monday morning quarterback that decision but I think it worked out great.

[Galway Eagle]

And is one of 2 D1 programs, and the only P5 program in New England. And they're not very successful.

Again where do you think Marquette football would be right now if they kept it?  What conference would we be members of? 

Easy to Monday morning quarterback that decision but I think it worked out great.

I think we'd be awful. Just was trying to think of urban private programs and while nova GTown and Butler are D1 they're that second division whatever it's called so I wanted to check if there were any besides BC that kept Football

[rocket surgeon]

We would have stayed elite, if we hired Denny Crum, who was interested, that would have put us into the category of teams that were elite beyond just one coach. I consider that mistake among the three big strategic mistakes of MU history.

no schnit hermie!  did not know denny was a potential-wow!  where would he have fit in?  MU must have felt obligated to hank, then rick.  looking back at denny's career between 1976-1986, he was pretty much a regular in the ncaa dance, sweet 16, a couple of final 4's and 2 rings.  would have been hard to pull him away in the middle of that run.  could it have been about the year 2000? 

can never get enough of these great memories doc-thanks!

on another note, reading MU's own joe declan moran's book, "goin' uptown".  forward by rick majerus.  ohhh sooo damn close.  joe was the only one given al's blessing to write his biography-"you can call me al"  there were a few other bigger names, frank deford, george reedy(another MU guy) who were shunned or not really encouraged if you will.  a couple of great reads!  if you call or contact joe thru his blog or email, he would gladly sign them for you.  his story is a good one too!

[GooooMarquette]

The football thing is a good question. In terms of an urban private university keeping football, it could have dragged our hoops down to oblivion...or it could have turned out like Georgetown or Nova with little impact on hoops but football playing at a lower level than other sports...or it could have gone the way of BC or Northwestern, both sitting in P5 conferences.

For now - and hopefully the foreseeable future - the BE has managed to keep pace with the P5 conferences in terms of exposure, recruiting and NCAA bids. I hope it stays that way forever, but you never know. A football program might have dragged us down...or it might have given us the kind of insurance that BC and NW have.

Bottom line: nobody knows for sure.

The medical school thing is far more clear. There was a short period where it was a drain, but NIH research funding (and later, funding by big Pharma and device companies) has helped to turn medical schools into the most prestigious and revenue-generating parts of many major universities.

[tower912]

Medical school:    Mistake
Football:   Meh.    As mentioned elsewhere, the list of successful football programs at private, urban universities is remarkably small.

[WarriorFan]

Great video!  Hadn't seen it before.  Thanks for posting.

[Herman Cain]

Medical school:    Mistake
Football:   Meh.    As mentioned elsewhere, the list of successful football programs at private, urban universities is remarkably small.

MU had a very good and dynamic football team in 1936. Made the Cotton Bowl . Showed the potential was there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXoX6zbQ9ZI

[brewcity77]

MU had a very good and dynamic football team in 1936. Made the Cotton Bowl . Showed the potential was there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXoX6zbQ9ZI

That's ridiculous. Using 1936 as a benchmark for what might have been? Come on, you can do better than that.

Boston College played in the 1939 Cotton Bowl. Followed that with the Sugar & Orange in the following 3 seasons. Did that prove the potential was there?

Nah, I'd say the next 40 years where they didn't get invited to a single bowl was a better indicator of the potential. Now they only get into bowls because there are 40 of them.

[mujivitz06]

MU had a very good and dynamic football team in 1936. Made the Cotton Bowl . Showed the potential was there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXoX6zbQ9ZI

Please tell me this post is a joke

[THRILLHO]

MU had a very good and dynamic football team in 1936. Made the Cotton Bowl . Showed the potential was there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXoX6zbQ9ZI

Really enjoyed that video, thanks for posting. MU should not have a football team.