Jimmy Johnson, Phil Fulmer, R.C. Slocum.  Those 3 names are coaches that many college football fans are familiar with.  Johnson was a national champion coach at Miami, Fulmer the same at Tennessee, and Slocum had a very successful 14-year run at Texas A&M that included 5 conference championships.  Another thing all 3 guys have in common is they all will be going into the College Hall of Fame in the next class.  Which led many UL fans to clamor and complain for another name to be added to that list: Howard Schnellenberger.

Schnellenberger took over UL following 6 straight losing seasons.  A program that had only been to 3 bowls in its history, and had not won a bowl game in 28 years.  He took over a program that some people say was close of dropping out of Division 1.  Schnellenberger then led the Cards to a Fiesta Bowl win over Alabama, and another bowl win, while also setting the stage for a new stadium and entrance into Conference USA.  Cards fans continue to argue that without Howard there would have been nowhere near the success in the 1990's and beyond that UL has experienced.  But when looking at it from a reasonable perspective, and not one guided by fanhood and love of the man, you come to a fairly simple conclusion: Schnellenberger really doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame.

First things first, Schnellenberger actually doesn't even qualify for the Hall of Fame.  That's because a coach must have a 60% win percentage for his career to qualify.  Howard's was 50.9%.  For comparison's sake, Jimmy Johnson's was 69.9%.  Phil Fulmer was 74.4%.  R.C. Slocum was 72.1%.  But, you could argue what Howard did wasn't take over elite football programs at Miami, Tennessee, and Texas A&M and then keep the ship rolling.  What Howard did was BUILD programs.  He took garbage teams and turned them into winners.  At least that is what UL fans would like you to believe.  And there is some partial truth in that.  But there also is some myth in that, especially in the case of his stint at Louisville.  

Schnellenberger came in to UL following 6 straight losing seasons for the Cards.  There is no doubt that the cupboard was fairly bare for him.  It was a project and was going to take time.  But after FIVE years at UL, Schnellenberger's record was 22-32-1.  He had won no more than 8 games in any of those 5 seasons.  Remember that in years 4 and 5, those teams were comprised solely of Schnellenberger's players and went 8-3 and 6-5.  In the modern era, Howard would have been fired.  But lucky for him, he received a 6th year, and turned it into a 10-1 season and a Fiesta Bowl win over Alabama.  Certainly the high point in the program's history to that point.  But what people fail to mention is the Fiesta Bowl in 1991 wasn't the Fiesta Bowl it was today.  And Alabama in 1991 certainly was not the Alabama it was in most seasons.  In fact, Alabama lost FIVE games that season.  So while winning a "major" bowl over a traditional power was a step up for the program, it wasn't the step up that many portray it today.  In fact, after that amazing, elite season, do you know where Louisville finished in the national rankings?  14th. 

Nonetheless, it appeared Howard had the program on its way to becoming an elite school.  So do you know where he took the school following that Fiesta Bowl win?  To seasons of 2-9, 5-6, 9-3, and 6-5.  Only 1 bowl appearance in his final 4 years.  A record of 22-23.  HE FINISHED HIS CAREER AT LOUISVILLE WITH A LOSING RECORD.  I'm sorry Cards fans, but Howard's overall resume at Louisville is underwhelming.  Did he set the stage for the new stadium?  Of course.  Is this significant?  Of course.  But all that means is he should be in the LOUISVILLE Hall of Fame, not the COLLEGE FOOTBALL Hall of Fame.  

Some would argue Howard's time at Miami is proof enough he's a Hall of Famer.  He won a national title at that school and set them up for an epic run in the 1980's.  If he had chosen to stay at the school rather than leave for the USFL, he likely would have won multiple national titles, and would be more the deserving of a Hall of Fame bid.  But in reality, he only spent 5 years at Miami, and didn't win 10 games or more until his final season.  He did build that program up from nothing to something fairly quickly, but he didn't hang around long enough.  Jimmy Johnson also only stayed 5 years at Miami, but he won 10 games in 4 of those 5 years, also won a national title, and had a Top 2 team in 3 of the 5 years.  Howard only had the one elite team.  Fulmer had a 17-year run at Tennessee, and Slocum went 14 years at Texas A&M.  The 2 places Schnellenberger went 10 years or more at (UL and FAU) he also had a losing record at both schools.     

Here is the point: Schnellenberger had a very accomplished career.  He did things that most coaches wouldn't attempt, taking over terrible programs and trying to build them.  He that very successfully at Miami, but didn't last long enough to see the full effect of his building.  He did build Louisville, but almost did more for the team off the field than on the field.  And he made Florida Atlantic a Division-1A program from scratch, won 2 bowls at the school, but also left with a losing record and a final season of 1-11.  But Hall of Fames are based around the idea of individual accomplishment on the field.  Whether it be titles or wins/losses, for coaches you have to be successful to earn the honor.  Schnellenbeger has the 1 national championship, but so do many coaches (Larry Coker, Gene Chizik).  But his win-loss record was really not that good.  And certainly not good enough to deserve induction into the Hall of Fame.    

Wouldn't we all have loved to have teachers like this?  (Courtesy of Viral Videos)

An interesting story out of Arizona where Our Lady of Sorrows Academy forefeited its state championship baseball game.  Why? According to FoxSportsArizona:

"They had gone undefeated in the regular season and done so with just 11 players. The feel-good story turned a bit sour this week, though, when their championship opponent forfeited the title game because Mesa Prep's starting second baseman is a 15-year-old female, Paige Sultzbach.

Our Lady of Sorrows Academy, a fundamentalist Catholic school in Phoenix, declined to play Mesa Prep because of a strict parish policy prohibiting participation in co-ed sports. The school is affiliated with the U.S. branch of the Society of Saint Pius X, a group of conservative priests who broke away from the Catholic Church in the 1980s over church reforms."

So, what should Mesa Prep do?  Several suggestions have been thrown around, but which one do you think is best?  Here is our Body Shapes Medical Poll Question of the Day:

Kelling Paulino is a 13-year-old from New York that has played for 2 years on the Southhampton High School field hockey team because the school did not have a boys team.  But coming into next season, the school distirct has banned Paulino from playing on the team.  Why?  Because he got too good.  Paulino was all-conference as a 12-year old.  But once the distirct allowed Paulino on the team, should they have the right to then pull him off the team for getting good?   

So, our Body Shapes Medical Poll Question of the Day is:

Danica Patrick was at it again this weekend when after feeling "cheated" on the track, she ran another driver into the wall after the race was over.  This has been a trend for Patrick, as she has had several instances of complaints with other drivers.  Yet, she is still often she as the main draw at whatever track she is racing at, despite only 1 career win in 7 years.  Is it simply because many find her attractive?  Our poll question of the day brought to you by Body Shapes Medical is:

SMU's Larry Brown recently took some criticism for his handling of his new roster for the Mustangs, which included the dismissing of the starting point guard.  That player said Brown told him he just wasn't good enough to play for Brown and was asked to leave.  Brown is able to do this because currently, college scholarships are 1-year renewable agreements with the athlete.  Some have pushed for this rule to be changed.  So, our Body Shapes Medical Poll Question of the Day is this:

It appears the UK-IU series may be coming to an end after the two sides could not come to an agreement on WHERE to play the games.  IU would like the games to be in Bloomington and Lexington, while UK wants it moved to neutral site games.  Either way, it appears the decision will rest largely on Kentucky and John Calipari.  Many UK fans have argued that UK should drop IU anyway, claiming the reported abuse players and fans took last season was proof enough.  Others argue that is just part of the rivalry and those reports were of a minority.  So, in our poll question of the day brough to you by Body Shapes Medical: