Balls of Steel

Finally, a long, strange journey for Tulane football is over.

Now the questions will have to be asked: What will happen with Tulane athletics? It's a difficult, almost delicate thing to address seeing as how the university is faced with a crapload of changes, some that will not make many people happy.

As I said before...whatever decisions are made with athletics by the Board, as long as it is truly in the best interests of the university as a whole, is fine with me. Of course, I pray that TU stays 1-A, but then again I'm not the one making the tough choices. The more pressing issue is getting the students to comeback to the school...this includes the athletes.

My gut feeling is that Tulane will not drop football or basketball or baseball. The NCAA will, hopefully, recognize the hardships the university and athletic department are under and will allow Tulane to temporarily drop the non-revenue sports while it recovers. This will help alleviate some of the budget problems that come along with sponsoring these sports while also allowing them to keep the core sports intact. It's easier to bring back women's golf, swimming and volleyball in a year's time...it may be impossible to resurrect a Division 1-A football program.

Ideally, when the Board meets to discuss the university department by department, it will recognize exactly what the football team went through in the name of the school. These guys had to wait almost 3 months to get relief from their duties...they had to travel hundreds of miles every weekend, take care of coursework, fend off the vultures from Ole Miss, and be away from their families during a time when they should have been with them. This, all in the name of Tulane. Pretty ballsy stuff if you ask me.

At the end of the day, whatever happens, I really hope...that Tulane wins the courage ESPY next year.