Gus Malzahn takes a beating sometime as the head coach of the football program at Auburn University. let's not kid ourselves though, it's a program. There are tons of moving pieces to any college football program, and coaching the team is just one part.
The head coach is the person in charge of the football team, and it's day to day operations. Recruiting, team functions, and scheduled practices, off season workouts all fall under the purview of the head coach.
How the team travels, football facilities, and athletic administration are not duties for head coaches on a normal basis. Sure, he has a voice in facility amenities, such as a theatre, or how many meeting rooms and so on. The head coach does not have the final voice on whether he gets his wish or not.
These decisions fall on the Athletics Director, the University President, and the board of directors. This is where the money flows to and from. This also is where Auburn has fallen way behind.
While Auburn may have better facilities than 97%*** of the college football world, it's the upper 3% they wish to be recognized with. With every month that passes, Auburn falls farther and farther behind.
I have stated over and over recruiting is the life's blood of college athletics. My prediction is this: If Auburn continues to waffle on ALL of it's sports program facilities, it will continue a downward spiral.
Yes. Auburn has sported some great teams in recent years. What current recruits see when they visit, is not the most modern, and certainly not the "coolest" facilities in the conference. WHY?!?!
Recently we have seen many top end recruits choose other places to play, and at least part of the reason is facilities.
Keep in mind, facilities in and of itself won't sway recruits when they can be compared to other top programs. It's when they don't compare, where the problems arise.
The message recruits get is a lack of commitment from the university, so why would we expect them to commit to Auburn? Those who lead Auburn must change their mindset as it pertains to facilities.
Track and Field, Softball, Baseball, and Football all are in desperate need of facility upgrades. It MUST get done!
Yes, winning cures a lot of problems. I won't argue against that. Facilities show a commitment by the university, no matter who the coach is.
War Eagle!
*** statistical information not available = my best guess 💀
