What Happened to Tulane?

by Taylor Williams

February 8, 2010 - When Tulane students reflect on their current and past experiences at one of the country’s best liberal arts schools, they remember the typical things- late nights studying for exams, Friday afternoons at the Boot, possibly joining a Greek organization. While events of this nature, coupled with the enigma and uniqueness of New Orleans, make the Tulane experience very memorable and special, it lacks major component- athletics. Hurricane Katrina can certainly be blamed to an extent for the lack of involvement of Tulane students in their school’s athletics, but equally deserving of credit is the absence of a solid, successful program to follow. While baseball has enjoyed a good season here and there recently, the biggest sport in New Orleans and all of Louisiana with the biggest following is football. It has been over a decade since the Tulane football program was prominent and worth following, dating back to the historic undefeated season of 1998. Most Tulane students nowadays are completely oblivious of their school’s past gridiron glories, mainly because the program fell off the map so sharply in subsequent seasons. So what exactly happened over the last decade that took the Green Wave from 12-0 and a final national ranking of No. 7 to a team that averages 3-4 wins a season and whose student following can be described as meager at best? The easiest and most obvious place to point the finger is Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophe whose aftermath precipitated major budget cuts for Tulane athletics. As a result, recruitment efforts were majorly hindered and school administrative support for football was cut drastically. Plus it was hard for any of us Tulane fans to get excited about football when our stadium was being used to house the homeless people of New Orleans. But these issues aren’t responsible for the demise of the program, which has been ongoing since Coach Tommy Bowden left for Clemson in 1999; rather they simple exacerbated it. This inevitably begs the question, “What made the Tulane program so successful under the tandem of head coach Bowden and offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez?”And the answer is its thoroughness and total integration on all levels. Bowden’s coaching philosophy, characterized by attention to detail, speed of attack, and constant evaluation of ALL players, pervaded not only his persona, but that of all his assistants. Everything about the program was calculated and meticulous, for every snap and every workout, for every player, and any mistake was met with major consequences. Suppose one guy decides to cut corners on his workout? Or one lineman doesn’t follow the correct blocking scheme in practice? For Coach Bowden and Co. there was zero tolerance; if one guy made a mistake, then the whole squad would pay for it, and the result was an overwhelming sense of unity between the players and the entire coaching staff. It may have been severe, but it was inspirational, and it got every player, from the starters to the fourth string to treat every snap like it was their last. But Coach Bowden treated his players in a first class fashion, as if they represented the top football program in the country, and in doing so won the support of the Tulane administration. The buzz around Tulane football became so powerful that even President Scott Cowen could be seen crowd-surfing at the Tulane games amidst the roaring and cheering as the Green Wave crushed their opponents. The offensive system relied heavily on innovation, and the explosive spread offense became synonymous with Tulane football. Rodriguez took the traditional 5-7 step drop-back passing system and turned it on its heels, introducing the shotgun formation, more screen passes, and original blocking schematics. The need to attack at all times was heavily emphasized, and the result was an incendiary offensive unit that averaged over 40 points a game. There was a tremendous amount of pride and swagger associated with Tulane football; to be a member of the Green Wave program meant that you were a first class student, athlete, and young man. The approach was revolutionary and contagious, and the bottom line was that it worked. But those days have long since been over. Nowadays, with the impaired recruiting system and reduced administrative support, the Tulane team under Coach Bob Toledo has changed fundamentally. The offense is much more run-oriented, although still creative in that capacity, and displays the West Coast trends of heavy tight end and fullback use. They can still put up points, but the bottom line is that it lacks the explosiveness that made Tulane such an exciting team to watch. Essentially though, the competition really hasn’t changed, the offense can still score, and Louisiana is still churning out 5 star recruits as well as any state out there, yet Tulane is still floundering. The formula for success has already been documented, and now we just need to find a way to get everyone, from the administrators to the students to the players and coaches, on the same page. Tulane students deserve a football program whose exploits will form a cornerstone of their college experience. And the means of achieving it is right under our noses in our program’s recent history.