Would be interesting to see those coaches who were previously very successful at mid-major and how they are doing now at P5 level. Any examples from recent years?
Reading through responses, I jumped the gun on the Big 10 academics measured against the WCC. I will stick by the coaches being a higher level than all three of those mentioned leagues, but not the academics over the Big 10. I stand corrected on that one.
MFM stands out as one of the worst examples when she went to Miami. Golan at Minnesota an example of when that goes well (except maybe for this past year). Ambrose went from Penn to Vanderbilt. I don’t know how he has done compared to the previous coach if you look at RPI and Massey. I’m sure there are a lot more.
MFM was indeed a spectacular disaster. Sub-par coach at Albany that somehow got an ACC job in Miami and somehow now a US soccer scout which is hilarious. Sarah Barnes did very well at George Washington and has struggled at Miami as well in her short time there and had a decent number of transfers out. But it’s too early to tell to make a judgment on her yet. Verdict not out yet on Nate Norman at Notre Dame. Did well at Western Michigan and one year at Liberty. In two years with the Irish they didn’t make the tournament one season and then went to the second round this past year. That program should be College Cup contenders. Too early to tell on him there yet. Eddie Radwanski has done very well in taking over Clemson, after doing superbly at UNC-Greensboro. That Clemson was driven to the ground by former UVa assistant Hershey and Radwanski built that program up from a mess he inherited to making them a legit ACC contender. Amanda Cromwell did well going from UMBC, to then UCF, to winning a national title at UCLA. In the Big 10 Jennifer Klein has done well in a short time since being a head coach at Michigan after leaving as a USC assistant. Michael Moynihan also made the transition well from Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Northwestern. Don’t have as many examples as coaches that didn’t do well. Coaches that do well are going to be much more memorable than the ones that didn’t do well and were let go, I suppose. Will go out on a limb and say Sian Hudson will be on the not so successful list when we look back in a few years. One thing to look at also is if being a Power 5 assistant to then a Power 5 head coach is a more successful route than a successful mid-major coach to a Power 5. Would have to think there are good and bad examples for either scenario. Comes down to what will be the best fit for a particular program at the time.
Sigh....the title of this thread is Top Mid Major Coaches so this will be the last that I will comment on this matter. This is long so I apologize for that. Again, you are off base with your statements. Also, your reading comprehension is lacking and you seem to be a little selective in remembering what you stated in prior posts. First of all, Purdue is not in the same echelon as Northwestern or Michigan. Purdue is an excellent school but in terms of its academic prowess in the B1G, it is probably somewhere around the 5-6 range. It seems as if you have some sort of a tie to or affiliation with Purdue. Schools ahead of Purdue are, of course, Northwestern and Michigan. Maryland, and Ohio State are probably in the 3 & 4 positions. Wisconsin would probably be next in line with Purdue and Illinois close behind. Indiana would probably be next. College Data gives a good idea of the selectivity of schools, the academic levels and strength of incoming freshmen, etc. Below is the admission data of the B1G schools that I mentioned: Northwestern - https://www.collegedata.com/college/Northwestern-University/?tab=profile-admission-tab Michigan - https://www.collegedata.com/college/University-of-Michigan/?tab=profile-admission-tab Maryland - https://www.collegedata.com/college/University-of-Maryland/?tab=profile-admission-tab Ohio State - https://www.collegedata.com/college/Ohio-State-University/?tab=profile-admission-tab Wisconsin - https://www.collegedata.com/college/University-of-Wisconsin-Madison/?tab=profile-admission-tab Purdue - https://www.collegedata.com/college/Purdue-University/?tab=profile-admission-tab Illinois - https://www.collegedata.com/college...t-Urbana-Champaign/?tab=profile-admission-tab Indiana - https://www.collegedata.com/college/Indiana-University-Bloomington/?tab=profile-admission-tab Unless you believe that the data is false, it is shown that being admitted to Northwestern, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio State, and Wisconsin is more difficult than being admitted to Purdue. If, as you say, Purdue is "far and away" one of the best schools in the B1G, why is it more difficult to be admitted to some of the other B1G schools that you consider to be "crap" schools or, as you softened up, schools that are "good but not great"? Commenting on your comprehension, or what you assumed that I implied and you inferred, show me my statement implying that the "Big10 top to bottom has terrific academics." I don't believe that I implied that. The implication was that even the schools that would be considered the "bottom" B1G schools (those would probably be Iowa, Michigan State, and Nebraska), have solid academics. I never stated that the academics were great at those schools. It also appears that you inferred from my statements that I hinted that Florida & Georgia were in the same category, academically, as Vanderbilt. You may want to reread my statement because that is not what I wrote. As user Almost Done stated, Florida and Georgia are not in the same zip code as Vanderbilt. Touching on your selective memory of what you wrote, did you not state that other than Northwestern, Michigan, and Purdue that the other B1G schools are "crap schools"? Or am I thinking of someone else? Above you state "Again, not intending to offend" but calling a school a "crap school" clearly sounds as if you are intending to offend. You also state that you "don’t knock anyone’s choice." I would say that calling a school a "crap school" could be construed as knocking a choice. Prior to entering private practice, I was on faculty of one of the "crap schools." I also have a degree from one of the "crap schools." I also have a degree from the University of Chicago and while it was probably a lot more difficult to be admitted to UC, the crap school that I attended prepared me very well. I currently have a kid at one of the "crap schools" and another that graduated from one of the "crap schools." The graduate is in her second year of medical school and is doing well. She was prepared quite well for the rigors of medical school by the "crap school." Hopefully she was taught the arteries of the heart and will be able to differentiate the left anterior descending artery from the left circumflex artery. I assume that her A&P 101 prof at the "crap school" she attended taught her that. In closing, I am going comment on your "chest beating" statement. Who is beating their chest? I certainly wasn't. You appear to have had a hard time keeping up with how this discussion started and progressed. Sam Miami stated that the WCC "clearly" had better academics than the B1G, Big 12, and SEC (to Sam Miami's credit, he stated that he was wrong in stating that the WCC had better academics than the B1G). I merely pointed out that the B1G probably had better academics than the WCC and gave specific examples. That is when you chimed in with this comment: If pointing out that you are sorely mistaken by referring to schools other than Northwestern, Michigan and Purdue as "crap schools" is chest beating, then so be it. Perhaps you need to be more measured and careful with your comments, PowerSoccer. There are probably parents reading this that have kids that attended or that are attending one of the "crap schools." There are probably also parents here that attended one of the "crap schools." I never stated or implied that the B1G schools, other than Northwestern, are the academic peers of the Ivies, the Stanfords, the Vanderbilts, the UAA schools, most of the NESCAC schools, etc. It really doesn't matter, either. What does matter is that every student or student-athlete be at a school that gives them the best chance to succeed in the classroom and on the field if that is what they want. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.
You clearly struggle with reading comprehension as I mentioned that each school has strengths and weaknesses. Certain majors are very strong at USC for example but the overall school is not as strong as its top programs. The same applies to Purdue and nearly any other school. Sorry I touched a nerve, but you seem to have a very high opinion of yourself and come across as a complete know it all, while at the same time having the insecurity of someone not agreeing that your university was wonderful. Admission stats are not the defining factor of a university. Certainly, selectivity comes into play, but those numbers can be skewed for the reason I mention above (1-2 terrific programs). Research. Job placement. Alumni base. They all come into play and they are not quite as easy to define. You clearly have your opinion and are entitled to it, but you should also be aware that your opinion (nor mine for that matter) is not any more valuable than anyone else’s. The Big 10 has some fine schools as I’ve said. It also has some weak ones. You were also not correct that the Big 10 is stronger than the WCC. On what grounds? What criteria? What programs? Law schools? Communications? Pre-law? Engineering?You throw around flippant comments as the authority on the matter but your research is flimsy at best. I’m sorry that I offended your institution. I shouldn’t have said it was “crap” (without knowing which one it is), but you shouldn’t throw around statements about other conferences that you couldn’t possibly back up with facts in a month’s worth of Sundays. My comment was flip because your comment that preceded it came across as arrogant. Instead of unintentionally insulting others, I should have left them to analyze you on their own instead of pointing it out for them.
Some say these forums are like therapy. Why don't you folks just get on a call and talk it out? Or meet at Starbucks and hug it out? That's a lot of paragraphs Not about good mid-major coaches. Start a new thread. Definitions and perceptions of school quality is an interesting topic. Discuss.....elsewhere.