The House of Blue

I would throw UCLA in there as a basketball school with better than average football success, though they have defined almost inexplicable mediocrity of late.

Illinois would be another that is more basketball than football, but are almost bipolar in their success or lack thereof. Can go 10-2 to 2-10 in the drop of a hat. And even last year, started 6-0 finished 6-6.

The sticking point in this discussion is there are alot of basketball schools that dont do football on the FBS level or even football at all...i.e.

Georgetown
Gonzaga
Marquette

This was kinda my thoughts as well. Although I want us to be a national powerhouse in football, I'd be very happy with just being competitive on a yearly basis.

North carolina (but cheated to do it) UL,(off and on) Mich St, Maryland,

I don't really consider Kansas St, BYU, or Utah football or basketball schools, but all have had some success. I guess it dependsd on your definition of decent.

Just hear me out. I have always complained that UK's expectations for football are to low and my reason is this.

Its true that 2006 and 2007 were good years for football at UK but nothing was built from that success. No money was generated that went back into football. Now if 6-7 wins is the expectations of the typical UK fan then whoever is coach is always on the hot seat because one bad break, one injury, can turn a potential 7 win season into a 5 win season and then the entire "fire the coach" starts again.

That is why I do not blame Joker for what is on the field near as much as I blame the powers that be that have ignored the football program for 40 years and have hid behind basketball's success. Not since Bernie Shivley was AD prior to CWS being built, has every AD had these basketball connections.

Until funding is found by hook or crook expect a coach hunt every 5-7 years because the way it is now nothing will change in the long term and the long term is what builds a football program.

Whenever UK see fit to put it all together, they will have a quality coach who expects to win 9-10 games a year with the backing of the entire fan base. 6-7 wins should be easy when you play 3-4 sure wins a year or what used to be sure wins.

Missou, Michigan St, and Arkansas are all football first by far. They will always value football more than basketball.

Did you miss the part where I said at least?

But everyone in the state and every single Spartan fan would give up their basketball program in a heartbeat for a taste of a better football program. My father's from Michigan.......it's a football first and foremost state......basketball is a very distant 2nd.

I wouldn't consider Mizzou and Michigan State football first schools. They Johnie come lately. Over the last 15 years they have had more consistent success in basketball. Izzou has established MSU as a Top 10 basketball program. Mizzou will complete for conference titles in the SEC. Fortunately for us they won't win many as long as Cal is here.

Great post.

Moreover I wouldn't be surprised to find out that 90% of all the UK football fans list basketball as their #1 sport......and that they just like football, follow it, go to games, tailgate, and wish they would do well.

I think Ohio State has a pretty good record at putting both a top notch football team on the field and a top notch basketball team on the court.

I don't think that their long term football history needs explaining.

In basketball, an NCAA championship in 1960 seems pretty far away. However, final four appearances in 1999, 2007, and 2012 are not. They have also been very highly rated in many other recent years.