SelectionSunday
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From a recent survey conducted by ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil, in which she spoke with 20 high-profile coaches:
Which league is the cleanest? The dirtiest?
Congratulations, Jim Delany. Your league wins in a landslide. Of the 20 coaches surveyed, 11 said the Big Ten was the cleanest in the country. Three others cited the land where time stood still, also known as the scholarship-less Ivy League. (Although even the Ancient Eight earned one disparaging nod: "The Ivy League,'' one coach said before pausing to add, "I mean the Ivy League a couple of years ago, before all of that stuff at Harvard.")
But coaches cited the Big Ten's perceived willingness to police itself and rosters that "made sense," in which players traditionally come from the footprint of the schools they choose to attend.
"Look at Michigan State,'' one coach said. "They're there every year. When you see the dips, then you wonder. What happened? What didn't happen? But a guy like Tom Izzo, he's there every year because you know what his program is about and so do his players. There's a consistency and an integrity.''
As for the dirtiest, despite Mike Slive's best efforts to clean up the image, the Southeastern Conference was perceived as the worst, with three coaches partnering the SEC with the Big East and another tossing in the Big 12 (one coach went league-by-league, counting up schools). All in all, the SEC was named by 14 of the coaches.
"Oh no, it's not just a myth,'' one coach said about the SEC. "It's the truth.''
Others weren't so sure, however.
"Everyone says the SEC, but that's because of [the] football thing," said one coach. "That's the standard answer, but I'm not sure it's true.''
Added another: "The perception is the SEC doesn't have a good reputation. I don't know if that's legit or fair. I was on the other side 10 years ago. If a program starts getting better, starts getting kids, the question is always the same: What's he doing? He's gotta be doing something. And that adds to the perception.''
One longtime coach said the image is slowly getting repaired.
"I do think by hiring guys like Anthony Grant at Alabama, the SEC is on the right track to cleaning things up.''
Which league is the cleanest? The dirtiest?
Congratulations, Jim Delany. Your league wins in a landslide. Of the 20 coaches surveyed, 11 said the Big Ten was the cleanest in the country. Three others cited the land where time stood still, also known as the scholarship-less Ivy League. (Although even the Ancient Eight earned one disparaging nod: "The Ivy League,'' one coach said before pausing to add, "I mean the Ivy League a couple of years ago, before all of that stuff at Harvard.")
But coaches cited the Big Ten's perceived willingness to police itself and rosters that "made sense," in which players traditionally come from the footprint of the schools they choose to attend.
"Look at Michigan State,'' one coach said. "They're there every year. When you see the dips, then you wonder. What happened? What didn't happen? But a guy like Tom Izzo, he's there every year because you know what his program is about and so do his players. There's a consistency and an integrity.''
As for the dirtiest, despite Mike Slive's best efforts to clean up the image, the Southeastern Conference was perceived as the worst, with three coaches partnering the SEC with the Big East and another tossing in the Big 12 (one coach went league-by-league, counting up schools). All in all, the SEC was named by 14 of the coaches.
"Oh no, it's not just a myth,'' one coach said about the SEC. "It's the truth.''
Others weren't so sure, however.
"Everyone says the SEC, but that's because of [the] football thing," said one coach. "That's the standard answer, but I'm not sure it's true.''
Added another: "The perception is the SEC doesn't have a good reputation. I don't know if that's legit or fair. I was on the other side 10 years ago. If a program starts getting better, starts getting kids, the question is always the same: What's he doing? He's gotta be doing something. And that adds to the perception.''
One longtime coach said the image is slowly getting repaired.
"I do think by hiring guys like Anthony Grant at Alabama, the SEC is on the right track to cleaning things up.''
