I respectfully disagree. It’s a winning mindset. You dont have to be a thug to win at the highest levels of any sport. Football included.
Do you think the cultural mindset of 18 - 22 year old caucasian (mostly) midwest females is different than the mindset of 18 - 22 year old mostly minority inner city males? Softball doesn't involve the aggression and violence that is prevalent in football. Agree we don’t need thugs but there is a wide range between thug and sunday school. Agree that principles and respect are an important part of winning but religion isn't required to require respect and have principles
Agree with the generalization however getting back to the OP, I dont think a coach or AD wearing their religion on their sleeves is a negative impact.
My questions isn't related to the AD as I doubt e has much interaction with the players or input on the selection of coaches. If a program limits their pool of potential recruits or coaches to those that share/practice similarly held religious beliefs it would seem to be common sense that this would reduce the number of potential recruits/coaches to choose from. That is simple math. And to be clear, I have no objection to people of faith practicing their faith in their personal lives but I think that if that faith is impacting major decisions at work, it is worthy of conversation with respect to the impact that has on the program.
and from what I have heard, he doesn't allow any blue language on the practice field either. I have no basis of information on how much further his faith permeates into the culture of the program but would appreciate an honest discussion of the issue. Where do the majority of Clemson's recruits come from and is that the same demographic of our recruiting base? And when comparing to Clemson, we must remember that Clemson doesn't compete in the SEC and, imo, that makes a big difference.
requiring is a strong word that leaves a lot of room for other things. At Clemson, it was widely documented that certain activities were encouraged and those that failed to participate may have been marginalized to the benefit of others that did participate. I have no knowledge (other than rumors) of anything similar at UF but this discussion has been a third rail of discussion on this board so I appreciate the civil discussion and would appreciate honest feedback from those closer to the program as how the issue impacts the day-to-day operations of our team other than no blue language on the practice field. More specifically, it is hurting our program with those recruits that may not favor a wholesome lifestyle if that is what is being encouraged or the cultural identity expected to be adhered to. Any person has inherent bias's that can lead to favoritism, myself included. How strong that bias is and the basis of it varies with each individual and I have no understanding of the impact, if any, it has in our program. I have heard rumors from some formerly associated with the program but I would not repeat them as I have no sort of confirmation outside of those couple of people.
I have 2 daughters at Bama and many of the players and coaches regularly attend their church (including Saban) on Sundays when they aren’t traveling.
Bowden’s players were in church most Sunday mornings. Ask Derrick Brooks if BB didn’t preach and practice it with players and you’ll get a very different firsthand account.
I think it may not help with certain Miami or south Florida kids perhaps, but I don’t think it’s a hindrance in any other of our primary recruiting grounds. In fact, I think it probably helps more than hurts overall, plus you probably end up with a better nucleus of kids that may not get into trouble as much, or be a cancer in the locker room as much. I’m not certain, but I think it helped with DJ Lagway and his family, and he’s the most important recruit we’ve had in a long time.
I have seen a significant difference when it comes to football coaches, what can I tell you [shrug]. Obviously not everybody walks the walk but our current crop of guys do (mostly). Napier is VERY religious, he’s just not one to make a spectacle of it I should point out that I’m not personally a fan of religion taking a prominent place in any aspect of a secular institution, including athletics. I’m just reporting what I see.
The teams representing a public institution should be secular. I have no problem with anybody holding beliefs, but our coaches should not be evangelizing. Not denying them of expression or having personal conversations with players who hold similar beliefs, but it should not be a prerequisite for players to share similar faith to come play college sports here. I haven’t seen Napier bible thump at all. He’s done a good job drawing professional boundaries where guys like Dabo haven’t. That said, being a Christian coach in a very Christian south has prove to help coaches recruit for decades. I would imagine it would be much different if a coach practiced Judaism or Islam, though.
With the community certainly. I do get the impression college football players and their families are in general more religious than the population overall. It's a little like military families. But I have no statistics on that.
