From ‘beached whale’ to contender, inside Tulane’s turnaround
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
NEW ORLEANS — Considering that half-century in the college football netherworld, Tulane is amid what can only be considered a football renaissance. Spearheaded by former coach Willie Fritz and perpetuated by first-year coach Jon Sumrall, Tulane has won the American Athletic Conference (2022), beaten USC in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and is ranked No. 25 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Few could have projected Tulane’s place in the national conversation before the recent surge, as Tulane (8-2) looms as an improbable contender — along with No. 13 Boise State and No. 24 Army — for the CFP bid that goes to the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion.
“They were a beached whale for a lot of years and decades,” former Tulane athletic director Kevin White told ESPN. “The schizophrenia from the campus community was real, relative to college athletics. You’d put on a helmet and shoulder pads when you went to the board meetings.”
These days, the helmets and shoulder pads are saved for the games.
And Tulane has a coach in Sumrall, 42, who is considered to be one the most promising in the sport and embodies the institution’s grander ambitions that come with the taste of success.
And that puts Tulane in a compelling place as a university, as it’s seeing the benefits of recent football relevance and pondering the investments required to stay in the mix and, someday, position itself for a power conference.
“To be able to sustain success is really rewarding, I think, for everybody involved,” Sumrall said in his office last week. “Our players, our staff and the university as a whole, the challenges that come with mid-major football Group of 5 football if you will. Anytime right now you feel like a coach leaves, you’re like, ‘All right, this could go really bad.’ But we’re very fortunate to, things have stabilized.”
Tulane is undefeated in the AAC and a win at Navy (7-2) on Saturday (noon ET on ESPN2) would clinch a spot in the program’s third consecutive conference title game. Tulane beat UCF two years ago, lost to SMU last season and would play Army with a win Saturday.
That type of consistent success — as often happens at the mid-major level — has led to turnover. Athletic director Troy Dannen left for Washington (then soon again for Nebraska) after hiring Fritz in December 2015 and building the program with him. Fritz left for Houston after going 23-4 his final two seasons and beating USC in the Cotton Bowl following the 2022 season.
And Tulane has found itself institutionally trying to both sustain and maximize the success. It hired Huron Consulting, of which White is a senior adviser, to do what COO Patrick Norton calls a “basic diagnosis” of the athletic department.
“[Athletics is] really important to our brand,” Norton said. “Now, how do we capitalize on that? That’s still, I think, in some ways to be determined. I mean, this is fairly recent for us, success from the Cotton Bowl, which was really an amazing experience for the university. One that we hadn’t gone through in a very, very long time.”
One of the clearest signs of Tulane’s football aspirations came immediately after last season. In the wake of Fritz’s departure to Houston and in essentially athletic director David Harris’ first week on the job, they lured the hottest coach in the Sun Belt. Sumrall had won back-to-back league titles at Troy while going 23-4, and drew interest in the last cycle from Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
Sumrall agreed to a six-year deal that’s believed to be near the top of the AAC. For a place that lagged behind so far and for so long, Harris’ immediate aggression and commitment showed that Tulane didn’t want to drift off the map for another half-century.
“Jon has had a great impact on us,” Harris told ESPN. “I think his name and his success coming in the door gave what we were continuing to try to build here at Tulane, immediate credibility because people knew his background, his success, what he had been able to do at Troy, the connection that he had had here [as a former assistant].”
To remain in the conversation for the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion, Tulane will need to keep winning and get help from some of Boise State’s Mountain West foes. But it’s entirely viable, and a testament to the school’s ability to maintain through significant turnover.
Tulane’s place in the national conversation is a fitting dividend from it’s increased investment in football. It was an object of the desire of the Pac-12 and continued success could vault it into conversations as leagues remain in flux.
Norton said that the travel in the Pac-12 loomed as an issue for Tulane and the school didn’t see a certain financial benefit from a move.
“We were leaving something that is more certain to less certain,” Norton said, “and frankly, it’s not the Pac-12 that we always knew, that we grew up with that John Wooden and UCLA and USC. It just wasn’t the same. I’m not saying that these schools aren’t solid, very good schools, but it’s not the same. And it was different than what we wanted, and so I think the decision wasn’t that hard, but we listened.”
But being courted by a league is a sign of Tulane’s evolution and success in athletics. And Sumrall said he has felt the support.
“I think that the readiness and the commitment is real,” Sumrall said. “I think that the university is seeing what football can do for the university. It’s galvanized so many people and I think it’s created a lot of exposure, and I think that that only empowers the desire to maybe help it grow even further.”
Sumrall spent three as an assistant coach at Tulane from 2012-14. He loved the city, watched guys like Leonard Fournette and Odell Beckham Jr. play high school ball. He loved the culture of the city — his favorite steakhouse is Mr. John’s down on St. Charles Avenue, and he has dabbled with the alligator cheesecake at Jacques-Imo’s. He always thought the collision of local talent and the city’s uniqueness could yield big dividends for a program stuck in neutral so long.
“So to me, that mixture of things was something that stood out to me when I was here previously,” Sumrall said. “And then the moment that’s been created with the most recent success the last few years really showed, I think, that there was an opportunity to maybe capture some positive things that have happened.”
Sumrall’s final season as an assistant coach coincided with the move to Yulman Stadium on campus and to the AAC in 2014. That marked a move out of the SuperDome, a cavernous dark hole for Tulane games that Sumrall likened to “playing in a cave.”
Since he has returned, Sumrall has seen the team being on campus and the success under Fritz energize Tulane football in New Orleans. He complimented Dannen’s decision to bring back the Angry Wave logo — fitting for a quirky city like New Orleans — and said the excitement felt today can be linked to the campus hosting football games.
“Ten years ago when I was here, I don’t think anybody here gave a damn. The city didn’t care,” he said. “There was no connection. Now you feel like a real connection. So that part’s really cool.”
Sumrall values that connection. He and his wife, Ginny, live nearby and take frequent walks on campus. She joins him when he traverses campus on Thursdays and checks in on the players classes, something Sumrall likes to do as a way to connect with the players. His presence there also stresses the academic component, which is critical at Tulane.
The roster that Sumrall as assembled is a modern mosaic of what roster building looks like, as he brought in 58 new players, including 53 transfers. He also has benefited from holdovers at quarterback and tailback who’ve both emerged as stars.
Tailback Makhi Hughes leads the AAC in rushing yards with 1,209. He averages 5.7 yards per carry and has scored 13 rushing touchdowns and two more receiving.
Quarterback Darian Mensah has thrown for 2,059 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has completed 65.6% of his passes and has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the Group of 5.
Mensah has led a balanced offense under veteran coordinator Joe Craddock that is No. 4 nationally in scoring with 41.0 points per game. Tulane is also Top 20 in scoring defense and total defense under coordinator Greg Gasparato.
Sumrall’s teams at Troy had a knack for winning close games, as Sumrall joked they went a “modest 12-2” his first year there. So far at Tulane, his team has lost only to then-No. 15 Oklahoma and then-No. 17 Kansas State, and it has handled the rest of the competition. In Tulane’s eight wins, it has won by an average of more than 30 points.
As Tulane enters the finishing kick, the program will face the same micro conundrum that it faces in the macro as a university in athletics — retaining talent and spending enough money in order to remain competitive. That includes coaches, staff and players, in an era where the financial separation is distinct compared to the power leagues.
While there’s limited movement expected in Power 4 coaching this year, Sumrall’s 31-6 career record will make him coveted this year and beyond. Mensah, who has three years of eligibility left, has authored the type of season that already has quarterback-needy schools putting together bids.
The success for Tulane is real, but so is the annual challenge to maintain it. With the ambition and momentum Tulane has gathered comes the challenge of keeping it going.
“As you look at the next several years, and the changing landscape of college athletics, people feel that there’s really a place for Tulane within the college football landscape and just overall being a stronger athletics brand,” Harris said. “And so to be in this position is incredibly exciting. It’s a big responsibility because you want to be a part of keeping the trajectory going up and keeping the excitement going and keeping the momentum going.”
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Dan Wetzel
Week 0 is college football’s oft-ignored start to the season. The good stuff doesn’t generally happen until the smorgasbord of Labor Day weekend.
This year, though, it begins with a unique bang. Consider that, right now in some Dublin pub, two fan bases from Middle America are likely baffling locals by arguing not merely over their teams but the per-acre yields of wheat vs. corn.
It’s Iowa State and Kansas State to kick things off — in Ireland no less.
It’s Farmageddon on the old sod, or Farm O’Geddon, as some have dubbed it this year.
The rural-rooted and wonderfully self-aware rivalry is getting a rare but well-deserved turn in the spotlight.
These are two proud and solid programs. Both are nationally ranked. The Wildcats check in at No. 17, and the Cyclones at 22. It’s a Big 12 game with conference title and national playoff implications.
“It’s certainly a great opportunity, and we certainly feel honored to be able to be a part of it,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said.
It’s also a reminder of how, even when college football is doing something well, the sport’s self-destructive ways can hang over everything.
This is the 109th consecutive meeting between these two schools, a run that dates to 1917.
Yet in 2027, there will be no scheduled game; Farmageddon’s streak will be a casualty of conference realignment.
The series predates the old Big Eight, which is now called the Big 12 even though it has 16 members, complicating everything. Trying to manage a schedule in a league that large is a massive challenge. The conference relies on what it calls a “scheduling matrix” to get it done.
The Big 12 chose just four long-standing rivalries to be “protected” and thus forced into the matrix each season: Arizona-Arizona State, BYU-Utah, Baylor-TCU and Kansas State-Kansas.
Those make sense — each is an intense, in-state clash. K-State would rather assure a game against Kansas than Iowa State, just as Iowa State wants to make sure it plays Iowa, of the Big Ten, each year in nonconference play.
Scheduling is tough. Sometimes something has to give.
Still, Farmageddon’s run of games is longer than Texas-Oklahoma, Michigan-Ohio State and the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn. While Iowa State-Kansas State will be played again in future seasons, any break feels unfortunate.
Obviously, the rivalry isn’t nearly as storied as those. Both teams have endured lengthy periods where even mediocrity would have been welcomed. Still, there is something endearing about tradition. It isn’t just for the winners.
The strength of college football isn’t the blue bloods, or at least it isn’t solely in the blue bloods. Yes, the powerhouse teams drive the boat and command the television ratings. Every sport has that, though.
What college football has is everything else, everywhere else. The nation’s 136 FBS-level programs hail from more than 40 states. They are in big cities and tiny towns. There are big state schools and small private ones, religious institutions and military academies. Not everyone expects a national title. Or even a conference one.
This is an American creation that represents America in the broadest sense. That is: None of it makes sense except all of it makes sense. The passion. The pageantry. The pride.
That includes these weird neighborhood rivalries. Leagues were once formed because of familiarity or cultural commonality. You went to one school, your neighbor another. The geographic footprint mattered. Now it’s all about media rights and money.
The Big Ten has 18 teams. The Atlantic Coast Conference has two schools overlooking the Pacific Ocean. And the Big 12 is so big that the Kansas State-Iowa State rivalry — which survived world wars, droughts and depressions — can be brushed to the side.
Saturday’s game is a showcase for what needs to be maintained against the avalanche of money. It’s old-school stuff featuring two programs with reasonable expectations that mostly just want a taste of the big time and all the fun that comes with it.
So they’ve invested in it — as institutions and individuals. Try explaining to some Irishman that the 50,000-seat Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kansas, is larger than any sporting venue in the Big Apple of Manhattan, New York.
Or that Iowa State running back Abu Sama III is already a school legend for racking up 276 yards and scoring four touchdowns during a winter storm in 2023 at Kansas State.
That game will be forever known as Snowmageddon.
The tradition continues in Ireland, of all places, now with everyone watching. It’s a fitting moment for an overlooked series. It’s also a reminder to appreciate what this sport can produce, because even the good stuff isn’t necessarily safe.
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Joey Ortiz went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring Friday, leaving the NL Central-leading Brewers without their starting shortstop.
The Brewers also reinstated first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers from the injured list and sent outfielder Jackson Chourio to a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Nashville.
Ortiz left a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday after hurting himself while grounding out in the fifth inning. Manager Pat Murphy said he has been told it’s a low-grade strain, an indication that Ortiz’s stay on the IL might not be too long.
Ortiz, 27, is hitting .233 with seven homers, 43 RBIs and 11 steals in 125 games. He has batted .343 with an .830 OPS in August.
“I felt like I was finally kind of getting a groove going, especially offensively, that I was starting to swing the bat as I feel I can,” Ortiz said. “Things happen. It’s baseball. It’s going to happen. I’ve just got to do what I can to get back.”
Murphy said Andruw Monasterio will be the Brewers’ primary shortstop while Ortiz is out. Monasterio, 28, has hit .254 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 43 games.
Bauers, 29, was dealing with a left shoulder impingement and last played in the majors on July 18. Bauers is hitting .197 with five homers and 18 RBIs in 59 games. He had gone just 2-for-23 in July while dealing with the shoulder issue before finally going on the injured list.
“Since April, May, I’ve been dealing with it,” Bauers said.
Chourio, 21, hasn’t played since straining his right hamstring while running out a triple in a 9-3 victory over the Cubs on July 29.
“He’s got to be able to get comfortable standing on the diamond back-to-back days,” Murphy said. “He’s got to be comfortable playing all nine (innings) in the outfield back-to-back days, because you can’t bring him back here and then just [go] zero to 100.”
Chourio is hitting .276 with 17 homers, 67 RBIs and 18 steals in 106 games.
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