Category: Stanford Cardinal

This mistake by Stanford men’s basketball could haunt them for years to come

Stanford basketball coach Jerod Haase was let go on Thursday, magnifying the Cardinal’s mistake not hiring Mark Madsen last offseason.

They say hindsight is 20-20, but Stanford’s decision to retain head coach Jerod Haase after last season – instead of hiring prominent alumni and Utah Valley coach Mark Madsen – was viewed as a crucial mistake at the time.

And it looks even worse now.

Madsen instead took the head job at Cal and is clearly in the process of turning the Golden Bears around, while Stanford floundered in mediocrity for another season before ultimately doing what should have been done last year, letting Haase go.

Haase was dismissed shortly after Stanford’s loss to Washington State on Thursday in the Pac-12 Tournament, and held himself accountable for the team’s struggles in an emotional postgame press conference.

“I have not won here to the level that I expect,” Haase said. “Just like I hold my team accountable, I’m being held accountable, and I have no issue with that.”

Stanford failed to make the big dance in all eight of Haase’s seasons in Palo Alto, finishing with a nearly perfect .500 record at 126-127 overall. While he was able to add high-end talent as a recruiter, including Harrison Ingram and Andrej Stojakovic, the on-court results just were not there and the program wanted to find new leadership before moving to the ACC.

Meanwhile, Cal has a full year head start on their rebuild – and it adds a little salt to the wound that Stanford’s bitter rival is in a better place because of Madsen, who almost certainly would have taken the Cardinal job if they had made it available one year ago instead of giving Haase one more – ultimately uninspired – season.

With Clark and Bueckers making announcements, attention turns to Stanford star Cameron Brink

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers announced their plans for the future, so the women’s college basketball world turns their attention to Stanford’s Cameron Brink.

The star power in women’s college basketball is at an all-time high.

Not only is Caitlin Clark breaking records and dominating headlines, but Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink are making women’s hoops appointment television. The future is clearly bright with USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo breaking records in their first collegiate campaigns.

And while Clark announced she is leaving to pursue the WNBA, Bueckers is giving it another shot at UConn, teaming with Azzi Fudd for what they hope will be a fully healthy season and a push for a national title.

That leaves Brink, a superstar forward from Stanford, as the biggest star yet to make a decision on her future.

“So, I’m sure all of you are wondering, as far as my decision goes to stay next year or enter the draft, I’m still undecided,” Brink told fans Sunday during a postgame celebration after Stanford defeated Arizona State to clinch Pac-12 regular-season title.

The 6-foot, 4-inch forward is averaging 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds on the year, including a dominant 25 point, 23 rebound performance against Oregon State on Thursday.

Should she declare, most expect her to go No. 2 in the WNBA draft behind Clark, but with name, image and likeness licensing opportunities aplenty in women’s basketball — and far more eyeballs watching the college game than the pros — Brink’s decision is not an easy one.

For now, Brink and the Cardinal turn their attention to finishing the regular season strongly, earning a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament and making a push to bring a national title to Palo Alto.

Notre Dame fans could not believe their last 2023 football game was on Pac-12 Network

This went as well as you might expect for Notre Dame football fans … which is to say, it went horribly.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the most famous football program in the United States, ended their 2023 season not on NBC or ABC or Fox, but on Pac-12 Network. We knew this game was going to be on Pac-12 Network, but a lot of casual fans did not. On this Thanksgiving weekend, they were probably visiting family and wanted to settle in on a Saturday and watch their Irish play Stanford. Boy, were they in for a surprise.

Notre Dame fans had to madly scramble for any outlet through which to gain access to Pac-12 Network. They learned about FuboTV. They might have had to go to a sports bar. Some of them, as you will see below, had to just bite the bullet and listen to a Notre Dame radio broadcast.

Just like the 1940s!

The reactions are pure comedy gold, and you can see for yourself:

North Carolina State changed its vote on Stanford, Cal, SMU joining the ACC

Reporting from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! reveals N.C. State changed its vote from no to yes, giving the ACC enough votes to pass the Stanford-Cal-SMU plan.

We mentioned in August that North Carolina State was holding back the Stanford-Cal-SMU expansion vote for the ACC. The conference had 11 yes votes out of 15, but that was short of the 75-percent threshold needed to approve the plan. The ACC needed 12 votes. It had to change an 11-4 vote total to a 12-3 vote total.

Reporting from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reveals that North Carolina State was indeed the school which changed its position:

“’What does this do to the political landscape of NC State and UNC?’ asks one official working in the state.

“NC State’s football team and athletic administration arrived home after 3 a.m. Friday after playing Thursday night at UConn to open the 2023 season. Four hours later, the school casts the deciding vote.

“’It is insane,’ says one ACC athletic administrator.”

Reaction to the ACC approving the Stanford-Cal-SMU expansion plan was colorful and explosive. In a world of surprises, no one should be surprised about that particular detail:

Stanford going independent in football could happen and would make sense

Stanford women’s basketball needs a conference, but football could be indie. Here’s a schedule the Cardinal could create:

Stanford women’s basketball, an elite program for decades, needs a conference. Basketball teams need conferences to fill a majority of their schedule and participate in a conference tournament. They also need a conference for splitting and generating revenue. Football, however, doesn’t necessarily operate the same way. Just ask Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish aren’t going to the Big Ten. They don’t need to. Why would they split Big Ten TV revenue with almost 20 other schools when they have their own NBC TV deal and get every cent of it without sharing? Notre Dame can also customize its schedule. Given its national brand and identity, it can command top dollar. It is working well for the Irish, and it will continue to work well for them.

Stanford doesn’t have the brand Notre Dame does, but Stanford also has a brand that is more valuable than BYU’s. BYU was independent for a number of years before finding a Big 12 home. BYU played its own customized schedule much as Notre Dame did, but BYU was treated as a Group of Five team more than a Power Five team the way Notre Dame was.

Stanford would be treated as a Power Five team more than a Group of Five team if it goes independent in football — not as prestigious as Notre Dame, but more prestigious than BYU.

Below, you will find some reactions to Stanford being left in the cold with the other members of the so-called “Pac-4” after Friday’s Pac-12 bloodbath. After those reactions, we will present a 12-game football schedule Stanford could realistically produce as an independent, creating a mix of challenging games and attractive TV properties ESPN would pay for. (We refer to ESPN since Stanford going to the Big Ten would mean Fox exposure. If Stanford goes indie, ESPN would be its most likely broadcaster.)

Here we go:

Stanford takes home 2022-23 Learfield Directors Cup

The Stanford Cardinal once again sit on top of the college athletics world.

The race is over. The 2022-2023 Learfield Directors’ Cup has been won. The Stanford Cardinal will be bringing home the Directors’ Cup to Palo Alto for the 26th time over the last 28 years

The Directors’ Cup is awarded to the university with the best athletic department overall, earning points for the finishing of their individual athletic programs.

Stanford narrowly edged out Texas 1,339 to 1,306.5 to win the Directors’ Cup. Filling out the top 10 was Ohio State (1,210.75), USC (1,073.00), Georgia (1,072.5), Michigan (1,045.75), Virginia (1,032.50), North Carolina (1,030.50), Florida (1,1001.5), and Tennessee (1,000.75).

The other winners at Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels were Grand Valley State (Division II), John Hopkins (Division III), and Indiana Tech (NAIA).

The cup has been awarded annually since the 1993-1994 academic year when North Carolina beat out Stanford. Stanford, however, would go on to win each Directors’ Cup between the 1994-1995 and 2018-2019 academic years. The Cup was not awarded in the 2019-2020 academic year due to COVID. Each of the last two years, Texas defeated Stanford becoming just the third university to win the Cup. Stanford finished second in both years, now the Cardinal is back on top.

At the Division II level, Grand Valley State is a frequent winner as well. This is their 15th Directors’ Cup, they have won all 15 since the 2003-2004 academic year. This year’s cup is the first for John Hopkins at the Division III level as well as for Indiana Tech at the NAIA level.

 

All or nothing: Who will secure the last two spots to the College World Series?

The eyes of the college baseball world will be set on Hattiesburg and Stanford on Monday night.

Six of the eight spots for the Men’s College Baseball World Series have been fulfilled. Florida, Virginia, Oral Roberts, TCU, Wake Forest, and LSU have all secured their spots.

With those spots filled, the eyes of the college baseball world will be set on Hattiesburg and Stanford on Monday night.

In Hattiesburg, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles will look to take down Tennessee and clinch their first College World Series appearance since 2009, the only other trip to Omaha in school history.

Tennessee will be looking for its second appearance in three years, last getting there in 2021. They also made it in 1951, 1995, 2001, and 2005.

The Golden Eagles defeated Tennessee 5-3 in the first game of the Hattiesburg Super Regional on Saturday. Tennessee, however, would claim game two 8-4 on Sunday afternoon behind a quality performance from Chase Dollander who struck out seven over eight innings.

It’s unclear as of early Monday who will be starting for either side.

Then, at 8:00 p.m. on Monday night out in Stanford, California will be the rubber match between No. 8 Stanford and Texas. Both programs are looking for their third-straight College World Series appearance.

The Longhorns took game one of the series on Saturday 7-5 before Stanford bounced back with an 8-3 win on Sunday afternoon. Monday’s projected starters are Matt Scott for Stanford and Tanner Wilt for Texas.

After the final two programs punch their tickets to Omaha this evening, the College World Series will begin on Thursday and will be played through the June 24th weekend.

WCWS national semifinal teams are set, four remain

As the end of the Women’s College World Series draws near, the final four teams are set.

And then there were four. On Sunday, the four teams who advanced to the national semifinals were set. The last four teams remaining in the race to the Women’s College World Series are No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 9 Stanford.

All four teams are in action on Monday where they battle it out to see who will play in the championship series. There could be only two games or up to four games depending on which team wins. Tennessee and Stanford must win twice to move on to the championship series, but Oklahoma and Florida State need one win to head to the finals.

Stanford defeated No. 7 Washington and Tennessee took down No. 6 Oklahoma State to move onto the semifinals.

The championship series runs from June 7-9, if necessary, and is a best-of-three series for the championship.

All games will air on ESPN, all times in ET.

Monday’s schedule

  • Game 11 | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Stanford | 12 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 12 (if necessary) | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 13 | No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 4 Tennessee | 7 p.m. | ESPN
  • Game 14 (if necessary) | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

No. 16 seed taking down No. 1 seeds, Harvard women’s basketball did it first

In 1998, Harvard took down No. 1 seed Stanford to become the first ever No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

Before there was Fairleigh Dickinson University or the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, there was Harvard women’s basketball.

In 1998, Harvard took down No. 1 seed Stanford to become the first-ever No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

Harvard beat Stanford 71-67 on Mar. 14, 1998, and didn’t have another member of this club until 2018 when the University of Maryland-Baltimore County men’s basketball took down Virginia.

Oftentimes, women’s sports are forgotten when discussing history-making moments or worse, intentionally omitted.

When Fairleigh Dickinson University took down No. 1 seeded Purdue in the 2023 tournament, outlets incorrectly reported that there were only two No. 16 seeds in history to take down a No. 1 seed. They neglected to mention that is the men’s history, but not the full history of the tournament.

However, other outlets and aficionados of the game recognized that Harvard women’s basketball did it first.

When history-making moments happen in sports, remember to check the entire history of the sport, not just men’s history.

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STUNNED: Twitter reacts to Ole Miss upsetting No. 1 Stanford

No. 1 Stanford gets knocked out before the Sweet 16.

Ole Miss shocked the world on Sunday when they took down No. 1 seed Stanford, 54-49, in the second round of the 2023 March Madness Women’s D1 NCAA tournament. The Rebels advance to their first Sweet 16 in 16 years.

This is the 11th  Sweet Sixteen in program history for Ole Miss. Stanford is the first No. 1 seed to lose before the Sweet 16 since 2009. The difference maker for Ole Miss was out-rebounding Stanford, 44-39, and their 5 made three-pointers

Stanford is not a stranger to being knocked off by unsuspecting teams, but it is rare. In 1998 Stanford was seeded No. 1 and Harvard came in at a No. 16 and took them down. This was the first time a No. 16 seed took down a No. 1 seed in the history of either the women’s or men’s tournaments.

This has occurred only three times in the history of the women’s and men’s tournaments. Most recently with No. 16 seed Fairleigh-Dickinson defeating No. 1 seed Purdue in the 2023 men’s tournament.

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