Comments on the Husker volleyball loss, and the long term implications of the Minnesota Gopher Football Boycott

It was a disappointing evening against Texas. The Husker volleyball team looked out of sorts from the beginning when the first serve landed smack middle of the net. The night didn’t get any better than that and the Longhorns swept.

It is amazing that we all would consider a loss in the Final For a failure of a season for the women’s volleyball team. That should tell you all the level of play that John Cook’s teams have achieved.

Nebraska did win a championship - a Big Ten championship. That’s something in itself. The Huskers will lose some amazing seniors - Kadie and Amber Rolfzen, Andie Malloy, and the player I think might be the best volleyball player Nebraska has ever had - Justin Wong-Orantes.

Despite the loss (especially to stinky Texas) and disappointment, the Husker volleyball team sets a standard for all the other programs at Nebraska (with the possible exception of bowling since they’re a bunch of ass-kicking women too).

What Nebraska volleyball players said: “The best years of my life”

“I’ve always wanted to come here, and these last four years are the best years of my life,” she said. And I wanted to win a Big Ten championship. We got to do that. I wanted to win a national championship. We got to do that.

Kadie Rolfzen’s comments following the loss.

The Big Red Cobcast On Patreon

Our podcast guys have set up a site where you can donate to them on a monthly basis. They’ve put their goal fairly low I think, and they’ve put their request at one dollar a month which is also pretty low. I hope that you support them because I certainly enjoy them having them on the site and I know that at times we have run into bandwidth and space issues.

Busboom Kelly Named National Assistant of the Year

Nebraska assistant coach Dani Busboom Kelly was named the Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Thursday.

McKewon: ‘Running For His Life’ documentary tackles complex life of ex-Husker Lawrence Phillips

Sobering. That’s the best word to describe the Showtime documentary “Running For His Life: The Lawrence Phillips Story” that premieres Friday night.The documentary is patient, thorough and sad as it charts the life of perhaps Nebraska football’s most talented — and troubled and gifted and angry and, at his best, most brilliant — running back, who endured the roughest of childhoods, found brief refuge in a game, carved out a unique, difficult place in NU history and died in prison.

Mike DeBord proud of Vols' offensive line 'staying the course'

Injuries and ineffectiveness prompted the Volunteers to use eight different starting groups in 12 games, and tackle Brett Kendrick was the only offensive lineman to start every game. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord acknowledged the downside to such shifting, but he's pleased with some of the development from individual players.

Elsewhere

What the hell is going on in Minnesota?

Minnesota Football: Gopher football players to boycott Holiday Bowl

The players are boycotting the bowl game in protest of the suspension of 10 of their teammates

I am not going to detail every bit of the issues that are behind this boycott by Minnesota gopher players. You can read that detail in the articles I’ve linked.

What stands out to me are not the details behind the sexual assault investigation by either the police or the University departments. What stands out is that the Gopher coaching staff supports this boycott as is evident by the tweet by Tracy Claey’s below.

This is an obvious power struggle between the University of Minnesota President, Athletic Director, and the head coach of the football team.

Gophers players boycott football; bowl game participation in jeopardy

I think the key to that power struggle is right here:

Kaler said in a letter Wednesday to university boosters that Claeys made the decision to suspend the players, with support from Coyle. Later in the evening, Coyle clarified that he made the decision in consultation with Claeys.

But two sources said Thursday that the decision was made above Claeys.

“Mark Coyle did it,” Wolitarsky said. When told of Kaler’s statement that Claeys made the decision, Wolitarsky said, “I don’t believe that.”

The University issued a statement where they said the head coach was involved in the decision about the suspensions. It’s pretty obvious that the football team was told or feels that their head coach was not.

If I had to predict the outcome of all this - Claeys will be fired, along with most of his staff, and a ton of players will transfer or leave the program. Minnesota will find its football program severely damaged just when they were looking like they were making some headway out of a swamp.

Let me be clear that supporting guys who are accused of sexual assault is not anywhere near the smartest thing to do, particularly when you will be judged in the court of public opinion. This is a bloody, bloody mess for Minnesota, and it’s a slippery slope in so many different ways. People take sides without really looking at details. Some will believe the the suspended players are getting what’s coming to them, others will believe the U of M administration acted heavy-handed and wantonly destroyed the reputation of several young men in order to avoid lawsuits. It’s bloody, bloody, bloody.

This boycott may be part of a more interesting long term trend, however - a trend of football players feeling empowered enough to take a stand. We saw this last year at Mizzou when the boycott by players played a role in the resignation of that University’s president.

Over the next couple of years, fans might find themselves saying “The coach has lost control of his players” a lot more than they have in the past.

Then There’s This

I never watch the NBA, but even I was aware of how prolific Craig Sager was.