Characteristics of an Elite Program?

Scratchtown

Scratchtown

All-Conference
What time period do you start from? 50 years ago? 40? 30? 25? Is there an expiration date on a program, meaning can you drop a tier?

Obvious Characteristic = Championships (Conference and National)

What do you have under this one. Can a program win a national title, have a bunch of conference titles and win 12 games a year be considered elite?

Just for your information. This is a legitimate question in what you think. Not trying to see if Oregon measures up, because I don't think they do, yet.

 
I'd say Oregon has been playing elite level football for quite some time now. Nebraska does however have an elite tradition...or history of being elite.

 
What ever your team's past is in terms of championships can't be taken away. It can be disconnected from the younger fan base. But it can't be eliminated. People who were fans of the Huskers during the 1970s, I am sure, enjoy those championship replay videos far more than I do since I was not around to enjoy them first hand. I have great first hand memories of the 1990s titles. Someone who wasn't around for that might think it was cool that we were good back then but not appreciate it as much as I do.

 
OP, you don't think Oregon is elite? They're a perennial top-10, top-5 team for the last decade or so. If they aren't elite, then the only elite program is Alabama I guess. Exclusive club.

 
I wouldn't place O in the 'traditional elite' status - they need to win national championships. But they are elite in regards to the past 5-10 years - not sure how far back their turnaround goes where they have been in the top 10. They have been situated much better than NU to win a NC during the past decade. I was in 8th grade when NU won the 1st NC under the BobFather. If we go back to 1962 - no school can be compared in our history for wins and consistencies. During that stretch we technically have had only 3 down years - 2 losing seasons under BC and one 7-7 season under Frank. Yes, some schools have had as many or more NC as NU but none have a better winning percentage. As Husker fans we feel we are down in comparison to the 1970-2001 run. When a 9-10 win season feels subpar, you know you've been associated wt an elite program. One day, NU will feel the same old feeling again.

 
Idk, it's hard to quantify. To me, Oregon passes the eyeball test. It seems like the past 5 years they have been running a consistantly dominant program. While they have not won a NC, they played for one and are consistantly in BCS bowls and winning. It's pretty obvious that it's not just a single "special" player or a fluke year either.

I would have no problem calling Oregon an elite program today.

 
They are Elite now but don't have the tradition yet and if they hit a slump as we have they wouldn't be seen as elite. We are Elite with tradition, fan base, and just about everything else but our product on the field. Maybe Elite stuck in Neutral??

 
Elite in the past. Certainly not now. Don't see it in the future; not with the conference we are in. The bloom is off the rose.

 
knapplc said:
tmfr15 said:
What ever your team's past is in terms of championships can't be taken away.
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Mostly agree, but I think many of Michigan's early 1900s "national championships" are quite questionable.
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If it's okay for you to question championships from 100 years ago others can question the ones from 20-40 years ago. While our championship teams could easily whip our current team I doubt they would be on the same field with the current elite teams.

 
1995 Redux takes a HUGE swig of Big Red KoolAid

ONLY WAY TO BE ELITE IS TO HAVE A BIG RED N ON YOUR FIELD! BRASKA!!!

 
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