A historic run for the Indiana Hoosiers. A career first for Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham. And a wow moment for hockey in Michigan.
Michigan Public commentator John U. Bacon joined Morning Edition host Doug Tribou to talk about all that more from the world of sports.
Doug Tribou: The Indiana Hoosiers are College Football’s national champions. The Hoosiers came out on top against the Miami Hurricanes in a tight title game. The final score was 27-21. Indiana now has its first college football title. What stood out to you about the game?
John U. Bacon: Well, the game itself was not spectacular. It was a good game, but it proved beyond any doubt that Indiana is, in fact, the best team in college football. And Doug, I cannot believe I keep saying that — especially at the end of the season! Keep in mind this team, by the way, has beaten six top ten teams in the previous 130 years. They beat six top ten teams this year.
This caps one of the greatest stories in the history of college football. The once worst team in the history of the sport is getting completely turned around in just two seasons. This is history.
DT: NIL spending — that’s the Name, Image, and Likeness money paid to athletes — is not public. But when it comes to Indiana’s spending on football players, two things are clear: the Hoosiers’ budget has increased significantly in the past couple seasons. But the team is not at the top of any of the best estimated lists. In some cases, Indiana is more than $10 million dollars lower than other programs including Ohio State. So, what else drove their success besides the money?
JUB: Well, there's the point that a lot of folks miss, but you got, Doug. Everyone says, "Okay, yeah, Indiana's the national champs, but it's the NIL era. You can pay players, transfer portal. Everyone can transfer anywhere."
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what? They can transfer everywhere else too, including Purdue, Michigan State, and Michigan. And those guys aren't national champs. They are not by far the best paid players in college football, as you said. They're not even the most talented. The teams Indiana beat this year — Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon twice, and Miami — all have significantly more talent (and the NFL draft will prove this shortly) than Indiana does, except at one position: head coach.
Curt Cignetti ignored conventional wisdom about stupid things like how fast a player is in a 40-yard dash and recruited players who knew how to play football. This is the single best coaching job I have ever seen.
"This is the single best coaching job I have ever seen."John U. Bacon on Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti's work this season
DT: The Pistons are in first place in the NBA's Eastern Conference, and the NBA All-Star Game is coming up next month. So it seems fitting that Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has been named a starter. He was an All-Star last year for the first time, but was a reserve. The All-Stars are chosen by a mix of fan, player and media voting. These moments do not come that often.
The last back-to-back All-Star appearance for a Piston was Chauncey Billups in 2007 and 2008, and then the last All-Star starter from the Pistons was Allen Iverson — I didn't even remember that he played for the Pistons — so these moments really are few and far between...
JUB: [Laughs] Love you Doug. You're being very nice here. No, they do not come that often. In fact, they have not come since [Iverson's start in] 2009. So yeah, do the math on that one. Of course, Cunningham is having the kind of season you can build a championship team around. And JB Bickerstaff, the head coach, continues to outcoach his peers.
DT: John, I’m told that there are colleges and universities outside the state of the Michigan that field men’s ice hockey teams, but you sure wouldn’t know it by taking a look at the top of the latest national rankings.
JUB: It's crazy. Right now, Michigan is No. 1, Michigan State is No. 2, Western Michigan, the defending national champs, are No. 3, and Michigan Tech is currently ranked 19th in the nation for the first time since 2019. So this is the capital of hockey, especially when you throw in the Red Wings, who are often number one in the East [this season].
"[Michigan] is the capital of hockey."John U. Bacon
And Doug, in the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I am a trustee at Michigan Tech, so I'm not going to go on about what a great hire Bill Muckalt, their new head coach, is — a former Michigan star [player]. Nor brag about the fact that the players there have a 3.42 grade point average. I'm just going to keep all that to myself in the interest of journalistic integrity. [Laughs].
DT: [Laughs] Of course. John, thanks a lot.
JUB: Doug, thank you.
Editor's notes: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can hear the full interview near the top of this page.
