"They're successful as an independent program."


Has our independence opened some eyes? I hadn't thought so, but perhaps it did. We made an immediate splash with securing a fairly lucrative ESPN contract. Estimates are in the $6-8mil per year. That's 6-8 times what we made in the MWC (on much worse networks).

Now, we didn't have the success that we as fans wanted. We all know that, and it's a big reason Bronco felt pressured to move on. But in 5 independent seasons, we had a winning season every year. We had nationally visible wins every year. We went to a bowl game every year. We got Mack Brown fired and ignited the pilot light on Charlie Strong just weeks into his first season. In short, we didn't disappear like just about every other non-ND program has done when they went independent.

The non-top 25 finishes have sucked, but independence didn't smother us like it has so many other programs. That says something.