There’s a reason why Kentucky men’s basketball and Alabama football are traditionally hated nationally – they win. But could it be jealousy? In many ways, these two successful programs are mirror images.
Kentucky is widely known as a basketball school. The football program in Lexington has the constant struggle of getting fans excited for September rather than November, when basketball season begins.
Alabama’s basketball program faces similar challenges. Fans in Tuscaloosa are usually already looking forward to spring football practice before the basketball season is even over.
Kentucky playing for the national championship against UConn Monday night is nothing new for the Big Blue Nation. The Wildcats have won eight national championships, including their most recent title in 2012. Alabama football recognizes 15 national championships. Alabama fans expect nothing short of championships, and a season like 2013 where the Crimson Tide reached the Sugar Bowl is widely considered a failure by Alabama’s standards.
Having a top coach is vital in collegiate athletics. Both Alabama and Kentucky have coaches who are criticized heavily by the rest of the country, but the fans couldn’t care less for the most part. John Calipari has faced scrutiny after getting in trouble with recruiting violations at his former schools, UMass and Memphis. Nick Saban has been hated by many since he left the Miami Dolphins for Alabama after saying he wouldn’t be the coach of the Crimson Tide. But fans of both schools will take the scrutiny as long as championships and winning remain traditions. Calipari and Saban have definitely made that a reality.
If you want your school to be talented, you better have strong recruiting. Alabama football and Kentucky basketball traditionally have top recruiting classes. Each program signs top prospects from all over the country each year. Kentucky has been starting five freshmen in this year’s NCAA tournament. Alabama finds a way to get freshmen on the field each year, no matter how deep the team is overall.
Kentucky and Alabama recruit well for many reasons but mainly because of the chance to play professionally. The Wildcats are becoming known as a school that signs top prospects who play for the NCAA minimum one season, then bolt for the NBA. Alabama football rarely has a top recruit who doesn’t eventually become an NFL player.
As long as Calipari and Saban are running things in Lexington and Tuscaloosa, Kentucky basketball and Alabama football will be in good shape. Each school will continue to recruit well and win with the talent they pull in each year. And for the foreseeable future, these two programs will remain dynasty-like in the way each school operates and performs.
