Texas A&M Is The Best Coaching Job In College Football And Kevin Sumlin Was Smart To Stay
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Despite speculation he would receive lucrative offers to leave for either USC or the NFL, Texas A&M has announced head coach Kevin Sumlin has signed a 6-year contract extension to keep the best job in college football.When discussing the best programs in college football, Texas A&M is not going to get much support above other traditional powerhouses. But when it comes to the best coaching job in college football right now, it is hard to come up with one better than Sumlin's.
In addition to a raise and job security, Sumlin has the following at Texas A&M:
BusinessInsider.com Texas A&M may have the richest alumni fanbase in the country
In the past year, Texas A&M received $740 million in donations, the highest-ever for a university and is likely to surpass Texas as the biggest money-maker in college sports. Of the donations received, $246 million was donated specifically to help pay for the $450 million in renovations for the school's football field.
Recruiting the top high school football players in the country is a lot easier when the head coach can show off state of the art equipment and facilities and that is exactly what A&M will soon have.
Texas A&M plays in the best conference in college football
Playing in the SEC instantly makes a team a national championship contender every season. Prior to Alabama's loss to Auburn, Ohio State was facing the very real possibility of being shut out of the BCS Championship game despite being undefeated. That would never happen in the SEC.
In addition to being able to show off great facilities to high school recruits, it helps that a coach can tell them they will play marquee games on national television almost every week and have a good shot to win a championship.
BusinessInsider.comTexas is home to the best high school football players in the country
In the NFL this season, 11 quarterbacks from the state of Texas have started at least one game. Even more impressive is that 25.5% of all games (98 of 384) have been started by a quarterback that played high school football in Texas.
Texas A&M may have a tough schedule playing in the SEC, but they have an advantage over other SEC schools by having better access to Texas high school football players. A&M also has the advantage currently as the University of Texas has struggled in recent years.
Other states, including California, have strong high school football recruiting bases. But other schools can't offer an alumni base with money spilling out their pockets and a seat in the SEC conference. Meanwhile, the NFL may be able to offer as much money and less politics, but they can't offer the same security.
There may be college football programs with more tradition than Texas A&M, but it would be hard to find a better coaching job in college football.