Mlakar | The future of Stanford Athletics is up to Andrew Luck

There is little doubt that Stanford football is in a bad place. Following four consecutive 3-9 seasons under two head coaches, fans would be forgiven for thinking the program has sunk to the deepest possible depth. A graduating class has come and gone, having seen five total home wins (two which came against FCS schools without students on campus), zero Big Game wins and a complete lack of hope and excitement around the football program. Students and fans have become apathetic, and it’s hard to fault them. Reviving the program will take a Herculean effort, but the stakes have never been higher. 

Newly hired General Manager of Stanford Football Andrew Luck is no stranger to rebuilds. In addition to being the face of Stanford’s 2010’s return to relevance, the two-time Heisman finalist captained the Indianapolis Colts out of the NFL’s basement and back into the playoffs. Luck’s first actions in his newly created role have been swift and decisive. After firing Troy Taylor, Luck hired interim head coach Frank Reich to shepard the program through the 2025 season. His next move, to hire the permanent head coach, will be the most important hire in the history of Stanford Athletics.

The history of Stanford football is full of peaks and valleys. Unfortunately, this current valley is coming at the worst possible time. When the Pac-12 collapsed, Stanford survived by a thread, joining Cal on the ACC lifeboat. As the Power 5 conferences became a Power 4, Washington State and Oregon State were left behind as casualties. Since then, Stanford has done almost nothing to show they don’t deserve the same fate. 

It is widely believed that the next round of realignment will happen around 2030; the Big 10 and Big 12 media deals will be up, and the ACC will have lowered its exit fee to a manageable number. It will be as easy as ever for schools to switch conferences, and the Big 10 and the SEC will be positioned to further consolidate the top tier of college football. We may finally see a true Power 2, as both leagues become mega conferences that include all the top brands in college athletics. Stanford needs to fight to get in that upper echelon. 

It is already difficult to operate the department’s 36 varsity sports and provide them with the level of competition they are accustomed to in the current setup. Should the department be relegated to the second tier of college athletics, and the lower media revenue that is associated, the status quo may no longer be maintainable. The department could be forced to follow through with cuts similar to those planned in 2020. The proud Stanford Athletics department will have to rely on football in order to stay in the top levels of collegiate competition. While there are multiple elite programs on The Farm, including many champions, conferences will judge Stanford almost exclusively on the wins and viewers brought in by the football team.

Stanford football must nail this upcoming hire. The right coach can still pull the program out of its current depths, and begin a rapid ascent towards respectability. Doing so would put the school in a favorable position in the next round of realignment. A good football team would allow Stanford to leverage its many favorable attributes: a stellar Olympic sports roster, one of the largest media markets in the country, and the top tier academics and name recognition are all assets that would be attractive to the Big 10 or the SEC. 

On the other hand, continued gridiron ineptitude will doom Stanford Athletics. All those beneficial traits would be squandered, and the department would be forced to make tough decisions. It’s not entirely unfair to say that the future of Stanford Athletics hinges on this one hire. There will be no do-overs. Another disastrous hire like that of Troy Taylor will ensure that Stanford is associated with losing and failure as the fate of the program is decided during the next realignment carousel.  

Luck showed he was built for the pressure on the field, but he now faces a pressure that few have ever experienced. The future of Stanford football, and potentially Stanford Athletics, rests squarely on his shoulders. The future of Stanford Athletics has come down to Luck.

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