UA athletic directorย Greg Byrneย flew to Starkville, Mississippi, to attend Saturdayโs SEC showdown, in which Mississippi State overwhelmed Texas A&M.
It was a day in the โwayback machineโ for Byrne, who hired MSU coachย Dan Mullenย in 2008. It was an against-the-odds hire in the mighty SEC, but it has proved to be the top move of Byrneโs AD career.
Mullen, a former Florida assistant, slowly built the Bulldogs from 5-7 to 9-4, followed by 7-6, 8-5, 7-6 and now a 5-0 season in which MSU is apt to break into the top 10 this week. The Bulldogs entered Saturdayโs 48-31 victory ranked No. 12; Texas A&M was sixth.
Under Byrne, Mississippi State built a new football plant and created a new game-day environment. Since he arrived at Arizona in May 2010, Byrne has become a player on the biggest stage.
The atmosphere at the MSU-Texas A&M game came across on the ESPN screen Saturday as one youโd like to be part of as a fan, a coach, or, if you were 18 to 22 years old, as a player.
Byrne is now working on doing the same at UA.
Rich Rodriguezย is his Dan Mullen. The Lowell-Stevens Football Facility is SEC-worthy. And Saturday nightโs game against USC looks to be one of the few sellouts at Arizona Stadium; as of Saturday, about 55,000 tickets had been sold.
As with any school emerging as a football power, people will worry that RichRod will soon get an offer he canโt refuse, and that Byrne will someday follow.
Those are good things. The Pac-12 has replaced seven ADs and 10 head football coaches in the last five years. Itโs a transient business.
Enjoy this while you can.
