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When it comes to college football, Alabama is king. Other schools may have more total wins historically but Bama's bowl record and national championships (claimed or not) speak for themselves. However, with all the University's success in football, gymnastics and most recently golf and softball, national championships in baseball and basketball still elude us.
The rest of the college football world right now...
But only a handful of schools can claim the same type of historic success in a single sport like Alabama has in football. UCLA in basketball with their 11 titles, for example, is second to no one, outside of maybe Kentucky (8). USC has a surprising amount of historic baseball dominance with 12 total titles (Both LSU and Texas are tied at six.) The honest truth is, for most Universities, success is NOT found in how many championships they have obtained because most have none to boast about.. Alabama fans do not understand that statement...
Think about it, how many titles can historic schools like Arkansas, Mississippi St, Ole Miss, or even South Carolina (in football) hold onto as a source of pride? Scroll through the list of ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and PAC-12 schools and see how many national titles, in any sport, they claim.
Here's where I'm going with this. What amount of success would X school trade for a national title in X sport? Would Alabama fans trade one of our titles in football for a title in basketball or baseball? Are we okay with being seen as a football only school? Would UCLA, whose last football championship came in 1954, trade any of their bouncy ball titles for recent success in football?
I have heard some 'Bama fans state they'd trade a title in football for a Final Four appearance in basketball. Would you? If not a football championship, what would you trade for a Final Four appearance? SEC titles? SEC West titles?
What about the schools who have no titles in which to trade? What would they give up or sacrifice to claim the type of dominance that Alabama, UCLA and USC have in their respective sport?
And here's another question. Outside of Kentucky and maybe Florida in basketball, would other SEC schools give up ALL their accumulated titles or "success" in ALL their other sports for a single national championship in football? After-all, in the SEC, football is king.
For example, South Carolina has recently witnessed national titles in baseball but outside of the last few years, USCe have been known as a doormat in the SEC. (Over-all record 566-544-44 and a bowl record of 7-12). Would they trade their recent success in baseball for a national championship in football?
Only USCe fans can answer that question but as an Alabama fan, I would NOT be willing sacrifice a title in football for one in basketball or even baseball. As much as I love those sports, I guess I love football more. To go one step further, I would even have a hard time sacrificing a single win to Tennessee or Auburn for a Final Four appearance.
Someone once asked would I be willing to watch Alabama lose to Louisiana Monroe in football, again, if that meant 'Bama would play in the Final Four. Honestly, I can't answer that question because this still hurts too much..
So, what would you sacrifice for a national championship in college football (or basketball/ baseball)?