The Commodores of Vanderbilt have called Tennessee their football home since 1890. As a matter of fact, the Commodores were the first football team to ever play the game. The Commodores, a Nashville-based team, are one of the many SEC, or Southeastern Conference, teams, which most sports fans consider to be the greatest conference in college football. This comes as no surprise since this conference holds many National Championship titles. And during the years between 1890-1932, Vanderbilt was a Southern football leader.

The Beginning of the SEC

In the year 1932, the Vanderbilt football team joined the brand new Southeastern Conference as its first team and was followed by fellow members Georgia, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Sewanee, Georgia Tech, Tulane, Florida, Alabama, and Kentucky. However, by the time Vanderbilt became an SEC member, the team’s once powerful dominance began to wane. As of today, Vanderbilt has never been able to claim an SEC championship title and has only had the opportunity to play in four of the conference’s bowl games, which makes many fans wonder where Vanderbilt went wrong.

What Happened?

Obviously, there is no one defining moment that pinpoints the 70-year fall of the once revered Vanderbilt Commodores. Perhaps one of the main contributing factors revolves around the shaky, ever-changing coaching staff. Because football team legends are founded on excellent, stable leadership, Vanderbilt has suffered due to sub par coaching, with most tenures having a four-year or less shelf life. In order to create a successful NCAA program, a team must have a long-lasting coaching staff. Of course, not all of the blame can be placed on Vanderbilt’s coaches. It is also the quality of the players that impacts any team’s overall success.

This fact leads straight to another one of Vanderbilt’s problems–recruitment. Even though Vanderbilt is considered to be a highly sought after school complete with an historical football program, they are not the only team that can boast these features as many SEC teams are much like Vanderbilt in these aspects. However, while teams such as Alabama and Florida are duking it out for the next championship title, Vanderbilt will have to put their entire focus towards recruiting. Regardless, other SEC schools–LSU, Georgia Tech, and Georgia–all have similar recruiting issues but they are still able to achieve playing success.

A Comeback Almost on the Horizon

Many people who closely follow the SEC program believe that the Vanderbilt Commodores are poised for a major comeback. There were actually a few seasons during the last decade where they came extremely close to achieving a winning season, especially in 2008 when Vanderbilt appeared in the Bowl Championship. But even with the help of Jay Cutler, a future NFL prospect, Vanderbilt has still not been able to stomp its mediocrity into oblivion. And in 2009, Vanderbilt took several steps back by only winning two games the entire season. These facts coupled with the loss of several key players from 2008 have once again set the path for the Vanderbilt Commodores to once again lose precious ground in the SEC.

Author Bio: Ivan Jamison is a big sports fan. You can check out his Vanderbilt Commodores Watch or his Los Angeles Dodger Watch or his New York Mets Watch

Category: Sports
Keywords: Vanderbilt Commodores