[Ed: Promoted from FanPosts]

It’s no secret that I like to look to non-American sports for ideas about how to fix issues here. Taking a whole different idea about how to run sports and blending it with uniquely American ideas (like college sports for instance) tends to lead to the best-of-both worlds, so far as you make sure to respect both ideas.

The best example is the College Basketball Champions League, an idea that was fleshed out by fetch9 over on Rock Chalk Talk. Between it and an FA Cup-style NCAA tournament, it would take many of the great things about college basketball and stretch it over the season with more significant conference games and two season-long tournaments culminating in two huge championship games.

A College Football Champions League is an intriguing idea, but it runs into a few problems. It would be impossible to play full conference seasons and a full Champions League schedule without expanding the football season and putting more wear and tear on student-athletes. Qualifying for the Champions League could be based on the previous season, but this would be problematic given the turnover in football, a problem solved by freshmen impact in basketball.

College football though looks less like European soccer leagues. Bigger rosters mean regional recruiting is more important. While they occur every week, college football games feel like one-off events. And they often bring together whole states or regions in a way that college basketball does not seem to do.

In short, college football is a lot more like international soccer than professional club soccer. So instead of the Champions League, an internationally-inspired college football playoff would look more like the World Cup. This would be the format for a World Cup of College Football. And the best part? It includes no more games than the current college football season and requires just one change to NCAA bylaws.

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[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a fanPost by Tacojohn that has been promoted from the sidebar.  Thanks again, Tacojohn, for the fine IU soccer content.]

I'm firmly of the believe that every coaching fire is only as good as the subsequent hire. Change for change's sake is bad, the change needs to be positive. If IU was introducing Caleb Porter right now, just days after he came agonizingly close to winning a national title, the question of whether the decision to axe a coach just five years removed from a national title was a good idea would have been answered with a resounding yes.

With Todd Yeagley, the jury is still out.

Todd Yeagley brings a legendary name to the program, as well as promising performances as an assistant with IU, having been on the staff for IU's last two national championship teams. What he doesn't bring is the one thing that Caleb Porter could have brought: an established track record as a head coach of success at the highest levels of the sport. As the most decorated program of the last 35 years, you would have thought that IU would be able to land such a coach.

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Mike Freitag had every reason to blast Indiana. He certainly could have fired back at the Indiana University administration and point out that not only had he compiled a record over the last six years that the vast majority of schools would be thrilled to have, he also graduated players and conducted himself like a gentleman. And certainly men's soccer has seen vivid examples of not acting like a gentleman recently.

But Freitag's teary comments at Armstrong today showed why many people thought he would have no trouble continuing the legacy Jerry Yeagley had established at IU. While he made it absolutely clear he was unhappy with his dismissal and the way it was carried out, he also refused to add to the negativity.

Freitag started off by thanking the university for the opportunity. Importantly, Freitag made it clear that he understood the expectations of the job. It would certainly be understandable for a coach to wonder what was expected of him when he was fired after coming within two minutes of going to a Final Four.

Freitag's biggest complaint was the meeting between the players and administration that occurred shortly after their loss to UNC. His comments make it sound like he thought he was railroaded, ambushed by an administration that had made up its mind and then gathered the evidence to fit the conclusion.

But Freitag seemed to be missing the point on two issues. First, he specifically focused on scheduling. Yes, IU scheduled a tougher than normal slate this year. The games against Wake and St. John's in the Classic are par for the course, but normally IU would play away games either at UCSB or at Akron, not both. In addition, the Big Ten had a great year this year (5 of 7 teams going to the tournament) and teams IU plays regularly like Butler and Louisville are on the rise. But the difficult schedule did its job: IU hosted two tournament games and having the #6 RPI (when last published) probably helped them get that Butler game at home.

And a note to Fred Glass: that's the schedule that IU fans expect. Sure, raking up 15-18 wins against Evansville, IUPUI, Oakland, etc. would be a gaudy record. But for IU to be battle-ready for the tournament, the team needs that sort of schedule. And for IU Soccer to be a successful commercial and spectator venture, the schedule needs to feature the premier teams in the country.

Second, Freitag seems shocked that the players were unhappy with him. I think the information vacuum is causing the problem here. Glass can mention that the players were dissatisfied, but he can't address specific issues they voiced. Freitag then can't respond to issues if he doesn't know they exist. If a player is angry at Mike Freitag, I would have to think it's partially because IU recruits are sold on the idea of winning titles and going to the Final Four. And once again, a group of recruits didn't get to experience that.

Freitag's statement is all you could want from a departing coach. It's honest, but professional. It shows a fire and passion for the game, as well as a pretty good understanding of why he was fired (with some gaps). Too often in recent past, IU fans have been quick to transform professional failures into personal ones. Mike Freitag has earned better even if his performance is not good enough to deserve another year of employment, and hopefully his statement today showed that.

[Editor's note: this is a FanPost by TacoJohn that I have bumped to the front page, and adds some much-needed content on IU's most important non FB/BB sport] Mike Freitag's firing as the head soccer coach at Indiana University ends a tenure that while not disastrous, was certainly nowhere near what IU had come to expect historically. The story of the decline of IU soccer from the top of the mountain to its present level is a curious one as well. In the end, too many signs pointed to the head coach as the problem, ultimately why athletic director Fred Glass made the change.

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