Pitino's face at Crisler unmasks fans' disgust

Fans have transported the gigantic gold halo from Michigan Stadium to Pitino, who recently vacated his head coaching position with the Boston Celtics. Pitino's college success includes returning the Kentucky program to national prominence in only four years and then a national title in 1996.

 

Mark Francescutti The Daily Grind

Analysts call him the most coveted coaching candidate out there.

And Michigan fans want him, badly.

While the Wolverines beat Indiana for their first Big Ten victory, Michigan is far from the program its fans want it to be. At 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, the outlook for even an NIT bid is doubtful.

So the Crisler fans decided to show their disgust with the current program and tell the Athletic Department and the University exactly whom they want.

The head coaching plaque may still have "Brian Ellerbe" engraved on it, but the fans that wore Pitino faces were making a plea for help, not looking to slap Ellerbe's face.

Let me tell you why.

Despite what academic advisors may say, the job of the Michigan basketball program is to succeed on the court and to prevent off-the-court problems.

Victories build Michigan's national image - the most important asset to the University. NCAA violations, academic difficulties and criminal problems decimate the image tenfold.

Whether or not it's Ellerbe's fault, the program has suffered on the court, while numerous off-the court scandals have tarnished the Michigan name.

Across the country, Michigan basketball is regarded as a program in the dumpster. ESPN barely shows its highlights anymore.

If athletics director Bill Martin won't correct the problem, the University community has every right to question the program. Michigan students, alumni and faculty can vent in two ways.

First, with their pocketbooks.

Already this season, regular attendance is down as much as 2,000 per game. At $15-20 a pop, that's around $30,000 each contest. And over a 15-game schedule, the department could take a $450,000 hit (not including all the lost concession revenue).

Student ticket sales dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade (598 ticket packages were sold - a far cry from the 1,600 for hockey and the 22,000 for football).

Second, fans can start publicly questioning the program, as they did at the Indiana game. The "masked Pitinos" want Martin to know that they are suffering - they feel Michigan's pain.

The University community, especially alumni, can significantly affect administrative decisions. Sometimes the decision makers at the top need a little nudge.

When a program suffers like Michigan's, the fans look to the coach. The coach should be the stable force. Players leave, coaches stay. One thinks of Dean Smith, not Michael Jordan, when talking about North Carolina basketball.

Fans look around the country and identify Pitino as currently available. As a result, they portray Pitino as their "SOS" sign.

Ellerbe may indeed take the fall for some problems he had little control over.

But at the same time, it's his responsibility - good luck or bad luck - to make sure Michigan basketball doesn't fall into the doldrums of the Big Ten.

Everyone knows this program needs changes. And if the athletic department officials don't know that yet, the fans will continue to remind them.

At Briarwood mall, you can buy Bobby Knight masks.

- Mark Francescutti can be reached at mfrances@umich.edu