It took LSU 45 years to return to the prominent role of NCAA football national champions and according to some University administrators this year’s success could be the beginning of a powerful dynasty.
Now that LSU has reached the peak of the college football mountain, athletics director Skip Bertman said he believes the team will be among the top teams year in and year out.
“They’ll be good next year and the year after,” Bertman said. “The evolution has taken place. They may not be national champions every year because you got to be fortunate. You got to stay injury free, you got to win a close one and you have to get some officials’ calls go your way. But they will always be contenders as long as Nick Saban is coaching.”
Bertman’s optimistic views are shared by many around the University, including Chancellor Mark Emmert.
Emmert began his tenure as Chancellor in the Spring of 1999 and made a commitment to improve the performances of LSU’s athletic teams, in particular a 3-8 football program.
Four years, two Southeastern Conference titles and a national championship later, Emmert said believes the program has returned to the prominence it once achieved.
And because Emmert has been so entrenched in the team’s progression for the past few years, the 2003 national championship has a special meaning to him.
“The sense of pride I have for the players, the coaches and the staff is beyond words,” Emmert said. “At no point throughout the season were there any problems off the field. It just makes me so proud to be a part of this team.”
Bertman said the pride Emmert feels is shared by all who support the Tigers.
“I think the pride and the spirit in Louisiana, particularly Baton Rouge and South Louisiana during the month of December was wonderful and I think of course it has continued from the national title game,” Bertman said.
For both administrators, the gameday experience in the Superdome was priceless.
“As a fan, I was just involved in the moment,” Emmert said. “It was such an exciting game where the outcome was not decided until the very end.”
Where as Emmert experienced the game through a fan’s perspective, Bertman said the conclusion of the game had him recalling the days of sitting in the Tigers’ dugout.
“I was on the sideline only during the last four or five minutes and there was a time where Oklahoma could have tied the score and I could feel those feelings you get as a coach,” Bertman said. “Knowing it could possibly slip away — that is a tough feeling.”
Even though LSU shared the national title with Southern California, Bertman said the publicity gained off a split national title may have become a blessing in disguise.
“I think it was a break to have a split championship,” Bertman said. “That’s given us more publicity because no one has ever said that LSU should not have been the champion, not even USC said that. All the talk was about the system and whether it was good or bad and to me I don’t understand what all the debate is about because everyone agreed that the national championship would be determined in the Sugar Bowl.”
The 2003 national title may be a sign of things to come, Emmert said.
“We may not be national champions every year, but we will be contenders,” Emmert said.