In the wake of the University of Texas canning Steve Patterson, his other former employer, Arizona State, is quietly building itself to becoming an elite program of its own.
In collegiate athletics, a school's reputation can often precede its quality, and programs with rich histories essentially have a lifetime of donor support and recruiting advantages built in. Universities such as Alabama and Notre Dame were blessed with early success in the formative days of college football as a national staple, and thus despite not being located in areas known for much outside the campus they sit on, find consistent success in maintaining a top tier program.