Texas Tech Coach Mike Leach Tops All 2009 Big 12 Coaches In Performance

I don't know what really happened at Texas Tech this year. The off-the-field issues will be debated in court procedures that play out in Lubbock. 

I like to look at facts and data. At least one way to rate Coach Leach's performance suggests he outperformed all other Big 12 coaches in 2009.

College football success is linked tightly to financial resources available to the coach and the program.

Don't think this is true? Financial revenue for the University of Texas football program topped all Big 12 programs in 2008 at $87 million.  

The top revenue producing program in 2008 in the division opposite the Texas Longhorns was the Nebraska Cornhuskers at $55 million dollars.

Who played in the conference championship? The University of Texas and the University of Nebraska.

Who won? The University of Texas.

So if we dig further into the Big 12 what do we find?

First, we need to define an objective performance ranking system.  

I prefer the Sagarin rating system that factors in strength of schedule, won/lost records and margin of victory.

Texas Tech finished fourth in the 2009 Big 12 final season Sagarin ratings. Texas Tech was also eighth in Big 12 financial revenues for the 2008 season.

No other Big 12 coach had a team that jumped 4 spots in the conference performance rank compared to conference revenue rank.

So is this analysis a fair way to judge Coach Leach's performance in 2009?

Maybe so if you take the approach of Detective Sergeant Joe Friday of  TV's classic show Dragnet.  Joe's famous line was, "Just the facts, ma'am".