Since being elected in 2021, Republican senator Tommy Tuberville has served the state of Alabama.
Before his sojourn into politics, though, Tuberville was the head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, Auburn Tigers, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and Cincinnati Bearcats.
Earlier this week, reporters interviewed Tuberville about various topics, including the College Football Playoff. The 2004 AP Coach of the Year had much to say, including criticism of the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers are 10-0 to start the season and ranked fifth in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.
The Hoosiers have faced criticism for their strength of schedule this season. However, Tuberville’s criticism was that Indiana ‘bought’ its team instead of building it through recruiting.
“You just don’t build a team, you pretty much buy a team now,” Tuberville said via CBS.
“That was a little bit forbidden when I was in coaching, but now it’s legal. Look at Indiana. They went out and bought them a football team, and look where they’re at. They’re playing Ohio State this week, possibly play for a national championship and maybe in the Final Four,” he added.
First-year Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti brought 16 transfers with him from James Madison, where he coached from 2019-23. Cignetti also added 15 other transfers from around the country, including quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who transferred from Ohio. This is commonplace for a coach who moves from one school to another.
Tuberville has also opposed certain aspects of Name, Image, and Likeness. He has been trying to pass legislation against it, including penalties for players who break their contracts. He has previously pushed for players to have to wait three years before transferring.
“My thoughts are you sign a contract, I mean, you can’t just up and break it,” Tuberville said. “You’re gonna sign a year, two-year, three-year, if you got a three-year contract and you break it there’s gotta be some kind of penalty. We’ll have to go through all the rules and regulations when it comes to the Commerce Committee on that, but the one thing I do not want is Senator Schumer wanted to unionize all college athletes and … it’s not any way for that at all. We can do it, we can do it the right way. Players can make money.”
There was no penalty against the coach when he left Ole Miss for Auburn after the 1998 season just one week after saying he’d be at Ole Miss forever. Additionally, Tuberville received a portion of his buyout after resigning from Auburn. He left during a recruiting dinner while coaching Texas Tech to accept the Cincinnati job, for which he wasn’t penalized.
Indiana will look to improve to 11-0 when it heads to Columbus this weekend for a Big Noon Saturday showdown with Ohio State. The game will air on FOX.
