Mario Cristobal says Miami's financial commitment impacted his decision

Money is very important when it comes to college athletics – especially in college football. As the nature of the game has changed throughout the years, investing is key if programs want to be successful. While some schools have poured in a ton of money for their football programs, others haven’t – and that’s led to less success on the field.

One school that is going all-in when it comes to investing into its football program is Miami, which recently hired former Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal as its new head man. A team that has had its fair share of struggles over the years, Cristobal is tasked with turning things around, and he’ll have plenty of resources that can help make that happen.

During his introductory press conference Tuesday in Coral Gables, Cristobal made it clear that the investment Miami is putting into his new program was a big reason why he made the decision to leave Oregon and go lead the Hurricanes.

“That was one of the critical pieces, to be honest with you,” Cristobal said. “Football has changed so much, and it continues to change. A lot of people refer to it as an arms race. People talk about it a lot of times, and I think sometimes universities and colleges go the wrong way, because they just collect talent or collect facilities as opposed to investing in people. There’s a big difference.

“Having the opportunity to meet with these men and to realize the massive investment in making sure that these student-athletes have the best chance for success – it was a huge overwriting factor. And I had learned that when I had the chance to go away and work at some different spots.”

Cristobal says investing is important for any program

While Miami will be significantly investing into Cristobal’s Hurricanes program, what exactly do the provided funds lead to?

“I got to see how much of it was invested in sports psychology, in nutrition, strength and conditioning, player development, professional development, bringing in speakers, having NFL visits, having them come in and teach and coach about their systems and techniques and fundamentals,” Cristobal said. “It’s something that should never, ever stop because if you want to keep growing, you’ve got to keep investing – and that was something that was mind-blowing. … It really was … and really excited to dig into that.”