50 most relevant people in college football

Over the course of the week, culminating with No. 1 on July 19, we will reveal (Trading Spaces-style) the top 50 Most Relevant Persons this year in college football.

This isn't necessarily about who is most popular or most powerful. It's the 50 people that will have the biggest impact on the 2004 season.

At least one player and a coach on our list might never see the field this year. (No hints. We'll let you figure it out.)

There are also the usual suspects. Consider the list a little something you can take to the pool to pass the time. Sun blockers meets pass blockers. We welcome your feedback along the way. Not that you'll need any prodding. Please, send us your lists.

Nos. 10-2

10. Phil Knight, NIKE CEO

News flash: Nike is becoming an increasing part of major-college budgets. The global shoe company was the first to offer multimillion-dollar apparel deals to schools like Michigan and Colorado. It can be argued that, if not for Nike, Oregon football wouldn't be in its current position as a top 25 football program. The Ducks athletic department owes much of its modern-day success to Knight's largesse -- from refurbished Autzen Stadium to those butt-ugly uniforms. You can see Nike's philosophy reflected at Oregon: Any publicity is good publicity. Remember the Joey Harrington billboard in downtown Manhattan? You might have hated it, but you sure as heck talked about it. From covering a building to covering a nation: The Ducks are even featured on George Steinbrenner's YES Network (on a tape-delayed basis) every Saturday night. While Nike spreads its dollars worldwide, Knight has concentrated a lot of his love on the Ducks. During one recent NCAA Tournament, he saw Oregon play in Buffalo, N.Y., in the afternoon, then jetted to the West Coast to see the Ducks women's team play a tournament game that night. One Oregon staffer at dinner in Buffalo that night remembers seeing a crowd shot of the women's game and being amazed to spot Knight. After a brief falling out with the school over Nike's labor practices, Knight is back in the fold, and the sky is the limit for Oregon. Mike Bellotti's success can be traced directly to his financial involvement. With USC threatening to rule the Pac-10 for years to come, Knight's dollars might be the only thing standing in the way.

9. Loren Matthews, Senior Vice President of Programming at ABC

Maybe the most powerful man in the Bowl Championship Series, but he doesn't show it. Matthews once toasted an early Florida-Miami game on ESPN with staffers with champagne -- in plastic cups. The network of Eight Simple Rules .., also rules the BCS. ABC negotiated the deal that unified the major conferences and major bowls for the first time back in 1998 While Matthews told the Knight Commission earlier this year that ABC is losing money on the BCS, his actions don't back up his words. When the network gets an exclusive negotiating window with the BCS later this year, it would like to lock up the property for eight seasons or more. For those who believe college football bends to the whim of Matthews' desires there is this: He went into BCS meetings in April in Phoenix and proposed a radical five-plus-one model that would have led college football to the brink of a playoff. He was shot down. Matthews didn't pout. There is another hot property to mind. ABC/ESPN money was a main reason the ACC expanded.

8. Myles Brand, NCAA president

When Brand took office 18 months ago, the NCAA had little to do with football. It basically lost control in 1984 when the Supreme Court ruled schools could market their games to networks. Brand has used more than his bully pulpit to change the landscape of the sport. In February, he probably kept the BCS out of court. He brokered a deal between the BCS and 54 coalition schools for a fifth bowl that goes into effect in 2006. Brand literally scurried from meeting room to meeting room in a Miami hotel to get the deal done. That alone was more than any NCAA CEO had done, or could do, regarding football in two decades. The former Indiana president deserves credit for knowing the powers, and limitations, of his office.

7. Matt Leinart, USC quarterback
	A national championship in your first year as a starter. Not bad. Now do it again. That's essentially the charge for Leinart, who goes into 2004 as the Heisman favorite. The quiet lefty became the latest prodigy of offensive coordinator Norm Chow, throwing for 3,556 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2003. If Mike Williams comes back, watch out.

6. Jason White, Oklahoma quarterback

The first returning Heisman Trophy winner since BYU's Ty Detmer in 1990 will be watched closely this season. Is White a product of the system or unique talent? After throwing 40 touchdowns during Oklahoma's first 12 games, White didn't throw another in the last two. Both Kansas State and LSU pressured him relentlessly. That's why few are expecting an Archie Griffin-like repeat from White. It also led to this first-time question: Will the returning Heisman Trophy winner be able to keep his starting job? White will be back, but there are those who think backup Paul Thompson isn't far behind. The non-conference schedule isn't friendly, either, so White had better get off to a fast start.

5. Gary Barnett, Colorado coach

After the worst offseason of his career, there is one truth left for Barnett. If he is fired at Colorado, it will probably come because of wins and losses. That is both just and tragic. Just because after the sex-and-alcohol-for-recruits scandal, Barnett is still standing. Tragic because a misguided investigation did little more than knock the pins out from underneath Barnett as a coach. The school will be at a recruiting disadvantage for the foreseeable future. That could eventually doom Barnett, who goes into the season coming off a losing 2003 and a nightmare offseason. A special commission investigating the recruiting practices got bogged down in hearsay and jealousy. It didn't come close to proving Barnett's program offered forbidden fruit in exchange for football talent. Oh, and what about the nine women who claimed sexual abuse? Their cases are no closer to resolution, their mental and physical pain no closer to healing. Yes, Barnett made some insensitive comments, but the school -- particularly president Betsy Hoffman -- looks worse for wasting $814,000 of the school's money during the "investigation."

4. Mike Price, Texas-El Paso coach

Price is still a nice guy and a great coach. Those facts never changed despite his fall from grace at Alabama. Price's reemergence in El Paso, though, is more than a rebound job. His presence has become a cultural phenomenon. The whole city seems to be lit up by Price's personality and optimism. The program has had one winning season since 1988. UTEP needed some self esteem. Price needed a job. The two were meant for each other. The school and its fans are willing to forgive and forget. Price is basically one of them -- a man of the people who is at home hobnobbing with regents or getting his car cleaned at H&H Car Wash and Coffee Shop on Yandell Drive. The administration has basically admitted that it doesn't believe some of the more damning passages in Sports Illustrated ("It's rollin' baby, it's rollin'"). Meanwhile, Price looks like he has had a celebrity makeover. He has lost weight, undergone lasik and gotten a new hairstyle. With Price in El Paso, the Miners could be headed to, dare we say it, a BCS bowl in a few years.

3. Joe Paterno, Penn State coach

What the Penn State Nation spent almost 55 years building up, they now want to tear down. It isn't easy. JoePa deserved the four-year extension he signed during the offseason. It's good for the program and it's good for senior citizens everywhere. In our society, we tend to dispose of the elderly. It's good to see age discrimination doesn't exist in college football (also see: Bobby Bowden). Well, at 77, Paterno isn't quite ready for the retirement home yet. The game's second-winningest coach is sharp, energized and ready to change the recent downturn, which has seen the Nittany Lions lose in three of the past four seasons. Less than two years ago, Penn State finished 9-3, losing a couple of games by less than a touchdown. Paterno didn't suddenly become a bad coach now that his team is coming a 3-9 season. Yes, recruiting has slipped. Yes, there has been staff upheaval. Yes, the program has been less than dominant in the Big Ten. But be careful what you wish for, Penn State Nation. Who is to say Paterno hasn't already arranged for a smooth transition after this season or next? The bad part is that Paterno has outlasted former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and offensive coordinator Fran Gantner. Retread Galen Hall takes over the offense, while son Jay Paterno is still in the picture. Is JayPa waiting in the wings? Privately, Paterno has told friends he is almost "afraid" of retiring because of what happened to Bear Bryant. That's a logical, human emotion, but some are more concerned an 81-year old might be coaching the team in four years. Deal with it. Paterno still graduates players, does things the right way and is the ideal for a sometimes-corrupt sport. He deserves to be that icon until he proves he can no longer be a leader of men.

2. Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State coach

Alabama's whiff is Mississippi State's gain. How can you not root for Croom? A preacher's son. One of Bear's favorites. An NFL veteran assistant. And he can coach. The State program took on a more organized look the moment he arrived. In case you need to be reminded, it can be argued that Croom's hiring is as historic as Selma, Brown vs. Board of Education and Little Rock Central. The shame of it is that it took until the 21st century for a black man to be hired to run an SEC program.

Coming Monday: No. 1 Most Relevant