One reason people are attracted to college football is how it incorporates unique things you don’t get in other sports. Things like rivalry trophies do not exist in, say, the NFL, and in recent years, teams have been looking for ways to celebrate cool stuff that happens on the field, with the most prominent example of this idea coming when the Miami Hurricanes adopted the turnover chain, a gigantic, 10-karat gold chain that was meant to reward defensive players for being aggressive in forcing fumbles and interceptions.
But apparently, all good things must come to an end. New Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal told college football reporter Brett McMurphy that the turnover chain is going away next season.
Miami dumping Turnover Chain: UM coach Mario Cristobal said the 'Canes are getting rid of the Turnover Chain "It's not part of our culture," Cristobal told me. UM has had the Turnover Chain since 2017
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 21, 2022
Cristobal, who played his college ball at Miami and came to his alma mater after serving as the head coach at Oregon, expanded on this and explained at ACC media days why the team is going in a different direction. Per ESPN:
“Certainly history is history, and whether it’s positive, whether it’s inconsequential, whatever it may be, it’s still history and part of your program,” Cristobal said. “We’re just moving in a direction that right now doesn’t involve it. That’s really the best way to address it.”
…
“We just really focus on getting better as a program and have focused on technique, fundamentals, regimentation, academics, strength and conditioning, sports science, community service,” he said. “That’s what the focus has been on.”
Goodbye to the turnover chain, which was extremely cool.
