PSU’s football team was 5-1 against nationally ranked opponents. We defeated two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams (Washington State and North Texas). A great deal of the team’s success was credited to its new head coach, Bruce Barnum who entered the season as “interim” head coach with immense pressure to succeed as PSU’s President had decreed that the team must stand on its own without traditional University financial support. By opening the season with a victory over PAC-12 member Washington State (something that PSU had never before accomplished,) attention was quickly focused on PSU by the national sports media (e.g., Sports Illustrated and ESPN.) Pressure to lift the interim label from Coach Barnum’s title soon resulted in his receiving a 5-year contract. The players were present when these changes were announced and the unrestrained team support for the upgrade was very evident. Coach Barnum (creator of the now famous “Barny Ball” team concept…that of tough, hard nosed, fundamental football) did a number of things that made him stand out as a leader. For example, given the budget constraints imposed by the University, he directed that a number of trips normally done by plane be taken by bus, to save money. Recognizing the many additional hours players would be together on the bus to Cal Poly he organized a team visit to Alcatraz and carefully selected trip movie selections. He received a small salary increase before the season began to recognize his being promoted, but kept only $1,000 of it directing the bulk of the funds be given to his assistant coaches. I can see why players appear to love playing for Coach Barnum. The team and coach earned many honors at the end of the season. Eleven players werenamed to the 2015 Big Sky All-Conference team and seven to Honorable Mention All-Big Sky status. Coach Bruce Barnum was named Big Sky and FCS National Coach of the Year. The future looks bright for PSU football as long as this past season’s accomplishments are built upon with a continuation of quality play. I must admit I never saw this season’s success coming. While I knew that Coach Barnum had produced excellent offensive numbers in recent seasons, turning around our team with two FBS games on the schedule seemed too much to expect. National playoffs and a fifth place ranking were not a realistic possibility, but it happened. My hope is that there is more to come and that PSU’s football team success will build community support for Portland State University. 5
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