Mario Cristobal quote on the 'Golden Age' of Miami sports is downright electric

For the first time, possibly ever, the Miami Hurricanes' football team and men's basketball team seem to be firing on all cylinders concurrently. Miami has a rich history on the gridiron, but the 21st century has not been as kind to them as it probably should have. As for the basketball team, it achieved new heights under Jim Larrañaga in the 2010s and 2020s. Mario Cristobal loves what Jai Lucas is doing.

Cristobal christened this new era of Miami athletics after the big win over UNC: This is the golden age.

"You know what, that last game, everything moved so fast. I never had a chance to thank the people, thank the fans, thank our football players. And to come out here and see all this enthusiasm for Coach Lucas and the basketball team, Miami, this is going to be the golden age of Miami athletics. We all feel it."

Cristobal followed that up by saying there is no time to rest in the world of college football recruiting.

"No, I don't think there is if you want to be good. You know, we're really motivated. We're back to work. This is really the first time we reflected on last season. All eyes pointing forward. Everything is full-throttle."

Together, Cristobal and Lucas can become the cornerstones upon which this tremendous era is built.

Let's now unpack just a little more why Cristobal is right that this might be the golden era for Miami.

Mario Cristobal champions Jai Lucas amid Miami athletics' "golden era"

Historically, a major university will have to pick a lane when it comes to being great at either football or basketball. Miami chose football in the early 1980s under the late, great Howard Schnellenberger. Other elite coaches such as Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis, and Larry Coker followed in his footsteps. On the hardwood, there was a brief pop under Leonard Hamilton before Larrañaga...

Now that Lucas appears to be in his bag firmly in the second half of his first season at the helm of the men's basketball team, his team can feed off Cristobal's team's energy and vice versa. It was great to see the football team show up in a big way for Lucas' guys. After all, the 2025-26 football team was the last team to make the College Football Playoff. It was one win away from winning the whole thing.

As for what this means for Lucas and his basketball team moving forward, to have Cristobal's ringing endorsement, as well as having all the support they need from one of their own in athletic director Dan Radakovich, the sky is the ceiling for this iteration of Miami athletics. Whatever it is they are all doing is working. The football team is fast and physical, the same description for the basketball team.

For now, let's just take a step back for one second and realize how cool this all is for Miami recently.