Nobody seemed crazier than Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal when he returned home in 2021 with a plan and with hope. The program hadn’t won anything of real significance in nearly two decades. Fast forward to 2026, and Cristobal now stands just one win away from delivering Miami its first national championship since 2001. The journey, however, was anything but a smooth ride.

Looking back, Cristobal now sees it all as a blessing in disguise.

On January 13, Cristobal appeared at a press conference and gave all the glory to God for pushing him through adversity and forcing him to hit rock bottom along the way.

“I’m pretty stubborn. Always have been stubborn. In my mind, we’re going to win a national championship there. People would look at me like I was crazy, Cristobal said in Monday’s presser.

Sometimes, if you don’t move and God wants you to move, he’ll kick you so you can move. For whatever reason, that’s the way it worked out. It was a blessing, because I had the opportunity to go learn under Coach Saban, and then eventually end up at the University of Oregon, blessed to be there. It all led back here, to the University of Miami.”

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In December 2012, Florida International University (FIU) made the surprising decision to fire Mario Cristobal. He had success at FIU, leading the program to its first conference title and two bowl appearances. However, after a tough season in which the team went 3-9, the athletic director let him go. It was a tough break at the time, and many people thought the decision was a mistake.

Instead of getting down about it, Cristobal used the firing as a significant learning opportunity. He landed a job as an assistant under the legendary coach Nick Saban at the University of Alabama, probably the best decision of his coaching career.

He spent four years there as the assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator, learning the ins and outs of running an elite program. He even won a national championship with them in 2015 and was named one of the best recruiters in the country.

After his time with Saban, Cristobal got another head coaching chance at the University of Oregon. He took everything he learned and immediately started building a powerhouse. He was a recruiting machine, bringing in top talent year after year. During his four seasons there, Oregon won two Pac-12 championships and a Rose Bowl.

All that success at Oregon made his alma mater, Miami, want one of their own to bring back the glory days, and they hired Cristobal with a massive 10-year, $80 million contract.

It wasn’t an immediate fix, as the first couple of seasons had some rough patches, but his process and hard work eventually paid off.

“You can’t see straight when something like that happens. Especially when you invest every waking moment of your life into it, but I thank God that it did,” Cristobal didn’t shy away from admitting it.

After 15 years of setbacks and second chances, Cristobal wouldn’t trade this journey for anything in the world. Every detour and every lesson eventually led him back to where it all started: his alma mater.

Cristobal’s long road back to Miami has culminated in a groundswell of support, perhaps best illustrated by the frenzied demand for a glimpse at history.

The Miami Hurricanes’ student tickets sold out within minutes

The University of Miami students quickly sold out their tickets for the National Championship in just five minutes. On January 12, students received an email with a link to buy tickets for $488 after the Hurricanes won the Fiesta Bowl. Each student was allowed to buy only one ticket, and the tickets were non-transferable. Many students rushed to the site as soon as sales opened at noon.

Some students were unaware of the price, as student tickets are typically included in athletic fees. With more than 4,000 students requesting tickets, the university placed everyone in a virtual waiting room and randomly selected students.

Only 1,000 students could get tickets, leaving many disappointed. While some students found the price high, they noted it was significantly cheaper than non-student tickets, which were selling for thousands of dollars online.

As Miami and Mario Cristobal stand on the brink of a national title, the demand from their students made one thing clear: the Hurricanes are officially back.