It's hard to feel sorry for Stanford, what with its nearly unparalleled educational reputation, its vast resources and its athletic prowess.
But you have to be a bit sad for the members of the women's volleyball team who just won a national championship in December.
Their coach, John Dunning, announced his retirement this week, and it's not hard to imagine what they're going through. It's what people in Stockton experienced when he left University of the Pacific in 2001 after 16 years.
Pacific's volleyball program has never been the same.
It hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2004, even after going 24-7 and finishing second in the West Coast Conference in 2014.