Ask WKU football head coach Willie Taggart his favorite color and he’s likely to tell you red.

Evidently that should be the same answer for all 21,000 students in the student body.

On Monday, Taggart hastily reacted to a reporter’s question about whether or not seeing student’s adorning UK colors is troublesome to him.

He later somewhat apologized via Twitter, claiming it was his passion for his school that sparked the comment. But, we all know he likely got a good tongue lashing behind closed doors.

Saturday’s loss to Alabama may have left the coach a little delusional, especially after he called the Tide an NFL expansion team who could beat five or six current pro teams. And he went on to add that the Hilltoppers could beat the Tide.

Speechless? Just let it sink in and I’ll continue.

Much like the Tide, UK is a member of the Southeastern Conference, home to college athletics’ top teams. 

All due respect to them, the Hilltoppers are in the Sun Belt. The football program just recently entered the Football Bowl Subdivision. 

UK is among college basketball’s great teams, and while WKU has been competitive as a “mid-major,” even in that realm it doesn’t live up to the status of UK or any other national power.

Growing up, I — and I’m sure many other college sports fans — found a connection to a certain team.I’m sorry, Coach Taggart, and any loyalist to the school, but it’s just not the same. 

You’ll hardly, if ever, hear, “Dad, please find the Western game on TV. I can’t wait to watch us play. They’re great.”

Replace “Western” in the previous quote with UK, Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, North Carolina, Duke or Florida State and it fits like a glove for my generation.

Simply going to a school doesn’t make you indebted to its athletics program.  At the end of the day, most prospective college students realize they must find the school that is geographically, financially or academically suited for them.

UK has its sports and academic perks, but WKU has its advantages.

For example, the Herald’s Caitlin Herrington — think she cared about the school’s primary color? Probably not. Given WKU’s success in journalism, she set her sights on aiming to be the best journalist possible.

I considered WKU, but Lexington was closer than Bowling Green, with a rivaling journalism program.

So, one day removed from the game, Willie Taggart — although prior to my college experience I never thought I would say this — it isn’t all about sports.

P.S. Topper fans, if you see your football coach out in a Stanford Cardinal shirt (running backs coach, 2007-09), be sure to let him know that’s a different shade of red.

Editor’s note — Cody Porter is a columnist for the Kentucky Kernel. This is his column for the “What Color Are You Wearing?” face-off with College Heights Herald Managing Editor Caitlin Herrington.