ADVERTISEMENT

Where there’s smoke…..

Are you talking about Fran? Great man? Acts like a fool at local high school games and on the court at carver. Pretty low bar for him to be in that category.
Several years agoo my mom was assigned to meet Fran when he arrived to a certain location, and escort him to the proper room (I don't want to divulge too much info on that one, which is why I'm being evasive with the description - no laws were broken by me finding this out, either). He was a complete asshole to her, until he realized she was there to help him. I know that will come as a surprise.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IAmTheLaw151
This is the closest that I've come in a long time to having hope that Fran will be moving on.
Still, I think it's most likely going to turn out like the Charlie Brown-Lucy football scenario. Still hopeful as you swing the leg into the ball, only a split second from whiffing thin air and ending up on your ass.
 
Even tho our BB NIL is not great the athletic dept will be flush with tv cash.
So if we can't lure players w cash, we gotta lure a coach who can lure the recruits.
Throw big money at a shakka...double his current money.
Between BB and FB coaches I suspect Iowa has spent the least on buyouts in the BIG since 1980.

We absolutely have to find a way to use our fortunate status as a member of the richest conference in the US to recruit at a higher level.

But I do not think Fran is going anywhere...we are contacting all these portal guys...doubt he would bother if he was moving on.
University cash cannot be used to pay players, only NIL.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hendy hawk
University cash cannot be used to pay players, only NIL.
University goes to a car dealer and says "We need to add 25 vehicles to our fleet and you are one of the dealerships we are considering. Oh, by the way, have you ever considered donating to our collective?"

That's illegal, but I have to believe that stuff like this will happen, or is already happening.
 
University goes to a car dealer and says "We need to add 25 vehicles to our fleet and you are one of the dealerships we are considering. Oh, by the way, have you ever considered donating to our collective?"

That's illegal, but I have to believe that stuff like this will happen, or is already happening.
That's been happening for decades. I know a player who arrived on campus (not at Iowa) and noticed players driving Cadillacs. When he mentioned it to his position coach, the coach said yeah go see so-so at xyz dealership... had his own caddy that day. lol
 
While we contemplate replacements for Fran.

The open question is where will he go?

I don’t see Beth making a change at this point.
She won’t. Not this year. If you were going to fire Fran, any smart AD would have declined the NIT invite and fired him immediately after the OSU game. Waiting a 5 days after the nit loss only shortens the coaching pool and would be AD malpractice.

I also am not sure what jobs are still open that would be a realistic landing spot for Fran?

That being said, assuming he does come back, I would put good money that next year is Fran’s last.
 
She won’t. Not this year. If you were going to fire Fran, any smart AD would have declined the NIT invite and fired him immediately after the OSU game. Waiting a 5 days after the nit loss only shortens the coaching pool and would be AD malpractice.

I also am not sure what jobs are still open that would be a realistic landing spot for Fran?

That being said, assuming he does come back, I would put good money that next year is Fran’s last.
The AD would've been talking to other coaches AGENTS to advise them there may be an opening & if so, would your client be interested. The NIT invite has no affect here regarding shortening the pool of available coaches.

Fran isn't going anywhere. He's 64 (?) and what other school would hire him in the twilight of his career? Most AD's want some up and comer or home run hire. Not someone to hold the seat for 3-4 years. Fran will be at Iowa until the end of his contract unless something unscrupulous comes up.

This years portal recruiting will be telling though. Iowa has roster room and many many needs. If he doesn't fill these spots with quality performing players, he could be asked to step away. This being said, he is limited if NIL money is not there. It is what it is & players wanna be paid. Can you blame them for going for the money? This could be Fran's excuse for not getting players & it's legitimate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hawkfan_08
JBo was also one of the first big school hoops players to publicly support Pay for Play.

It's absolutely ruined college sports.

F Him and F Pay for Play.
NIL hasn't ruined college sports. The lack of rules has. JBo and his colleagues were right: How can everyone earn big bucks except the players? It made no sense, it was unfair, but it came with no regulations. Paying players was inevitable. Doing it without any rules was not. Thank your NCAA for screwing things up again.
 
She won’t. Not this year. If you were going to fire Fran, any smart AD would have declined the NIT invite and fired him immediately after the OSU game. Waiting a 5 days after the nit loss only shortens the coaching pool and would be AD malpractice.

I also am not sure what jobs are still open that would be a realistic landing spot for Fran?

That being said, assuming he does come back, I would put good money that next year is Fran’s last.
The Charleston job is open. Not Power 6, but fertile recruiting grounds, and not a bad place to live in your 60s and 70s.

Any chance Fran has ambitions to join the small list of coaches who have taken 5 different teams to the Dance? (Is Alford the only one who has done it?)
 
  • Like
Reactions: LaQuintaHawkeye
University cash cannot be used to pay players, only NIL.
I acknowledge that fact in my first line.
The athletic dept cannot pay players but can overpay a coach who is a skilled master recruiter. Do that.

Those skills include motivating donors to contribute to a BB NIL.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LukaDuka
He could work a lower amount to leave early by his own choice.
If he has money saved, I can't see $$ alone would be the main factor. So that opens up more job possibilities including mid major. Or he could just wait a year or two, work on getting the family settled somewhere else.
 
NIL hasn't ruined college sports. The lack of rules has. JBo and his colleagues were right: How can everyone earn big bucks except the players? It made no sense, it was unfair, but it came with no regulations. Paying players was inevitable. Doing it without any rules was not. Thank your NCAA for screwing things up again.
This is the biggest flaw in the pro-NIL argument. Players were already receiving tremendous compensation in the form of tuition, room & board, athletic training, trips abroad, trips to bowl games, apparel, equipment, and much, much more. Being able to live life in your 20s (or 30s) with a college degree and no college debt is a huge financial advantage.

Sure, if you want to argue that players deserve more than they were already getting, that's fine. In some cases, it might be true (i.e.: Caitlin Clark). But to act like players had been getting nothing is a gross misrepresentation of reality.
 
If Fran was indeed thinking of bolting to another program, don't you think Patrick would have gone with him and not entered the portal?
Does Devries's son have to go to the the portal to follow his father to West Virginia? Just asking. If Fran goes maybe we'll find out on Monday.
 
What big name coach would want to come to Iowa, where men’s bball sits behind fball, wrestling, and women’s bball. If Fran leaves I’d be guessing the applications are full of young coaches with some success at smaller schools. Hell this AD could prove me wrong, she seems to have the biggest set of anyone over there anymore.
That's not really true, but even so, I doubt that has as much to do with their consideration as it does - do they (i.e. wives) want to live in Eastern Iowa over a more 'exotic or urban' location? Yes, they actually care about that believe it or not.
 
This is the biggest flaw in the pro-NIL argument. Players were already receiving tremendous compensation in the form of tuition, room & board, athletic training, trips abroad, trips to bowl games, apparel, equipment, and much, much more. Being able to live life in your 20s (or 30s) with a college degree and no college debt is a huge financial advantage.

Sure, if you want to argue that players deserve more than they were already getting, that's fine. In some cases, it might be true (i.e.: Caitlin Clark). But to act like players had been getting nothing is a gross misrepresentation of reality.
The NIL argument didn't have anything to do with PAYING the players, it was ALLOWING the players to profit off of their own likeness. They weren't allowed to make money by doing anything essentially, whether that was making commercials or signing autographs. Right now, we essentially have pay-to-play, where the players are basically getting paid just to come to a school. These players aren't going out and making their own money, people are giving it to them. I don't know what the right regulations would be, but this isn't going to work forever.
 
The NIL argument didn't have anything to do with PAYING the players, it was ALLOWING the players to profit off of their own likeness. They weren't allowed to make money by doing anything essentially, whether that was making commercials or signing autographs. Right now, we essentially have pay-to-play, where the players are basically getting paid just to come to a school. These players aren't going out and making their own money, people are giving it to them. I don't know what the right regulations would be, but this isn't going to work forever.
I don't have a problem with players being allowed to profit off their own likeness, as you laid it out. My issue is with folks who claim athletes were getting nothing. That is simply not true.

And I also have a problem with pay for play, and with the idea of asking average-joe fans to create a whole new pool of money to be able to fund it.
 
This is the biggest flaw in the pro-NIL argument. Players were already receiving tremendous compensation in the form of tuition, room & board, athletic training, trips abroad, trips to bowl games, apparel, equipment, and much, much more. Being able to live life in your 20s (or 30s) with a college degree and no college debt is a huge financial advantage.

Sure, if you want to argue that players deserve more than they were already getting, that's fine. In some cases, it might be true (i.e.: Caitlin Clark). But to act like players had been getting nothing is a gross misrepresentation of reality.
I agree with you. A college education has great value. However, the amount of money being made compared to the value of a degree is probably not equal. And players spend a great deal of time on practice and playing & cannot take on another job for spending money. I believe the NIL should be capped & make it fair & equitable across all schools. Right now the deepest pockets are getting the best talent. Limit the NIL to $100K per player, tops. Set a minimum wage for freshman & have it increase each year the player stays in school at the school he first attended, with stipulations they can transfer under certain circumstances and not lose NIL or eligibility. Such as a coach leaving, family circumstances change, etc...
 
My money is on Fran announcing he is stepping down for another opportunity shortly after the women's team completes their season.
I'd like to see Bob Huggins as coach. He recruits, plays great defense and is always in games because if his defense.
Yes has some baggage with his DUI's but he's sobered up and wants to coach again for several more years.
 
If Fran was indeed thinking of bolting to another program, don't you think Patrick would have gone with him and not entered the portal?
Does Devries's son have to go to the the portal to follow his father to West Virginia? Just asking. If Fran goes maybe we'll find out on Monday.

I don’t know if he has to go to the portal, but DeVries son is in the portal.
 
This being said, he is limited if NIL money is not there. It is what it is & players wanna be paid. Can you blame them for going for the money? This could be Fran's excuse for not getting players & it's legitimate.
When he's the reason there is limited NIL funds, then his excuse is illegitimate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: intrepodor
I agree with you. A college education has great value. However, the amount of money being made compared to the value of a degree is probably not equal. And players spend a great deal of time on practice and playing & cannot take on another job for spending money. I believe the NIL should be capped & make it fair & equitable across all schools. Right now the deepest pockets are getting the best talent. Limit the NIL to $100K per player, tops. Set a minimum wage for freshman & have it increase each year the player stays in school at the school he first attended, with stipulations they can transfer under certain circumstances and not lose NIL or eligibility. Such as a coach leaving, family circumstances change, etc...
Agree with this, but who is going to implement something like this without lawsuits being filed to keep it as it is.
Does congress get involved or the supreme court? The NCAA evidently doesn't have the power to make the changes that you have described. It needs to be done, I do not want college basketball to become MORE OF a professional sport.
 
University goes to a car dealer and says "We need to add 25 vehicles to our fleet and you are one of the dealerships we are considering. Oh, by the way, have you ever considered donating to our collective?"

That's illegal, but I have to believe that stuff like this will happen, or is already happening.
kurt-russell-used-cars.gif
 
When he's the reason there is limited NIL funds, then his excuse is illegitimate.
Not sure of the regulations, but can the AD get involved in NIL donor recruiting? Fund raising is a big part of an AD's job, but this was for athletic department funding. Not sure if AD is allowed to assist in NIL fund raising... anyone know?

But yes, Fran needs to be more active in this regard in order to be successful in the portal. It's part of the new landscape of college sports. Used to be all underground with assistant coaches getting together with shoe company & AAU coaching reps to get players to their schools. Not so much anymore.
 
I think the NCAA got too greedy and it burned them. It was afraid of full cost of education and a stipend for the student-athletes. Now it may go by the wayside.
 
Good thing Devries jumped at that West Virginia offer.....

:(
Why is Iowa always a step behind what’s needed? 😤
If something is done now we’ve already lost a couple of good replacement candidates along with portal pursuit timing.
Annoying as a Hawkeye that our decision tree is way too long and slow.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: LaQuintaHawkeye
The Charleston job is open. Not Power 6, but fertile recruiting grounds, and not a bad place to live in your 60s and 70s.

Any chance Fran has ambitions to join the small list of coaches who have taken 5 different teams to the Dance? (Is Alford the only one who has done it?)
Bobby Cremins took the Charleston job at age 59 after turning down other opportunities. It would be a nice gig without nearly as much pressure.
 
You guys donating your hard earned money and not putting it aside for your family or non-profit civic charities..,,, I'll never understand you. Its a game. Meanwhile, kids are sleeping in cars before they have to go to school. Lets get our priorities straight.
Talk to their parents about their kids sleeping in cars.

Their problem, their responsibility.
 
Not sure of the regulations, but can the AD get involved in NIL donor recruiting? Fund raising is a big part of an AD's job, but this was for athletic department funding. Not sure if AD is allowed to assist in NIL fund raising... anyone know?

But yes, Fran needs to be more active in this regard in order to be successful in the portal. It's part of the new landscape of college sports. Used to be all underground with assistant coaches getting together with shoe company & AAU coaching reps to get players to their schools. Not so much anymore.
Yeah, Fran could be a lot more things.

Bottom line is, the Hawkeyes need to go in a different leadership direction with the program now. The fan base has hit the malaise point and once that happens, there’s really no coming back without something like a final four run or conference championship. Not happening next year. Let’s hope Fran simply does the right thing and accepts a separation agreement in order to give the program a chance from slipping any further.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT