Nearest airport is Cedar Rapids, which doesn't seem that far. But it adds extra hassle to any recruit traveling from out of state on a visit, parents visiting to see games, and athletes traveling home to see family. Do you think this affects our ability to land out of state recruits? Are there any solutions?
Does not having a major airport in Iowa City hurt Iowa's ability to land out of state recruits?
- Thread starter GetOnTheLine
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What’s the time to get from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids airport? 20 min? How’s that compare to other schools? My opinion it is not a factor when you look at it in comparison.
Well you don't have to deal with rush hour traffic, so that's a bonus in and of itself.
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anon_i8nzeu2gbf0ba
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It's easier to get to the CR Airport from Iowa City than it is, for example, to get to O'Hare from Northwestern, or LAX from UCLA, or Sky Harbor from Arizona State. Big airports in major cities are seldom easy to get to. I would imagine most recruits find the CR to Iowa City trip pretty simple in comparison.
It's less than 20 minutes from the Cedar Rapids airport to Iowa City. In comparison, it's 45+ minutes to get to O'Hare from downtown Chicago with traffic.
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Tuscaloosa doesn't have a major airport, either.....
The cost of flights to Cedar Rapids might be a factor. The distance to Iowa City isn't a factor to anyone who has made the drive. Guessing the OP hasn't? It is Exit 13 on 380. I suppose other schools might use it to try to discourage recruits from making the first visit ("they don't even have an airport ")
My recollection is that one of the factors in deciding to recruit Georgia heavily was that CID added a direct flight to Atlanta on one of the budget airlines.
My recollection is that one of the factors in deciding to recruit Georgia heavily was that CID added a direct flight to Atlanta on one of the budget airlines.
Sometimes worse..... I remember a bus trip to Wrigley Field where it took us an hour to go 4 miles after leaving an afternoon game at rush hour.
The airport location is likely not a factor.
The fact that almost anywhere to Cedar Rapids requires a layover is likely a factor.
The fact that almost anywhere to Cedar Rapids requires a layover is likely a factor.
I really don't think it's hurting recruiting. It's not as though recruits are traveling multiple times weekly for business. It's not a big deal to spend a day traveling occasionally. I could understand the angle of parents traveling for games, but that's a factor regardless of the convenience of flying. What's more convenient/less expensive? A 1 hour direct flight that takes 2.5 hours door to door or a 2 hour drive?
I work for DL and CID has 3 flights a day non stop to ATL. The only direct flights into CID come from/go to the airlines Hub cities. So unless recruits are coming from MSP/DTW/OR ATL they do have to make a connection.
Right. They are all direct flights. The point is, “...but not from many different cities”.
point being made is you cant get to CID from Jaxsonville FL direct for example. You need to stop in a Hub....
20 minutes is closer than 90% of airports to college campuses. Now CR is not a major airport but it is big enough
Well, I can tell you one recruit from Texas whose parents I know eliminated Iowa (who was their favorite) because the parents wanted to attend all the games. They didn’t mind flying cross country if they had to but CR was just didn’t have enough options.
Then he/his family are idiots. Anyone that eliminated a school because of a 20 mile drive from the airport isn't someone that was seriously considering us anyways. Or if they were mad they couldn't direct fly, well how many direct flights are there anymore? Seems like everything has a stop over somewhere.
Alabama only has a regional airport, Detroit Metro its like 30 minutes from ann arbor, Vanderbilt is like next door to the nashville airport and they suck. Airport location has nothing to do with recruiting.
This has to be one of the dumbest posts I’ve seen as it is 25 min from the e iowa airport and that is significantly closer than most. The real issue is that it requires a connecting flight where many other schools don’t have that issue
That is a bogus excuse. If they are anywhere near DFW, there are several direct flights to CR. Their real reason was different.
Many schools are not near major airports. Mizzou must travel to STL or KC. Kstate must travel 2.5 hrs to KC. Kansas must travel 1 hr to KC. Illinois has a small airport but most major flights are 2 hrs away in Chicago.
as I said, they weren't considering Iowa, really, in the first place. Just looking for any tiny reason to say no
I know it's an easy drive. I also know that not having direct flights is more significant than the actual distance from CR to IC. But for out of state recruits that aren't familiar with the drive from CR to IC and are on the fence about coming for a visit, not having an airport in Iowa City might influence their decision. It probably doesn't, but maybe for some it does. Especially if they're weighing all their options and looking for a small reason not to come.
I do chuckle that you feel that you have the credibility to criticize another post as dumb.
