You gave a nice list of the good things he's done I'll try to give some of the bad:
1) Ferentz - 10 year contract. This cannot be understated how bad this was not only for the length of time but for the money of which much is guaranteed.
2) Field Hockey - Gender Discrimination. Enough said.
3) Lickliter - Worst hire in Iowa basketball history?
4) Softball Hire - Went from a perennial top 25 team to off the map.
3) Gameday Football Atmosphere
4) Terrible Director's Cup scores
I'll counter those somewhat:
1. Again, people now complain about the length of the contract and the buyout. The length was the real issue at the time. Had it only been say 7 years, I don't think it would've been as much of a problem. The 10 year contract invoked memories of the absurdly large contract Notre Dame fed to Charlie Weis after just one season of success. The money Ferentz got paid was already a complaining point for fans even back in 2006 and 2007.
2. As others have mentioned, it remains to be seen how much of that was the issue. I agree there is smoke. Having gone to Iowa for 3 years, and had classes with several female athletes of the smaller sports and hearing some of their stories, I understand they have more difficulties than the men do.
3. Already discussed
4. Can't really comment here because I can't remember the sequence of events (mostly because I don't follow the softball program much at all, but more on that in a second). I'm trying to remember if the long-time coach we had retired or if she was fired, and it's been a comedy of hiring blunders since. Don't know enough here to speak on it.
But what I was getting at with my other comment about not following the program was that there was also this mindset, it seemed, around campus when I went to Iowa, that we just didn't care how most of the smaller sports, particularly the women's sports, did. "Oh the volleyball program stinks...nobody cares. But hey at least we have one!" (that was also a common quip about the baseball program, while mocking Iowa State)
There were people who didn't even know Iowa had tennis, golf and gymnastics. They just didn't care, and once they knew of these programs' existence, they certainly didn't care about the results.
The fact is, there is still somewhat of a stigma for the minor sports, that there doesn't need to be as much of an investment into the success of that sport as others. There's also, I don't want to call it a realization, so much as perhaps a perception, that there are certain sports that just won't be able to be as competitive as others. A school like Iowa is not going to dominate at every sport, just as a school like Indiana is not going to dominate at every sport. Case in point, Indiana football. There's only so much that the University of Indiana can do to try and build a successful football program, just the way there's only so much the University of Iowa can do to build a successful women's tennis program....................
5. To be honest, Barta has very little to do with the gameday football atmosphere, other than being responsible for retaining Ferentz much to the chagrin of a growing (though perhaps now holding steady) portion of the fanbase. And aside from the success (or lack thereof) of the football team itself, there are a number of issues challenging the gameday atmosphere around college football, including things the fans themselves can control. They ARE the ones that make the decision to spend their money after all. More and more are just preferring to spend it while watching the games on TV......
6. Nobody cares about the Director's Cup itself, unless you're an Iowa State fan. What that represents though is an overall reflection of your athletics programs. Until recently, Iowa has been either poor to average in most all of their sports. But it's pretty obvious that changes are being made to improve upon that. I understand that this thread is simply asking that people take the time to recognize that, rather than feast off of past mistakes.
