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So, what happened ?

Misguided based on what? A schools athletic revenue would seem to be a very good indicator of interest and following of an athletic department - and Illinois ranks 10th in the Big Ten.


Revenue is directly related to how good you currently are, and Illinois is not good. No recruit who picks Illinois thinks that, by his junior or senior year, Illinois won’t be a good football team playing in front of packed stadiums. Whether or not that’s delusional is beside the point, as it’s part of Illinois’ pitch. With a huge alumni base and getting coverage daily in Chicago and STL markets, you can see a pitch being made. Again, whether or not you think it’s BS is irrelevant because it’s part of Illinois’ pitch. I’ll tell you from personal experience that good Illini teams pick up a lot of bandwagon fans in Chicago, and that’s going to be a non-starter for a recruit who’s looking to maximize his exposure.

Again, the recruit isn’t banking on Illinois being as bad as they are now, as should be obvious. And before the obligatory Iowa response comes in that no one cares about Illinois in Chicago…

1) That’s not true, I live here. Way fewer people care than somewhere like DSM or Milwaukee. But there is a large Illini fan base here.

2) Even if it were true, that’s the state of things NOW when Illinois is bad. Again, this has to do with potential.

3) Even if it’s ALWAYS true (it’s not), Illinois is still one of 3 schools the Chicago media chooses to cover regularly. Even if 1% of the viewers care about Illinois, the kid’s name is still going to be said on TV in front of a lot of people.

I’m not even saying Illinois is some juggernaut for NIL or better than Iowa or anything, but it isn’t exactly Kansas State. Not even close.
 
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With the commitment of Brian Allen this afternoon to Bret Bielema and Illinois, Iowa only got ONE of NINE official visitors on the weekend of June 25th. who weren’t already committed to the Hawks. At that time, we were either leading or in the top 2/3 teams for these recruits. One left to grab, Hinzman from Wisconsin. Only commit from that weekend is WR Bostick from Illinois. What the hell happened ? I think this could be it. One of the recruits asked Kirk in a Q and A session: Coach, how many more years will you be the head coach here at Iowa ? Kirk, honest as the day is long, said probably not many more without giving a specific number of years. If you're an aggressive recruiter for ANY of our rivals, you would jump ALL OVER THAT info. From the horses mouth directly. Then, in his closing meeting with recruits, Kirk was probably asked AGAIN from each of the recruits about what he said to all of them. Kirk told the truth repeating what he said earlier. Just my two cents, but maybe some legs to it. 😎❤️🏈

I hope that you didn't lose any sleep on this write-up. It is a work of art, right up there with Hunter Biden's Art.
 
Revenue is directly related to how good you currently are, and Illinois is not good. No recruit who picks Illinois thinks that, by his junior or senior year, Illinois won’t be a good football team playing in front of packed stadiums. Whether or not that’s delusional is beside the point, as it’s part of Illinois’ pitch. With a huge alumni base and getting coverage daily in Chicago and STL markets, you can see a pitch being made. Again, whether or not you think it’s BS is irrelevant because it’s part of Illinois’ pitch. I’ll tell you from personal experience that good Illini teams pick up a lot of bandwagon fans in Chicago, and that’s going to be a non-starter for a recruit who’s looking to maximize his exposure.

Again, the recruit isn’t banking on Illinois being as bad as they are now, as should be obvious. And before the obligatory Iowa response comes in that no one cares about Illinois in Chicago…

1) That’s not true, I live here. Way fewer people care than somewhere like DSM or Milwaukee. But there is a large Illini fan base here.

2) Even if it were true, that’s the state of things NOW when Illinois is bad. Again, this has to do with potential.

3) Even if it’s ALWAYS true (it’s not), Illinois is still one of 3 schools the Chicago media chooses to cover regularly. Even if 1% of the viewers care about Illinois, the kid’s name is still going to be said on TV in front of a lot of people.

I’m not even saying Illinois is some juggernaut for NIL or better than Iowa or anything, but it isn’t exactly Kansas State. Not even close.
Illinois started 1-0 with a big win and then the next week the stadium is half empty and they lose to an FCS team. Looks lime we won’t be taking your word for it
 
Illinois started 1-0 with a big win and then the next week the stadium is half empty and they lose to an FCS team. Looks lime we won’t be taking your word for it

Huh? That makes no sense. Illinois is not a good football team and has correspondingly poor attendance. Not rocket science, bro.
 
Ferentz doesn't have a plan for retirement so he would never answer a question like that. He is a coach so as long as he feels he can still do it at a high level and his heart is still in it, he will continue to coach.
Actually Kf has has his retirement plan ever since Brian joined the team. Im confident they would inform the recruits that the next coach is already on the team and ready to go on that day.
 
Illinois started 1-0 with a big win and then the next week the stadium is half empty and they lose to an FCS team. Looks lime we won’t be taking your word for it


Actually an FBS school ...CUSA member. Your point is still valid though.
 
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