Did Iowa State have more basketball fans in Tempe than Arizona State?
Iowa State is arguably the best college sports program in the country right now. In October the Cyclones had the rare distinction of having their football team,
Who’s the best Athletic Dpt in the country for the money?
- Thread starter MesaClone
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Revenue sharing is going to change that in a hurry.
Basketball is a sport that you can be really good at with just a few players and a good coach. You don’t need a $20 million dollar roster.
As far as football, nobody in their conference is big money so the playing field is fairly level and they have a good coach. Big XII gets a playoff bid, every school in that conference probably sees a realistic path to competing for it.
Big Ten schools that are not the upper crust need an Indiana situation. Easy schedule, get your ass kicked by the one tough opponent and back into the playoff.
As far as football, nobody in their conference is big money so the playing field is fairly level and they have a good coach. Big XII gets a playoff bid, every school in that conference probably sees a realistic path to competing for it.
Big Ten schools that are not the upper crust need an Indiana situation. Easy schedule, get your ass kicked by the one tough opponent and back into the playoff.
Maybe. Maybe not. A lot of people on this forum had them collapsing last year, and yet they've never been as successful as they are today.
The clones have Texas and Oklahoma right where they want them. Off the schedule.
Pollard may be an insufferable blowhard, but he's a competent AD at least. He knows he's got a good thing going and will pull out all the stops to keep Matty C and T.J. O in town as long as possible, even though both have at least one eye looking for a possible opening for a major B1G/SEC program, or in the pros. We like to make fun of ISU, but the real clown show was Gary Barta throwing out ridiculous contract extensions like they were candy.
It's no secret that Iowa is approaching a crossroads. In its money sports, it has two coaches that are clearly in the twilight of their careers. One of whom is still reasonably popular, and I think most fans are okay with him leaving on his own terms. The other's popularity is sinking like a rock, and the majority of folks would be more than happy to see him move on, whether on his terms or on the AD's.
Iowa isn't an Ohio State or a Texas with nearly unlimited resources, but as member of a power conference it should be able to afford a $5-7 million buyout of an unpopular coach and be able to provide an attractive salary for a young, hungry coach eager to prove himself at the highest collegiate level. The reality is, Iowa's struggling to do that. It pays its football coach handsomely, but mens' hoops is a complete afterthought as it's one of the lowest-paying staffs in the conference.
We're lucky conference contraction isn't a thing yet, because if it were, Iowa's membership could well be in jeopardy. It doesn't represent a major media market nor does it have a massive fanbase. It doesn't add anything to the B1G academically. It doesn't really add anything to the B1G athletically (wrestling is nice, but it's not a money sport). And people complain about being unable to afford a basketball coach's buyout that's roughly the same amount as keeping the football coach around for another year... that just screams 'bush league' to me.
It's no secret that Iowa is approaching a crossroads. In its money sports, it has two coaches that are clearly in the twilight of their careers. One of whom is still reasonably popular, and I think most fans are okay with him leaving on his own terms. The other's popularity is sinking like a rock, and the majority of folks would be more than happy to see him move on, whether on his terms or on the AD's.
Iowa isn't an Ohio State or a Texas with nearly unlimited resources, but as member of a power conference it should be able to afford a $5-7 million buyout of an unpopular coach and be able to provide an attractive salary for a young, hungry coach eager to prove himself at the highest collegiate level. The reality is, Iowa's struggling to do that. It pays its football coach handsomely, but mens' hoops is a complete afterthought as it's one of the lowest-paying staffs in the conference.
We're lucky conference contraction isn't a thing yet, because if it were, Iowa's membership could well be in jeopardy. It doesn't represent a major media market nor does it have a massive fanbase. It doesn't add anything to the B1G academically. It doesn't really add anything to the B1G athletically (wrestling is nice, but it's not a money sport). And people complain about being unable to afford a basketball coach's buyout that's roughly the same amount as keeping the football coach around for another year... that just screams 'bush league' to me.
Iowa State has done a nice job the last 10 years.Did Iowa State have more basketball fans in Tempe than Arizona State?
Iowa State is arguably the best college sports program in the country right now. In October the Cyclones had the rare distinction of having their football team,www.si.com
Iowa does a nice job too.
Said it before and I’ll say it again, these things happen in cycles. Remember back in 2008 when KU went to the Orange Bowl in football and won the national title in basketball? Same article could’ve been (and probably was) written about them then.
Iowa State has a good thing going this year, but I don’t see it being sustained. I mean, even though the Big 12 is inferior to the SEC and B1G and doesn’t have Texas or OU anymore, Iowa State isn’t all of a sudden going to be considered the top dog of Big 12 sports… which oddly, some of their fans who seem to live in a vacuum believe.
If anything, this year was/is their window to shine in football and basketball. Other historically good programs in football that have been down lately (TCU, Ok State, Baylor, etc) will be back. Then there’s always BYU, the Arizona schools, Utah, K-State and Colorado (if Deion sticks around) that are usually decent/good. Not to mention Houston and Cincinnati that have once-in-a-while success like ISU has had in football. Most of those schools have more money and show better recruiting classes than ISU.
I say, good for them. Enjoy the moment. Because it WILL end eventually.
Iowa State has a good thing going this year, but I don’t see it being sustained. I mean, even though the Big 12 is inferior to the SEC and B1G and doesn’t have Texas or OU anymore, Iowa State isn’t all of a sudden going to be considered the top dog of Big 12 sports… which oddly, some of their fans who seem to live in a vacuum believe.
If anything, this year was/is their window to shine in football and basketball. Other historically good programs in football that have been down lately (TCU, Ok State, Baylor, etc) will be back. Then there’s always BYU, the Arizona schools, Utah, K-State and Colorado (if Deion sticks around) that are usually decent/good. Not to mention Houston and Cincinnati that have once-in-a-while success like ISU has had in football. Most of those schools have more money and show better recruiting classes than ISU.
I say, good for them. Enjoy the moment. Because it WILL end eventually.
I think Iowa State will spend what they have to in basketball.
In football they don’t need to. They only have to compete with other Big XII teams. Not the upper crust of the Big Ten.
Revenue sharing isn’t going to help Iowa “get over” because the Ohio St’s will still drop another $20 million in NIL on top.
Iowa St doesn't have the revenue to share that the Big Ten and SEC does.
It's become an arms race and the deep pockets will win. Some schools will be priced out of the contest.
No, they still are. It's death by a thousand papercuts. Same goes for all of their contemporaries. This was the closest the B12 and ACC will ever be to the B1G going forward. Every year that disparity will only grow and be more egregiously obvious. Our budgets and payments to players will only embolden that disparity. They'd need a billionaire and even that'd only be temporary relief for a myriad of reasons.
I'm happy that ISU is getting it's day in the sun. They're doing well overall but money rules the roost here. ISU will never have it. In the end, that's all that will matter. They need to get into the B1G or the SEC for this uptick to matter. Nobody watches college basketball like they used to do it's irrelevant ultimately. Football money is king.
It sucks, I'm not a fan. College football is in trouble but it's difficult to see right now. Short term outlooks are worth nothing.
Most likely but there is a proposal for a super conference of 70 teams partially owned by PE. If that happens, ISU would likely be on equal financial footing with Iowa.
Money isn't always king. Iowa has already been receiving a lot more money than Iowa State via the Big10 media agreements, and yet ISU has continued to rise with younger more effective coaching staffs. Sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. Little fish tend to get eaten.
Private Equity?? Hadn’t heard that but I can’t see these administrators giving up their power.
As long as Big XII gets a bid to playoff they are fine. They don’t compete now with the big boys.
They can easily find a few million from boosters to buy a basketball lineup.
But basketball success doesn't get you anywhere.
Nobody cares about UConn. Heck, their women's program probably still carries more status than their men's.
Take this sh!t to the clone board. We don't care.Did Iowa State have more basketball fans in Tempe than Arizona State?
Iowa State is arguably the best college sports program in the country right now. In October the Cyclones had the rare distinction of having their football team,
Nobody cares about going to non playoff bowl games either.
I don’t see a former big ten west team making the playoff in the foreseeable future. A big XII team will be going every year.
Iowa, in their relatively crappy season had a similar bowl game payout as ISU in their best season ever.
There will be haves and have-nots. Money will rule the day.
There will be haves and have-nots. Money will rule the day.
To the OP’s question: I think Wren Baker, WVU’s AD, is proving to be a very capable AD, as he started in quite a jam.
