Freerents has been running the show over at EIU for 10 to 15 years, he had Barta as an AD that was never going to cross him and do whatever he wanted. Playing in the Big Least West gave him a perfect opportunity to play exactly the type of football that can be successful playing teams that are average to below average every year and rack up the wins. Look at their nonconference schedule for the last 20 years. They never played a team that you could say was better than them, a few were equal, but most were horrible. When they went to the 9-conference schedule, they continue to blame ISU for the lack of playing anyone but horrible teams always at home, because they have to have 7 home games, forgetting the fact that they play in the richest conference in football.
If one of the reporters covering the team, pisses him off, that reporter soon loses access to the team, so they are kowtowed into asking only softball questions, many in the fan base as a whole are afraid that he will leave and they will return to the days of non-winning seasons, and the big donors love him because he has figured out get 8 wins and you get a Florida bowl game most years. Hell if the new AD had not stepped in, Freerents would be spreading the word this week that his boy needed another chance to "fix" the offense, playing the injuries, won 10 games and got to the championship cards. If Barta had been still in charge it would have been a shoo-in deal.
Iowa the Fake ID of College Football.
