Just got done listening to the FAW cast and figured I'd relay this email exchange I had with Jamie Pollard back in October 2016.
Jamie,
My name is Tom Craig, graduated ISU in ’05, had football and basketball tickets all 4 years. I’ve had football season tickets ever since and come to 5 games or so per year for basketball.
Anyway, after seeing that new basketball player dorm Kansas just built, I was wondering if anything like that is on the table for us. I understand that the percentage of athletic department funds allocated for basketball differs greatly between ISU and Kansas (as evidenced by our great football stadium/facilities and their crappy ones) so it is obviously harder for us to do.
One man’s opinion here but we need to build one of those. I think you made a great hire with Prohm. He’s demonstrated that he can recruit. This would be an awesome tool for him to use and really elevate ISU in the eyes of recruits.
Tom,
That facility is $40M, the same amount it cost us to bowl in our football stadium. Given that it took nearly three decades to make the south end zone a reality, I highly doubt a housing facility like KU’s is in our foreseeable future. Fortunately I do not see it as something we need, nor is it something our fans have shown a willingness to support (based on our prior basketball projects). Our fans are more grounded in helping us achieve our needs.
Thanks for your note and for your continued support. We will be just fine without that kind of over the top facility.
I responded to the above with some fluff BS and he responded with this;
Thanks Tom. Just remember this. One of the things that makes Iowa State special is we focus on our needs, not our wants. Everyone has wants. When you chase your “wants” to tend to lose your direction and often times lose sight of what really matters – your needs.
Would we like to have a facility like that – no doubt. Do we need a facility like that – hardly. Duke has won numerous national championships without one. Wisconsin has gone to two Final Fours and the Elite Eight in the past three years and they do not have one – nor does Michigan State.
We will be just fine without one.
Jamie,
My name is Tom Craig, graduated ISU in ’05, had football and basketball tickets all 4 years. I’ve had football season tickets ever since and come to 5 games or so per year for basketball.
Anyway, after seeing that new basketball player dorm Kansas just built, I was wondering if anything like that is on the table for us. I understand that the percentage of athletic department funds allocated for basketball differs greatly between ISU and Kansas (as evidenced by our great football stadium/facilities and their crappy ones) so it is obviously harder for us to do.
One man’s opinion here but we need to build one of those. I think you made a great hire with Prohm. He’s demonstrated that he can recruit. This would be an awesome tool for him to use and really elevate ISU in the eyes of recruits.
Tom,
That facility is $40M, the same amount it cost us to bowl in our football stadium. Given that it took nearly three decades to make the south end zone a reality, I highly doubt a housing facility like KU’s is in our foreseeable future. Fortunately I do not see it as something we need, nor is it something our fans have shown a willingness to support (based on our prior basketball projects). Our fans are more grounded in helping us achieve our needs.
Thanks for your note and for your continued support. We will be just fine without that kind of over the top facility.
I responded to the above with some fluff BS and he responded with this;
Thanks Tom. Just remember this. One of the things that makes Iowa State special is we focus on our needs, not our wants. Everyone has wants. When you chase your “wants” to tend to lose your direction and often times lose sight of what really matters – your needs.
Would we like to have a facility like that – no doubt. Do we need a facility like that – hardly. Duke has won numerous national championships without one. Wisconsin has gone to two Final Fours and the Elite Eight in the past three years and they do not have one – nor does Michigan State.
We will be just fine without one.
