Dear Cyclone fans,
I wanted to reach out and simply say "thank you" for how everyone handled the disappointment of last night's football game cancellation. The response from our fans, despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the situation, was absolutely fantastic. This was another reminder of why I believe our fans are the best in the country!
We also appreciate your anticipation for the start of the season. That anticipation made the decision to cancel last night's game more difficult. I can assure you the young men in our locker room were equally disappointed they were not able to play last night. Those young men only get so many opportunities to wear the Cardinal and Gold and losing one of those opportunities is a really big deal.
We also wanted to share several other thoughts to answer questions you may have or dispel rumors you might be hearing.
1. The decision to cancel the game when we did was made after consultation with both Head Coaches and Directors of Athletics. In the end, we mutually agreed that it was in the best interest of everyone, especially the health and well-being of the student-athletes, to not prolong what appeared to be inevitable. Forecasts indicated the weather simply was not going to improve to the point we could play.
2. We did not seriously consider playing the game on Sunday for several reasons, including hotel accommodations for SDSU late last night. Furthermore, had we attempted to play today we would have been impacting normal preparation for the team's games this week. Lastly, the forecast for today included more of the same type of weather we experienced last night.
3. It does not appear we will be able to reschedule our game with South Dakota State. The team's bye weeks are on different weeks so we cannot reschedule the game during the regular season. The only week that could work is Dec. 1st (championship weekend). Needless to say, both of our teams hope to be playing that weekend.
4. We began working late last night to identify other opponents we could play during our bye week (Oct. 20th) or during championship week (Dec. 1st). The challenge is the opponent would need to be available to play (not scheduled to play on one of those dates) and eligible to play (either experienced a cancellation or did not schedule a full slate of games this year). Needless to say it will be difficult to find an opponent that meets those requirements and is interested in coming to Ames.
5. Should we finish the regular season with six or more wins we would not need to play a 12th game to be bowl eligible. As a result, we may keep our bye week as is and simply develop a contingency plan for a game on Dec. 1st, should we need a 12th game for bowl eligibility.
6. Once we have identified our course of action, we will communicate directly with you as it relates to our schedule, bowl eligibility, ticketing, television, etc. In the meantime, if you hear or read about possible scenarios that are not communicated directly from our department, understand they are likely rumors.
I also wanted to share with you the stadium looked and sounded absolutely awesome last night at kickoff. The SDSU staff commented several times to me how impressed they were with our game day atmosphere. Thanks to all of you, especially our student body, we have created an incredible home field advantage.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who parks in the reserved parking lots for their renewed cooperation and understanding on being more respectful of their fellow fans. I had several individuals contact me to say they really could sense a much higher level of cooperation among fans parking in the tailgate lots.
In closing I just would like to say thank you again for your cooperation and understanding. It was a very difficult and challenging evening for all of us and in the end we got through it together. I look forward to seeing you back in the stadium on Sept. 15th when open Big 12 play vs. Oklahoma.
Go Cyclones!
Jamie Pollard
Director of Athletics, Iowa State University
I wanted to reach out and simply say "thank you" for how everyone handled the disappointment of last night's football game cancellation. The response from our fans, despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the situation, was absolutely fantastic. This was another reminder of why I believe our fans are the best in the country!
We also appreciate your anticipation for the start of the season. That anticipation made the decision to cancel last night's game more difficult. I can assure you the young men in our locker room were equally disappointed they were not able to play last night. Those young men only get so many opportunities to wear the Cardinal and Gold and losing one of those opportunities is a really big deal.
We also wanted to share several other thoughts to answer questions you may have or dispel rumors you might be hearing.
1. The decision to cancel the game when we did was made after consultation with both Head Coaches and Directors of Athletics. In the end, we mutually agreed that it was in the best interest of everyone, especially the health and well-being of the student-athletes, to not prolong what appeared to be inevitable. Forecasts indicated the weather simply was not going to improve to the point we could play.
2. We did not seriously consider playing the game on Sunday for several reasons, including hotel accommodations for SDSU late last night. Furthermore, had we attempted to play today we would have been impacting normal preparation for the team's games this week. Lastly, the forecast for today included more of the same type of weather we experienced last night.
3. It does not appear we will be able to reschedule our game with South Dakota State. The team's bye weeks are on different weeks so we cannot reschedule the game during the regular season. The only week that could work is Dec. 1st (championship weekend). Needless to say, both of our teams hope to be playing that weekend.
4. We began working late last night to identify other opponents we could play during our bye week (Oct. 20th) or during championship week (Dec. 1st). The challenge is the opponent would need to be available to play (not scheduled to play on one of those dates) and eligible to play (either experienced a cancellation or did not schedule a full slate of games this year). Needless to say it will be difficult to find an opponent that meets those requirements and is interested in coming to Ames.
5. Should we finish the regular season with six or more wins we would not need to play a 12th game to be bowl eligible. As a result, we may keep our bye week as is and simply develop a contingency plan for a game on Dec. 1st, should we need a 12th game for bowl eligibility.
6. Once we have identified our course of action, we will communicate directly with you as it relates to our schedule, bowl eligibility, ticketing, television, etc. In the meantime, if you hear or read about possible scenarios that are not communicated directly from our department, understand they are likely rumors.
I also wanted to share with you the stadium looked and sounded absolutely awesome last night at kickoff. The SDSU staff commented several times to me how impressed they were with our game day atmosphere. Thanks to all of you, especially our student body, we have created an incredible home field advantage.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who parks in the reserved parking lots for their renewed cooperation and understanding on being more respectful of their fellow fans. I had several individuals contact me to say they really could sense a much higher level of cooperation among fans parking in the tailgate lots.
In closing I just would like to say thank you again for your cooperation and understanding. It was a very difficult and challenging evening for all of us and in the end we got through it together. I look forward to seeing you back in the stadium on Sept. 15th when open Big 12 play vs. Oklahoma.
Go Cyclones!
Jamie Pollard
Director of Athletics, Iowa State University
