Former assistants still costing us big bucks
- Thread starter MontyBurns
- Start date
Being cheap is what has gotten ISU in trouble over the years. I'm still amazed sometimes they got the Hilton complex built. Something like that today would be north of $250 million..
And Monty you did forget a few other things caused by JP. While you're at it, got to throw in the floods of 2008, the stock market melt down, the housing collapse, our state budget woes, Iowa won all those games last year, people not going to church anymore, and I'm sure I'm missing a few other things.
Listen, I don't think he's perfect; but he's willing to try new things. If we keep on doing the same old things, we'll get the same old results. Yeah we did go to a few bowl games and did well in basket ball before Jamie got here. Why did that all go in the toilet before and when we he arrived? Because that success was not built on a good foundation.
And Monty you did forget a few other things caused by JP. While you're at it, got to throw in the floods of 2008, the stock market melt down, the housing collapse, our state budget woes, Iowa won all those games last year, people not going to church anymore, and I'm sure I'm missing a few other things.
Listen, I don't think he's perfect; but he's willing to try new things. If we keep on doing the same old things, we'll get the same old results. Yeah we did go to a few bowl games and did well in basket ball before Jamie got here. Why did that all go in the toilet before and when we he arrived? Because that success was not built on a good foundation.
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The JP bashing is not going to help anything. Has he always made the right choice? Obviously not. How many people on the board have never made a choice that did not turn out the way? If so, I commend you on your God like abilities. Jamie has always done the things that he thought would build ISU into a decent athletic program. So far he is 0 for 2 in his big hires, and CPR is really his last chance to get things right. GC going to Auburn was completely unseen. Who would have every thought that they would hire him after what he did his first 2 years at ISU? GC must be one of the luckiest guys on earth. GMac is the one that really makes me wonder. He really looked like a great hire, but so far, his teams have stunk. Clearly this is JP's fault.
He's an idiot because he only looks at 3 things:
FB, MBB, and ticket prices at those sports. He doesn't look at the big picture of the AD which has seen vast facility improvements, greatly increased revenue, great success in other sports outside the big 2, and a larger fan base.
Monty could care less about the athletic dept. as a whole. He had made it off my ignore list, but is now back on....Congrats Monty!
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Maybe I'm not typical, but I think most fans don't care alot about any sports but football and basketball, and wrestling to a lesser degree. To me it's tough to be a good a.d without some experience in football and/or basketball, and I don't think JP played or coached either, even at the high school level. An a.d. is mainly judged on the success of his football and basketball programs, and how do you select and evaluate coaches without any experience in either of those sports? I don't agree with everything Monte says, but he's spot on when he says we had much more success (and fun) as fans in the years before JP got here than the 3 he's been here, which Monte accurately points out are 3 of the worst football/basketball years in ISU sports history. Not saying that won't change and that JP can't still be a good a.d, but so far as a 35 year football and basketball season ticketholder, I can't remember paying more and getting less for my money than the last 3 years of Clone football and basketball.
We've all heard the nonsense about "greatly increased revenue". It that's true, it means that JP is doing less with more. Maybe you JP apologists should think about that.
And I guess you don't go to men's basketball games. I went to over half of our home games this year, and have been doing so for almost 20 years. Our so-called "larger" fan base must be going to basketball games dressed as empty seats.
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Actually the years under BVD are looking better and better, and were certainly much better than the last 3 years on the field. I do know BVD was a coach with K-State being one of his stops, so I'm sure he probably played a lot of football. Gene Smith was probably the best A.D. we've had in a long time and he had a heavy background in football. My only real problem with BVD is that he didn't give LE a leave of absence to undergo rehab, but he was under heavy pressure from a media, internet and radio talk show frenzy to fire LE. I imagine he also was getting heavy pressure from the big donors to dump LE. Personally the guy was very accessible to talk to and I liked the guy.
The Athletics Director has a say in this as well. I'd like to know how many coordinators have the verbiage in their contracts like this given the circumstances, i.e. the HC taking another job.
He also messed up the coaching search big time, had a rep as an AD you dont want to work for and didnt know how to raise money, he just knew how not to spend it. Oh and there is the canning baseball.
Perhaps money PLUS TIME = results? Our budget increased. AFTER we get more money, we plan/start facilities upgrades that takes TIME (years). Facilities upgrades (even just started ones) means better recruits in the YEARS to come (great high school seniors committed 1,2, more years ago).
I'd just like you to consider that you can't build a pyramid from the top down. At the time, GMac and Chiz both seemed like -- at worst -- solid hires (my opinion) with a CHANCE to be great hires. Chiz flopped (though who knows the future -- he did get a number of good/great recruits and a few more years maybe . . ?). GMac has had as much bad luck as can be used for an excuse so we'll see what next year brings. I still say that he was a solid hire -- and he could still be great. I feel like if JP left now, it'd feel a lot like Chiz leaving us. But he seems highly committed to seeing ISU through the changes he's implemented, and I say he's positioned -- with facilities upgrades, budget, happy donors, larger fanbase, and improvement in other sports (volleyball, wrestling) -- to succeed in taking ISU to a new level.
He's also leveraged to the point where a major problem could get ugly.
Great post. The only thing I question is the last sentence. True he's increased our leverage, but I still think we're on the conservitive end of the spectrum? Any data to back up what you're saying?
I think I remeber pollard mentioning that park of the money we got from Auburn would help pay: 1. A search firm for the search and hire of a new coach 2. New coach and possibly some assistant's relocation packages. Those times in total could approach $400,000.
Yep, because the budgets of every other school in the country haven't increased
JP ran track and got his degree in accounting I believe.
On the business side of things I have never doubted what he is doing (yes, that includes ticket prices). As for coaching evaluation, he most likely has a good feel for what to look for in the major sports.
He has been around long enough to know that good guard play gets you to the NCAAs and good line play is a foundation to a football team. Both of those are no brainers to look for when finding a coach for those two sports.
And hearse is just that - from what I understood, donors were divided. I also heard that BVD had received word from the Rag that they had pictures and gave him an opportunity to act before they published. Something along the lines that he thought they were bluffing... That's just how I heard it went down...
IMHO, BVD got to reap the benefits of what Gene Smith started (look at where he's gone since leaving ISU - com'on, anyone can run tOSU! Or maybe not...)
As I said in my earlier post, Gene Smith was the best a.d we've had in a long time imo. It is also very possible that all the big donors didn't want to dump LE, but pretty likely most of them did or he may have survived. I don't know if there were other pictures of LE that didn't come out, but the ones I saw were not as bad as the Podolak pictures.
:skeptical:
I believe you heard that, but I 100 percent can't believe that is true. The Register took great pride in running that story.
What made LE's photos bad was that:
1). He was the head coach and should have been on the team bus heading back to Ames
2). He was partying with rival fans and saying how bad his team sucked
I didn't have a problem with letting LE go. I'm am glad, however, he turned his life around.
No, when he got word of the pictures, BVD went right to LE and asked him about them - Eustachy lied and said the pictures were taken at a "restaurant" with Mizzou fans who approached him for photos and autographs.
So BVD's big mistake was not knowing his bb coach was a liar...
