I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'd rather keep a coach a year too long, than fire one a year too soon. A revolving door of getting a new coach every 3-4 years wont work at a place with a limited budget to attract coaches. Iowa State needs to sell stability and longevity over a high short term salary. What else do we have to sell new coaches on? They'll be paid near the bottom of P5 coaches and it's a tough place to win consistently. If coaching candidates also know they'll have a short leash, why would they want the job?
That's not to say we can't fire coaches. I just don't mind hanging on to someone for an extra year when most schools would have pulled the trigger.
While I agree with a lot of what you say, I do think even our own fans live too much in the past of what the ISU athletics department was and its revenue in relation of others. While we may have been one of the sisters of the poor and near last by way of gross revenue 20 years ago, is it honestly true now to say that? In fact, the latest gross revenue numbers show us at #34 of the 65 total power 5 programs out there (#5 of 10 in the Big 12). To me, this puts us squarely in the middle. Granted, this was pre-covid, so who the heck knows as to its effect now exactly. Regardless, not only is it not accurate to say we pay our coaches near the bottom of P5 coaches, but to say its also true to our future capacity to pay coaches isn't even true to our current budget.
P.S..... send JP your thanks for this
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