One door closes, another one opens.

[ca4cy]

This Thread is dedicated to Jamie Pollard, the best AD Iowa state has ever had. You can say he failed with Jackson and Rhodes, but they were loyal sons, forever true. They deserve our respect, they wanted the best for ISU, but it just wasn't in the cards. Jamie however has absolutely cemented ISU's place in history as an institution that embraces their coaches, student athletes, and fans as family. Unfortunately the door closed on KJ and CPR, but I personally thank them for the blood, sweat, and tears they gave to ISU. But that door closed and it opened the doors for Kevin Dresser, CMC, and Steve Prohm. I don't think Iowa State's Athletics have ever been at a higher pinnacle than what they are achieving now, and what they are going to achieve in the next few years. One or more of these guys are going to get us a national championship, I guarantee it. Thank you JP for making it all possible, without you we would not be where we are, thank you sir, from this Cyclone fan(ATIC).

Hi Jamie.

 

[VeloClone]

One thing that often gets overlooked is Jamie's leadership in the Big 12. ISU is not one of the heavy hitters in the league but you often see Jamie as the leading voice of the small guys in the league. That is pretty important.

 

[madguy30]

He's done a nice job of creating a bit of a 'brand' for ISU, and some of that has to do with his hires. CPR was a national darling for a while and after about 3 seasons of Hoiberg I remember being in C.R. and noticed much more ISU apparel either being sold or worn around town.

All this while having a design or PR department that lives in Bizaro world where helmet bugles are what they think a national TV audience wants to see.

I think embracing and promoting the strong community feel at ISU has also helped. People are drawn to that sense of belonging and support, and the two big sports, football and basketball, just so happen to have head coaches that make those things a priority.

 

[harimad]

Surprised nobody has mentioned the Johnson County ISU billboards yet.

 

[throwittoblythe]

The upgrades in facilities and the growth we have had under Pollard have been tremendous.

I graduated from ISU 10 years ago so I'm not THAT old. However, I think recent and younger fans don't fully appreciate how bad our game day atmosphere was not that far ago. When I was a student from 2003-2008, we had one very small, very janky video board in the south end zone. Also, the sound system couldn't play anything with any measure of volume without just becoming white noise static. Every year I go back, I think back to those days and am astounded at how far our facilities have come.

 

[cyfamily]

Culture is a big word today, and I think Jaime has changed the culture at ISU. He is so invested in making Ames/ISU a great place for our student athletes to call home for 4/5 years and then send them out as great representatives of Cyclone Nation. He truly cares, and our athletes and coaches know it.

 

[FinalFourCy]

I graduated from ISU 10 years ago so I'm not THAT old. However, I think recent and younger fans don't fully appreciate how bad our game day atmosphere was not that far ago. When I was a student from 2003-2008, we had one very small, very janky video board in the south end zone. Also, the sound system couldn't play anything with any measure of volume without just becoming white noise static. Every year I go back, I think back to those days and am astounded at how far our facilities have come.

Thank you TV money

 

[CyHans]

I agree with everything you said until guaranteeing a national championship, ha.

I think wrestling has a legit shot in the near future

 

[NickTheGreat]

Agree. Jamie is awesome and ISU wouldn't be where we are today without him.

 

[Spanky]

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

My only knock on JP is that he hasn't brought the south end zone hot tubs back yet.

 

[Grump]

McDermott and Chizik were both good hires on paper. They were two of the hottest names in their respective sports at the time and it was impressive we were able to land them. Unfortunately, this does happen but neither hire should be a red mark on JP's resume. He also takes a lot of heat for "running" Cael Sanderson out the door. Iowa State didn't simply have the resources at the time to invest into wrestling and our the money generating sports were WAY behind in the arms race. Yeah, it sucked that Penn State basically wrote him a blank check but there was nothing JP could do. The man has done an amazing job and has been extremely loyal to Iowa State.

Speaking of athletic directors, was anyone else surprised at Max Urick's induction into the ISU Hall of Fame?