Not appearing in a bowl game every year defines lack of success. A bowl game should not be a goal but an expectation in this day and age. There are just too many bowl games
Posted this in the A&M leaving thread:
With realignment a burning topic, I tire of the media stating ISU brings nothing to a BCS conference.
I don't think the parenthesis indicate number of championships as big 12 members. Okie State may have won 50 championships, but not all as a big 12 member. I know ISU hasn't won any as a big 12 member, the five that aren't counted for ISU in parenthesis are due to some women's cross country championships, (AIAW Championships), prior to NCAA sponsorship of women's athletics in 1982.
"National team titles by institutionSchool - Number - NCAA Championships (less AIAW and Helms Foundation)
Oklahoma State - 50 - NCAA(50)
Texas - 48 - NCAA(40)
Oklahoma - 25 - NCAA(18)
Iowa State - 19 - NCAA(14)
Texas A&M - 14 - NCAA(13)
Kansas - 12 - NCAA(10)
Baylor - 2 - NCAA(2)
Missouri - 2 - NCAA(2)
Texas Tech - 1 - NCAA(1)
Kansas State - 0 - NCAA(0)
With realignment a burning topic, I tire of the media stating ISU brings nothing to a BCS conference. It is one thing to hear it from uninformed media type but to hear fellow Cyclones make that statement is crazy. Here is what ISU brings to the table and why ISU will always be in a BCS conference
What does ISU offer a BCS conference you ask?
1) 3 million+ people. Not a major TV market but a very good chunk of people and more than a lot of other teams that are currently in BCS conferences. And definitely more than some teams that people feel we should pursue for the Big 12. Some might argue that ISU doesn't bring the whole state but I would argue they do but that is another discussion.
2) A healthy athletic budget- Is it a big budget when compared to Big 12/SEC/big 10 teams?...No. But when you compare it to other BCS conference like the Big East/ACC and the PAC 12 we are average. YES, AVERAGE!!!!! When all the the new TV money is thrown in, ISU would be right in the middle of the ACC. Right in the middle of the PAC 12 and near the top of the Big East.
3) Healthy attendance levels- ISU continues to show that their attendance levels are stable. Our fans are not fair weather fans that bolt when the team is down. Our football attendance would be 4th in the Big East, 4-5th in the ACC, 7th in the PAC 12. MBB we were 28th out of 100 schools and we were a .500 team. WBB is one of the attendance leaders. Fact is we are a stable fan base that delivers year in and year out. It is consistency with great growth possibilities in a inconsistent economy.
4) Facilities- While our football stadium needs a south bowl, our facilities are along the lines of a BCS school. I believe it was David Irving who said ISU has as good of facilities as any school he visited including USC. We hear that from other recruits as well. Yes, we have a ways to go and no we will never catch the big boys but we have BCS facilities and are making progress towards getting better. Our IPF is second to none as is the student resource center. A new football only facility puts us in line with the bigger boys and ahead of other schools. The scoreboard is phenomenal. WBB/MBB has Hilton and the Sukkup facility. The new football only facility makes things better for non revenue sports by opening up the Jacobsen Building. Etc, etc, etc
5) Academics- Yes, I know this doesn't mean much in the big scheme of things(can't believe I said that, how pathetic is our society) but the NCAA is starting to really break down hard on academics. Schools that don't graduate their students are going to see penalties while schools with good graduation rates, like ISU, are sitting well to take advantage. I also feel the Presidents are tiring of realignment crapola and are going to step in more and more. Our research grants speak for them selves and will continue. We are in the AAU and we won't get kicked out anytime soon
6) Lack of success/success- While we do not have a lot of success in football, we have in other sports. We strengthen non revenue sports competition. Our basketball programs are solid. In the end, no conference wants a conference full of Alabama/Texas/tOSU/Oregon. Conferences don't mind having a program or two that are perceived as easy victories.
In the end, ISU brings a ton to a BCS conference. Our strong attendance numbers despite a lack of success really demonstrates a consistent market. One that will not turn a TV off because of a loss. It demonstrates ISU's ability to deliver the state of Iowa as a market. People that have the WOE IS ME attitude about our budget/attendance/facilities have never stopped and looked at the budgets and attendance numbers for conference members in the PAC 12/ACC/Big East. We fit right in those conferences. Some have nicer stadiums but we have better facilities. We are a middle of the pack BCS conference member in every way shape or form.
Sadly, in today's environment, the thing that matters most is how many TV sets does Iowa State deliver and what kind of TV ratings does it supply when it is on. ISU delivers all of the markets listed below, which is a substantial but not great amount of TV sets. Importantly for the Big 12, those are all markets that would not be in the conference without ISU (as opposed to OSU, KSU, or Baylor which really don't provide any new markets beyond what OU, KU and UT provide).
Even though ISU could deliver each of these markets, Iowa probably gets better ratings in every one of these markets except maybe Des Moines-Ames, which is probably a break even. TV contract money depends on both markets delivered and TV ratings.
The problem for ISU is there is no 1 big market in Iowa, since Des Moines is the only market in Iowa in the top 75. That makes a team like Utah seem more desirable (SLC is a top 50 TV market, but it is also the only market in a smaller state), even though ISU delivers more total TV sets and probably with very similar ratings to what Utah delivers in its state (which lag far behind BYU's ratings in the state).
Des Moines 432,820
Cedar Rapids 346,010
Davenport 309,800
Sioux City 155,490
Mason City 144,590
Keokuk 102,010
Ottumwa 51,370
TOTAL 1,542,090
Markets that ISU probably does not deliver but has a substantial presence in:
Omaha 418,290
Sioux Falls 263,790
Does not matter, all about $$$... ISU brings jack squat to a BCS conference
CR = 300,000+? since when? Wiki says 250,000 and that is pretty much including Benton County
Mason City 144,000?!?!
Keokuk has over 100,000?!!? Don't think so...
And Omaha is way larger than 418,000!
Edit: skimmed the original post... I guess those are TV sets
What does ISU bring to a BCS conference? Hmmmm...
Enthusiasm?
Iowa fans had better hope the B1G doesn't itself collapse because it brings as little to the plate as ISU does...
Or the fact that their budget has $30,000,000 more reasons for someone to like them more than Iowa State.
And that budget makes money for a conference how?
Iowa's AD is in great financial shape, but it doesn't change the fact that they're in a small population state and don't have a national following, which is far and away the biggest thing hurting ISU in this.
Or the fact that their budget has $30,000,000 more reasons for someone to like them more than Iowa State.