I realize our football program is our "revenue" generator. But doesnt increased excitement in the basketball program feed that beast as well. We have never been "really" good in football like Iowa has been in the past. Dont you want to generate as much revenue as you can. I think letting the Bball program tank doesnt help our football program in any way shape or form. We are already excited about football season however we could easily go 4-8 next year killing some momentum, although i dont think we will. This is what baffles me about the whole Pollard- Deace conversation. Lets get the excitement back at Hilton. That is only going to continue to fuel even more excitement for football. IMO at Iowa State the football and basketball programs go hand in hand and feed off each other somewhat, regardless of one generating most of the revenue. Am i missing something here. Lots of good stuff on this site...curious as to what some more opinions are out there about this idea.
Help me understand this!!!
- Thread starter mowheat
- Start date
This is getting out of hand. Does anybody honestly think that Jamie Pollard is letting the MBB program purposefully tank? Under difficult circumstances, he is trying to do what he feels is in the best interest of the MBB program and the entire athletic department.
You can only judge someone on their actions. His actions have been suspect at best.
I totally disagree. I recall football games when I was younger that the stadium was empty at kickoff, but the basketball program was still solid with Floyd. I can also recall times where the football program overperformed, and the basketball attendance was pathetic. (ahem, last season).
First off my use of the word tank was obviously only an observation based on our current state of condition of the program. I never stated Pollard did it on purpose just that it seems like it. Keep up here your smarter than the response you just gave me to my thread. I was sarcastic a little bit if you cant read between the lines....
Oh yeah? :skeptical:
Come on now. If he wanted it to tank, what would be his motive? Are the hawks paying him on the side?
So we should only care about football then i assume??? Pollard has done more for the athletic department revenue wise then anyone since i can even remember, maybe since Gene Smith... my point is you still have to put an effort into both programs at ISU. Not all of our athletic directors have done that though i know we rank at the bottom of the Big 12 for budget. Plus we have been pretty good at basketball in the past vs football. So i am assuming you think nothing should be done wit the basketball program?
Sure excitement helps sells tickets. Of course, it would be great if our basketball team did well. Yes, a bad year of football would kill some momentum.
Now, let's look at it like a business.
In order to make the changes some are advocating, like changing the coaching staff. It would probably cost around 4 million to get the firing and hiring done. Knowing that we are losing state assistance, only around 1.5 million, and MBB didn't even make 2 million in net profit. It wouldn't be prudent to make the decision to spend 4 million dollars to a sport that does make that much in profit. The purse strings are too tight to make that decision.
Now, let's look at it like a business.
In order to make the changes some are advocating, like changing the coaching staff. It would probably cost around 4 million to get the firing and hiring done. Knowing that we are losing state assistance, only around 1.5 million, and MBB didn't even make 2 million in net profit. It wouldn't be prudent to make the decision to spend 4 million dollars to a sport that does make that much in profit. The purse strings are too tight to make that decision.
Pollard would state we should care about all sports, hence his commitment to the Director's Cup. He has to look at the whole department. The sacrifice is too great at this time.
There doesn't really have to be a motive. He would be perfectly happy if it did well. It is just that he is not going to put the resources into it (by paying a buy-out to a losing coach and hiring a new one) since it is such a small part of the revenue. Look at it from a purely business standpoint.
I think it is a mistake to let it tank because I think ISU has a better chance of success in conference in basketball than it does in football. It has pretty much always been that way. I think if you let the program tank, you are hurting your overall support for ISU athletics now and in the future. However, I can see a money-first person like JP doing that from a business standpoint.
Also, not many here say anything about it, but I don't see JP staying at ISU forever. He may be more interested in making an immediate impact (which he has) and then moving on to something bigger. MBB may not have a big priority with him because he can still show success in other areas even if it tanks. He may not truly have major concerns about ISU athletics 4 or 5 years down the road. Why would he? At some point he will move on.
If he did not make a move about GMac this year, I don't see him making one in the future......not unless for some reason ISU MBB becomes a bigger priority to him. If donations to the Athletic Department start to drop significantly because of the debacle that ISU MBB has become and is going to continue to be in the future under GMac, then maybe he will make a change. I just don't see that happening. If CPR has any success at all, JP may not need for the ISU MBB program to get better. If they win fine....if they don't.......no big deal. Why allocate resources to it's success? Sucks for those of us that are ISU MBB fans, but there are other schools.
I completely agree. It might cost us in the long run, but the bills get paid in the short run. I'm sure the status quo decision is painful, but according to the numbers long term numbers probably easier.
Thats fine, but if you are going to out it all on Pollard, then you have to go after Geoffrey as well. Pollard has a boss and this boss must be ok with how its going at the moment. When millions of dollars are at stake, they either all need to be on board with a decision or all be gone when things fall apart.
I agree with most of what you said, except maybe this part. Although, I agree that he won't be here forever, I think this move is more of a long term play by him. He could mortgage the future and make a big splash getting another coach in here. But, he's not, he is trying to stay in the black and may be seeing this next year as a down one, but one that still keeps his budget a float without thinking about cutting other programs.
I understand what you are saying.......but look at it from a business standpoint. The difference between making a move this year and next is $500,000. It costs 2.5 million now plus a new coach, or 2 million next year plus a new coach. Plus, you are going to lose ticket revenue next year because a large majority of your fan base is upset. So if you don't make the move now, why would you make it next year? Your season ticket sales this past year were as high as they have ever been, because people thought there was going to be a good team on the floor. No one is going to be thinking that any more........no matter how much some try to sell it or spin it. So when in the next 4 years is it going to be easier to make the move? When will the conditions be better than they are right now?
Also, keep in mind that the cost of hiring a new coach will go up every year, and I would think the difficulty in attracting a good coach to ISU would become more difficult each year too.
I understand this logic, I do, but I dont believe its true. Like I mentioned, I have a hard time believing that if Pollard was failing as much as some claim around here, he would be canned already. I think his hands are currently tied. Hopefully in the next couple of years, the light in the tunnel will be brighter.
Do you even know what you're talking about? Gene Smith left ISU with gigantic financial issues that Bruce "The Scourge" Vandevelde was hired to clean up. Unfortunately, BVDv used a gigantic hacksaw to do so when a scalpel would have been more appropriate. In whichever case, Gene Smith is not the guy I'd say did "wonderful things" for ISU financially...