An Open Letter from Gary Barta
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
nilekinnick
Well-Known Member
I received as well, not sure of the distribution list, I am a football season ticket holder.
But when I read that OSU and other athletic depts allow access to their season ticket holders email, I have no issue if Iowa does the same. Is a fine line but cannot be half pregnant. If the Iowaswarm is only concentrating on football & M & W BB that is acceptable as they are not bound by title IX restrictions.
Personally, I do not like how the combo of NIL & transfer portal has evolved this last year to unrestricted free agency with no cap. Iowa was already challenged due to population and is a terrific development program for football. Unless we compete on nil it will be just a bigger hurdle to even maintain the success achieved of the last 20 years. But wining a Big 10 outright or natl championship in football or M BB, the odds got a lot longer. Hoping the W BB team can shore up on early season losses and have a great run this year.
But when I read that OSU and other athletic depts allow access to their season ticket holders email, I have no issue if Iowa does the same. Is a fine line but cannot be half pregnant. If the Iowaswarm is only concentrating on football & M & W BB that is acceptable as they are not bound by title IX restrictions.
Personally, I do not like how the combo of NIL & transfer portal has evolved this last year to unrestricted free agency with no cap. Iowa was already challenged due to population and is a terrific development program for football. Unless we compete on nil it will be just a bigger hurdle to even maintain the success achieved of the last 20 years. But wining a Big 10 outright or natl championship in football or M BB, the odds got a lot longer. Hoping the W BB team can shore up on early season losses and have a great run this year.
Fryowa
Administrator
They apparently sent them to all season ticket holders in any sport. My buddy has baseball season tickets only and got the email.
I have seasons in wrestling and mobile pass football and I got it.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
I think they blasted it to every email address they have. That's good database and communications management. I don't think I've bought a single game ticket from the University bince the Illinois-Iowa football game in 2007 and I got it.
Fryowa
Administrator
Probably in your junk mail.
Zstatman
Well-Known Member
One of my big concerns these days is that it seems important stuff is passing by the Iowa Athletic program. We try and do the right thing and still get sued and lose. Where's the disconnect?
It seems to me college football and basketball are headed in the direction of the haves and have nots. Right now it appears we'll in the not category.
It seems to me college football and basketball are headed in the direction of the haves and have nots. Right now it appears we'll in the not category.
My first reaction is, he must have gotten absolutely BOMBARDED from high-end donors concerned about this issue after the Ohio St. revelations. As a football season ticket holder, I can't ever remember getting a communication of any type from Barta's office related to a serious issue or concerns that had been expressed.
Second, it's a profoundly odd letter. He lists all the ways the UI Athletic Dept. is directly supporting the Swarm -- which completely undercuts the legal argument that the Athletic Dept. can't do that because of Title IX. But then he reaffirms that the Swarm will get no special treatment and will be treated as any other "third party" -- even tho the Swarm directly impacts the UI Athletic Dept.
Man, talk about trying to be half pregnant...
Second, it's a profoundly odd letter. He lists all the ways the UI Athletic Dept. is directly supporting the Swarm -- which completely undercuts the legal argument that the Athletic Dept. can't do that because of Title IX. But then he reaffirms that the Swarm will get no special treatment and will be treated as any other "third party" -- even tho the Swarm directly impacts the UI Athletic Dept.
Man, talk about trying to be half pregnant...
Fryowa
Administrator
Yawn.
If 5 donors gave $200,000 each that’s $1,M
If 20 donors gave $100,000 that’s $2M.
If another 50 donors gave $20,000 that’s another $1M.
If 100 additional donors give $10,000 then there’s another $1M
If another 10,000 donors gave on average $250 there’s $2.5M
The rest could easily be made up of corporate donors no problem. I think you’re vastly underestimating the size of P5 donor bases, especially at Iowa. $10M ain’t a problem.
SmokeTownHawk
Well-Known Member
I'm most likely missing something here, but as far as I recall universities can't have a direct connection with these collectives any more than the old bagman networks, right?
HuckFinn
Well-Known Member
Obviously, I hope you are right. Well above my pay grade. I know you are well aware that we are not talking about only one year. I think I will stay worried for a while.
okeefe4prez
Well-Known Member
Iowa has a decent sized donor base for the size of school it is and where it is located, but it is a tiny fraction of the donor bases that the southern schools or the schools in larger states in the Big Ten have. The biggest issue that is going to impact all these collectives in the short run is going to be the deflation of the giant asset bubble we have been in for about a decade. Everyone, even Gary Barta, looks like a genius during such a gigantic bubble. If that thing unwinds in grand fashion like we saw in 2001 and 2009 these kids are gonna be settling for ramen noodles as their NIL payments.
Drop in the bucket. Remember the kind of $ that Barta raises? He got the funding for the new football building and all the renovations to Kinnick and Carver for the practice facility no problem. Talking north of 100 million easy.
My 2 cents on why I think Barta is so gun shy on being cooperative with the collective isn't title IX or anything like that. That's an excuse. It's that he's not wanting to share. The same folks that he sticks his hands out to for $ to fund whatever project he's got going next are who the Swarm wants to hit up. And hit up hard on a monthly/yearly basis. To me it's competition for dollars. He's a shrewd money raising SOB. It's what he's all about. It's certainly not about how he's done at avoiding lawsuits. So to think he's all of a sudden worried about that (when almost none of the other power 5 schools are either) is a bunch of crock. He's just greedy and doesn't want to share the pie.
So it's about that and power. He wants to be able to allocate how that all is spent too. It's not all about title IX though don't buy into that at all. It doesn't even make sense. The collectives can allocate it however in the heck they want they aren't bound by anything.
Now at this point I would say all those in the know, The big $ boosters and season ticket holders all the way down to those with the cheap seats should pretty much know about the Swarm. But it's one thing to know they exist and another to see their advertising pitch and how to reach back out to them. Which is what the Swarm is pushing to be able to do.
I don't want to hear about the whining folks saying they don't want their info shared/sold. WTF. You already have allowed others to do it in all other facets of your lives. If you don't want it done then quit being a season ticket holder at Iowa I guess. We are talking about email addys and phone #s... I don't think the Swarm folks who are really under staffed btw are gonna be spam calling you. Unless you're a big time $ booster. I can't imagine they'll be cold calling for $20 donations a month. They may fire off a text here and there and email. Ignore it if you want. Or better yet chip in. Either way it's not some huge violation of privacy. It's not like they share credit card numbers and socials...
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