Barta and big donors

westview

Well-Known Member
How much imput will big donors have on Bartas decission on Licks future. I have heard rumors in the past of donors getting money together to buy out contracts. Also have heard stories of donors threatening to hold back donations if a coach is not gotten rid of. Any of this true?
 
I don't know if that is going to happen here but that is exactly what happened with the Tenn. ftbll coach - donors said no money until he's gone - and he went. This ushered in the Lane Kiffin era and the rest was history.
 
I'm sure some people told Barta that they wanted Alford gone and he seemed to listen by setting the bar. Alford exited ushering in the Lick era at Iowa. This has also turned out to be history as well. The worst three years in Iowa basketball and the end isn't in sight. History is being re-written with every loss.
 
How much imput will big donors have on Bartas decission on Licks future. I have heard rumors in the past of donors getting money together to buy out contracts. Also have heard stories of donors threatening to hold back donations if a coach is not gotten rid of. Any of this true?

Two major contributors to the program played a part in Alford's departure, indirectly by indicating their willingness to help buy out his contract. Now whether that had a causal relationship to Barta giving Alford the ultimatum is merely conjecture.

The most important of donors and supporters are not (yet, at least) unhappy enough with Lickliter to want him gone. Far from it. More the opposite, as some of the most influential have broader priorities IAT athletics, and like the way in which Lickliter is cleaning up the program, the way he is attempting to regain the good reputation of the program, and the quality of academics & citizenship of his recruits.

There is a weathervane that provides a good insight into the program from Barta's perspective. One of the principal contributors just make a big gift toward the renovations & upgrading of Carver-Hawkeye, and several others are currently in the process of the legal. tax, etc stuff for major donations. All in all, even in the midst or recession, fund-raising is going very well, ahead of schedule, and the annual athletic dept budget is in excellent shape, anticipating another ten plus million dollars surplus--all this in the immediate aftermath of the end of the annual subsidy to the athletic programs from the university general fund, and now Barta is in the early stages of the discussion that will conclude with an end to compulsory student fees funding athletics (which will make Iowa virtually unique among Division 1/BCS athletic programs).

If you're yearning to see the money guys bring a premature end to Lickliter's contracted years at Iowa, you are almost certaianly due for disappointment. Odds probably are better that a year from now Barta will be announcing some kind of contract extension--unless the team is gutted by transfers again and there is virtually no improvement on the court.
 
Quote:

Originally posted by tiggerhawk
"Far from it. More the opposite, as some of the most influential have broader priorities IAT athletics, and like the way in which Lickliter is cleaning up the program, the way he is attempting to regain the good reputation of the program, and the quality of academics & citizenship of his recruits."

And Tucker's situation plays into this how?
 
Quote:

Originally posted by tiggerhawk
"Far from it. More the opposite, as some of the most influential have broader priorities IAT athletics, and like the way in which Lickliter is cleaning up the program, the way he is attempting to regain the good reputation of the program, and the quality of academics & citizenship of his recruits."

And Tucker's situation plays into this how?

he gone.
 
Tigger with only 35 post that is like me saying I have guys saying Lick is gone. I don't believe the empty arena is an indication all donors are happy.
 
Two major contributors to the program played a part in Alford's departure, indirectly by indicating their willingness to help buy out his contract. Now whether that had a causal relationship to Barta giving Alford the ultimatum is merely conjecture.

The most important of donors and supporters are not (yet, at least) unhappy enough with Lickliter to want him gone. Far from it. More the opposite, as some of the most influential have broader priorities IAT athletics, and like the way in which Lickliter is cleaning up the program, the way he is attempting to regain the good reputation of the program, and the quality of academics & citizenship of his recruits.

There is a weathervane that provides a good insight into the program from Barta's perspective. One of the principal contributors just make a big gift toward the renovations & upgrading of Carver-Hawkeye, and several others are currently in the process of the legal. tax, etc stuff for major donations. All in all, even in the midst or recession, fund-raising is going very well, ahead of schedule, and the annual athletic dept budget is in excellent shape, anticipating another ten plus million dollars surplus--all this in the immediate aftermath of the end of the annual subsidy to the athletic programs from the university general fund, and now Barta is in the early stages of the discussion that will conclude with an end to compulsory student fees funding athletics (which will make Iowa virtually unique among Division 1/BCS athletic programs).

If you're yearning to see the money guys bring a premature end to Lickliter's contracted years at Iowa, you are almost certaianly due for disappointment. Odds probably are better that a year from now Barta will be announcing some kind of contract extension--unless the team is gutted by transfers again and there is virtually no improvement on the court.


I don't doubt there is a significant amount of boosters who are happy with Lick and are confident with the direction of the program. Mainly because Barta is a heck of a salesman. And is a very sly guy in some respects.

I am curious though Tigger. I know you have connections within the offices and all. What were the feelings of these boosters when Davis was pushed out? I have heard that some of the more influential boosters were ready for a change and putting a little heat on Bowlsby. But I've also heard Bowlsby was running out of patience and wanted to make a significant hire, since that is a main way AD's are judged. He felt he couldn't move onto a grander stage until he was able to pad his resume a little.
Just curious on your thoughts.
 
Two major contributors to the program played a part in Alford's departure, indirectly by indicating their willingness to help buy out his contract. Now whether that had a causal relationship to Barta giving Alford the ultimatum is merely conjecture.

The most important of donors and supporters are not (yet, at least) unhappy enough with Lickliter to want him gone. Far from it. More the opposite, as some of the most influential have broader priorities IAT athletics, and like the way in which Lickliter is cleaning up the program, the way he is attempting to regain the good reputation of the program, and the quality of academics & citizenship of his recruits.

There is a weathervane that provides a good insight into the program from Barta's perspective. One of the principal contributors just make a big gift toward the renovations & upgrading of Carver-Hawkeye, and several others are currently in the process of the legal. tax, etc stuff for major donations. All in all, even in the midst or recession, fund-raising is going very well, ahead of schedule, and the annual athletic dept budget is in excellent shape, anticipating another ten plus million dollars surplus--all this in the immediate aftermath of the end of the annual subsidy to the athletic programs from the university general fund, and now Barta is in the early stages of the discussion that will conclude with an end to compulsory student fees funding athletics (which will make Iowa virtually unique among Division 1/BCS athletic programs).

If you're yearning to see the money guys bring a premature end to Lickliter's contracted years at Iowa, you are almost certaianly due for disappointment. Odds probably are better that a year from now Barta will be announcing some kind of contract extension--unless the team is gutted by transfers again and there is virtually no improvement on the court.


I am calling b.s. on this. In essence, long story short, you are saying the major contributors/basketball boosters who matter most are content with the direction things have gone in three years and likely will continue to be. Sorry, not buying that. Those people are not immune to things that have happened. Not only the mounting losses in three years now, but you claim they are very supportive in part because they believe Lickliter is "cleaning things up." Some of these transfer defections are on Lickliter and there's been there fair share of them.

Finally, I am very good friends with one donor in the Des Moines area who likely contributes more money annually than anyone of this board and knows Barta well on a personal level and he's absolutely not happy with what's transpired here the past few years or the direction he believes this is headed.
 
I don't know if that is going to happen here but that is exactly what happened with the Tenn. ftbll coach - donors said no money until he's gone - and he went. This ushered in the Lane Kiffin era and the rest was history.

The worst thing to happen would be to suddenly get rid of one coach without a plan to replace him. If you try and make a fast hire to salvage your recruiting class, there is a chance you make the wrong hire, and then get stuck with another bad coach for 3-5 years. Finding the right coach is not an overnight process, and needs to be done deliberately.
 
I do believe that major contributors to the program play somewhat of influence on how the athletic department runs the direction of a certain sport. Whether it helps pay for building remodels, newly built facilities, season ticket contributions, coaching venues, ect... They play a silent to the media, but loud to the public influence. There for what they say is never taken lightly. Mr.Barta is a good buissness man who is wise to listen to these highly respected contributors. He is also very grateful for what they do for the University. When it comes to coaching change he really has his work cut out. I am sure that he does not want to look like a chump and go Tom Davis on this guy. I say this in the sence that TL is a class guy who is only doing his best to please the University. However his end results have not been to pleasing. You can make all the excuses and some may be legit, but he is not getting the job done and Barta needs to think short and hard on what he is going to do. With or with out the influence of the big contributors. Barta may be generous enough to give him one more year to get a better and more convincing results to keep him on as the coach of this team and lead them to better seasons ahead. I would almost go on a limb and believe these major contributors also see this may be the desision comming too and will have suck it up and go with the flow one more season. If all else fails they still have the football and wrestling teams to feel good about.
 
Quote:

Originally posted by tiggerhawk
"Far from it. More the opposite, as some of the most influential have broader priorities IAT athletics, and like the way in which Lickliter is cleaning up the program, the way he is attempting to regain the good reputation of the program, and the quality of academics & citizenship of his recruits."

And Tucker's situation plays into this how?


I think back to Pierce and how that was handled. He was suspended for a while, wasn't allowed to pratice, but when it came right down to it he was allowed to use a redshirt for the year he missed. He never missed one game of eligibility for what was more or less rape. Tucker missed how many games for public intox the first time and then the second. With Lick there is consequences for your actions
 
I would have to believe that Barta & company have a very short list of canidates that they want and may have been canidates on the same list of TL but we see who is now coaching
 

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