Bump Elliott Passes Away
- Thread starter RobHowe
- Start date
judzeehawk
Well-Known Member
RIP Bump I will always be grateful for what you did for Iowa athletics.
WinOneThisCentury
Well-Known Member
Wow...think about those three hires for a minute. He is and probably always will be the most influential AD in Iowa History. RIP Bump.
Northside Hawk
Well-Known Member
Hayden wrote in his book that he had never been to Iowa and knew nothing of the university other than one thing; Bump Elliott was the athletic director. That was enough to pique Hayden's interest and eventually accept the job.
When Iowas basketball job suddenly opened in spring, 1986, Lute Olson bumped into Bruce Pearl at the Final Four. Pearl's boss, Tom Davis, was rumored to be in line to replace retiring Guy Lewis at Houston. Olson vehemently told Bruce to not let Davis accept that job until he had talked to Bump.
That's a pretty good tribute and legacy to one of the all time Iowa greats.
HaydenHawk56
Well-Known Member
RIP Bump.
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
RIP, Bump Elliott, truly a legend in Iowa athletics. He took over at a very difficult time. The feud between Evy and Ray Nagel, not long after the Black boycott which really affected the football team for several years. He hired FXL, then Bob Commings, and said he had to take responsibility. On top of that, Ralph Miller had left the B-ball HC job for Oregon State, which most surmised was related to all the tension in the Athletic Department, due mainly to the Evy-Nagel feud.
He more than "righted the ship". He helped convince U of Iowa President James O. Freedman how crucial investing in the athletic department was to the overall success and perception of the university as a whole. He was exceptional, and is probably the single most important figure in U of Iowa athletics post-Evy.
He more than "righted the ship". He helped convince U of Iowa President James O. Freedman how crucial investing in the athletic department was to the overall success and perception of the university as a whole. He was exceptional, and is probably the single most important figure in U of Iowa athletics post-Evy.
EstronHawkKing
Well-Known Member
I grew up going to the same church as Bump back in the day, he was a wonderful person
hawkeyebob62
Well-Known Member
I would say THEE greatest
ssckelley
Well-Known Member
I would say so too but I'm not familiar with who the AD was way back in the day. Maybe the one that got Iowa into the Big Ten (Western Conference) , or whoever was the AD back when Iowa won NC's in football in the 20's or 50's.
trj
Well-Known Member
With the amount of money involved and the need to keep up in the “arms race” a decent part of your gig has to be fundraising.
trj
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I get that now. I thought you were taking a dig at today’s AD. It would have been fair I was just making a counter point. My bad.
archiehawk
Well-Known Member
By far the best AD ever at Iowa.
SmokeTownHawk
Well-Known Member
RIP Bump. Any Mt.Rushmore of Iowa athletics has got to include Elliott.
Seth53
Well-Known Member
At the Hawkeye Huddle in Orlando before the 05 Miracle-Catch-Cap1 bowl, I had the opportunity to actually sit with BE and his wife Barbara and enjoy a cold one. He was truly humbled by the fact I recognized him and could site some of his accomplishments while at Iowa. I still have his autograph on a napkin in my "Hawkeye shrine" spaces.
