Gary B

[ColumbusHawk]

Tom Davis average? You need to brush up on your history. Steve Alford was average.

Tom Davis was average. He challenged for the Big Ten title only once. Davis never won anything. Once Raveling's recruits left, his record was almost exactly five-hundred in conference play. That is the definition of average.

In years three through five the great Doctor was 23-31 in conference play. In contrast, Fran is 30-24 in years three through five & he didn't inherit what many consider to have been the most talented team in the country. Tom Davis never seriously challenged for the Big Ten title after his first year, never won a conference tournament game & didn't make the final four. His best conference record after his first two years was 12-6. If McCaffery goes 3-15 this year in conference play, Fran will have the exact same conference as Davis in years three through six.

I remember Ralph & Lute. Compared to them, Davis was below average. At least Alford won something. Plus, Alford wasn't hired by Bump.

 

[HuckFinn]

Barta is,in my view, an easy target. I have no problem at all with his tenure at Iowa. He has focused on building relationships with the big spenders. He has raised a ton of funds. He has improved facilities in the major sports at a major level, and has done just enough in the minor sports to keep him plausible. He has made some errors. Try holding down a position that is scrutinized like his. Good luck with that. Do you have experience in that kind of climate? You have to make big decisions, the one's that don't turn out get dramatized beyond recognition. As to the so called controversial elements he has faced, try holding down a position like his without that experience. Again, good luck with that. I certainly mean no offense to those of you who disagree on his success, or lack thereof. But, walk a mile in his shoes, as the old saying goes. Just my rambling thoughts.

 

[alexzelada]

Tom Davis was average. He challenged for the Big Ten title only once. Davis never won anything. Once Raveling's recruits left, his record was almost exactly five-hundred in conference play. That is the definition of average.

In years three through five the great Doctor was 23-31 in conference play. In contrast, Fran is 30-24 in years three through five & he didn't inherit what many consider to have been the most talented team in the country. Tom Davis never seriously challenged for the Big Ten title after his first year, never won a conference tournament game & didn't make the final four. His best conference record after his first two years was 12-6. If McCaffery goes 3-15 this year in conference play, Fran will have the exact same conference as Davis in years three through six.

I remember Ralph & Lute. Compared to them, Davis was below average. At least Alford won something. Plus, Alford wasn't hired by Bump.

Kirk 71-60 in conference

Davis 125-105 in conference (and he did come in second in the year Minnesota cheated their way to 1st place - and he finished in the upper division most years which Alford can't say. And Alford made it past the first round once in 8 tries. IIRC Davis did it 11 times)

So I guess Kirk is AVERAGE?

Dude I just completely destroyed you.

 

[JLCHawk]

Plus, Bob's drinking problem. He really embarrassed Iowa at numerous I-Club events. Eventually, Bump had to put him on a very short leash. But he did make the best hire of any Iowa head coach in hiring his Rose Bowl teammate. Commings & Bernie did a great job in upgrading Iowa's talent. Hayden inherited a team with much better talent.

I was unaware of Bob's drinking problem. One of my memories of watching Bob on his weekly TV show was when asked what they needed to do against the next opponent. Bob would say, "We just have to go out & play with reckless abandon." I had heard he campaigned for the Iowa job, speaking to I-Clubs etc. He was a dynamic speaker, & that fan pressure was on Bump to hire him. After all, the bad taste in every ones mouth from the FXL debacle was still fresh.

 

[tanaros]

Barta is,in my view, an easy target. I have no problem at all with his tenure at Iowa. He has focused on building relationships with the big spenders. He has raised a ton of funds. He has improved facilities in the major sports at a major level, and has done just enough in the minor sports to keep him plausible. He has made some errors. Try holding down a position that is scrutinized like his. Good luck with that. Do you have experience in that kind of climate? You have to make big decisions, the one's that don't turn out get dramatized beyond recognition. As to the so called controversial elements he has faced, try holding down a position like his without that experience. Again, good luck with that. I certainly mean no offense to those of you who disagree on his success, or lack thereof. But, walk a mile in his shoes, as the old saying goes. Just my rambling thoughts.

If Barta is canned in the near future, it wont be because of football, or the other high-visibility sports. the enormous cloud that is hanging over his head that is the Title IX investigation of the athletic department, and a possible lawsuit over the field hockey situation stemming from last year will be what brings him down. Iowa football struggling prior to this season was merely the tip of the iceberg. barta has done lots of good things, but there's also a lot of stuff beneath the surface that doesn't look good as well.

 

[ColoradoHAWKEYE]

This is the kind of football year that has/can/and will vindicate both KF and GB. I met and talked briefly with GB a couple of years back and he was very forthright and up front (he had the kind of personality that can seemingly get along with most anyone, especially high donors). The terms of KF contract was not favorable and I would hope this would never come close to being repeated in any capacity; but he righted the mishires in bball. He doesn't post ill-advised billboards either. It is certainly refreshingly unexpected for everyone to see the football turnaround this year, and that will go a long ways in erasing any prior misgivings about either GB or KF.

Improve the tailgating atmosphere, quit moving people around inside the stadium and outside in the parking lots, and he will get more support from the avg ticket buyers. As for the title IX stuff, that seems to drag on forever, I would guess that GB will get more widespread support with the turnabout in seasons of all the higher profile sports as of late.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

Kirk 71-60 in conference

Davis 125-105 in conference (and he did come in second in the year Minnesota cheated their way to 1st place - and he finished in the upper division most years which Alford can't say. And Alford made it past the first round once in 8 tries. IIRC Davis did it 11 times)

So I guess Kirk is AVERAGE?

Dude I just completely destroyed you.

Kirk wasn't even in the discussion! However, Davis's winning percentage in conference was 54.3 percent. Kirk's is 54.2 percent. I don't think you destroyed me. Plus, Kirk has two B1G titles. Finally, in Davis' last eleven seasons his conference record was 99-95 plus two losses in the B1G tournament. That is pretty darn average.

 

[lightning1]

Maybe invite him over your house and cook him a big wonderful breakfast. How to Be Better Than Your Enemy

I'll serve him a warm bowl of shut the flock up! With a side of back bone and a fresh cup of coffee.