KF Disbands Former-Player Advisory Committee

To me, the main concern is Porter's account of how the assistant coaches handled and acted in the meeting with the committee. And I can't tell if Lomax is saying that's a lie/stretch or if he disagrees with Porter's conclusion that they needed to clean house in the Iowa athletics department.

That's Porter's opinion. He's one committee member.

I have heard the meeting with the assistants did not go well. Why?

As I Tweeted, Porter volunteered his time and was hand-picked by KF. He was picked by KF to be an honorary captain in '15.

What's his agenda here? What does he gain by speaking out?
 
Based on the timing of his contact extension, this is a terrible announcement. Whether it was the right thing to do or not is not for me to decide. But the optics make it look like the committee was just there to get heat off until another 10 win season.
 
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This is going to be messy and complicated. On the surface it feels like a chess move to protect Brian. It may be deeper than that, but I have my doubts.
 
Another thought…

If KF knew back in October after the meeting with the committee and coaches that he needed to go in a different direction, he probably should have had that plan in place when he disbanded the original committee.

I understand that it’s busy in season, but this should be a priority and something should be in place now to replace your original setup. This isn’t something that should lag.

Hopefully the new plan is put into place soon. Guys start classes Tuesday.
 
Porter had no authority to start calling for resignations, ne, firing, of KF, or any other coaches. He misused his position and (maybe) KF called him on it. Porter violated the trust of his own committee members and certainly the trust of a coaching staff he had pledged to assist in supporting players, especially those of color. Yeah, I know the termination of the committee was not caused by Porter’s actions. BS. If it was not, it should have been. Porter should have resigned from the committee and gone on Twitter to run his mouth.
 
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HuckFinn said:
Porter had no authority to start calling for resignations, ne, firing, of KF, or any other coaches. He misused his position and (maybe) KF called him on it. Porter violated the trust of his own committee members and certainly the trust of a coaching staff he had pledged to assist in supporting players, especially those of color. Yeah, I know the termination of the committee was not caused by Porter’s actions. BS. If it was not, it should have been. Porter should have resigned from the committee and gone on Twitter to run his mouth.
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Can't disagree with this much. Porter's actions come across to me as a knee jerk reaction to some built up frustration on his behalf.
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Later Lomax post made sense..........

✔@jordanlomax27
Replying to @PatHarty
As far as I’m concerned the only opinions that are relevant to the current atmosphere of the football program right now are the guys that are currently on the roster. That’s who you should be speaking to

​
 
If there ever any doubt about who's running the show at the UI, this story puts that to rest. It states that the advisory committee was put together by "the Univ. of Iowa Athletic Dept." Then later, KF announces that he and he alone has decided to disband the committee.
As Rob states, from an administrative perspective, if you are serious about continued input, you have a replacement plan/structure in place before announcing the dissolving of the committee. Barta should have prevented KF from disbanding the committee until the new plan was ready to launch. But I guess we know what type of administrator-not Barta is, which brings us back to the first sentence...
Talk about putting fuel on the the fire of the pending lawsuit.
When Kirk is feeling confident, he can do really stupid things.
 
Grady said:
If there ever any doubt about who's running the show at the UI, this story puts that to rest. It states that the advisory committee was put together by "the Univ. of Iowa Athletic Dept." Then later, KF announces that he and he alone has decided to disband the committee.
As Rob states, from an administrative perspective, if you are serious about continued input, you have a replacement plan/structure in place before announcing the dissolving of the committee. Barta should have prevented KF from disbanding the committee until the new plan was ready to launch. But I guess we know what type of administrator-not Barta is, which brings us back to the first sentence...
Talk about putting fuel on the the fire of the pending lawsuit.
When Kirk is feeling confident, he can do really stupid things.
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Sorry, but you are dead wrong. If you don’t think Barta was on board with KF’s decision, you are naive as hell. And, I would bet a lot of $$ that the U of I president was read in. Had either of them disagreed with KF’s call, it would not have happened. You and a lot of others on HN are at best naive about power structures in organizations like the U of I. If you guys think Barta and the President bend to KF’s will, you are flat out ignorant on that topic. Do you honestly believe that KF made this move without the approval of Barta and the President? OMG. Try reality.
 
Between this and the contract extension, I hope he doesn't overstay his welcome and get embroiled in further incidents.

Who knows what could happen. This is a small world. Michigans's president just got bounced for having an "inappropriate relationship". I think the static would have eventually caught up to Bo Ryan . He got out with his legacy intact. For now.
 
What was Porter's motivation here? Was he just looking to burn bridges, be alienated by the program he loves, the fans and the coaches he played for? What did he see that led him to his conclusion? Does that matter or not?

I'm honestly asking for thoughts. Those aren't rhetorical questions?

And I know the committee had split opinions on the matter, but to say that none of them or other members of the alumni to which he sent his messages agreed with Porter is flat out false.
 
This is a strange exercise. No one here has the answers so why even create more theories / possible explanations? Putting it all under the good of discussion is not productive or fair to any individuals involved in this.
 
I was hoping for discussion and sharing of thoughts and ideas.

If nobody wants to do that, that's fine.
 
I've worked in corporate world for almost 25 years and there's always something compliance based going on. Porter's responses remind of the auditors who love to be given long BS statements that don't really meet the standards. But then hate the short, precise answers or even worse apathy towards compliance. I don't know him at all and can't really speak to his motives, but it fits the profile.

That said KF lost any benefit of the doubt by the timing of the announcement and not having any definitive plan ready.
 
HuckFinn said:
Sorry, but you are dead wrong. If you don’t think Barta was on board with KF’s decision, you are naive as hell. And, I would bet a lot of $$ that the U of I president was read in. Had either of them disagreed with KF’s call, it would not have happened. You and a lot of others on HN are at best naive about power structures in organizations like the U of I. If you guys think Barta and the President bend to KF’s will, you are flat out ignorant on that topic. Do you honestly believe that KF made this move without the approval of Barta and the President? OMG. Try reality.
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Ha. I've been called many things over my lifetime, but naive is not one of them. Of course Barta knew what KF was doing, but neither you nor I know if the Prez of UI knew -- there is such a thing as delegation of authority at a corporation as large as the UI. It's more likely her chief of staff knew...possibly...but that's beside the point. Do I think Barta "bends to KF's will"? Absolutely. (All you have to do is look at their pay grade & seniority.) And this is a perfect example of it: Barta either had neither the guts to tell, instruct, or cajole KF into handling this better, or he simply didn't have the intelligence to do so. Either way, once again Barta proves himself incapable of managing a BTen athletic dept.
 
RobHowe said:
What was Porter's motivation here? Was he just looking to burn bridges, be alienated by the program he loves, the fans and the coaches he played for? What did he see that led him to his conclusion? Does that matter or not?

I'm honestly asking for thoughts. Those aren't rhetorical questions?

And I know the committee had split opinions on the matter, but to say that none of them or other members of the alumni to which he sent his messages agreed with Porter is flat out false.
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Do you think there was an element of Porter thinking he had more clout or influence than he really did? Some of this seems to me like he felt he was untouchable to a certain degree, came in with huge demands, and KF called the “bluff” in the form of showing Porter he wasn’t going to be pushed around?

I think (like anything in life), the “who’s right/wrong” answer lies somewhere in the middle, and this is an example of two people who’s who’s won’t fit in the same room. Porter wants to throw the entire program in the trash and can’t compromise whatsoever, and KF says eff you and swings his ax to show him who’s boss. Porter’s disadvantage is that he doesn’t even have a hatchet to swing, let alone an ax.

Both people/sides/parties can be wrong to the same degree. It doesn’t have to be one is more “right” than the other. We see it in our disaster of a government every day.
 
Was it a part of Porters job to recommend anyone be fired? Lomax made it sound like Porters 2 cents on it was his and his alone not the committees as far as what'd been expressed. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the committee was to suggest ideas for improving things and that the staff had largely done so.
 
Fryowa said:
Do you think there was an element of Porter thinking he had more clout or influence than he really did? Some of this seems to me like he felt he was untouchable to a certain degree, came in with huge demands, and KF called the “bluff” in the form of showing Porter he wasn’t going to be pushed around?

I think (like anything in life), the “who’s right/wrong” answer lies somewhere in the middle, and this is an example of two people who’s who’s won’t fit in the same room. Porter wants to throw the entire program in the trash and can’t compromise whatsoever, and KF says eff you and swings his ax to show him who’s boss. Porter’s disadvantage is that he doesn’t even have a hatchet to swing, let alone an ax.

Both people/sides/parties can be wrong to the same degree. It doesn’t have to be one is more “right” than the other. We see it in our disaster of a government every day.
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I would say that if Porter's recommendation led to the dissolution of the committee, I could buy that. And maybe it was the reason. But that's not what KF is saying:

“While the formal committee will no longer meet regularly, the input and direction they provide will be welcomed in our program,” Ferentz wrote in his statement. “A player does not stop being a member of our program when their eligibility expires. Our former players help guide and support our present and our future. I am thankful for their time and contributions.

“The decision to evolve the Advisory Committee was made in November and communicated in January. Dave Porter did not share his sentiments with me directly. He included them on a former player group text chain where some of our current coaches are part of that group. I was surprised and disappointed by his comment and wish him the best moving forward. His comment had no influence on the decision regarding the Advisory Committee.”
 
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