Pollard, Campbell and Goetz

The worst thing is that for all the millions they're spending on CyTown, the revenue it brings in will more than make up for it. That thing is impressive as hell and it's only going to make them that much farther ahead of Iowa in the long run.

I love Kinnick but the location of it has to be the worst in major college football in terms of being able to do anything cool like that. I love the downhome residential feel of game day in Iowa City, it's unmatched in my opinion as far as the feel in the air, but it doesn't help the situation. Can you imagine how many buildings and houses you'd have to buy and demolish to put up a HawkTown? You'd spend $225 million just doing that and the dirt work before you even laid a single brick.
Kinnick IMO has the Wrigley appeal to it. It's got that nostalgic old school feel to it that you just love. But CyTown has that Busch Stadium's Ballpark Village feel to it, where it's an atmosphere all of its own that is about so much more then just the games. I love the Cubs, but as a guy with a wife and three kids living almost the same distance between the two that their choosing St. Louis all day every day, before I even have a say in it, when it comes to catching a series or a game or two. You're absolutely right and it absolutely sucks that we can't compete with what they're doing and all we can do is watch and wait.
 


I don't know why Iowa fans feel required to make these excuses but Albaugh and Stine do not bankroll ISU.

Iowa's NIL is larger than ISU's. Guys these are non-profits - check their budgets and operating expenses.

Iowa's athletics budget/donor base is much larger than ISU's and it's going to get bigger as the Big 10 TV contract gets bigger. The Big 12 athletic TV contracts have gone DOWN since adding new members to the conference.

Cytown might be able to hold the line for ISU and make up those losses but that's probably the best they could hope for.



 
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I don't know why Iowa fans feel required to make these excuses but Albaugh and Stine do not bankroll ISU.

Iowa's NIL is larger than ISU's. Guys theseuu are non-profits - check their budgets and operating expenses.

Iowa's athletics budget/donor base is much larger than ISU's and it's going to get bigger as the Big 10 TV contract gets bigger. The Big 12 athletic TV contracts have gone DOWN since adding new members to the conference.

Cytown might be able to hold the line for ISU and make up those losses but that's probably the best they could hope for.



I can tell you with 100% certainty that player salaries do not all come out of the collectives. It's not even half. That may change depending on future court rulings, but if you're somehow saying that the collectives represent the majority of donations going to player salaries and facilities and coaching pay (yes, coaching pay), then you are WAY under informed. I don't even know what to say to that tbh because it's just naivete. Albaugh and Stine (just because they were the two mentioned) do not entirely "bankroll" ISU just the two of them, but their major donor base is putting far more money into to the total of the football program and than Iowa. Albaugh/Stine/others don't even mess with the collectives other than some publicity-level money. You are free to not believe me, but if you want an honest take go talk to Heinrichs in person sometime. You'll definitely get an eye-opener.

Don't believe only what you see on TV.
 


There's a tremendous amount of excitement around the Iowa St football and basketball programs that people are getting more involved with their support and donating. CyTown will only enhance that.
 




I can tell you with 100% certainty that player salaries do not all come out of the collectives. It's not even half. That may change depending on future court rulings, but if you're somehow saying that the collectives represent the majority of donations going to player salaries and facilities and coaching pay (yes, coaching pay), then you are WAY under informed. I don't even know what to say to that tbh because it's just naivete. Albaugh and Stine (just because they were the two mentioned) do not entirely "bankroll" ISU just the two of them, but their major donor base is putting far more money into to the total of the football program and than Iowa. Albaugh/Stine/others don't even mess with the collectives other than some publicity-level money. You are free to not believe me, but if you want an honest take go talk to Heinrichs in person sometime. You'll definitely get an eye-opener.

Don't believe only what you see on TV.

Okay, well since you're so informed tell me how they are funding it and where it's happening.

Albaugh and Stine don't give a crap about ISU sports. Tell me the last game they were at. I'd love to hear it. Where are ISU's major donors, why aren't they donating to the collective or to the athletic department, but through some weird dark money stuff they don't get tax breaks for?

How much money is going from them to the ISU athletic department that's unreported? I would assume you'd want that out in the open, as that's likely a violation of the law considering their nonprofit status.
 


Campbell doesn't leave ISU for anything less than a blue blood or teams with money to spend:

Ohio St - not open
Michigan - not open
Penn St - not open
USC - might open, not sure he would take it - no one goes to home games
Oregon - not open
Nebraska - doubt he goes there
Notre Dame - not open
Alabama - might open up soon
Auburn - might open up if losing continues
LSU - not open
Georgia - not open
Oklahoma - depends on this season
Florida - might open up
Texas - not open
Miami - depends on the season
Tennessee - not open
Clemson - not open

Did I forget someone?

He's got it made where he's at and what conference he's in
I would drop Nebraska, Florida, Auburn, and Miami from that list if you are saying that they are blue blood teams today. Once upon a time they may have belonged there, but not so much anymore.

Campbell would fail in the BiG Ten. He survives in the Big Twelve only because the two biggest dogs in that conference have left to the SEC.

If Iowa EVER, EVER, EVER hopes to make the play offs it would be in their best interest to leave the BIG Ten and join the big twelve where if the moon's pull and Ocean currents are just right once every ten years Iowa could beat those teams in that conference and get to play with the Big Boys. That would be another fifty point loss once got there................ especially if you have an 80 years old man still coaching Iowa.

The only other hope for Iowa making the playoff's I already mentioned on another thread and that is if they expanded the amount of teams they allow in the playoffs.
 
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Pollard deserves all the credit in the world for what he's done at ISU.

Barta screwed the pooch and allowed mediocrity to creep in which then became the norm. Fans accepted it, donors accepted it, and now here we are looking up at irreverence. Someone should have punched him in the face on his way out the door.

All in all, Iowa has been passed by "little brother" and there's no way Beth pulls us out of the hole we're in. Almost every single athletic program is terrible and there's no money to pull them out.

Everyone just needs to settle in and get use to this for a while. Maybe head up to Ames and check out their amazing CyTown.
Let's hope last year was a fluke for Indiana, and we didn't drop below that pathetic football program not. I guess we will find out soon when we play them. I can not see the Iowa fan base accepting that.
 


Campbell has a better team, more NIL money, stud QBs, CyTown which is unbelievably impressive, 100% job security as long as he lives, and a softer schedule. Their program has BIG donors backing it who want to make ISU the big dog in town and they are spending freight trains of cash to make it happen...it's bigger than Pollard. Like Barta and Goetz, he's just the intermediary between the money people and the programs. You think he drummed up all that money and came up with the idea for CyTown? He's just the press conference face is all when it comes to football.

Why on earth would that dude take the Iowa job where there's less than zero chance he'd ever be able to recruit a Purdy, Becht, Lazard, Hall. You think a few million in extra salary is going to get him to jump ship to the team he hates more than any other? Newsflash, with the amount of money ISU donors are pumping into that program, he's gonna surpass Farence's contract real quick anyway. He's the best coach they've had in any sport by two miles and knows he's gonna have a statue out front at some point. Iowa ain't the more desirable job in any way. Maybe prior to 2019 it was, but not anymore.
I thought it was interesting watch the Big Noon show. Urban Meyer was telling a story how a blue blood called Campbell years ago when hiring a new coach. Campbell called up Meyer for his advice on if he should take the job and stated "Coach, you can win a NC at this school". Meyer told him to take the job. Campbell and Meyer spoke after that and Campbell let Meyer know he turned down that job opportunity to stay at Iowa St. That there tells you where his head is. I don't know if he has children or if does there age but maybe they are content raising their children in Ames.

I wonder if it was Alabama. Seems to be around that time.
 


I thought it was interesting watch the Big Noon show. Urban Meyer was telling a story how a blue blood called Campbell years ago when hiring a new coach. Campbell called up Meyer for his advice on if he should take the job and stated "Coach, you can win a NC at this school". Meyer told him to take the job. Campbell and Meyer spoke after that and Campbell let Meyer know he turned down that job opportunity to stay at Iowa St. That there tells you where his head is. I don't know if he has children or if does there age but maybe they are content raising their children in Ames.

I wonder if it was Alabama. Seems to be around that time.
It’s ok to be happy where you’re at in life. Chasing money and higher goals are both things that won’t matter to you or your family once you’re pickled lying in a box at the front of a church.
 


Kinnick IMO has the Wrigley appeal to it. It's got that nostalgic old school feel to it that you just love. But CyTown has that Busch Stadium's Ballpark Village feel to it, where it's an atmosphere all of its own that is about so much more then just the games. I love the Cubs, but as a guy with a wife and three kids living almost the same distance between the two that their choosing St. Louis all day every day, before I even have a say in it, when it comes to catching a series or a game or two. You're absolutely right and it absolutely sucks that we can't compete with what they're doing and all we can do is watch and wait.

So, I hate BPV (as we locals call Ballpark Village).
-It's terribly expensive.
-Some of the food is gross.
-The ancillary themed bars are totally not my scene.
-I have bad memories there
(a) I-Club game watch there for the 2015 Big 10 Championship
(b) I've played some music gigs there. Not on the main stage. Ancillary entertaininment. Totally weird vibe.
-It's sucked the money out of more interesting downtown and pre/post game bars I used to like. They're gone now. There's only so much money to be spent, and BPV sucks it up without offering me much.

I just don't see the economics. BPV works (for now*) because:
-81 Cardinal home games right next door with up to 25-30k (*) potential customers, for decades over 3 MILLION PEOPLE in a season.
-42 St. Louis Blues games a couple blocks away
-17 St. Louis FC soccer games (I will always call it soccer) a couple blocks away
-toss in the Battlehawks playing a few blocks away
-mix in large concerts in the same arena as the Blues play
-mix in conventions and sports tournaments in and around the area including the Dome where the Battlehawks play
-mix in Missouri Valley tournement games, or even this year some actual March Madness games a couple blocks away
-mix in it's a safe place for visitors. Believe it or not, St. Louis still attracts quite a few visitors. Because it's a great place to bring a young family. Cheap as hell. The Zoo is 100% free. The Art Museum regular exhibits...free. Science Center, general admission...free. History Museum...free. The Museum at the Arch (not the ride up)....free. And the greatest attraction the city has to offer? The City Museum. A giant art installation masquerading as a playground made out of industrial stuff. Many of these, just a few blocks from BPV.

It'll be great on game day. 7 or 8 days a year. The other 357 days, it's just college kids with no money. And during the summer? The population drops by how much? It will cheapen over time.

* There is 100% chance that BPV is not having that great of a year with Cardinal attendance dropping.
 
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