Sad

[SwirlinLingerie]

The Rivals board (Hawkeye Beacon) has a lot of folks who are intimately close to the sports programs at Iowa and more often than not the things they say are true. It would be pretty dumb to post something like that with no truth to it. I’ve also heard it from people I stay in touch with who give what I’d call significant donations.

For example one of my tailgate neighbors works at the Children’s Hospital and was there during PM’s issues, also worked with the family. Big basketball guy. He’s the one who initially told me about Fran and Marge selling their house and (he says) he’s pretty sure Fran is done. I just went online to look and found the publicly available property records out of curiosity. Also told me Marge is living in Indy and has been for a while. Can either of us prove he’s done? Nope. Lots of moving parts. But I trust him…maybe I’m wrong. These same people are saying there’s going to be a major exodus of the roster come the end of the season. I’ve also heard from folks there’s a pretty big rift in the locker room with Freeman because players feel his injury was minor enough to keep playing, but he wants to get a medical to retain eligibility and play somewhere else.

These insiders have insight and access we don’t have, and I can't see a reason someone like that would tell people either in person or online if it wasn’t true.

Like I said though, you have to choose what to believe or not believe. I have no idea what happens until it does.

When you say Fran is done, what do you think the details are? Like the family made the decision before the season that this would be his last year? And now he's seeing if he can get the full contract on the way out the door? Or he even discussed a potential agreement with Goetz already?

I kind of doubt the latter, but if he truly sold his house with the idea this would be his last season no matter what in Iowa City, it's not out of the realm of possibility he discussed the idea with her before the season. He could promise that he and his staff would keep recruiting hard and try to leave the program in decent shape. In exchange he'd walk away with half the total or something.

Some will say no way, he'd never walk away from the full amount. But that would have meant he wasn't truly thinking he'd be done this year either.

I also sort of doubt Margaret has been living in Indy most of the time with her last kid still at home playing high school ball in Iowa City.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

I drove 5.5 hours one way every home game of Brian's OC tenure. That wore me down to the point that I didn't renew tickets last year and won't be this year. Kept my tailgate spot and will pick and choose what I want to go see.

I admire that on just a practical level. For the 11 am games or all of em were you leaving Friday nights I take it? Good golly you spent a lot of time and $ on going. Do you hop down to hwy 20 or which way do you take?

 

[Hawkfnntn]

When you say Fran is done, what do you think the details are? Like the family made the decision before the season that this would be his last year? And now he's seeing if he can get the full contract on the way out the door? Or he even discussed a potential agreement with Goetz already?

I kind of doubt the latter, but if he truly sold his house with the idea this would be his last season no matter what in Iowa City, it's not out of the realm of possibility he discussed the idea with her before the season. He could promise that he and his staff would keep recruiting hard and try to leave the program in decent shape. In exchange he'd walk away with half the total or something.

Some will say no way, he'd never walk away from the full amount. But that would have meant he wasn't truly thinking he'd be done this year either.

I also sort of doubt Margaret has been living in Indy most of the time with her last kid still at home playing high school ball in Iowa City.

Yeah I'd bet she goes back and forth however often but I'd assume with Jack still being in school and playing ball they aren't leaving him all but home alone much. Daddy I would think is pretty busy this time of yr and not home a heck of alot.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

I agree with that, but Fran isn't doing anything either and Iowa needs a cheerleader in that spot to help drum up money, fan excitement and breath life into our program. People are currently voting him out with their pocket books. Fran's relationship with the fans, the Iowa media and media in general, have been a strain. He doesn't go out and shake hands and kiss babies, he doesn't really do anything other than coach. That might work at some places, but it's glaringly not getting it done at Iowa.

Unfortunately, the reality Iowa is facing is, no fan support, NIL near the bottom of an 18 team league and a coach that has not taken us to the NCAA for 2 years in a row. Without a new coach, Iowa has no real way to get out of that, unless, we believe, again, that Fran is going to change after 15 years and start connecting with the fan base and be an ambassador for our program.

Fran's a great coach - I think Iowa and he have been both mutually benefited his time here.... but it's time for him to move on for the sake of the future of Iowa basketball.

Iowa is not in a great spot either... cause those facts I laid down above "no fan support, NIL near the bottom of the conference" doesn't exactly scream we're going to get someone like Devries, IMO, set your sites quite a bit lower.

+1 Well said.

 

[Fryowa]

I admire that on just a practical level. For the 11 am games or all of em were you leaving Friday nights I take it? Good golly you spent a lot of time and $ on going. Do you hop down to hwy 20 or which way do you take?

Yep if it was a morning or 2:30 game we left the night before, anything after that we left at like 5am to make it there in time to hang out at the tailgate and stayed the night. Motel was always Cedar Rapids or Waterloo because any close than that is ridiculously expensive. There were a handful of times because of either mine or my buddy’s schedules that we went down and back the same day, but we try to limit that. When I was in my 20s it was no problem but at 44, 11-12 hours of driving in one day with a college football game in between is too much.

And yep we took 20. Get on at Correctionville and set the cruise. Always stop both coming and going at The Mill gas station right off the State Center exit.

 

[Fryowa]

When you say Fran is done, what do you think the details are? Like the family made the decision before the season that this would be his last year? And now he's seeing if he can get the full contract on the way out the door? Or he even discussed a potential agreement with Goetz already?

I don’t know to be honest, I didn’t ask.

I also sort of doubt Margaret has been living in Indy most of the time with her last kid still at home playing high school ball in Iowa City.

Again just what I heard from my tailgate neighbor who works at the Children’s Hospital. Read the same on the Rivals board. If it’s true I’d imagine it means she has an apartment or house or whatever and comes back and forth depending on a lot of things. Flights from Indy to CR aren’t a cost prohibitive thing for them I’m guessing.

 

[Westernhawk]

I have to admit that it would be really exciting to see a new direction, with a new coach.

I also wonder if they would consider building a new arena at some point, but I know universities are getting more worried about money now, and who knows what things are going to cost in terms of construction in the coming few years. I have a special place in my heart for Carver (grew up there, worked in the arena as a college student), but I have to admit that when I see some of the new arenas, I can't help but imagine a modern version of the old fieldhouse (with great sight lines, tons of noise, and closer seating).

Buildings last 50 years, right? I know they can go much longer than that. Carver was built in 1980 or 81.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Yep if it was a morning or 2:30 game we left the night before, anything after that we left at like 5am to make it there in time to hang out at the tailgate and stayed the night. Motel was always Cedar Rapids or Waterloo because any close than that is ridiculously expensive. There were a handful of times because of either mine or my buddy’s schedules that we went down and back the same day, but we try to limit that. When I was in my 20s it was no problem but at 44, 11-12 hours of driving in one day with a college football game in between is too much.

And yep we took 20. Get on at Correctionville and set the cruise. Always stop both coming and going at The Mill gas station right off the State Center exit.

Good ole Cville. That's where I went to HS. They'd built a nice gas station in Holstein not that long ago I'd started stopping at when I go back home. Either that or the newer Caseys in Early. I bet you know every mile of good ole 20 by now. When I lived in Dsm and went back home I took Hwy 141 to 71 up to Carrol and up that way. Coulda drove it in my sleep.

 

[Fryowa]

Good ole Cville. That's where I went to HS. They'd built a nice gas station in Holstein not that long ago I'd started stopping at when I go back home. Either that or the newer Caseys in Early. I bet you know every mile of good ole 20 by now. When I lived in Dsm and went back home I took Hwy 141 to 71 up to Carrol and up that way. Coulda drove it in my sleep.

Know it like the back of my hand lol.

The Holstein gas station is super nice. If we have daughters/wives/girlfriends with us we usually stop there too on the way there and the way back because their bladders don’t hold on as long as ours

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Know it like the back of my hand lol.

The Holstein gas station is super nice. If we have daughters/wives/girlfriends with us we usually stop there too on the way there and the way back because their bladders don’t hold on as long as ours

Don't ask me why probably because it's the last leg of my trips home. But there's no longer stretch of road to me then between Cedar Falls and Holstein. That may as well be 500 miles.

 

[Hawke]

Very politely, 12345, eat shit.

Please, call him “digits”.

 

[BigD]

I drove 5.5 hours one way every home game of Brian's OC tenure. That wore me down to the point that I didn't renew tickets last year and won't be this year. Kept my tailgate spot and will pick and choose what I want to go see.

I will pray for your mental recovery.

After watching and following every Lickliter game I have straitjackets in a variety of colors. Do you have a preference?

 

[HuckFinn]

I will pray for your mental recovery.

After watching and following every Lickliter game I have straitjackets in a variety of colors. Do you have a preference?

I was right there with you during the Lick years. The only good thing was that I ended up with a season ticket that I still have dead center court 25 rows up.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

the loud minority can ruin a lot of things. Not just in this instance. Fran shouldn’t go anywhere. To those saying we don’t have players for next season, check out the recruiting rankings.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

the loud minority can ruin a lot of things. Not just in this instance. Fran shouldn’t go anywhere. To those saying we don’t have players for next season, check out the recruiting rankings.

I am not so sure its a minority anymore. I am a Fran guy, and do believe he is unfairly critiqued at times and I have him right there with Davis and Olson on Iowa's MBB Mount Rushmore. That all said, and assuming he keeps what he has and gets the incoming guys on campus, are we all ok with those players taking the court in front of 3,000 people for the first non-con against Directional U? And then less than 6,000 scanned tickets for home conference games? We cannot ignore the elephants in the room of fan and donor apathy with this program right now. Iowa's MBB is the third most popular winter sport on campus right now. Just true.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

I am not so sure its a minority anymore. I am a Fran guy, and do believe he is unfairly critiqued at times and I have him right there with Davis and Olson on Iowa's MBB Mount Rushmore. That all said, and assuming he keeps what he has and gets the incoming guys on campus, are we all ok with those players taking the court in front of 3,000 people for the first non-con against Directional U? And then less than 6,000 scanned tickets for home conference games? We cannot ignore the elephants in the room of fan and donor apathy with this program right now. Iowa's MBB is the third most popular winter sport on campus right now. Just true.

It’s an extremely large minority. Only people that want him gone are the people who are on anonymous message boards. Everyone I have spoken to in real life think it would be a waste of money to fire him at this juncture. No players have claimed they are leaving and a top 25 recruiting class incoming. Hire a defensive analyst and save the money. Winning will put butts back in the seats.

 

[NorthKCHawk]

It’s an extremely large minority. Only people that want him gone are the people who are on anonymous message boards. Everyone I have spoken to in real life think it would be a waste of money to fire him at this juncture. No players have claimed they are leaving and a top 25 recruiting class incoming. Hire a defensive analyst and save the money. Winning will put butts back in the seats.

Gotcha. So, you, an anonymous poster on a message board, have spoken to people "in real life," and based upon that smattering of conversations you can definitively say that "an extremely large" majority of the fans want Fran to return next season. Well, that some scientific shit your just laid on us there!

I will go with ticket sales and NIL funding as perhaps better indicators of fan engagement than good old Hypnosis' Posse Survey.

 

[InGoodCo]

Gotcha. So, you, an anonymous poster on a message board, have spoken to people "in real life," and based upon that smattering of conversations you can definitively say that "an extremely large" majority of the fans want Fran to return next season. Well, that some scientific shit your just laid on us there!

I will go with ticket sales and NIL funding as perhaps better indicators of fan engagement than good old Hypnosis' Posse Survey.

Iowa averaged just over 5k in scanned tickets a game this season. It's not even a minority anymore. Iowa fans are voting with their pocket book.

https://hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com/s...ed-data-displays-fan-disinterest/82287020007/

You can also judge fan interest by NIL and healthy donor money is for the program. It is also considered to be at the bottom of the B1G

https://hawkfanatic.com/2025/03/07/...ange-wouldnt-fix-iowas-most-glaring-weakness/

I love Fran, he's a great coach IMO, but he's fostered this, he's had a huge hand in things being the way they are and Iowa needs to stop the bleeding at all costs....again, unless they are not committed to Iowa basketball's future. Beth is currently trying to raise 65 million dollars for a Carver Renovation... and as you can imagine, they aren't doing well with that.

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

I'm in the market research biz, and I know Goetz has had a number of focus groups with Iowa basketball fans conducted across the state. And I'm sure she has done some survey based research with fans too. I'd think any reports/findings coming from these studies could be FOIA'd?

It's possible a lot of the findings point right at Fran. That fans aren't that interested in coming to games or donating money until they see a change in leadership. Or not, I don't know. But that research might have been pretty damning for Fran, and convinced Beth months ago that the only way to generate funds for Carver will be to make a change at coach at season's end.