Schwartz: Iowa Athletic Department Worst in B1G

[BryceC]

Completely disagree. Iowa has a good football, men's basketball, and wrestling program which matters a lot to Iowa fans. Nobody gives a rip about the other sports so any success or lack thereof in them is essentially meaningless.

 

[tm3308]

So your solution is what exactly? You gonna fire Lisa Bluder she hasn't won a Big Ten title in the the 15 years she has been here at least not a regular season Big ten title. Fire Tom Brands? He ain't stopping that juggernaut going on at Penn. St. anytime soon. What do you want Barta to do?

I'm not necessarily saying there's anything he (or anyone else) can do to fix it. But arguing that Iowa is one of the best athletic departments in the Big Ten on the basis of on-field performance is not accurate. It may not be the worst, but it's definitely been in the bottom half (at least among the 12 teams that have been competing in the B1G recently).

Pointing out the athletic department's deficiencies on the field/court, and saying it's a fixable problem, are two different things.

 

[homes]

2013 Big Ten Revenues
1. Wisconsin $149,141,405
2. Michigan $143,514,125
3. Ohio State $139,639,307
4. Iowa $107,153,782
5. Penn State $104,751,464
6. Minnesota $98,286,669
7. Michigan State $97,942,726
8. Nebraska $86,916,001
9. Illinois $79,725,521
10. Indiana $76,660,265
11. Purdue $72,379,39

So much for a correlation. Would we feel better if Iowa had 25-30 BT Championships in that timeframe, but finished last in the BT in football and basketball each year in that same timeframe? My guess is we'd probably feel worse.

 

[mrolympia]

only a few sports matter, nobody cares about diving.

 

[tm3308]

So much for a correlation. Would we feel better if Iowa had 25-30 BT Championships in that timeframe, but finished last in the BT in football and basketball each year in that same timeframe? My guess is we'd probably feel worse.

What? There's a decent correlation between revenue generated and championships there. Almost every school's revenue rank and title rank are within three places of each other. The only two that aren't are Wisconsin (1st in revenue, T6th in titles) and Iowa (4th in revenue, 12th in titles). In Wisconsin's case, they at least excel in the sports their fans really care about (football, men's basketball, hockey), even if they aren't always winning conference championships. Among the sports the fans care about, Iowa hasn't been excelling in anything but wrestling for several years now.

As for your question, look at the schools that have at least 20 championships. Michigan basketball has a national runner-up and another Elite Eight in the last three years. MSU has an Elite Eight. Ohio State has a Final Four and another Elite Eight. MSU just won the Rose Bowl, Michigan won the Sugar Bowl a couple years ago, and OSU went undefeated two years ago. Penn State is a powerhouse wrestling program and the only reason the football team has taken a dip is because of the Sandusky/Paterno scandal.

 

[homes]

What? There's a decent correlation between revenue generated and championships there. Almost every school's revenue rank and title rank are within three places of each other. The only two that aren't are Wisconsin (1st in revenue, T6th in titles) and Iowa (4th in revenue, 12th in titles). In Wisconsin's case, they at least excel in the sports their fans really care about (football, men's basketball, hockey), even if they aren't always winning conference championships. Among the sports the fans care about, Iowa hasn't been excelling in anything but wrestling for several years now.

As for your question, look at the schools that have at least 20 championships. Michigan basketball has a national runner-up and another Elite Eight in the last three years. MSU has an Elite Eight. Ohio State has a Final Four and another Elite Eight. MSU just won the Rose Bowl, Michigan won the Sugar Bowl a couple years ago, and OSU went undefeated two years ago. Penn State is a powerhouse wrestling program and the only reason the football team has taken a dip is because of the Sandusky/Paterno scandal.

I'm Iowa-centric, and as such, there is no correlation. Maybe with all that money Iowa can divert more cash into the bowling program so they can pad their BT championship numbers so some can feel better about Iowa's standing on some list.

 

[doclee]

With NCAA autonomy happening, all of these other sports should be going the way of club sport anyway. Not sure why the football/basketball program needs to pay for all of these other sports anyway. A sport should fund it's own way, and not ask other sports to fund them. If the government wants to fund them, be my guest, but one sport should never be required to fund others.

Dean, this is a really dumb statement. You are smarter than to write something like this. Why don't you edit your post and apologize for suggesting the elimination of the opportunity for young women to participate in Division 1 sports. Thanks.

 

[tm3308]

I'm Iowa-centric, and as such, there is no correlation. Maybe with all that money Iowa can divert more cash into the bowling program so they can pad their BT championship numbers so some can feel better about Iowa's standing on some list.

So the clear outlier is actually the norm. Got it.

 

[tm3308]

Dean, this is a really dumb statement. You are smarter than to write something like this. Why don't you edit your post and apologize for suggesting the elimination of the opportunity for young women to participate in Division 1 sports. Thanks.

If an athletic department takes in tax dollars to stay afloat, then they should have to. If an athletic department is self-sufficient, like a few schools (including Iowa), then I think it would be fine to not force it to offer equal opportunities.

 

[BryceC]

Dean, this is a really dumb statement. You are smarter than to write something like this. Why don't you edit your post and apologize for suggesting the elimination of the opportunity for young women to participate in Division 1 sports. Thanks.

I don't think it's realistic to turn them into club sports. However, I'll take it one step further. I'm an Iowa State fan and we have one of the smallest budgets in a BCS league. Iowa State fields 18 sports and the D1 minimum is 14. I'd like to see Iowa State axe 4 programs ASAP and funnel all that cash into endeavors that raise the profile of the university and people beyond parents actually care about.

 

[deanvogs]

Dean, this is a really dumb statement. You are smarter than to write something like this. Why don't you edit your post and apologize for suggesting the elimination of the opportunity for young women to participate in Division 1 sports. Thanks.

I don't get why it is the tax payers, or other student responsibility that these kids get to play a sport and a free education (or discounted) on someone else's dime?? This is an institution of higher learning, not some free ride for students. If their sport can generate enough money to pay for itself, fine that is fair. If it can't, it isn't fair that others should pay their way (men or women).

 

[homes]

So the clear outlier is actually the norm. Got it.

You seem to be the one all twisted up about norms. I think it's actually a badge of honor that Iowa raises that much revenue, it just goes to show how supportive the majority of Iowa fans are - they're not as wrapped up in a placement on some list as some seem to be, instead, they support the athletic department regardless. No summer soldiers in Hawkeyeland (for the most part).

 

[tm3308]

You seem to be the one all twisted up about norms. I think it's actually a badge of honor that Iowa raises that much revenue, it just goes to show how supportive the majority of Iowa fans are - they're not as wrapped up in a placement on some list as some seem to be, instead, they support the athletic department regardless. No summer soldiers in Hawkeyeland (for the most part).

Yes, it's great that we rake in that much money (I've never said it wasn't). It's just that having one of the best revenue streams typically goes hand in hand with having some of the best on-field products, which Iowa doesn't really have for whatever reason.

 

[AdamHawk]

Yes, it's great that we rake in that much money (I've never said it wasn't). It's just that having one of the best revenue streams typically goes hand in hand with having some of the best on-field products, which Iowa doesn't really have for whatever reason.

Pretty sure the main reasons were already touched on and that was population and geography. Iowa faces an uphill battle against schools with built-in advantages. Hell the greater Columbus area has 2/3 of the population of the entire state of Iowa. Michigan has 10 million people and Wisconsin has twice what Iowa has. Hard to get Jimmys and Joes to leave their back yard and it's not like we have white sand beaches to draw them in.

 

[HawkIMalaise]

Pretty sure the main reasons were already touched on and that was population and geography. Iowa faces an uphill battle against schools with built-in advantages. Hell the greater Columbus area has 2/3 of the population of the entire state of Iowa. Michigan has 10 million people and Wisconsin has twice what Iowa has. Hard to get Jimmys and Joes to leave their back yard and it's not like we have white sand beaches to draw them in.

Whew, you're right. Stillwater, Norman, Lincoln, now those are some nice sandy beach locales...

 

[HawkIMalaise]

Here is a Barta quote from about three years ago. I think this says a lot about his expectations. To me you have to set higher expectations with your coaches if you want to win championships. It basically communicates that as long as you compete in the middle of the pack your job is safe.


If we can consistently be in the middle of the pack or higher, in any given year we have a chance to win a championship," Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. "So that's our goal for every program, to get them to that point where every year they're in the middle or higher in the Big Ten."

This is completely intolerable. Barta is an *******.

 

[HomerChampless]

Jeeze, let's say Barta is replaced... If your goal is for the Iowa athletic program to perform 'better', would you support the new AD's replacing any 'high profile' Iowa coaches? If you aren't willing to support this, there isn't any reason to replace Barta.

It's like using the 'Iowa has a hard time recruiting' similie. You're calling the Iowa performance problem an apple when it's an orange.

 

[homes]

Yes, it's great that we rake in that much money (I've never said it wasn't). It's just that having one of the best revenue streams typically goes hand in hand with having some of the best on-field products, which Iowa doesn't really have for whatever reason.

Fair enough.

 

[homes]

Whew, you're right. Stillwater, Norman, Lincoln, now those are some nice sandy beach locales...

Comparing Lincoln - How would Iowa (or ISU for that matter) do if it was the only game in Iowa, like UNL. If ISU/Iowa could combine talent into 1 university, with no other instate competition for talent, I think you'd see more overall athletic success.

Comparing Norman - Easier to get top flight kids to OU from Texas/SW than to come up to Iowa.

Stillwater - See Norman.

Similar size places, but each have features Iowa simply cannot offer. Not an excuse, but a reality.

 

[WhitUp]

Bumb this thread. This guy needs to go!