Year of Reckoning In Iowa Athletics

[longtimer]

is next year!

We will have a new president on board who will play a major role. Get someone who doesn't like college athletics and it will be a perfect time to downgrade the effort.

Athletic Director: Barta has proven to be a PR oriented Director who has done a bad job of hiring (and firing). Likely will survive next year although if we get a president who wants to change the direction of Iowa Athletics maybe not!

Basketball: Barring a miracle this team fails to make the tournament for the 5th straight year (play in games don't count Fran) and next year will be his last as I just don't see anyway that team will be better. He will be remembered for the Collapses and his Temper.

Football: Ferentz will be gone after next year. I can't see him holding up after another year of anguish by the fan base. Buy out and retirement seem very likely. For Ferentz it's too bad he goes out under such a cloud. He did some real good things in terms of bringing back excitement, big wins and championships in a tough place to do it. always thought him to be a level headed class guy but in the last years his stubborn resistance to change will do him in.

We could be looking at a clean sweep as Iowa Athletics falls to the bottom. We have been there before. Anyone remember FLX and his 0-11 team or Dick Shultz with some really bad basketball? Its tough at Iowa but it can be done. We just need to hope there is a Ralph Miller or Lute Olsen or Hayden Fry or Bump Elliott out there and we find them!

 

[SpiderRico]

If we don't make the NCAAs this year, then Fran should be let go this year. You can't go 5 years without an NCAA tourney win in this day and age. You just can't.

It's unbelievable to think about this, but if we don't make the tourney this year, we will have gone 16 years since the end of the Mr. Davis era and have ONE tourney win to show for it. One. Against Creighton in 2002.

In the 12 years of Mr. Davis's tenure, we made 9 tourney appearances and won a total of 13 tourney games (made 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8).

I used to think that an NCAA tourney appearance and winning one game was the FLOOR for this program each season. I'm now starting to think that that's the CEILING.

 

[STILLBUSTER]

Year of reckoning was last year. This is the year of reconciliation, acceptance and, as a fan, moving on.

After several years of being convinced to buy one time, I'm giving up football tickets. After a second straight year of peaking in early February and squandering an easy opportunity with a complete collapse into uninspired, apathetic, inept performance on the court, I'm intentionally avoiding basketball.

I was lucky to have experienced a generation of resurgence and excitement in both Iowa football 1979-2009 and basketball 1979 - 2005. I attended Iowa in the mid-80's, during the the heyday. I've witnessed them reach as high as they will ever go -- the final 4 in 1980, the #1 rankings for several weeks in the mid 80's, winning a BCS bowl.

I'm coming up on 50 this year and am realizing, the "run" is over. All that's left is reminiscing because it's been on the slow burn slide downhill for 5 - 10 years, in both sports, and it's no where near the bottom for either one yet.

I also realize I'm not into trying to earn some pathetic badge of honor for supporting bad teams, like some of the really old-timers sometimes spout off about. (Nice work by you, that membership in the fraternal order of the futily hopeful losers club is really something to brag about.)

So, best of luck to the Iowa Hawkeyes. I'm going in search of well coached teams, that play up to and within their capability, are competitive, inspired and always play to win. I need to find my love for the game by watching teams that love to play the game. Maybe that'll be the Hawks again, someday.

 

[ForrestEvy]

If we don't make the NCAAs this year, then Fran should be let go this year. You can't go 5 years without an NCAA tourney win in this day and age. You just can't.

It's unbelievable to think about this, but if we don't make the tourney this year, we will have gone 16 years since the end of the Mr. Davis era and have ONE tourney win to show for it. One. Against Creighton in 2002.

In the 12 years of Mr. Davis's tenure, we made 9 tourney appearances and won a total of 13 tourney games (made 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8).

I used to think that an NCAA tourney appearance and winning one game was the FLOOR for this program each season. I'm now starting to think that that's the CEILING.

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

I am in my 40s and hav been a diehard my entire life. I don't ever remember such a period where BOTH Iowa and football were so down. Apathy has set in so bad for me that I started DVRing football games and most basketball games I don't even bother to turn on. It's frustrating ... It's maddening ... To see how we, as fans, have slowly been conditioned to the levels we are seeing ... where the biggest expectations some fans have now is if we beat ISU ... or, hey, we can still finish in the top half of the conference ... Holy cow, Iowa football and basketball have been painful ...

Any other school would have pulled the plug on both of these coaches. Sorry, but this is year #5 of Fran and he simply is not getting it done. Next year will not be any different. He will have a roster added with 4 true freshmen ... Dickerson is a bust and this was Fran's guy ... In-game adjustments has been atrocious ... Mental preparation ... level of players we have been recruiting ... the emotional ups and downs of this program under Fran ...

We need to inject some energy into Iowa athletics ... Kirk will and should be goner after next season and I say the same for Fran. If he can't get them into the tourney next year then bye bye ... Sorry folks, I can't start a new job and then be 5 years into it and still tell people I know what I am doing ... The time has come for major changes in our athletics programs ...

 

[BigD]

Well said by many of you. Iowa Athletics needs a complete make over.