By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher
RENDERINGS RELEASED: When the Cyclones take the field against Northern Iowa on Sept. 3, a brand spanking new, state of the art scoreboard will be featured in the north endzone of Jack Trice Stadium.
Iowa State released the details of this announcement earlier today on www.Cyclones.com.
CLICK HERE for the complete scoop.
Some specifics on the new scoreboard:
– It will be up and ready to go for the 2011 season.
-The video screen will be high-definition and will measure around 36-feet high and 79.5 feet wide.
– The video screen will be five times larger than the one that is currently in Jack Trice Stadium.
– This new scoreboard will also feature a new Daktronics custom-built sound system.
“The impact of this structure on our football program is hard to quantify, but its size, quality and versatility will significantly enhance Jack Trice Stadium,” Jamie Pollard said in a release. “Beyond a significant upgrade of entertainment possibilities, it also helps us maximize marketing potential within the stadium.”
Notice Pollard dropped that m-word fanatics. "Marketing." More marketing = more money. As Biggie Smalls once put it, "Mo Money, Mo Problems."
That is definitely NOT the case when it comes to big time college athletics.
Good golly, I cannot wait until September.
CFN ON RHOADS/IOWA STATE: Don’t freak out here fanatics. According to a recent article by the guys over at CollegeFootballNews.com, they expect Paul Rhoads to leave Iowa State within the next five years. CLICK HERE to read the article, where the publications ranks the current coaches in the Big 12.
Here is its description of Rhoads, who they rank as the sixth best coach in the league.
—- It might sound crazy now, but Rhoads came in and cleaned up the mess left by the Gene Chizik era. The former Auburn defensive coordinator is trying to generate a winner in Ames, and he came painfully close to pulling off a big season but a loss to Nebraska slipped away. While his first two teams have hardly been world-beaters, he has done a great job making Iowa State competitive while coming up with a win over Texas last year and winning the Insight Bowl over Minnesota two seasons ago.
Hot Seat Status: Little. It might not seem like he’s becoming another Chizik, in a positive way, but he’s starting to get noticed. ISU is paying him relatively well, getting him over a million dollars a year, and is happy to have him.
The Coaching Change Will Come … Within the next five years. Only 44, he’s young, talented, and will get offered a shot to run a bigger name program at some point in the next few seasons.—-
Nowhere in this article does it mention that Rhoads is from this area, his family is here and that he calls central Iowa "home." Don’t sweat this fanatics. If anything, this article should be a compliment to Rhoads and Iowa State. National writers (who don’t know many specifics regarding Iowa State) view Rhoads, who’s gone 12-13 during his two years in Ames, as a coach who some of college football’s top programs will want to go after in the next few years. That must mean that the guys over at CFN see a bright football future for this program.
For those who are wondering, this article lists Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops as the top coach in the conference, followed by Mack Brown of Texas.
CHAN BACK ON THE MARKET: Now to some basketball recruiting news…
This is old news by now but I might be able to provide a little more insight on Iowa State’s involvement with Negus Webster-Chan, a 2012 prospect who de-committed from Louisville yesterday.
Every one of Rick Pitino’s assistant coaches at Louisville last season has landed in a different spot since the Cardinals were eliminated in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. According to reports, that had a lot to do with Webster-Chan’s decision.
Before Webster-Chan committed to Louisville, Iowa State associate head coach T.J. Otzelberger was heavily recruiting him. As I wrote on our forums last night, I’ll be shocked if that doesn’t turn out to be the case again. The problem is, so will everybody else. The competition to land Webster-Chan will be heated but you’d like to think that Otzleberger and Fred Hoiberg have a punchers chance, considering the relationship they have already developed with the prospect in the past. Iowa State has been on him since day one. Stay tuned.
WEEKEND VISITOR?: According to THIS REPORT, Iowa State will host an official visitor this weekend in LaDontae Henton, a former Dayton commitment. The article quotes Henton saying that he’s also considering Baylor, Marquette, Texas, Penn State, Tulsa, UAB and Central Michigan.
COACHES WATCH OKORO: I’m hearing that Fred Hoiberg and soon-to-be assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih watched 2012 St. Raymonds (New York) prospect Nkereuwem Okoro work out yesterday afternoon.
IOWA STATE AT BREWSTER: Here’s a Tweet that was recently sent out by @BrewsterHoops (Brewster Academy in New Hampshire): Iowa State and Michigan will be on campus today too!
ASSISTANTS TO BECOME OFFICIAL: I anticipate that we could see a release naming Abdelmassih and former Dayton assistant coach Cornell Mann a part of Iowa State’s staff as early as this afternoon. Frankly, I’m surprised it has taken this long. Stay tuned.
BIG 12 AS CLASSIC ROCK BANDS: The boys over at WRNL are at it again. In this recent article, your beloved Cyclones are compared to the band "The Faces." CLICK HERE for more. Hey WRNL guys….Can I make a request? I’d like to see this identical article, comparing Big 12 schools to country artists. Pretty please?
1460 KXNO TONIGHT: FYI, I’ll be co-hosting 1460 KXNO’s 4-7 show with Dave Zawilinski from ABC 5 tonight. Ken Miller will be back in town tomorrow, for the debut of Miller and Brinson in the afternoon. You can stream the show online at www.KXNO.com.
LINKS GALORE:
– ESPN.com’s Big 12 blogger David Ubben reports on Iowa State’s four-man quarterback competition.
– Andrew Logue of the Des Moines Registerreports on Jake Knott’s work ethic. Iowa State’s stud linebacker broke his arm last Thursday. He lifted weights on Monday.
– Iowa State’s defense had a touchdown taken away from it during last Saturday’s spring game due to the NCAA’s new taunting rule. Paul Rhoads comments on that new rule in this story out of Austin.
– The Daily Oklahoman recaps Iowa State’s spring football session.
– The National Football Postcaught wind of Paul Rhoads’ breathtaking performance as Clark Griswold…
– The Des Moines Register’s Andrew Logue recaps what Rhoads had to say in yesterday’s Big 12 teleconference.
– Kansas hoopster Thomas Robinson got himself into a little bit of trouble over the weekend…
