By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com PublisherFollow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMWilliams
Throughout the last month of the latest conference realignment craze, Iowa State has been mostly silent.
There’s good reason for that.
There’s been nothing to comment on.
But with the future of the Big 12 Conference looking positive for the first time since Iowa State kicked off its 3-0 start to the 2011 football season, head coach Paul Rhoads spoke to members of the media about the topic after Wednesday’s practice.
“I am happy with the direction that it looks like our league is going to head and what that means to our program certainly," said Rhoads. "We will all be more relieved when it is all said and done and the ink is dry wherever things are going to go with the discussions that are going to take place here in the near future. Right now, it is a very positive sign.”
On Tuesday night, the Pac-12 Conference announced that it had no plans to expand, meaning that the likes of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech would likely stay put in the Big 12. It’s been a tumultuous time for schools all across the country, especially at Iowa State, an institution that according to many "experts," stood a chance to be on the outside looking in.
Here’s how much attention that Rhoads has been paying to the fluid situation that seems to never slow down.
“I paid attention to it zero," Rhoads said. "There was little out there that was accurate about what was taking place. Anybody citing sources and all that had no idea in my opinion what was going on. When the athletic director had information to share with me which was very rare, then I paid attention.”
Rhoads gave the same advice to his players.
“I encourage our players to never be frustrated because if you’re frustrated, you spin your wheels," Rhoads said. "I’m not a spin my wheels type of guy. We move on and understand what the situation is. We’ve got three teams that are in the top 10. We’ve got five teams that are in the top 25. We’ve got a sixth team that has been in the top 25. We have a pretty good football conference. We have a pretty good conference overall. We will still walk around with our heads held high and our chest out about that.”
Numerous reports have indicated that the Big 12’s board of directors will meet on a conference call Thursday.
For now, the city of Ames is sleeping much better than it was last week at this time.
