Here is my shot at making something complicated, less so. I'm not involved or an expert in this area, just a process nerd.

ISU is a non-profit, so largely you have to spend what you make (ie. no profit).

In 2024 the budget was balanced (top row). Money comes into the Ath. Dept. from the left and goes out to the right.

In 2025, you had this 20.5million expense (money to spend) that you never had before ('Ath. Rev Share' in Green) which has been allocated a specific way to the major sports (Pollard's control). You need to figure out how to raise money to offset it every year into the future. ISU said we will dip into the Ath. Dept. Savings (Red) to cover the gap short-term. Long Term, how does the Ath. Dept raise money or borrow from other areas (university, board of regents, etc) to fund the 'Red Box'? A problem Pollard and team are trying to solve.

Other universities promising more than 30m a year to football only, are counting on NILGO to account for the remaining amount above what the university is willing/able to contribute (20 million per year max currently for all sports) . This is where Pollard is saying he has no control over how other companies (Hyvee's and Fareway's of the world) choose to spend advertising dollars with athletes within ISU.

I think the grey area for universities right now is that 'Yellow' box. Those are handled outside of the Ath. Dept. budget but are just monitored by someone within the Ath. Dept, so they can see how much players are getting and ensuring it is being done per the university standards. Though, how can universities 'promise' to coaches they will get this much when they technically aren't the ones providing it?

Just trying to provide a little clarity to a complex topic.

Seen tweets that ND is unhappy with the ACC and looking to get away from their scheduling, B1G obviously doesn't need them. Is there an upside to the Big 12 taking them?

Edit: Iowa just outside the top 25 at #26.

My good friend, a PSU alum who lives in State College, just told me one of the last questions at Campbell's PSU presser addressed the NIL rumors. Supposedly Campbell took a shot at JP saying how he and staff had to create their own NIL and do everything themselves. So it appears some of those rumors running around are based in fact..

JP needs to get his **** together regarding NIL.

Starting at around the 9 minute mark. Goes for about 2.5 minutes. Thought some of you might want to know.

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This one went as expected but there were still some good things to watch and talk about. Here's a look at a few...

Saw that UNLV is getting $11M for 5 years to add a jersey patch sponsor, much like the NBA has (and NHL with their helmets).

Getting an extra $2M+ a year for a G5 team could be substantial for their longevity, and I'd have to imagine should Iowa State do the same the deal would bring in more than $11M for 5 years.

Question is, would fans be okay with it?

Link to it:

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My understanding is that the conference introducing Jimmy Rogers is to be this morning at 10am. And that it is supposed to be streamed on ESPN+. Is that correct? If so how do I find it?

I get my ESPN+ through Hulu and don't see the conference listed. Can anyone help?

After a whirlwind of weekend of emotions...I couldn't be more proud to be an Iowa State fan.

I get thrown **** sometimes here in San Diego for the amount of Iowa State gear I wear or the Iowa State wallpaper or coffee mugs or mouse pads. Most of the time friendly little jabs here and there from USC or UCLA folk...and I will mention you just don't get it as you don't know about college pageantry or loyalty out here.

However, I will say this and what's gone unwritten over the weekend is the amount of passion our fans, those at CF, and most importantly, our AD.

Not sure I've grown men shed tears over losing a coach to another school, etc.

Proud to be a Cyclone.

Saturday, Dec 13, 2025
Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025
Thursday, Dec 18, 2025
Friday, Dec 19, 2025
Saturday, Dec 20, 2025
Monday, Dec 22, 2025
Tuesday, Dec 23, 2025
Wednesday, Dec 24, 2025
Friday, Dec 26, 2025
Saturday, Dec 27, 2025
Monday, Dec 29, 2025
Tuesday, Dec 30, 2025
Wednesday, Dec 31, 2025

I feel really awful for the seniors who had the rug pulled out from under them. They likely wanted to savor their last weeks in the program and suit up one more time in the cardinal and gold only to have it slowly (or quickly) fall apart through absolutely no fault of their own.

Would like to see the Athletic department do something to allow cyclone fans to really show their appreciation. Idk what that is.

Perhaps give them a moment on the court for a loud and long ovation in front of a packed Hilton on Thursday? Any other ideas?

I thought it would be a nice gesture for us to suggest some media questions for the Coach Campbell introduction presser on Monday (? Not sure when it is scheduled). I'll start with a few:

"So you often spoke of taking the rough side of the mountain. Did that side of the mountain get too rough for you in Ames? Do you think this side of the mountain will be smoother"

"You often spoke of 'doing something' vs. 'being something'. Can we assume you are now ready to 'be something'?"

"Do you have anything to say to the 26 young men you just signed to your recruiting class in Ames? In your presser last Wednesday, you commended them for honoring their commitments in a day and she when that is rare. Do you still feel this way?"

Please add yours. Maybe we can fly Marty Tirrell to Happy Valley to ask these.

After our beatdown tour making a stop in West Lafayette I remembered this happened too. The 87 Orr team that took down #2 Purdue there in the preseason NIT. May they continue to invite us back every year they field a top five team early in the season.

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I am incredibly sad based on the FB situation right now. I need to channel my energy into something (seemingly?) more productive. What's the opportunity in the current adversity? How do we become part of the solution?

There are obviously two main issues at play here: First, our ability to fully fund the settlement cap and reach beyond that for additional NIL. Second is the AD's current approach to the handling of the cap and NIL. I will get the water under the bridge out of the way...I wish that the WWC had been absorbed into the AD in a way that would have retained its effectiveness, while aligning with the AD need to address the cap.

The current cap/NIL approach seems to be out of most of our hands. We will need the key donors, coaches and new President to address/revise (through pressure and solutioning) the current cap/NIL approach, as well as how to reach the cap and grow the additional NIL opportunities. With the current state of the FB program, we are at risk of revenues being down next year and we will likely lose some FB stars that were bringing in NIL monies to the cap. Time for a fresh, collaborative review of the current program(s), again, driven by the most influential stakeholders. I hope that there is a cadre forming to undertake this effort. Any suggestions on how we may be able to support them? Emails to AD, President, etc. @brentblum do you have an recommendations? Your contributions to ISU athletics is incredible and I know you are stepping back, but I know you have some much knowledge and experience in this area.

Funding the cap and allowing for additional NIL opportunities will likely contribute to improving our current cap/NIL approach, one helps address the other. I am viewing the cap and NIL separately as funding the cap, to allow the AD to fully pay the $20.5MM, is one thing while finding additional NIL opportunities for athletes is another important and additive component (and it sounds like it's not being fully leveraged yet). I have said it before, but there is no mega-donor coming to the rescue. This one feels like we as fans can have an impact (even small) on helping address. I get it, many of us are tapped out. How do we help encourage new donors? Should we be contacting city, county(s) and state officials? Are there company matches we should be looking into? Does following athletes on social media and liking their endorsements help? I am spit balling here and hope others have some better ideas. Again, I welcome @brentblum 's thoughts on it.

I plan to renew my Cyclone Club membership and season FB tickets for next season. The new staff and players (especially those staying) need our support. It goes beyond that, the University, City of Ames and region have an economic stake and risk in this. I am considering moving my modest WWC contributions (or part of it) to the Grid Iron Club until our approach is modified. I want to be able to do more but I am tapped and looking for levers I can still pull to help.

I don't care if this post gets 'dumbed' or receives a bunch of snarky drive-by comments...writing this was cathartic for me. I want to actually help.

Logging off for a while. Thanks for reading.

After the Campbell deal and watching the football playoff show today, the thought occurred to me, "how do we fix this mess?" So here is what I am thinking.

1. Hire a commissioner that is in overall charge of the sport, this person would have the final say in any problem, over the conference commissioners, the networks and everything related to college football

2. Set the calendar. Coaches can only be hired from January 1st till February 1st, I know that might harm teams in the playoff, but if you are playing in the playoff you are most likely not going to be leaving for another school. Transfer portal runs from February 1st to March 1st. Before spring practice and after the coaching window. Signing day for all high school players starts March 1st till, March 15th. The HS player knows who the coach will be and which players the team has brought in out of the portal.

3. All players have to sign a 2 year contract with the school, leave after a year, you lose a year of eligibility, all players have 5 years to play 5 seasons. That is all you get, you get hurt and lose a year, sorry, 5 is all you get.

4. NIL, football teams are allowed 20 million total for pay for play, that is your entire budget, you want to spend $6 million on the Manning kid, have at it, but you only have $14 million for the rest of the roster. Money is paid out one year at a time, over the life of the 5 years, you leave early to the NFL, you miss out on the remaining funds.

5. All teams will play a 12 games schedule only against P4 schools and a list of the best 20 G5 schools. Every team will play 6 home and 6 away games, and. nine conference games, The other three games will be determined by how you finish in your league. Much like the NFL, if you are Georgia and win the SEC, then next year your schedule is Duke, Indiana and TT. Alabama you get Ohio State, Virginia and BYU and right down the list.

6. All media contracts are equal for all teams in the leagues, worked out by the overall commissioner, so ESPN is not paired up with the SEC or Fox with the B10, you are working with college football inc.

7. 16 team playoff, B10 and SEC get 4 spots, ACC and B12 get 2 each, that is 12 spots, leaving 4 other spots for ND, G5 schools and the rest. All teams that win their league get in, and the top 8 teams host the first round games.

Everything is based on the NFL model and is designed to make all the games as combative as possible with fewer haves and have nots. Now I do not expect any of this to actually happen, but something must be done to fix the sport. Agree, disagree, but please leave some feedback.

So far Iowa State, Baylor, UCF, Florida State, Auburn, Rutgers, Kansas, Temple, Notre Dame have declined bowl invitations (and possibly others that I am not aware of). Several were 5-7 that were invited because others had declined, but the question still remains. Is this the beginning of the end for bowl games?

Washington State University is searching for a new athletic director after firing Anne McCoy in November 2025. She served in the role for less than 18 months and was the subject of a national search. Jon Haarlow, the chief operating officer, is serving as the interim AD until a new director is named.

• Previous AD: Anne McCoy was fired on November 12, 2025. She had worked at WSU since 2001 and was promoted to the AD position in June 2024 after serving as interim AD since March 2024.
• Reason for departure: While the exact reasons for her dismissal were not immediately clear, sources told ESPN that the move was not for cause.
• Interim AD: Jon Haarlow, the chief operating officer for WSU athletics, has been named interim AD.
• Search for new AD: WSU is conducting a national search for its next athletic director, who will lead the university into its new phase of Pac-12 membership.

Great press conference. Enthusiastic coach giving us great vibes. Hunger in his words. Word from players they are pleasantly surprised and feel his passion. Uplifting news on assistant coaches coming in.

We all know the time is quickly coming where we are going to lose many players. Good, bad or ugly, it's going to happen. My biggest question is who will Rogers bring with him and is that a good thing? WSU is pretty much bottom of the barrel. Admittedly, I have not watched them at all and have no idea how good their roster actually is. Is there any way we can keep some starters in Ames? I feel like if we hired Mouser or Becht, we could have probably counted on returning 50%+. But I don't have any idea with Rogers what to expect. Anyone have any insight on this?

Be okay. Eventually.

Reese Beaty in a boot not dressed for tonight’s game. Anyone know what’s going on?