Twister Sister Summary - Coaching Possibilities

[OWLCITYCYFAN]

If anybody wants to see a pair of coaches who've been mentioned as possible ISU candidates in various threads, we have a head to head on Monday, 3/30 in the WNIT Great Eight.

Cleveland State (Chris Kielsmeier) vs Arkansas State (Destinee Rogers)

Interesting USA Today article from February on capable Mid-Major Coaches who could move up or assistants ready for a head coaching job - mentions Destinee Rogers early in narrative:

2026 women’s basketball coaching candidates: Who are the hot names?

As March Madness approaches, so does the coaching carousel for the women’s basketball season. Last year, there were more than 60 coaching changes.

www.usatoday.com

 

[cykadelic2]

Probably but it would be way more interesting than what we've seen for the last decade and wouldn't cost anymore than what we are doing now.
The days of high coaching salaries need to be reigned in especially for only so-so results. Yeah we make the tourney and lose 1st round consistently. How does Bill's contract compare to the other 32 coaches that lose early, Im guessing he is in that top 10% salary wise easy. Why spend that kind of money on a program that loses millions every yr?

Bill's salary is essentially irrelevant at this point (obviously his $700K buyout is relevant).

Bill is a lame duck and will be replaced by a successful mid major HC at a commensurate B12 salary, most likely after next season. No different than what has been done by JP with Matt, Otz, and Jimmy.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Seems like discussion of this is waste of time and energy of thought. There is zero chance Fennelly isn't the coach next year. It's a near zero chance there will be any changes to the staff or approach. The university gave away any control of the program they had to the Fennelly family years ago. It is what it is.

 

[NWICY]

Bill's salary is essentially irrelevant at this point (obviously his $700K buyout is relevant).

Bill is a lame duck and will be replaced by a successful mid major HC at a commensurate B12 salary, most likely after next season. No different than what has been done by JP with Matt, Otz, and Jimmy.

Those programs also don't lose 4 million a yr. I like wbb ad much as most but the economics say no reason to shovel dollar bills into the furnace.

 

[isucy86]

@acoustimac your list makes more sense than my wing and a prayer idea. It was hire Em Ryan for 250-300,000 give her the current coaching budget. Let her fill her assistants with other hungry young coaches and any money left let her go buy some players she likes.
Get a bunch of young hungry coaches that want to head up their own program in a few yrs. It would either really work or crash and burn like Icarus when he flew to close to the sun.LOL.

Don't see a reason to take such a big risk, when a new coach could hire Ryan as an assistant. And I think most fans want to see a new coach who brings a different approach.

The best description might be a TJ clone. Solid player/coach relationship, embraces portal plus team has defensive focus and plays physical. IMO the last point is important to compete with top tier Big12 programs and even teams ranked 10-20 around the country.

 

[cykadelic2]

Those programs also don't lose 4 million a yr. I like wbb ad much as most but the economics say no reason to shovel dollar bills into the furnace.

JP nor any other rational ISU AD is going to hire a cheap inexperienced WBB HC with little chance of success and intentionally torpedo the WBB program. Practically all P4 programs lose a similar amount of money and desire to have a relevant WBB program as FB TV money pays their bills.

Now what JP won't do is pay Bill a $700K buyout to have him quit now and also pay a qualified replacement in 2026-27. Now if some WBB donor(s) wants to pay the $700K out of their own pocket, maybe that move is made.

 

[cykadelic2]

If anybody wants to see a pair of coaches who've been mentioned as possible ISU candidates in various threads, we have a head to head on Monday, 3/30 in the WNIT Great Eight.

Cleveland State (Chris Kielsmeier) vs Arkansas State (Destinee Rogers)

Interesting USA Today article from February on capable Mid-Major Coaches who could move up or assistants ready for a head coaching job - mentions Destinee Rogers early in narrative:

2026 women’s basketball coaching candidates: Who are the hot names?

As March Madness approaches, so does the coaching carousel for the women’s basketball season. Last year, there were more than 60 coaching changes.

www.usatoday.com

Rogers is best suited for a P5 job in the SE or SW given her background, not at ISU IMO.

 

[isucy86]

Those programs also don't lose 4 million a yr. I like wbb ad much as most but the economics say no reason to shovel dollar bills into the furnace.

Two things about that $4M loss figure:

1. Where does ISU WBB rank against its P4 piers in WBB expenses? If ISU fans want a consistent top 10-20 program, then our expenses will have to be reflective. And I guarantee Iowa State's next WBB coach will demand that. Unless JP goes after a complete unknown.
2. Revenue assigned by sport can be manipulated. How does the AD assign TV rights money, Cyclone Club donations, etc.

Not saying WBB is profitable, but JP has built one of the most balanced athletic departments in the Big12 and even P4. Winning teams in just about every sport- revenue & Olympic!

 

[AlCyJim]

does Billy even want to be the head coach and follow his father? nobody wants to be the one following the legend

 

[isucy86]

Those programs also don't lose 4 million a yr. I like wbb ad much as most but the economics say no reason to shovel dollar bills into the furnace.

Another aspect to ISU defunding sports like VB, WBB, wrestling, etc. because they aren't profitable.

One of Yormark's most vocal strategies is to separate media rights by sport with the 2030 negotiations. To do that successfully, then the Big12 needs to have a depth of quality teams that fans want to watch. Just not their school.

Plus, there should be a financial impact for college WBB with recent popularity growth in WNBA and Unrivaled.

So just because ISU WBB doesn't make money in 2026, doesn't mean that will be the case in 2030 and beyond.

 

[acoustimac]

The university gave away any control of the program they had to the Fennelly family years ago. It is what it is.

I don’t usually disagree with you, but I do on this point. JP is def in control. He would never relinquish that to any coach.

 

[BryceC]

Agree- but I also think Bill has an ego complex that makes him want Billy to take over, or think he has the right to name who he wants. We have what, 3 HS recruits next year, 0 the year after that. I’d rather rip the bandaid off and have a new staff handle the rebuild

With the portal none of this matters anyway. Whoever we bring in will be bringing in their own players.

IMO it makes a lot of sense to just let him go another year. We don’t have to pay the buyout, and if he does a good job then it’ll be a nice farewell tour, and if it’s a disaster nobody will have any problem just resetting the program.

 

[FarmerCy1]

With the portal none of this matters anyway. Whoever we bring in will be bringing in their own players.

IMO it makes a lot of sense to just let him go another year. We don’t have to pay the buyout, and if he does a good job then it’ll be a nice farewell tour, and if it’s a disaster nobody will have any problem just resetting the program.

At this point I’ve resigned myself to him being here and next year probably being a trainwreck. I’m not expecting WBB to make a Final Four, but at least winning one game in KC and the dance should be the minimum expectation, and Bill has underperformed for the last couple years. I’m just ready for a change, and the game seems to have passed Bill by.

 

[BCClone]

I suggest we hire the ASU women’s coach.

 

[CarrollCyclone]

Just saw on Twitter that Chris Kielsmeier is leaving Cleveland State to take the job at new Pac-12 member Texas State

 

[CascadeClone]

You guys are delusional. If BF keeps making trips to the tournament Pollard isn’t going to push him out. He’ll let him assemble something for ‘26-27 no doubt.

This. JP doesn't fire non-rev coaches that are not hopelessly bad on the field and aren't causing off-field problems.

 

[ZorkClone]

Those programs also don't lose 4 million a yr. I like wbb ad much as most but the economics say no reason to shovel dollar bills into the furnace.

The economics also say we should never participate in bowl games. In FY 2024, it cost us $2,666,922 to go to a bowl game and we got back $1,646,269. We lost more than a million dollars.

We would never turn down a bowl game for that reason because there are just somethings you do as a big-time college program. Funding WBB to a competitive level is one of those things. That means Bill is likely to coach next season, but it also means JP isn't going to let the only women's program that has a decent following wither just to save a few bucks.

 

[StClone]

Seems like discussion of this is waste of time and energy of thought. There is zero chance Fennelly isn't the coach next year. It's a near zero chance there will be any changes to the staff or approach. The university gave away any control of the program they had to the Fennelly family years ago. It is what it is.

Regardless the motivation, nice to get a recap of some programs with success. Gives me something to consider besides being captive to our situation. (Same goes for the life outside athletics.) Plus, if any of those mentioned do get the job in the future that would be a surprising--a Macy Comito kind of surprise as a poster gave her name as a future Cyclone long before any mention of her.

 

[acoustimac]

Seems like discussion of this is waste of time and energy of thought. There is zero chance Fennelly isn't the coach next year. It's a near zero chance there will be any changes to the staff or approach. The university gave away any control of the program they had to the Fennelly family years ago. It is what it is.

I put it out there just for what it is…discussion purposes and a look at who the up and comers are. I originally was holding on to it to see if a coaching change would be made, but finally decided people seem to want to chat about the topic…so there it was.

 

[cykadelic2]

I put it out there just for what it is…discussion purposes and a look at who the up and comers are. I originally was holding on to it to see if a coaching change would be made, but finally decided people seem to want to chat about the topic…so there it was.

Yep, to look at who the up and comers are and selfishly hope some of them don't get P5 jobs this cycle (e.g. Karius and Thibault-DuDonis).