Jamie Pollard letter on falls sports

[Cyclonepride]

Good, informative, and well reasoned, IMO.



"I feel it is imperative and timely to clarify the reasons why we are doing everything in our power to try and safely play college sports this fall.

Some people have incorrectly framed the issue as safety versus revenue generation. The simple fact is that reality lies somewhere in the middle. As leaders, we remain committed to safety first. As I outlined in my letter on June 25, 2020, we are working hard to develop and implement mitigation strategies to reduce the risk to players and fans at events this fall. More details about these plans will be provided in the near future.

We must also be cognizant of the absolute need to generate revenues to sustain our long-term operations. We felt it was important to be transparent about the financial realities in college athletics today to add some context to the discussion. Although I am most-familiar with our financial situation, many peers have shared similar stories in regards to their financial projections."

 

[Cyched]

I appreciated Jamie’s messgage

 

[jsb]

I understand what Jamie’s saying. But in the end it won’t be his choice.

 

[beentherebefore]

He had to explain his position. This is a tough situation for everyone. And I don't think the federal government is going to bail out everything.

 

[madguy30]

Asked in the other thread--what's the estimate of ISU fans/alumni across the country that could afford to donate between $50-100?

This is assuming these same people, even if not attending games, can afford to go to bars etc. where they'd spend that kind of money on a pretty regular basis.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I understand what Jamie’s saying. But in the end it won’t be his choice.

If AD's are putting out this kind of message, it stands to reason that the presidents have been informed and concur (he noted that too). It is a balance, and it sounds like they're doing their best to proceed while maintaining as safe an environment as possible.

 

[CascadeClone]

In before cave!

I like how Jamie calls it for what it is - look we want perfect safety, but if perfect causes the whole program to die, then that is also unacceptable.

There is a balance between safety and continuing with life to be struck. It's a little different for everyone, based on their risk tolerance and also personal vulnerability.

Last week, I thought the season was sure to be cancelled, but this tells me they are laying groundwork to have it SOMEHOW in order to get the TV money. Which is what they need, that's half the battle on revenue. So it might be no fans, or 50% capacity, or in between. But I feel they will have some kind of season, unless they are flat barred from doing so by the state or feds.

 

[cysmiley]

I think Iowa State could pull it off this fall, but they would have to have the cooperation of Iowa citizens, which seems to be lacking;t at least in that Court Avenue picture taken Saturday.

Also, they need to have the other conference schools get their "spread" under reasonable control, which also seems like a long uphill climb, but time will tell.

 

[BCClone]

Asked in the other thread--what's the estimate of ISU fans/alumni across the country that could afford to donate between $50-100?

This is assuming these same people, even if not attending games, can afford to go to bars etc. where they'd spend that kind of money on a pretty regular basis.

Are you asking about those who haven't donated yet? I have made a donation already. Whether I get my tickets or not, they have my donation. If it required another 50-100 to make it function, that would be fine. I make a donation whether I get tickets or not.

 

[Cyclonepride]

In before cave!

I like how Jamie calls it for what it is - look we want perfect safety, but if perfect causes the whole program to die, then that is also unacceptable.

There is a balance between safety and continuing with life to be struck. It's a little different for everyone, based on their risk tolerance and also personal vulnerability.

Last week, I thought the season was sure to be cancelled, but this tells me they are laying groundwork to have it SOMEHOW in order to get the TV money. Which is what they need, that's half the battle on revenue. So it might be no fans, or 50% capacity, or in between. But I feel they will have some kind of season, unless they are flat barred from doing so by the state or feds.

At the end of the day, from a fan standpoint, fans as individuals should determine and accept the responsibility for whether they feel safe in going or not.

 

[madguy30]

Are you asking about those who haven't donated yet? I have made a donation already. Whether I get my tickets or not, they have my donation. If it required another 50-100 to make it function, that would be fine. I make a donation whether I get tickets or not.

Anyone that can donate, really.

 

[isufbcurt]

I understand what Jamie’s saying. But in the end it won’t be his choice.

Who's decision will it be? The Governor isn't going to go back on Iowa being open, so the school will decide. And the ISU President will go along with whatever Pollard suggests. Teams in our conference (Texas and Okie) aren't not going to play, hell OU is looking to start the season earlier.

 

[jsb]

Who's decision will it be? The Governor isn't going to go back on Iowa being open, so the school will decide. And the ISU President will go along with whatever Pollard suggests. Teams in our conference (Texas and Okie) aren't not going to play, hell OU is looking to start the season earlier.

In the end, I think conferences will decide not to play.

 

[Gunnerclone]

so what’s the plan? It feels like a bunch of individual schools “doing their best” at this point.

 

[Cyclonepride]

In the end, I think conferences will decide not to play.

They're all in the same boat with Jamie. I wouldn't be surprised to see only conference play though.

 

[agrabes]

I think this letter along with some of the things Blum was saying on the Summer Series podcast makes me think that ISU is putting in place the plans necessary to protect the players and staff for fall sports. I think Blum had a lot of great points on last week's podcast - prudent policy (and a strong will and ability to accept a small number of cases) can make a safe environment for the games to be played. It will take money and resources, but the P5 programs have those things.

The cancellation of non-conference games seems to be a move to allow schedule flexibility in case some games have to be rescheduled due to quarantine. I think we are starting to get hints that the P5 conferences are working on real plans in the background, keeping them quiet until they have something. The biggest obstacle to the whole thing is if there are some schools who do not have good measures in place to protect players and staff. If all the major conferences and teams agree to certain measures, then you can all have a reasonable expectation that one team will not pass it to another.

The biggest reason I think there will be an attempt to play is that there's no reason to expect that by next fall or spring things will be any different. We've had enough time now, we need to try to restore major things like sports in a safe, controlled way. If we try and fail this fall, then we will be able to learn new techniques for next spring or next fall. College athletics can take lessons from the NBA and MLB in late July/early August as well.

I'm less certain about fans, if fans are allowed to attend. I still think having 30K fans in attendance is irresponsible. My guess/hope is that they will be watching local/regional case numbers to make decisions on that closer to the time of each individual game.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I think this letter along with some of the things Blum was saying on the Summer Series podcast makes me think that ISU is putting in place the plans necessary to protect the players and staff for fall sports. I think Blum had a lot of great points on last week's podcast - prudent policy (and a strong will and ability to accept a small number of cases) can make a safe environment for the games to be played. It will take money and resources, but the P5 programs have those things.

The cancellation of non-conference games seems to be a move to allow schedule flexibility in case some games have to be rescheduled due to quarantine. I think we are starting to get hints that the P5 conferences are working on real plans in the background, keeping them quiet until they have something. The biggest obstacle to the whole thing is if there are some schools who do not have good measures in place to protect players and staff. If all the major conferences and teams agree to certain measures, then you can all have a reasonable expectation that one team will not pass it to another.

The biggest reason I think there will be an attempt to play is that there's no reason to expect that by next fall or spring things will be any different. We've had enough time now, we need to try to restore major things like sports in a safe, controlled way. If we try and fail this fall, then we will be able to learn new techniques for next spring or next fall. College athletics can take lessons from the NBA and MLB in late July/early August as well.

I'm less certain about fans, if fans are allowed to attend. I still think having 30K fans in attendance is irresponsible. My guess/hope is that they will be watching local/regional case numbers to make decisions on that closer to the time of each individual game.

Regarding the last point- face masks required, seats spread around throughout the stadium, and a four mile long spaced out line to the bathrooms and concessions.

 

[Gunnerclone]

I think this letter along with some of the things Blum was saying on the Summer Series podcast makes me think that ISU is putting in place the plans necessary to protect the players and staff for fall sports. I think Blum had a lot of great points on last week's podcast - prudent policy (and a strong will and ability to accept a small number of cases) can make a safe environment for the games to be played. It will take money and resources, but the P5 programs have those things.

The cancellation of non-conference games seems to be a move to allow schedule flexibility in case some games have to be rescheduled due to quarantine. I think we are starting to get hints that the P5 conferences are working on real plans in the background, keeping them quiet until they have something. The biggest obstacle to the whole thing is if there are some schools who do not have good measures in place to protect players and staff. If all the major conferences and teams agree to certain measures, then you can all have a reasonable expectation that one team will not pass it to another.

The biggest reason I think there will be an attempt to play is that there's no reason to expect that by next fall or spring things will be any different. We've had enough time now, we need to try to restore major things like sports in a safe, controlled way. If we try and fail this fall, then we will be able to learn new techniques for next spring or next fall. College athletics can take lessons from the NBA and MLB in late July/early August as well.

I'm less certain about fans, if fans are allowed to attend. I still think having 30K fans in attendance is irresponsible. My guess/hope is that they will be watching local/regional case numbers to make decisions on that closer to the time of each individual game.

The federal government, they of virtually unlimited resources, has lost all control of the virus. I don’t have high expectations for universities with widely varying circumstances to be able to get control. Unless they develop bubbles like NBA, MLS and soon NHL, I don’t see how can do what you are saying.

 

[CycloneErik]

I was not surprised for even a moment that a letter decrying that some of us have noted this is more about money than safety then proceeded to focus solely on the money.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Asked in the other thread--what's the estimate of ISU fans/alumni across the country that could afford to donate between $50-100?

This is assuming these same people, even if not attending games, can afford to go to bars etc. where they'd spend that kind of money on a pretty regular basis.

266,837 alumni with degrees from ISU. Most won't give a dime, just sayin'.

 

[MartyFine]

This season will end up with ISU playing a bunch of road games against SEC schools as every other school in the country will have postponed/cancelled the fall season.