Read everything Jamie Pollard said in his statement regarding both basketball programs
- Thread starter JakeBrend
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JP is not your typical AD, we should all know this by now since he has been the AD for 21 years. JP does it his way right/wrong...
I will die on this hill, but JP is #1 on Mt Rushmore of ISU athletics.
I will die on this hill, but JP is #1 on Mt Rushmore of ISU athletics.
Unfortunately, for all the good he has done (and it has been a lot) he has a long history of these kinds of statements and it isn't anything new.
Remember when he was crying publicly about players transferring too much? No, not under NIL. Back when we had another program where there was an exodus of players in Pollard's early years under McDermott. It made him look pretty silly when we turned around and became Transfer U under Hoiberg almost immediately after.
I remember him complaining at one point that student athletes should be happy/greatful they’re getting scholarships. I know it’s nothing new, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating
Too big of an ego and he loves to hear himself talk.
ISU athletics have been dealt two losing hands the past 6 months, losing Campbell was bad enough, but he then takes most of the roster worth a damn with him, adding salt to him leaving. WBB seemed like it was going to be in a good position for next season, and then the entire team transfers out, with little to no reason why they are all leaving. I really do not think it's the coach, as he has been coaching most of these kids for 3 years, so what has happened that all of a sudden they are all leaving?
I really wish Audi well, but for as great as she has been at ISU, I wonder how much better she could have benefited from getting into better shape.
I really wish Audi well, but for as great as she has been at ISU, I wonder how much better she could have benefited from getting into better shape.
Surely you see the difference between what is happening at Iowa (players not expected to be key pieces next season looking for greener pastures) and what is happening here (mass exodus, including an All-American)?
The frustration isn't that he brought Iowa up at all, it's that he tried to draw a comparison where there simply isn't one.
Curious to see how another school/coach deals with her lack of athleticism. She literally subs herself in and out when tired and doesn't run up and down the court. No way one of the big 4 or so will put up with that
It’s a numbers (money) game now and Pollard is what we need now. He has hired some amazing coaches and elevated our BB and FB programs. I was here in the 80’s and early 90’s, it was really rough! It’s amazing that we are where we are without any significant donors to speak of. I think he is keeping us stable. I’m good with that.
He drew a direct comparison to Okie Lite which is accurate
Yeah he didn't need to release a long video on this. And to bring mens basketball into it when it had nothing to do with what's happening with the women.
Like we shouldn't be able to create a montage of multiple videos where he's in his office and says "Hwy Cyclone Nation, I'm sad" lol. Just put out a statement, answer questions and move on.
It's not overly lengthy, that is true. I would say around 3-5 mins would be all I need as a fan. 1-2 times a year.
It's probably more the frequency like you, I, and others have said. We have had some significant events for sure (FB coaching change/bowl game decline and women's gymnastics were undeniably newsworthy)...but idk if players hitting the transfer portal is a significant enough to demand a video acknowledging it...
The transfer portal is literally happening everywhere nationwide. It's just the state of the beast that is college athletics, every school is experiencing it to some degree. And as significant the #s felt or feel to be in FB & WBB, we're still not even the biggest in terms of #s both nationally or even in the Big 12.
I guess I look at it the same way I do all the players AI/chatGPT sounding social media post about deciding to change schools. I just don't think they deserve newsworthy acknowledgement, it's their personal choice. They'll have to live with it for better or worse. Thanks to them for their time at ISU, and next man/woman up! The ones who decide to commit/stay at ISU are the ones who matter and are newsworthy to me.
Billy had a zoom interview with Nevada a couple weeks ago. Didn't make it very far in the process
The way I see it we had two options:
1. Light $750K on fire and end a 31-year tenure on a sour note (which, by the way, might be noticed by some of our other coaches who we would love to retain for that long).
2. Save the $750K and wait out the one year remaining on his contract.
I would have picked option 2, which is what is happening here. In fact for me I think it’s a pretty easy choice, even if neither choice seems to be ideal.
I think it’s also worth keeping in mind that despite some of the gripes, up until a few weeks ago getting rid of Bill wasn’t really an attractive option because it would have risked losing Audi and Addy to the portal. Obviously things have changed on that front, but let’s not act like the current situation was something that we could have planned for. Bill’s contract was lined up with the end of Audi’s and Addy’s careers, which is about as reasonable as you can expect in my opinion.
If you want to get worked up about the specific details of the video that’s fine, but it seems pretty clear that this is what’s going on under the surface. And if it’s the correct decision then I guess I’m not going to waste energy getting upset about it.
1. Light $750K on fire and end a 31-year tenure on a sour note (which, by the way, might be noticed by some of our other coaches who we would love to retain for that long).
2. Save the $750K and wait out the one year remaining on his contract.
I would have picked option 2, which is what is happening here. In fact for me I think it’s a pretty easy choice, even if neither choice seems to be ideal.
I think it’s also worth keeping in mind that despite some of the gripes, up until a few weeks ago getting rid of Bill wasn’t really an attractive option because it would have risked losing Audi and Addy to the portal. Obviously things have changed on that front, but let’s not act like the current situation was something that we could have planned for. Bill’s contract was lined up with the end of Audi’s and Addy’s careers, which is about as reasonable as you can expect in my opinion.
If you want to get worked up about the specific details of the video that’s fine, but it seems pretty clear that this is what’s going on under the surface. And if it’s the correct decision then I guess I’m not going to waste energy getting upset about it.
This bothered me as well. Yes, he needed to come out and make a statement, but one of his biggest weaknesses is his ego. He has a history of taking petty shots at people whenever things aren't going well. Listen, I hate Iowa as much as anyone, but throwing that little jab in there was just dumb. He's done amazing things for this university, but this part of his personality/legacy is not a highlight.
