*** A conversation with Jamie Pollard ***

[CTTB78]

From JP's point of view at that time, you are definitely wrong on that one.

He was JP's fifth choice then?

 

[CapnCy]

Right, but we still had to hire a football coach and a basketball coach. So you do the best you can with the information you're given. You may not KNOW if it is a good decision at the time, but you have to make an educated guess. That doesn't mean it was a bad hire at the time, and there's no indication that any other available candidates would have done any better. You can say going for it on 4th down is a good decision or a bad decision before you know if the offense converted.

Well put. It can be silly to argue past decisions like this. It'd be like if 5 years ago we had a shot at a couple of 4-5 star linebacker recruits and we passed Knott/Klein for those two....with no other info, you'd take the 4-5 stars most the time, but the 4-5 stars may not have been half the talent that Knott/Klein ended up.

One thing to remember is there are A LOT of moving parts happening behind the scenes with coaching hires. Remember Hoiberg vs Gillespie arguments? On paper, you go with Gillespie...but look at the outcome there?

 

[VeloClone]

I think it really puts into perspective how well JP is planning for future success, not just in football, but across the board for our athletic programs. Once we can be performing at a high level across the board, then all the fluffy feel good stuff can start being built (here's looking at you SEZ).

I agree that Jamie has the right priorities on the things we need that have a immediate return over the things we want or things that don't have as big of an immediate return. I disagree that the SEZ would be the start of "fluff". The new video board was about as "fluffy" as they come. They could squeeze a little fluff in to the budget. What was more telling was the way he said that the SEZ has a cost that is equal to half the value of all the improvements up to this point. There is room for fluff, just not that much fluff right now.

 

[SCarolinaCy]

Holy cow, were the first four "questions" really necessary? My lord, I was embarrassed to read that. You could have asked him to contrast his statement about how evil transfers are from a few years back with what Fred is doing with transfers now, instead you spent approximately a third of the time not asking questions, but basically telling him how he walks on water. smh

' Guess I did not see how this was such a great interview. Wordy.....

Personally, I like the (casual) videos that Chris has done with clothing retailer. I would have like to have SEEN/HEARD from Pollard in response to Chris questions.

Pollard is clearly the right man at the right time for ISU. I think Pollard's obvious comments about his introverted style/no friends will keep him at ISU. That style would not play well in the big (ego) money schools.

 

[Tornado man]

its easy to call McDermott and Chizik mistakes now. But they were good hires at the time

Uh, what about that contract extension that Pollard offered Chizik, even after those two awful years? I'm a big Jamie fan, but no one walks on water. That baffling move is evidence of it.

 

[RiverCy]

Of all the schools that bolted I hold the least against Colorado, their invite to the Pac 10 was basically the same as if ISU had gotten an invite to the Big 10 in the same period of time. They might have been on the outside looking in if everything had gone to hell so they did what they had to do to for #1.

Colorado moving to the PAC is what saved the B12 IMO. At the time the PAC wanted CU, OU, OSU, UT, TA&M, and TTU. Texas legislators wanted Baylor to be included instead of CU. PAC offered CU first and separately in an attempt to block Baylor. When the Texas schools were made all or nothing, that essentially killed the deal. There were other defections after that, but we weathered those storms. If those 6 had left for the PAC we would be in the AAC or C-USA right now.

 

[cykadelic2]

He was JP's fifth choice then?

Of course not.

You claim there were 3 choices ahead of GMac at that time who turned down the job. Who were they?

 

[besserheimerphat]

' Guess I did not see how this was such a great interview. Wordy.....

Personally, I like the (casual) videos that Chris has done with clothing retailer. I would have like to have SEEN/HEARD from Pollard in response to Chris questions.

Pollard is clearly the right man at the right time for ISU. I think Pollard's obvious comments about his introverted style/no friends will keep him at ISU. That style would not play well in the big (ego) money schools.

I think you're misinterpreting his comment. Clearly he is able to schmooze with the people he needs to, otherwise he wouldn't be able to accomplish near what he has. But there's a difference between "friends" and "colleagues." I'm very friendly with everyone at work, but I'd say that I have very few personal friends - people that I connect with completely outside the workplace.

 

[besserheimerphat]

Uh, what about that contract extension that Pollard offered Chizik, even after those two awful years? I'm a big Jamie fan, but no one walks on water. That baffling move is evidence of it.

That was a questionable decision. At the same time, it was clear that ISU needed to build the program and continually firing coaches is not a good way to do that. It's easier to recruit when the recruits are confident that their coach will be around for all 4/5 years. So I understood the decision, but I didn't agree with it.

 

[ISUFan22]

Uh, what about that contract extension that Pollard offered Chizik, even after those two awful years? I'm a big Jamie fan, but no one walks on water. That baffling move is evidence of it.

If you think Rhoads (or a number of other coaches) would have the success he had in his first 2 years, if he had been hired instead of Chizik at that time - you are crazy. Things were in a very tough spot when Dan left.

Gene couldn't manage the game/program worth a **** - but he did improve recruiting and fan support (even with the 2 bad seasons) - which helped the Rhoads early success. JP extended Chizik as he knew other programs were after him (not sure why) and needed to do something to stabilize the program. That didn't work, yet it all worked out in our favor anyway.

 

[Tornado man]

Gene couldn't manage the game/program worth a **** - but he did improve recruiting and fan support (even with the 2 bad seasons) - which helped the Rhoads early success.

??? Don't think so. If recruiting was so good, why were so many McCarney recruits still starting in the first two years of the Rhoads era? Add to that Chizik's sub-standard coaching staff, and it's puzzling to me why Pollard didn't apply more intense in-depth analysis of the state of the program before offering the extension.

 

[Tre4ISU]

??? Don't think so. If recruiting was so good, why were so many McCarney recruits still starting in the first two years of the Rhoads era? Add to that Chizik's sub-standard coaching staff, and it's puzzling to me why Pollard didn't apply more intense in-depth analysis of the state of the program before offering the extension.

Please tell me who has more guys in the NFL right now, Mac or Chizik?

 

[The_Architect]

Cael left for even more money at PSU and more fertile recruiting grounds.

I'm not a wrestling guy so excuse my ignorance but I thought the state of Iowa was the HS wrestling capitol? Isn't this the most fertile recruiting grounds?

 

[Judoka]

I'm not a wrestling guy so excuse my ignorance but I thought the state of Iowa was the HS wrestling capitol? Isn't this the most fertile recruiting grounds?

Iowa has better high school wrestling per capita. But Pennsylvania and Ohio are to wrestling what Florida and Texas are to football when it comes to recruiting.

 

[The_Architect]

Iowa has better high school wrestling per capita. But Pennsylvania and Ohio are to wrestling what Florida and Texas are to football when it comes to recruiting.

OK, thanks.

 

[Karsten21]

Give credit where credit is due. JP is a great AD and we should feel lucky to have him. The success across in athletics across the board is on the rise and I have never felt more proud to be a Cyclone than I am now. Yes, we have experienced some tough losses along the way but we are building. GC left us with nothing, GM left us with nothing, and Cael took everything with him. Look where we were just a few years ago and compare it to now. Apples to Oranges. I think patience is key here and JP has been very patient and has had to make some difficult decisions along the way. Have his decisions pleased everyone? Of course not. Everybody has there own opinion, but in the position he is in, as long as the majority are happy, he is doing his job. People often talk about CPR and FH being Cyclone people and understanding what it means to be a Cyclone, well I think JP is overlooked and he "get's it" more than other's realize. Keep up the good work JP and GO CYCLONES!!

 

[RustShack]

??? Don't think so. If recruiting was so good, why were so many McCarney recruits still starting in the first two years of the Rhoads era? Add to that Chizik's sub-standard coaching staff, and it's puzzling to me why Pollard didn't apply more intense in-depth analysis of the state of the program before offering the extension.

Uhh the same reason CPR's didn't start right away? They weren't 5 star or anything, but they at least had some height and speed to them.. They just needed bulked up.

We used to be just slow, undersized, and zero depth all the way around. It takes more than a year to change a program around as bad of shape as we were in. It takes 5-10 unless you just suddenly land a full class of 5 star athletes.

 

[Cycsk]

Holy cow, were the first four "questions" really necessary? My lord, I was embarrassed to read that. You could have asked him to contrast his statement about how evil transfers are from a few years back with what Fred is doing with transfers now, instead you spent approximately a third of the time not asking questions, but basically telling him how he walks on water. smh

Good things come from being nice to the AD! This was not the place or time to go after JP antagonistically. Note that CW "liked" your post. He probably did talk about it ... of the record. If you want to know what JP thinks about something like this, then listen to CW when he speaks confidently about the Athletic Department's perspective but doesn't cite a source.

Geez, trust CW in situations like these. He has our best interests in mind and has consistently served us well. If we read between the lines of his musings, we can learn plenty.

 

[cyclone87]

interesting quotes on the south endzone in today's Iowa State Daily:

Facilities highlight rise; Gateway Project lingers
There is a drawer on Pollard’s desk where he keeps all of the new facility presentations from his tenure.
In the last eight years, Iowa State has spent more than $100 million on facilities, including a new track, soccer and softball complex that opened last year.
“We’ve come a long ways,” Pollard said. “When I try to remember them all, I usually end up forgetting some.”
The next upgrade that lingers is what Pollard refers to as the Gateway Project. He laughs as he looks out to the south endzone, which fans have clamored to see bowled in.
“If we could afford it, yeah, we could do seating,” Pollard said. “But if we do that, we may be stuck. We put in more seating, we have to address where all those people are going to park, what are we doing to Reiman Gardens, what are we doing with the entrance to campus?”
Pollard would love to see the project move forward, but he knows it is about more than bowling-in an end zone. Leath said he thinks the project will eventually happen, mentioning the current low interest rates.
“If you’re going to do a project like that, you’d rather do it when you can get the money cheaply,” Leath said. “So we are looking very seriously as to what the plans would be over the next couple of years.”

As has been learned with the growth of the entire athletic department, things take time. The common goal is to get it right the first time.
“We don’t want to do this twice,” Leath said. “It’s going to be a very big, expensive project. You want to get it right.”

State of the Cyclones: Iowa State finds stability, extends footprint - Iowa State Daily: Sports

 

[CysRage]

interesting quotes on the south endzone in today's Iowa State Daily:



State of the Cyclones: Iowa State finds stability, extends footprint - Iowa State Daily: Sports

SEZ! SEZ SEZ! I posted this in another thread, FWIW I heard that ISU had a 5 year price lock on the SEZ project from when they were originally going to do it 5 years ago part of phase 2 of the jack trice renovations. We are nearing the end of the price lock and maybe that price lock is cheap enough then what is being quoted now. I understand that the plans may have changed but maybe in principal the price remains the same.