Post from desmoinesregister.com about Pollard

A Cyclone for more than 40 years and he is turning in his season tickets? Fat chance he has even seen the inside of the Jack! Another Hawkeye making an attempt at diversionary tactics! I just bought my first season ticket this year and intend to keep coming. Always bought single tickets in the past. Some people just don't like change.
 
On the same note during the UNI game while I was on the field right before our halftime show I heard someone yell from the East stands "Pollard, your replaceable." And I just thought really is he? I dont think so just look at the last AD we had.
 
On the same note during the UNI game while I was on the field right before our halftime show I heard someone yell from the East stands "Pollard, your replaceable." And I just thought really is he? I dont think so just look at the last AD we had.

Gene Smith did a solid job. If he was BDV-esque, he wouldn't be overseeing one of the largest athletic departments in the country at Ohio State.

BDV was the exception rather than the rule for ADs.
 
Good topic and responses.

For those that think ticket prices, donations, parking, and all other costs have increased too much, then you probably should not be college sports fans. The increases you are seeing at ISU are minimal compared with other Big 12 programs. We HAVE NOT kept pace with our competition. If you want to compete in the Big 12, then you have to have Big 12 money. Traditionally, we have had the lowest athletics budget in our conference. And it hasn't even been close to schools like Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State. If you then look at the typical powerhouses across major sports, we are a non-factor in terms of money.

Cost increases will continue throughout the foreseeable future simply because our competition will continue to increase their costs (and spending). Right now, Oklahoma and Texas are in an arms race over athletics. Do you think that their competition will ever end? Not as long as they play each other and compete in the same conference. In addition, all the other Big 12 schools want to win, so they keep adding more just so that they don't get left too far behind. We haven't even done that.

Some programs have almost unlimited funding because of the size of their fanbase. Even though we graduate more Iowans than any other school in Iowa and even though ISU is not a small school (25K students), our fanbase is small. If we are going to compete in Big 12, each fan has to be willing to pay more than their counterparts at other schools.

Just look at the populations that the other schools have to work with. Every one of the schools in the Big 12 has a major city (or cities) to tap into. Nebraska and Missouri have entire states. We have Des Moines, and there we would be lucky to get 50% market share.

Facts are facts. We have a real struggle when we have to compete financially with the rest of the Big 12. We always will. So, if you want a Big 12 program, you have to accept the fact that we will always be trying to raise more money.

Pollard understands all of this and his decisions reflect it. You cannot ask for a turnaround overnight. Rest assured, however, that there will be NO turnaround if we do not increase our budget by at least double what it was when Pollard came in. And by double, I mean double the amount as adjusted for inflation.

Double the pre-Pollard budget would get us into the middle of the Big 12 in terms of spending. If you want to get to the top, you would have to double that number again. And yes, you can tie spending to success. The programs that spend more, are the ones that typically win more. There are always anomolies and short term examples of the exception, but over time they will be the programs that win.
 
Rage on... Rock on....

I think most people understand this, but it doesn't hurt to spell it out for them.

These are either 2005 or 2006 figures.

ISU Budget--29,000,000



Kent State-- 15,700,000
UNI--
Iowa-- 61,000,000
Toledo-- 17,000,000
Nebraska--56,000,000
Texas Tech-- 48,000,000
Texas-- 90,000,000
Oklahoma-- N/A
Kansas State- 40,000,000
Kansas- 51,000,000
Missouri- 47,000,000
Colorado- 36,000,000

OK... If you went off of strict budgets translating to wins (money=wins)... We are a 3-9 team realistically. Wouldn't win in the Big 12. Which compared to talent I would probably take right now. But we don't compete in the Big 12. Except Baylor, and guess what, they are catching up.