So what’s up with UNI?

[Stumbles]

Texas A&M ended Panther basketball.

 

[Cymark86]

A little more than UNI depending where he ends up. Probably get the standard $1500 a month which is what most mid major kids will get. The best mid major players can make 50k but usually those players leave to take 100k

That makes sense. Maybe after 4 years he just wanted a new look. Jacobson seems pretty rigid so a change of venue might be good for him.

 

[David Freshman1982]

Could UNI jump a level? Why couldn’t they hang with the Marquettes and Memphis type teams?

 

[Rabbuk]

Could UNI jump a level? Why couldn’t they hang with the Marquettes and Memphis type teams?

They only have like 5 players for next year

 

[swiacy]

Like anything there is no one answer that leads to what's happened.

The biggest thing is the administrative disaster that was David Harris, he did incredible damage in 7 years and UNIs budget was less in real dollars when he left than when he got there. I'm 100% sure he's a nice guy and was great while doing the student services/non-public facing role that he had in Ames before getting the UNI job. The problem with that is that he isn't charismatic, he isn't personable and comes off as somewhere between arrogant and aloof and that doesn't inspire much confidence to donors. The three big projects that got completed while he was here were more in spite of him than because of him.

As for basketball specifically, I think this year is just UNIs turn to get hit and it's not unusual at the Valley level. 15 of the 16 all league guys from last year are gone, 23 of the top 25 scorers are gone, there are only 16 of 60 returning starters left right now and 5 of those are from Valpo who finished dead last by a wide margin, i.e. nobody wanted them. Now that we're a few years into the NIL era, the Valley, WCC, A10 and AAC are AAA affiliates of the P5. Some kids like Heise are going to get called up, others like Duax needed to move down to have more success. Born got a check somewhere. Landon Wolf's Dad and Jake didn't get along. These are kids that might have stuck it out in the past that now have options to move. UNIs two portal commits, Ben Schwieger and Max Weisbrod, are probably steps up from Duax and Wolf.

The criticism of Jake is, and has always been, that he doesn't cast a very wide net in recruiting. He likes high school kids that come from affluent suburbs that played for coaches he knows or coaches that have fairly rigid systems. That strategy gives you a pretty high floor but also reduces your ceiling so unless he has an Adam Koch, Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Seth Tuttle, Jeremy Morgan, Wes Washpun, AJ Green, he's going to be a 19-13 type team that finishes 4th in the Valley. Not a horrible floor but it does get old. This is the first year that he's gone into the portal and gotten kids that he didn't have a previous relationship with so that's encouraging and shows growth.

The bright side is that in 4 months as the interim AD, Bob Bowlsby has gotten $7M in commitments for a basketball practice facility (UNI is the only Valley school that doesn't have one) and shovels should be in the ground by fall. He's embraced NIL and we have a fairly well funded collective for our league and that's only going to get better as time goes on. Francis is finally on his last legs so that is going to help with recruiting big time. The pool of AD candidates they got was deep and impressive and we'll hire a sitting DI AD in the coming days as Bob wants to be out by mid-May.

The Valley is what it's always been historically, the 8th to 11th best league in the country (finished 9th this year), but the gap to the P5 is just bigger because there is so much more money they can throw around. A kid like Kayden Fish could have come to a Valley level school and played big minutes but we don't have a prayer in offering the same kind of facilities, experience, resources and NIL dollars that he'll get being the 12th or 13th guy on a P5 roster and we're going to see more and more of that especially for kids that don't really have pro prospects. They're going to get to live the semi-pro lifestyle that the next tier just can't offer.

TL;DR: UNI isn't dead, it's just an adjustment/reset period while this level figures out what it is.

Good honest assessment. This is a prime example of how college sports are changing at a supersonic speed as all the players that aren’t headed to the NBA realize that their only chance to cash in is to jump schools to the highest bidder while they can (ie. Tyrese Hunter). Spot on about the MVC as the top players move on while they can. I can’t imagine what it’s like now for coaching staffs as they recruit HS players, look for help in the portal and try to keep their best players from entering the portal. Complete xhit xhow.

 

[2forISU]

UNI needs new vision/leaders. Both coaches have done a lot for UNI, but it might be time to reevaluate with the changes in college sports.

Farley-24 years
Jacobson-19 years

Would help to have a competent AD

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Not a Bowlsby fan at all for obvious/ various reasons, but think he could really help UNI out. What are the chances they could talk him into being more than temporary?

0.0.

He was very clear that this is probably the only thing he would've come out of retirement for. He's ready to enjoy life, travel and just be home for the first time in his adult life.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

How the hell did Harris parlay that to the Tulane job? If I remember correctly he was on the short list for Pollards replacement. Or maybe that was a convenient idea since supposedly they were tight.

That's easy.

The Tulane search was run by the search firm owned by David's top deputy's father. He recommended David to get his kid the top deputy job in Nola. That same search firm ran the Mississippi State search last summer where he was also a finalist.

David was also in the last 12 months of his contract and he wasn't going to be extended so he had to really go after something.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

UNI needs new vision/leaders. Both coaches have done a lot for UNI, but it might be time to reevaluate with the changes in college sports.

Farley-24 years
Jacobson-19 years

Would help to have a competent AD

One step further. Coaching tenures here have to be the longest in the country. Creates one hell of a culture but it can get stale-

Bobbi Petersen (VB)-26 Years
Mark Farley-24 Years
Ben Jacobson-19 Years
Ryan Jacobs (SB)-17 Years
Tanya Warren-17 Years
Dave Paulsen (Track)-15 Years
Doug Schwab-11 Years

That's part of why it can be such a great AD job. The only hire that you're going to have to make in the next 5 years is Football and you can just go gung ho fundraising without having to worry about what's happening in programs.

 

[pourcyne]

They need to bring back Chemical Ali.

Ali Farokhmanesh - Men's Basketball Coach - Colorado State Athletics

Ali Farokhmanesh has been on staff as an assistant coach for Colorado State since Niko Medved’s initial staff in 2018. Farokmanesh has been a pivotal pa...

csurams.com

 

[CoachHines3]

Whose the clubhouse leader for Born?

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Whose the clubhouse leader for Born?

St Louis and Colorado State.

 

[Cymark86]

That's easy.

The Tulane search was run by the search firm owned by David's top deputy's father. He recommended David to get his kid the top deputy job in Nola. That same search firm ran the Mississippi State search last summer where he was also a finalist.

David was also in the last 12 months of his contract and he wasn't going to be extended so he had to really go after something.

Like Carlin once said. “It’s a big f-ing club and you ain’t in it”. I guess it’s not what you know, it’s who.

Hope UNI can get it figured out.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Could UNI jump a level? Why couldn’t they hang with the Marquettes and Memphis type teams?

They are closer to going down to the Summit League than jumping up a level.

 

[CascadeClone]

How did I miss that Bowlsby was at UNI?

 

[madguy30]

Grew up in eastern Iowa and had ties to UNI so seemed to know more about them than even ISU as they were covered more.

The current state of things seems to be a shell of what it once was.

 

[Pope]

Over the years, I've known a lot of people who work at UNI and they are all good people. I also know UNI is a great fit for many Iowa high school graduates who don't want a small private college experience, but also would not thrive in ISU's or Iowa's big school environment.

While all three Regent universities are facing major budget problems, UNI's situation is the most challenging. I really hope they can survive these challenging times.

 

[RagingCloner]

Not a Bowlsby fan at all for obvious/ various reasons, but think he could really help UNI out. What are the chances they could talk him into being more than temporary?

Less than 0% chance

 

[Mads4st8]

@1UNI2ISU can probably shed better light on it then I can, but since I've openly identified myself many times as a dual fan (from Ames, grew up going to ISU games, but graduated from UNI) I think that while UNI avoided the transfer/NIL exodus the last couple of seasons that other schools have gone through that this current off-season the bill came due.

Part of that IMO is just being the "sign of the times" with college sports right now, particularly as it relates to mid-major basketball, but while Ben Jacobson is rightly regarded as being the best coach in UNI history I personally wonder how well equipped and/or enthusiastic he is to adapt to the current environment. It's one thing to lose bench players due to playing time elsewhere, but losing one of them to a conference rival is a bit concerning from an optics standpoint, if nothing else. Both Heise and Born did spend 4 years at UNI, although one of those was a lost season due to injury for Heise.

David Harris was a complete disaster as AD, so if nothing else there is addition by subtraction not having his sorry a$$ in charge anymore. They are in a positon to stay towards the top of the MVC with the changes at Drake and Indiana State and roster changes, as even without Born and Heise they still return a solid group, but Jacobson really needs to reload and bring in more overall talent to the program. Hopefully he's capable of doing that.

Harris is the scapegoat. Always has been. The new AD will struggle as well, and David Harris will once again take the fall all the while he’s raising money and running a fabulous athletic department at Tulane. If anyone blames UNI’s downfall on Harris, they’re no insider. Last I heard, Farley has been bouncing checks to his assistant FN coaches and not being truly transparent on benefit packages. Bottom line, the school is soon to have the student population of an Iowa Conference school and very few donors- they simply can’t afford competitive athletics.

 

[AuH2O]

Despite what some around here will try to tell you the MVC is on a major downward trend from a competitive standpoint. The players that would have been interested in playing at that level 10 years ago have better options now and the schools that can get out can’t leave fast enough. Then those schools get replaced with lesser schools.

The Wichita State, Creighton and peak UNI days are hard to imagine now.

Some of this is just the broader transfer and NIL impact on non-P6 teams.