Hopin'

Here's hoping THE Ohio State University doesn't come sniffing around CPR now that they have another coach resign in disgrace.

One poaching every hundred years, thanks.

Peter

Win-Win

I love to see Fred make scheduling moves like this.

A quality home-home each year, along with the SUI/UNI/Drake trifecta, helps build a quality noncon for the RPI. It's also nice to have a hint of how good the team is before league play starts.

I think ISU gets more out of this than Michigan. Recruiting exposure in Michigan helps ISU more than Iowa exposure helps UM. As a bonus, each team will view the games as winnable, which is nice.

Perhaps Fred can build a habit of road scheduling for seniors on the team like Duke does. So while Will Clyburn gets to play in front of his Detroit friends, and Korie and Chris get a return to the state of Michigan, we still need a game in Wisconsin for Scottie (Korie gets to play the hometown card on that one, too) and a trip to Georgia for Chris Allen. A home-home with Georgia tech would suit me.

Peter

Unthinkable

For a big chunk of my life, the idea that Iowa State was SUI's biggest rival was laughable. But now we are. Shocking.

The author gets in the usual "It's all about Iowa and Nebraska" dig, but rivalries have an ebb and flow. Ask SUI fan about Minnesota and Northwestern switching their roles. Beat good Mizzou teams a few times and it's on.

I'm just glad that Cyclone football has elevated itself to the point of being a threat in SUI fan's eyes. That's where you want to be.

Peter

Go Big

I echo the sentiments of CrossCyed that JP has pushed ISU athletics into new territory. He asked for input, and here's mine:

1. Become consistently relevant in football.
2. Achieve financial independence.

Since #2 is dependent on #1, it's all about football.

As we saw a year ago, football drives everything when it comes to the big picture. Win and you have options. Lose and you are at the mercy of others. While winning basketball is fun, and important to ISU fans, it will be immaterial the next time conferences start realigning. (Ask Kansas how much cache their hoops program has when push comes to shove.)

We're at an important turning point in athletics, and the only serious play is to go All In. There's no other guarantee it will work, either, but not going big has a definite path towards (continued) irrelevance.

Any other move will result in a lack of options down the line. Go Big, JP, Go Big.

Peter