Cykron

Wow. What a train wreck. Good think I moved from Illinois so I don't have to associate with them anymore. This is going to be a nice way for you to open the season. Win as big as the paycheck!

For you youngsters, "Boogie Nights" was a classic 70's disco song, long before the name was given to the 90's movie. Pardon the bad sync of music and video. It was the 70's. All about dancing, not production values.

Is pouring in Jan/Feb the cause? I could see the problems, but the interview didn't really address what had been done wrong. So, how much needs to be fixed? I imagine that the problems that can be seen are just the tip of the iceberg.

Holy cow. That was a great, great article. As good or better than just about anything I read in The Athletic. And great photos. Even one with a very visible "Fear the Roo" on the ball. Great kid, great article. Who wouldn't want to coach this guy? From what I know of Coach Gasser, they are a fine match. Indeed, "Boogie Knights are always the best in town!" Too bad for all the Millennials who don't get the 70's allusion. That is a first rate name!

It is so hard to separate the good news from the bad news in Iowa City. For the record, Dailey is a very good player. Very underutilized in Iowa City, partly because Mad Fran would try to use 10-man rotations. I don't think he ever got a fair shot. He doesn't seem like a disgruntled kid, even though he has good reasons to be. He is very articulate and thoughtful. I think he will bring maturity, not baggage.

Central Iowa feels like home to everyone!

Just saw this. Go with the Cyclones. They are on a roll after winning the Big 12 Tournament. Second shortest travel distance to the Final Four (to Tulsa, then KC, then Minneapolis). And our fans will travel with them and dominate the arenas. No way will they stumble against the Buckwheats.

Not uncommon.

Iowa State thought it scheduled a fun local cupcake for our make-up game on December 1st. Drake! And then almost lost in the snow!

Odd year here in Ames. Basketball team is pretty good and very interesting, but I'm still more focused on football. Weird. Any Zips suffering from the same malady?

Hey, I see what you did there! You tried to turn this into a discussion about football schedule! How dare you?

Good for Gasser. I've always liked him and been wondering what happened and where he would land. Nothing has been said publicly about the reason for his contract not being renewed. It seemed odd that he left without another position which tells me that it wasn't planned. I always liked him as a coach. Seemed like a hard-worker. I saw him in action a few times at camps and he really did a nice job making it worthwhile for all the kids to be there. Campbell talks about how much he wants the coaches to be in sync, so I have to think there was an issue there. Gasser was known for his analysis. The only possible negative that I ever heard was one statement that indicated he was hard to please ("if Gasser thinks its good, you know its good because he doesn't like anything.") Personally, I didn't take that as a negative , but just an expression of how analytical the staff is (which I love). So maybe he was too hard on guys and/or not enough of a rah rah guy when needed. I think his roots go deep in Ohio. When we hosted the Iowa State tailgate in the Akron parking lot, his wife and a few dozen family showed up, so maybe he just wanted to get back to his roots. Is he related to Nick Gasser? Iowa State has had some Interesting coaching moves recently: Jim Hofher, former QB coach, moved to an analytic position last year, and is coaching one of the AAF teams (which was announced while he was still on the staff). Tom Manning, former OC, went to the Colts to be an O-line coach, did really well, but came back a few weeks ago to be our OC, a position that Campbell didn't fill in his absence. Perhaps that had something to do with Gasser's departure. Both Campbell and Manning say that Manning's return was not something planned, but it just happened fairly quickly. Joe Houston, former Special Teams coach, seemed to be a package deal with a transfer punter, but moved to a quality assurance position, and now is on staff with Alabama.

I concur. If I want to follow a rabbit trail, I'll start a new thread about it.

I know what you meant and I simply responded with evidence that they are recruiting rather well. And, despite your chagrin, they seem to be doing exactly what you think is not possible. Regardless of what any of us think about Liberty, they are building an outstanding athletic program in many sports. Sigh, we have years of this conversation to endure. Perhaps we should create a "Bash Liberty" thread and keep this one to the football scheduling conversation.

We will miss having you guys come west of the Mississippi River!

I think that was his point . . . in response to the proposition that no African-Americans would go to Liberty.

Seriously, you don't think Liberty is able to recruit African-American athletes? Check out their rosters. You may be letting your anti-Liberty sentiments get a little out of hand. http://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm?PID=36959&teamID=6 http://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm?PID=36959&teamID=9 http://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm?PID=36959&teamID=7&CFID=618874407&CFTOKEN=45823418

Liberty is doing a major upgrade on their football facilities too. They have leveraged the profitability of their online program for their traditional campus program, including athletic facilities.

UNI has done better on the field in Ames than Iowa City. But it is such a big deal in either city when they play. In Akron's case, I think it would be a great launch to the season to have a huge crowd, buttressed by fans of an in-state opponent. It is tough to ramp up in attendance from a slow start, so this could be great for attendance through the season.

How much is the paycheck for YSU to come to Akron? I would think it would be very good in terms of ticket sales and attendance to start a season with a nearby "rival."

Open the pouch. Show us who you got. Or does your new coach keep it a secret?

Indeed, fans of winning teams are some of the least loyal. I went to the Iowa State game at Kansas last week. Their fans are crapping all over their team because they know they aren't Top 10 caliber this year. You find out how loyal fans are when the going get rough, like in Cleveland. A few years ago, I recall someone using a formula to determine the "most loyal fan base." They divided total attendance by wins over a three year period. Iowa State was #1.

Strange ranking. Was Canton lumped with Akron (probably not, since Kent has its own listing) or excluded because they don't have their own team? "WalletHub compared more than 240 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional football team across 21 key metrics. Our data set ranges from number of NFL and college football teams to average ticket price for an NFL game to fan friendliness." Seems like several of their metrics would rule out almost all US cities because they don't have an NFL team.

That poster deserves its own thread. Outstanding.

Iowa State has a game with Louisiana-Monroe next year that I would gladly trade for you guys to come again.