OT: D1

[IUPbigINDIANS]

No, I’m in total agreement. I’m not advocating for what I suggested. I’m just saying that money is too great.

80% of college football programs are just meh. They’ll go 8-4, then 4-8, then 6-6 in consecutive years. That’s the reality for the strong majority of college football. Which is why the meteoric reaction to Pitt’s terrible year is interesting. Heck, TCU played in the national championship and they aren’t bowl eligible a year later.

My overall point is that you’re going to see fanbases and figureheads at these programs ask those questions. Especially if they have this grand master plan to break away from the NCAA and form a scheduling model similar to that of the NFL.

I’ve already had this discussion with coworkers and friends in Columbus. “What are all you people going to do with you go 8-4 or 7-5 because of all this?” Nobody seems to have an answer for that. I’m in total agreement with what you’re saying.

The outrage toward Pitt was largely because they weren't just bad ... they were dumpster fire bad.

Narduzzi's act has worn the media quite thin, too. So, they pound him whenever they can (which was often this year).

[IUP24]

What do teams such as Illinois, Rutgers, etc., bring to the leagues? Well, for one thing they bring the way for the Ohio States and Penn States of the world to have their shiny 11-1 and 10-2 seasons. That would disappear if you eliminated the non-football factories from the conference and were constantly playing schools with the same resources, admissions standards, and fan bases as they had. It certainly would be interesting to hear those fan bases howl when the 10-2 records they already whine about became 7-5, 6-6, or worse. It would be sort of fun to observe. We actually might see some of it in the B1G next season when four more teams ranging from pretty good to excellent in football enter the league.

Indiana is a very tough football job. People tend to single out Northwestern, but Northwestern actually holds an all-time edge against the Hoosiers in football. The school's well-publicized passion for basketball has always made football second fiddle. And they haven't even been the best at basketball in recent years.

No, I’m in total agreement. I’m not advocating for what I suggested. I’m just saying that money is too great.

80% of college football programs are just meh. They’ll go 8-4, then 4-8, then 6-6 in consecutive years. That’s the reality for the strong majority of college football. Which is why the meteoric reaction to Pitt’s terrible year is interesting. Heck, TCU played in the national championship and they aren’t bowl eligible a year later.

My overall point is that you’re going to see fanbases and figureheads at these programs ask those questions. Especially if they have this grand master plan to break away from the NCAA and form a scheduling model similar to that of the NFL.

I’ve already had this discussion with coworkers and friends in Columbus. “What are all you people going to do with you go 8-4 or 7-5 because of all this?” Nobody seems to have an answer for that. I’m in total agreement with what you’re saying.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Part of me thinks these recent announcements from players that they are entering the portal which doesn't open until December 4 has to drive compliance staffs crazy. You know there's some CRAZY recruiting infractions going on in those DMs.

The big day is coming. They absolute key to transfers is having them for the winter semester and Spring Ball.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

What do teams such as Illinois, Rutgers, etc., bring to the leagues? Well, for one thing they bring the way for the Ohio States and Penn States of the world to have their shiny 11-1 and 10-2 seasons. That would disappear if you eliminated the non-football factories from the conference and were constantly playing schools with the same resources, admissions standards, and fan bases as they had. It certainly would be interesting to hear those fan bases howl when the 10-2 records they already whine about became 7-5, 6-6, or worse. It would be sort of fun to observe. We actually might see some of it in the B1G next season when four more teams ranging from pretty good to excellent in football enter the league.

Indiana is a very tough football job. People tend to single out Northwestern, but Northwestern actually holds an all-time edge against the Hoosiers in football. The school's well-publicized passion for basketball has always made football second fiddle. And they haven't even been the best at basketball in recent years.

Maryland and Rutgers (in theory) were also targeted to expand the brand in to two major markets (NYC and DC). Now, whether that has worked or not is debatable.

You're right. The Yankees aren't the Yankees without the Royals.

Maryland is, to me, the great mystery of P5 football. They are literally in the epicenter of D1 recruiting nirvana. They just have done a horrible job keeping all the studs home. Aside from Florida and Texas, that may be the most fertile recruiting ground in the country (DMV).

[Ship69]

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

What do teams such as Illinois, Rutgers, etc., bring to the leagues? Well, for one thing they bring the way for the Ohio States and Penn States of the world to have their shiny 11-1 and 10-2 seasons. That would disappear if you eliminated the non-football factories from the conference and were constantly playing schools with the same resources, admissions standards, and fan bases as they had. It certainly would be interesting to hear those fan bases howl when the 10-2 records they already whine about became 7-5, 6-6, or worse. It would be sort of fun to observe. We actually might see some of it in the B1G next season when four more teams ranging from pretty good to excellent in football enter the league.

Indiana is a very tough football job. People tend to single out Northwestern, but Northwestern actually holds an all-time edge against the Hoosiers in football. The school's well-publicized passion for basketball has always made football second fiddle. And they haven't even been the best at basketball in recent years.

[Fightingscot82]

Part of me thinks these recent announcements from players that they are entering the portal which doesn't open until December 4 has to drive compliance staffs crazy. You know there's some CRAZY recruiting infractions going on in those DMs.

[IUP24]

Transfer Portal made a stop at Pitt. All aboard.

Yikes.

Let those guys move on. Pitt was 3-9. In no way, shape, or form should people want the same team coming back. The coaching stunk, but that team mailed it in too. It was a massive stink sandwich, and everyone took a bite.

For context purposes, three of those guys had been there for years and never played. The safety, Hall, was behind 3 players in the same class at his position. Why would he stay? George, the middle linebacker, has gotten hurt each of the last 3 years. He never worked out replacing Sir’Vocea Dennis. He has been at Pitt for 5 years already. He has a Covid year and another year because of a medical redshirt. I’m fine with letting a guy who will be pushing 26 in two seasons at LB to walk out the door.

Bengally Kamara has been at Pitt for 4-5 years now. If he didn’t have a Covid year to burn, he wouldn’t have been coming back anyways as he would have been out of eligibility. Same with Deandre Jules. Jules started 5 games to end the year, and people act like him leaving is the end of the world.

Pitt supposedly had their offensive personnel exit meetings yesterday and more today. Their defensive meetings were with guys on Monday-Wednesday. That’s why you saw the portal additions like that.

The transfer portal stopped everywhere, not just Pitt. And numerous schools lost way more impactful players than Pitt did.

7 players. 3 non-starters (2 who never stepped on the field). 3 guys who would’ve normally been out of eligibility). And a DB who is 4th on the depth chart behind 3 other safeties in his class. Those are the guys who were at the transfer portal bus stop.

They’re going to lose guys offensively in the coming days, probably by lunch time today (if not at time of me posting this - I haven’t checked Twitter). But that’s okay. Pitt was 3-9.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Transfer Portal made a stop at Pitt. All aboard.

Yikes.

[IUPNation]

Well, Curt is 62. So, a few years from now (if it doesn't work out) he can sail in to the sunset with a boatload of cash.

Yep it’s his retirement fund job.

To think in a decade he went from making what 150K at IUP to 4 million at Fake Indiana University.

[iupgroundhog]

I am happy for Curt Cignetti. I think IU is an ideal move for him. As previously mentioned, the expectations aren't that high but he also has the opportunity to elevate the program. It's the Big 10. He gets to coach against PSU, OSU, and Michigan. At this stage of his life, I think his time at IU will define him as a coach.

I also think it's a major coup, considering that when he became the HC st IUP he had to shake a reputation of being a career assistant.

[Fightingscot82]

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

What the conference consolidators forget is that no matter who is in your conference, everyone can't win every game. You'll have stacked teams losing more games than they win. Then they fire their coach and hope for a different outcome with the new guy. Even though there are teams who haven't been on top for a while, you still only have one champion team whether the conference has 10 teams or 20. I honestly am surprised there hasn't been a creation of more conferences so more teams can be champion and play more OOC games. That probably would have been more favorable than these future Space Ghost Coast to Coast conferences.

Indiana and Illinois both have spurts of goodness. IU is only a few years removed from going 6-1 in the Big Ten and finishing 12/13 in the polls. That same year Northwestern finished #10 in both polls. Actually, going back a decade Northwestern has finished in the top 25 5 of 10 years. Remember, there are 133 FBS teams so finishing #25 is still in the top 20%. Finishing #10 puts you in the 93rd percentile. It also shows the consistency of Ohio State and Michigan. Northwestern actually has more Big Ten championship game appearances than Penn State, but that's probably more reflective of the imbalance between their divisions.

Also, Georgia fans live in Atlanta. Athens is the size of greater State College and only 70 miles from center city Atlanta.

[CHIP72]

I think it's how you approach the entire conversation. I've been in SEC stadiums, and also went to a Pitt game in Knoxville. I had a fantastic experience going to the Pitt game in Neyland Stadium. The Tennessee fans were some of the nicest folks I ever interacted with at a sporting event.

Most believe they are already better than everyone else in football, so they tend to not take on much aggression in the conversation (when it comes to talking to other fans). My good friend is a Georgia fan and lives in the south. He goes to a game somewhere every year. Has nothing but good things to say about his interactions with other SEC fans in opposing stadiums. But again, they think they are already better than everyone else anyways. So if Georgia beats Auburn on the road, the War Eagle fans will wish the Dawgs wearing spiked shoulder pads luck and ask them to beat Bama in Atlanta for them.

I've attended a few SEC games too (3 games at Mississippi State, 1 each at Alabama and Mississippi; all but one were all-SEC games). I think the quickest way to way piss off SEC fans is to say you care more about the NFL and consider the college game minor league football (which it is in all honesty).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

Well, Curt is 62. So, a few years from now (if it doesn't work out) he can sail in to the sunset with a boatload of cash.

[IUP24]

Sounds like Duke is also interested in him, although the BIG (even at Indiana) is much more appealing than the ACC.

I wonder when (for football at least) these super conferences will ultimately start cannibalizing themselves. What's Indiana bringing to that league for football? Or Illinois or Northwestern? Rutgers? Same thing in the SEC, what's Vandy offer to SEC football other than a cool spot for Georgia fans to drive to 3 hours from Athens to drink at for 3-4 days every other season?

The money is so significant now in those leagues, administrators and figure heads at the 1% schools are going to start asking those questions. Ohio State is going to wonder why Illinois and Indiana are getting the same money as them when nobody gives two red cents about Hoosier or Illini football outside of Bloomington or Champaigne. It's almost as if the ACC's model of unequal revenue distribution based on success, where you finish, and other factors (which are all orchestrated into their television deal that is structured to grow in dollars annually) is actually a good model.

So for now, yeah, I agree that the revenue distribution which creates larger salary pools certainly exists for those in the "two-gated communities of college athletics" (I'm stealing that line from Fran Fraschilla). And because of the money and the current stability within those two leagues, it's a "better job." But I do wonder what that actually looks like a few years from now.

[IUP24]

I’m excited for him too, BUT, he might be going to a lesser job. I’m guessing the paycheck will be quite a bit bigger but man, things are really stacked against you coaching at a basketball school in the BIG. I don’t see any way Indiana reasonably competes with the top teams in that conference, especially with the addition of four more major football schools in 2024. I might have held out for a better opportunity either after this season ended, or roll the dice and wait until next year. Now he runs the risk of being buried in the lower third of the standings and being totally forgotten about.

I guess another way of looking at it is he might be fine with all of that and the sizable pay hike that comes with it. He’s in his early 60’s so maybe he doesn’t want to coach for the next 10 years. He may not have higher aspirations and he’s not going into a situation where they’re expecting to win championships. It doesn’t come with nearly the pressure of a Texas A&M job, for example. Bloomington is also one of the nicer towns in Indiana and it’s a really nice campus.

Agreed with all of that. I'm honestly not sure Indiana is a better job, or I'll say, a "better situation" than James Madison currently. He's coaching at the best program in the best Group of 5 conference. A lot to be said for that, especially considering the playoff expansion next year. Even with the loss to App State, in next year's format, they still would have had a great opportunity to make the playoff as the highest ranked G5 team.

There's just not a lot of significant coaching movement (yet) this year. And I'm saying that in terms of large or substantial head coach openings. Texas A&M was a big opening, but hiring Mike Elko from Duke didn't necessarily set off a wave of dominoes like it would have if say a Dabo or Ryan Day went there.

Duke (if they are in fact interested in him) may be a better job, all things considered, than Indiana. The immediate response to that statement is money. Mike Elko was making 3.5 million at Duke. Tom Allen was making 4.9 million at Indiana (I recognize that's a big difference). 3.5 million is still a lot of money, assuming they would provide him a similar salary. Duke's been able to attract good players there (not enough to be competitive with Clemson or Miami), but I think you're opportunity in Durham to win games with similar expectations is greater than it is at Indiana.

I actually felt that he could have been a good candidate for Michigan State to zero in on, but I would think long and hard about taking that job given the situations they are facing. Obviously that ship has sailed already.