Fire Larry Lyons

[ISU FAN 1]

Can’t win for trying. Told I run the board like crap because posts are off topic or in wrong forums, move to a forum that is a better fit and now I have an agenda.

I have no agenda other than run the best board I can. I’m not going to be able to make 500 posters happy and countless others who just read.

Could have been Metamoron trying to bury it. Thought it an odd request. The eyes are on the basketball forum this time of year. The topic was raised relative to basketball underperformance we are currently experiencing. Shouldn’t have to title threads “Fire Lyons Due to Men’s Basketball” to keep it in the forum most are reading.

 

[isuquinndog]

There is a shadow link tot is in basketball.

 

[ISU FAN 1]

In the past this topic would fire me up. So I read the 6 pages and I have nothing to say other than I really don't care much anymore. There's a right or wrong butt for every seat. LL's butt belonged in the Associate AD/Business and Finance/Chief Financial Officer type of seat. Every good athletic department needs a Larry Lions. But not driving the boat. As you would expect athletic dollars are managed well. That's about it. Athletic acumen and vision are missing. LL's just not a jock and never will be.
He's a nice guy. I think we get that. But he's no Mike Roth and he's never going to be.

I agree. Peter Principle became reality when ISU awarded Lyons with their version of a lifetime achievement award.

 

[bb fan]

The number is not made up, Chiredbird. Outside of about half of the P5 schools, every school in the country depends on student fees and other U subsidies for their athletics programs to survive.

Reading everyone's comments, about fundraising. About attendance, you certainly realize that virtually every college program is dealing with exactly the same challenges, Many are not dealing as well as we are. But yet, it is us that is the "dumpster fire".

Rico brought up UIUC as a program we need to aspire to, I talked to an Illini fan last night that was at the Ohio State / Illinois game at the United Center a couple of weeks ago. He said (and I checked it) that there were barely 5k fans there. And it seems more were Buckeye fans. They were making most of the noise. He was embarassed for his school. Here is a university that brags about have 100k living alumni in the Chicago area. They are our state's flagship institution and Chicago is supposedly their major market, they tell us. They have a campus very near the UC. We drew more than that on a break game yesterday. They have lost millions just buying out bad coaches and admins. And look at all the revenue they automatically get vis the B10 and NCAA.

So the needless mean spirited, just factually wrong slams hear have become tiresome for me. We have a department that has accomplished a lot. Facilities, championships, and in the classroom. And we have run very clean programs. I think our team works hard. And for the most part, smart and creative. There is room for improvement. And we have our areas that need attention. It would be nice for those few posters to pull the claws back, especially since most of that diatribe is wrong and necessary in the first place. But that's just me. I am done with this topic. It was flawed from the beginning.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

The number is not made up, Chiredbird. Outside of about half of the P5 schools, every school in the country depends on student fees and other U subsidies for their athletics programs to survive.

Reading everyone's comments, about fundraising. About attendance, you certainly realize that virtually every college program is dealing with exactly the same challenges, Many are not dealing as well as we are. But yet, it is us that is the "dumpster fire".

Rico brought up UIUC as a program we need to aspire to, I talked to an Illini fan last night that was at the Ohio State / Illinois game at the United Center a couple of weeks ago. He said (and I checked it) that there were barely 5k fans there. And it seems more were Buckeye fans. They were making most of the noise. He was embarassed for his school. Here is a university that brags about have 100k living alumni in the Chicago area. They are our state's flagship institution and Chicago is supposedly their major market, they tell us. They have a campus very near the UC. We drew more than that on a break game yesterday. They have lost millions just buying out bad coaches and admins. And look at all the revenue they automatically get vis the B10 and NCAA.

So the needless mean spirited, just factually wrong slams hear have become tiresome for me. We have a department that has accomplished a lot. Facilities, championships, and in the classroom. And we have run very clean programs. I think our team works hard. And for the most part, smart and creative. There is room for improvement. And we have our areas that need attention. It would be nice for those few posters to pull the claws back, especially since most of that diatribe is wrong and necessary in the first place. But that's just me. I am done with this topic. It was flawed from the beginning.

bb your 95 percent number is a bs made up number unless you are now comparing ISU athletics to div 2 and jucos

 

[ricohill]

The number is not made up, Chiredbird. Outside of about half of the P5 schools, every school in the country depends on student fees and other U subsidies for their athletics programs to survive.

Reading everyone's comments, about fundraising. About attendance, you certainly realize that virtually every college program is dealing with exactly the same challenges, Many are not dealing as well as we are. But yet, it is us that is the "dumpster fire".

Rico brought up UIUC as a program we need to aspire to, I talked to an Illini fan last night that was at the Ohio State / Illinois game at the United Center a couple of weeks ago. He said (and I checked it) that there were barely 5k fans there. And it seems more were Buckeye fans. They were making most of the noise. He was embarassed for his school. Here is a university that brags about have 100k living alumni in the Chicago area. They are our state's flagship institution and Chicago is supposedly their major market, they tell us. They have a campus very near the UC. We drew more than that on a break game yesterday. They have lost millions just buying out bad coaches and admins. And look at all the revenue they automatically get vis the B10 and NCAA.

So the needless mean spirited, just factually wrong slams hear have become tiresome for me. We have a department that has accomplished a lot. Facilities, championships, and in the classroom. And we have run very clean programs. I think our team works hard. And for the most part, smart and creative. There is room for improvement. And we have our areas that need attention. It would be nice for those few posters to pull the claws back, especially since most of that diatribe is wrong and necessary in the first place. But that's just me. I am done with this topic. It was flawed from the beginning.

The number is 100% made up and inaccurate. Show me evidence of it?

Also, I brought up several teams in the MVC and MVFC that are building nicer facilities than ISU. You are taking one comment about Illinois out of context and trying to make a point.

Plus, this is what Hanock Stadium should look like... //c1.staticflickr.com/3/2220/2203561497_c63dce262d_m.jpg instead of a half done average facility.

Larry said he was going to finish the project and has raised $0 for it.

You have said nothing that is factually correct. You obviously are friends with Larry or someone in the athletic department and want to defend them or you think that ISU being less awful than Eastern Illinois is awesome!

 

[TheTruth]

or you think that ISU being less awful than Eastern Illinois is awesome!

ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! While there are an incredible amount of posters on here that routinely put down the university by misrepresenting its potential (and how far short admins have come to reaching it), he is probably the most egregious.

 

[isuquinndog]

From this 2015 Washington Post article, 62% of the PUBLIC Power 5 conference schools charge student fees. While it doesn't make up as big of a % of their budget as non Power 5 because of TV money, it is a big deal and in fact some fees have doubled or more in order to make enough money they are spending.

 

[isuquinndog]

And here is a terrific article about Illinois, who was running their athletics in the red, not only adding one fee, but two fees and making $3+ million a year from it.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-athletic-fee-that-isnt-there-except-it-is_us_59f66443e4b05f0ade1b5848

 

[isuquinndog]

And a Knight Commission report on the subsidies of college athletic department money.

They find that $1 of every $3 comes from either student fees or money the school pushes into that AD. This report is from 2016.

https://www.knightcommission.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/jones.pdf

 

[isuphloyd]

And my softball team has yet to receive any new funding from this thread. Sadness.

 

[bb fan]

Thanks, Quinnie. The number I saw at a meeting a year ago was 50% of all P5's get subsidies. So 62% of the public P5's getting help is about right. Wow, did not realize UIUC athletics was that much in the pockets of their students and university and in debt. And look at the the $$$ they already get from the B10 Network and NCAA tourney conference shares. Something they have done nothing to earn, just being a boat anchor to the conference. Yeah, Rico, let's emulate them.

Rico, seeing over half the P5's -- the wealthiest programs in the country even get subsidies, can the 95% percent of all schools getting 'em be that far off? That's the number I heard at the meeting mentioned above.

So you Debbie Downers, keep taking your errant, mean spirited shots at our U. We have a balanced, solid athletics budget. Many, many schools getting subsides can't even say that, even that big, orange and blue flagship east on I-74. We have capital projects going on as well and we continue to improve our footprint. Yep, there's lots to do, but we are working on it.

 

[Bdub777]

Former season ticket holder for both football and basketball here. No longer am one as I moved out of state. If I still lived in Morton would I still be a season ticket holder for either sport? Probably not.

The observation that the 20 year absence from the NCAA is on target. Yes there have been some good seasons but clunkers as well. Against Valpo I told my wife that ISU was going to lose when they had a double digit lead in the second half. Good teams find a way to win bad teams find a way to lose. Do games like we have seen this season improve my or anyone else’s disposition?

Yes the football program went to the national championship game but seems to me has been on a gradual downhill slope since.

Is the answer fire Larry Lyons? Is the answer to keep Larry Lyons? I don’t know and I don’t care anymore. Is the answer fire the b-ball and football coach or to keep them? Frankly I don’t know and I don’t care.

Will I be making financial donations to the athletic department in the future? Nope. Apathy has set in.

You really should stop reading this board and find something you enjoy to do with your time given your admitted apathy. You just wasted all our time reading your comment! Have a great life!

 

[TheTruth]

You really should stop reading this board and find something you enjoy to do with your time given your admitted apathy. You just wasted all our time reading your comment! Have a great life!

Apathy is genuinely setting in with a lot of those in the Illinois State community. Chastising those that are being driven away from Illinois State athletics is not the answer, it's just burying your head in the sand..... like moving posts or blocking posters because they point out the shortcomings in Illinois State athletics. Illinois State is in a dangerous position, if they don't get serious about achieving their athletics potential in the short term, fan interest will increasingly fall off exponentially.

 

[isuquinndog]

Meanwhile, in the face of what is said.

http://www.wglt.org/post/redbird-rising-reaches-135m-goal-sight

 

[TheTruth]

Meanwhile, in the face of what is said.

http://www.wglt.org/post/redbird-rising-reaches-135m-goal-sight

Great point Quinn! The academic side shows that fundraising for Illinois State is very possible, the athletics side consistently drops the ball, hence the growing apathy.

 

[jbird]

Meanwhile, in the face of what is said.

http://www.wglt.org/post/redbird-rising-reaches-135m-goal-sight

Great point Quinn! The academic side shows that fundraising for Illinois State is very possible, the athletics side consistently drops the ball, hence the growing apathy.

Great point T.T. If Athletic Department leadership can''t get alums to care more about Redbird sports than their careers, that's no leadership at all. Alternatively, you make a great, although controversial, point that ISU should abandon its academics, except as a fundraising arm of the Athletic Department.

 

[TheTruth]

If Athletic Department leadership can''t get alums to care more about Redbird sports than their careers, that's no leadership at all.

While I don't agree that alums should care more about Redbirds athletics than their career, I do agree with you that there is not very strong leadership (especially with regards to fundraising) in the athletic dept..... and the numbers (or lack thereof) back that up.

ISU should abandon its academics, except as a fundraising arm of the Athletic Department.

Wow, you missed the point there completely. We just need to find people to work in the athletic dept that know how to fundraise....given the fact that the academic side has shown us that fundraising is possible at Illinois State.

 

[jbird]

That's all that I had hoped to hear from you.

 

[TheTruth]

That's all that I had hoped to hear from you.

Glad to hear you're onboard. There was only so long you could ignore the facts. Larry Lyons needs to go!