What grade would you give all ISU sports teams?

crazzymark

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
1,890
Sport, leagues other than MVC, NCAA Appearance last season

MI
Men:
MBB F NO
Baseball A YES
Tack/Field A YES
FB A MVFC YES
Golf B YES
Tennis C Summit NO
Cross Country B YES

Woman:
WBB B NO
Softball D NO
Volleyball A YES
Track/Field A YES
Swimming/diving C NO
Cross Country B YES
Gymnastics C MIC YES
Golf C NO
Soccer B NO
Tennis A YES

CLUB: Does compete nationally
M Hockey DI,II,III A ACHA yes
Baseball B NCBA YES
M Soccer C MACA
Cheerleading B NCA YES
Roller Hockey B INCRHA YES
W Lacrosse C WCLL YES
M Lacrosse B MCLL YES
M Soccer B MASL
 

Redbird82

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Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
749
I can only comment on the ones I am familiar with, read or hear a little about the other ones but not enough to make an informed grade

Men

Football A, especially considering history before Spack
Basketball D and not trending well
Baseball B+ and trending up

Women
Volleyball A+
Basketball B and trending up, but the men's and women's side have switched MVC on the women's side is really tough this year
Softball C- Fischer is a legend but last couple seasons not so good
 

ThumbsUp_BloNo

New member
Joined
Oct 28, 2019
Messages
27
Men
Football: A-...Despite worries in the '17-'18 years, Spack retooled the assistant coaching spots and got ISU back into the national conversation. We're in good hands for now. '20, if it happens, should be another playoff caliber season. Curious to see how '21 and beyond go.

Basketball: D+...'19-20 was always going to be Dan's mulligan year after the failed Milik experiment, but I was hoping for a little better. If '20-21 does not result in NIT or NCAA, it's time to start over.

Baseball: B+... '19 was a huge step forward for ISU baseball. Holm seems to be an A+ hire, but I'm curious if he can sustain it, and if the program can contend with DBU, Mo State, and others on a consistent basis considering our geography and facilities.

Women
Volleyball: A-...Another great recent hire was Leah Johnson. A regular season title in '18 and a tournament title in '19 with another strong group returning. They're not at the UNI level yet, but another couple years of contending for the title and the program could be a solid A.

Soccer: B-...Coach Silvey needs a winner. He's kept the program near the top of the conference, but during his tenure they've been lapped by Loyola and challenged by other programs they used to dominate. I don't expect they'll get back to their early 2010s ways (I don't see another Tejada walking through that door), but I'd be happy if they could win an MVC title every few years and stay top 2 in the conference more often than not.

Basketball: B...Coach G has revived a program that floundered (to put it nicely) under Barb Smith. Even after a couple years, she still seems to be healing wounds. While the progress has been positive, the Birds have still failed to make the postseason promised land, and have yet to consistently compete with the conference blue bloods. '20-21 is an important year for this coaching staff. Are they real contenders...or just better than the Barb Smith era.

Softball: C...I think the Fisher era may be near its end. That almost seems blasphemous to say. She's certainly reinvented her program time and again, but I don't see it happening this time. They're now, what, 7 or 8 years removed from their last NCAA appearance, and have been mostly idling in the middle of the MVC pack since.

---

Track & XC are in good hands with Coach Bovee. I worried when his first batch of successful assistants left, that the program would slip, but it hasn't. Indoor/Outdoor/XC (men's and women's) are consistently vying for 1, 2, or 3 in the conference. Can't ask for too much more.

Golf: Not much to say here. Seems like the men are doing well. The women have a fairly new coach, so the jury is still out. You'd like to think these two programs (considering how much the AD has put into facilities, etc) would be consistently challenging for conference titles and sending individuals far into the postseason, but that seems to be inconsistent.

Swimming/Diving: The longtime coach had this program in neutral for two-decades, and his successor flopped. The new hire seems to be doing well and building positive energy. It'll take a herculean effort by Coach Hamilton to get this program competitive with the MVC elite. I think she has the pedigree to do so, but it seems we're at a big facilities, history, and commitment disadvantage.

Tennis: Beats me. Women seem to be doing well, including a recent conference title. I almost forget we have a men's program considering it isn't even MVC sponsored anymore. Honest question, why do we keep that program going?

Gymnastics: I really dig the gymnastics meets. Y'all should come out. Much like volleyball, it's an underrated spectator sport. I hope they do more in RBA instead of Horton. Sorry for the sidebar. The ISU program is in neutral. Much like swimming was for years, Conklin & Lyons are okay with fielding a semi-competitive squad that graduates with a high collective GPA.
 

JHBird

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
3,019
Men
Football: A-...Despite worries in the '17-'18 years, Spack retooled the assistant coaching spots and got ISU back into the national conversation. We're in good hands for now. '20, if it happens, should be another playoff caliber season. Curious to see how '21 and beyond go.

Basketball: D+...'19-20 was always going to be Dan's mulligan year after the failed Milik experiment, but I was hoping for a little better. If '20-21 does not result in NIT or NCAA, it's time to start over.

Baseball: B+... '19 was a huge step forward for ISU baseball. Holm seems to be an A+ hire, but I'm curious if he can sustain it, and if the program can contend with DBU, Mo State, and others on a consistent basis considering our geography and facilities.

Women
Volleyball: A-...Another great recent hire was Leah Johnson. A regular season title in '18 and a tournament title in '19 with another strong group returning. They're not at the UNI level yet, but another couple years of contending for the title and the program could be a solid A.

Soccer: B-...Coach Silvey needs a winner. He's kept the program near the top of the conference, but during his tenure they've been lapped by Loyola and challenged by other programs they used to dominate. I don't expect they'll get back to their early 2010s ways (I don't see another Tejada walking through that door), but I'd be happy if they could win an MVC title every few years and stay top 2 in the conference more often than not.

Basketball: B...Coach G has revived a program that floundered (to put it nicely) under Barb Smith. Even after a couple years, she still seems to be healing wounds. While the progress has been positive, the Birds have still failed to make the postseason promised land, and have yet to consistently compete with the conference blue bloods. '20-21 is an important year for this coaching staff. Are they real contenders...or just better than the Barb Smith era.

Softball: C...I think the Fisher era may be near its end. That almost seems blasphemous to say. She's certainly reinvented her program time and again, but I don't see it happening this time. They're now, what, 7 or 8 years removed from their last NCAA appearance, and have been mostly idling in the middle of the MVC pack since.

---

Track & XC are in good hands with Coach Bovee. I worried when his first batch of successful assistants left, that the program would slip, but it hasn't. Indoor/Outdoor/XC (men's and women's) are consistently vying for 1, 2, or 3 in the conference. Can't ask for too much more.

Golf: Not much to say here. Seems like the men are doing well. The women have a fairly new coach, so the jury is still out. You'd like to think these two programs (considering how much the AD has put into facilities, etc) would be consistently challenging for conference titles and sending individuals far into the postseason, but that seems to be inconsistent.

Swimming/Diving: The longtime coach had this program in neutral for two-decades, and his successor flopped. The new hire seems to be doing well and building positive energy. It'll take a herculean effort by Coach Hamilton to get this program competitive with the MVC elite. I think she has the pedigree to do so, but it seems we're at a big facilities, history, and commitment disadvantage.

Tennis: Beats me. Women seem to be doing well, including a recent conference title. I almost forget we have a men's program considering it isn't even MVC sponsored anymore. Honest question, why do we keep that program going?

Gymnastics: I really dig the gymnastics meets. Y'all should come out. Much like volleyball, it's an underrated spectator sport. I hope they do more in RBA instead of Horton. Sorry for the sidebar. The ISU program is in neutral. Much like swimming was for years, Conklin & Lyons are okay with fielding a semi-competitive squad that graduates with a high collective GPA.
Your post should have been the mic drop for this thread. Couldn't agree more on the things I felt I knew about. Well done!
 
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