Why is ISU still a basketball school?

[TIMMY]

I can tell you, I hear the same thing from a lot of my old roommates and friends who are alums - and from alums who I happen to know from my work (which takes me all over the state) - they all say similar things as ChiRedbirdfan.

I am frustrated as well - I think it is clearly a lack of dynamic leadership in the Athletic Administration. The folks we have are very nice and hard working people - however, they are not leaders for growth and do not understand how to grow attendance and support. Sort of like Hein as a player - gives you everything he has, works hard, hustles, but lacks overall athleticism. - is a role player/contributor, but is not a primary/star player.

We have been a way station for young dynamic leaders. So we went the lifer route, That's not all bad. It has provided stability. But it hasn't done much else.
In the meantime others are passing us by.
We gotta get in the tourney. This was a huge loss for the program. I really thought we had a shot going in. Winning cures all else and there is plenty of talent returning, but waiting for next year never works out. It took new young bright management team to get the Cubs out of their malaise. Dan's the right coach to get it done. He needs the right support as in servant leadership with a vision.

 

[ISU FAN 1]

I can tell you, I hear the same thing from a lot of my old roommates and friends who are alums - and from alums who I happen to know from my work (which takes me all over the state) - they all say similar things as ChiRedbirdfan.

I am frustrated as well - I think it is clearly a lack of dynamic leadership in the Athletic Administration. The folks we have are very nice and hard working people - however, they are not leaders for growth and do not understand how to grow attendance and support. Sort of like Hein as a player - gives you everything he has, works hard, hustles, but lacks overall athleticism. - is a role player/contributor, but is not a primary/star player.

We have been a way station for young dynamic leaders. So we went the lifer route, That's not all bad. It has provided stability. But it hasn't done much else.
In the meantime others are passing us by.
We gotta get in the tourney. This was a huge loss for the program. I really thought we had a shot going in. Winning cures all else and there is plenty of talent returning, but waiting for next year never works out. It took new young bright management team to get the Cubs out of their malaise. Dan's the right coach to get it done. He needs the right support as in servant leadership with a vision.

Considering we could have easily lost either of the first 2 games, maybe the disappointment is over the top to a degree.

To put the conference in perspective, Loyola's first 2 games were rock fights also.

Since they beat us by 7, 7, and 16, it's clear they were the better team this year. I knew when there was a blowout in this tourney, it would be ISU on the wrong end.

 

[TIMMY]

I can tell you, I hear the same thing from a lot of my old roommates and friends who are alums - and from alums who I happen to know from my work (which takes me all over the state) - they all say similar things as ChiRedbirdfan.

I am frustrated as well - I think it is clearly a lack of dynamic leadership in the Athletic Administration. The folks we have are very nice and hard working people - however, they are not leaders for growth and do not understand how to grow attendance and support. Sort of like Hein as a player - gives you everything he has, works hard, hustles, but lacks overall athleticism. - is a role player/contributor, but is not a primary/star player.

We have been a way station for young dynamic leaders. So we went the lifer route, That's not all bad. It has provided stability. But it hasn't done much else.
In the meantime others are passing us by.
We gotta get in the tourney. This was a huge loss for the program. I really thought we had a shot going in. Winning cures all else and there is plenty of talent returning, but waiting for next year never works out. It took new young bright management team to get the Cubs out of their malaise. Dan's the right coach to get it done. He needs the right support as in servant leadership with a vision.

Considering we could have easily lost either of the first 2 games, maybe the disappointment is over the top to a degree.

To put the conference in perspective, Loyola's first 2 games were rock fights also.

Since they beat us by 7, 7, and 16, it's clear they were the better team this year. I knew when there was a blowout in this tourney, it would be ISU on the wrong end.

We were clearly underdogs going in and lost to a better team. But I thought we had a better shot of winning the tourney this year than I did last year.

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

Jesus people. This team lost 4 starters and made it to the title game without a single senior. It sucks to watch them lose for the 6th time, but this year the team over achieved.

And two assistant coaches sitting on the bench of the Big 10 Tournament champion.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

The reason it's a basketball school is simply because it is. Nothing else to say. It just is. It's certainly not a football school. They make the playoffs once every three years in the second rate division and had one good run. So, if it's not a football school it must be a basketball school. Like it or not the MVC is the 8th best conference in college basketball and they 'Birds are consistently ranked among the top 100 teams in the country (not the top 100 of a second rate division like in football).

 

[ISU FAN 1]

Once we were no longer the Fighting Teachers, we by default, became a basketball school.

In 1923, athletics director Clifford E. "Pop" Horton and Daily Pantagraph sports editor Fred Young collaborated to change the University's unofficial nickname away from "Fighting Teachers." Horton wanted "Cardinals," but Young changed the nickname to "Red Birds" to avoid confusion with St. Louis' baseball team. Over the next decade "Red Birds" morphed into "Redbirds."

The basketball program has a longer and more successful tenure IMO.