Des Moines Register
12-04-06
Bringing in the high-profile coach is one step in an effort to reinvigorate the
university's athletics program.
By TOM WITOSKY
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Ames, Ia. — Iowa State University athletic director Jamie Pollard needed
less than 48 hours to see the dollars-and-cents impact of hiring Gene Chizik as
the Cyclones' new football coach.
That's the time it took for Pollard's staff to land commitments for four new suites
at Jack Trice Stadium and receive promises in excess of $250,000 for the
school's proposed facility improvement project.
Iowa State officials have met with potential suite-buyers at the football stadium
and basketball's Hilton Coliseum for months, asking for 10-year commitments at
$40,000 per year. After hiring Chizik last week, some of those maybes turned to
yeses.
"And that was within just two days," Pollard said Friday. "Clearly there is a lot of
hope about the direction we are going."
Hope is exactly what Pollard has to sell after a tumultuous 13 months on the job,
during which the department's three most high-profile programs - men's
basketball, wrestling and now football - changed head coaches.
Pollard is also putting finishing touches on the architectural and financing details
of a multimillion-dollar facility improvement project to be presented to the state
Board of Regents in February.
The 41-year-old administrator's goal, underscored by Chizik's hiring, is clear:
Improve Iowa State athletics to the point that Cyclone teams compete more
successfully and consistently among the power schools of the Big 12
Conference, one of the most competitive college athletics groups in the nation.
It's an uphill challenge for a school that currently ranks 12th in the Big 12 in
athletic spending, according to federal gender equity reports. Iowa State's athletic
history shows long periods of mediocrity, interrupted by moments of success.
The question of financial investment in a major-college football coach - and what
benefits universities reasonably can expect to reap from those dollars - makes
Chizik's hiring at a minimum $6.75 million over the next six years critical for Iowa
State.
Pollard's efforts, including the most recent change in the football program, are
attracting interest.
"It's a classic case study of an athletic program that wants to go from behind the
curve to in front of the curve," said Katie Baird, an associate professor of
economics at the University of Washington-Tacoma. "The fact is that only 20
percent of the athletic programs in this country achieve at a high level and
another 30 percent break even.
"But just because the odds are against Iowa State making it, that doesn't mean
they don't do it. It just means they have to be realistic."
Challenges remain, despite changes
Pollard said realism prompted the change in the football program's leadership.
When former coach Dan McCarney announced on Nov. 8 he would not return
with two games left in the season, Pollard explained his reasons for change with
a rhetorical question: "Given how this season went, do you think we could sell as
many season tickets for next season with a price increase without a change?"
Chizik was co-defensive coordinator at the University of Texas. He was named
the 2004 winner of the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant
coach. At Iowa State he joins a staff that includes first-year men's basketball
coach Greg McDermott and first-year wrestling coach Cael Sanderson.
Pollard says Chizik's hiring and the school's commitment to raise assistant
coaching pay from $1.22 million to $1.5 million are continuing indicators
supporters need to see.
"Unfortunately, I didn't think we would have any of the momentum necessary to
go into the next season unless a change was made. Our fans would have taken
a wait-and-see approach," Pollard said. "Our strategy is to generate momentum
from our supporters by showing our level of commitment. We are seeing that
develop already."
Pollard's biggest supporter has become clear.
Gregory Geoffroy, Iowa State president, enthusiastically shook hands with
boosters and greeted fans at Chizik's news conference. He also told reporters
that Pollard is the man in control of the school's athletic future.
"Football is the cornerstone of our athletic program," Geoffroy said. "Jamie has
an excellent vision about the commitment that needs to be made, and I support it
fully."
Challenges await.
Pollard acknowledged that a part of the athletic department's $3.5 million
operating cash reserve might have to be used for the changes. The university
would pay a maximum $2.5 million to settle contracts for McCarney and his staff
this year, plus pay former men's basketball coach Wayne Morgan another
$750,000 during the next fiscal year.
Julie Bright, Iowa State associate athletic director, said the effect of the
payments to the football staff likely will be spread out over a couple of years.
Iowa State operates the smallest budget among Big 12 members, at $33 million
for the current fiscal year. In addition, the school has delayed major renovations
of the football stadium and the basketball arena while other conference schools
have started and finished big projects or new venues.
"My judgment is that we need to move forward with our capital projects and that
is what made the change in football so important," Pollard said. "These are
moving parts that need to move together so this can work."
College must spend in order to compete
Baird, of the University of Washington-Tacoma, likened booming facility
construction and multimillion-dollar coaches' salaries to the escalation of player
salaries in professional sports.
"If Iowa State was a professional sports team that wanted to get better, it simply
would go out and spend more money to get the best players," Baird said. "But
they can't do that. Instead, Division I schools compete for the best players by
having the best facilities and paying a lot of money for coaches who have
national reputations."
Robert Frank, an economics professor at Cornell University, agreed that schools
like Iowa State have no choice but to join the athletics arms race. In 2004, Frank
wrote a report for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, concluding
that a successful college sports program does not increase enrollment.
Frank said there appears to be no interest among major-college administrators to
reduce athletic spending or to curb facility construction. As a result, schools that
fall behind competitors face a difficult choice - increase spending and
construction to compete, or watch the athletic program remain an also-ran.
"If you look at a school like Rutgers that wasn't terribly competitive but increased
their spending on facilities and coaches, you can see they are having some
success," Frank said. "The question is how long will it last or even if it will last."
Baird said Pollard's plans are similar to other schools that have faced the same
choice.
"It's a risk, but that's what happens in an arms race," she said. "You either join it
or face the consequences of not joining it."
Pollard said he has decided to join the race in ways never before tried at Iowa
State.
In February, he will present his construction plans to regents. Pollard said those
plans will include a major capital fundraising campaign, as well as outline efforts
to sell suites and increase ticket prices for the 2007 football season and possibly
the 2007-08 men's basketball season.
Pollard said on the day Iowa State announced Chizik's hiring that many felt he
aimed too high and chased an unattainable candidate.
Those are the types of efforts, however, that Pollard continues to push as Iowa
State tries to move up.
"The question for me isn't about failure," Pollard said. "You have to try, because if
you don't you aren't going to get anywhere. You can always adjust, but you can't
sit still. That is when you fail in this business."
What is the trend?
Since Iowa State University hired Gene Chizik to lead the Cyclones football
team, the university has seen a financial benefit. The move highlights a growing
trend in college sports.
Iowa State has received more than $250,000 in pledged donations to improve
athletic facilities as well as commitments for suites at Jack Trice Stadium. The
hire was also intended to revive the program before ticket prices are increased
for next season.
College sports programs are paying top dollar to hire high-profile coaches and
improve facilities to make themselves more marketable and lure top talent.
Big moves
Jamie Pollard has shaken up Iowa State's athletics department since being
named athletic director in September 2005.
In March, Greg McDermott replaced Wayne Morgan in men's hoops.
Later in March, Cael Sanderson was hired to take over wrestling when Bobby
Douglas retired.
In June, Pollard got the go-ahead to raise money to improve the stadium.
Reporter Tom Witosky can be reached at (515) 284-8522 or
twitosky@dmreg.com