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and you are planning for the future given the UCLA/USC news what would be your plans for the next 5 years?

Let's assume the $100 million TV rights figure is correct.

I have 3 things that I think I would move to do as soon as possible.

1.  Increase the football staff payroll, particularly for the assistants.

2.  Decouple all of the programs from sharing one weight training area.  The current one would be upgraded and left to the football team.  Another would be added to Cook Hall for men's and women's basketball use.  I would build a third for the remaining sports that would be anchored by Soccer/Baseball.

3.  I would replace Mellencamp with the football equivalent of Cook Hall.

I think we need to invest heavily in the pig skin short term.

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1 hour ago, IUCrazy2 said:

and you are planning for the future given the UCLA/USC news what would be your plans for the next 5 years?

Let's assume the $100 million TV rights figure is correct.

I have 3 things that I think I would move to do as soon as possible.

1.  Increase the football staff payroll, particularly for the assistants.

2.  Decouple all of the programs from sharing one weight training area.  The current one would be upgraded and left to the football team.  Another would be added to Cook Hall for men's and women's basketball use.  I would build a third for the remaining sports that would be anchored by Soccer/Baseball.

3.  I would replace Mellencamp with the football equivalent of Cook Hall.

I think we need to invest heavily in the pig skin short term.

I don't answer the phone when Cindy Simon Skjodt calls and asks for her $40 million back. Those were the most expensive bathrooms since the Roman Empire. 

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7 hours ago, IU Scott said:

Maybe build a new arena that still has a feel of the older arenas.

I don’t know that they could fund it right away but they could start developing the fund for it.  IU has brought along alot of the other facilities nicely.  Putting money into basketball and a football practice Taj Mahal can be next.  The other sports have been brought up for the most part.  Let’s get the big ones.  

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15 hours ago, IU Scott said:

Maybe build a new arena that still has a feel of the older arenas.

So in an environment where that $100 million is almost completely based on football, you would look to tear down a building we just put 10's of millions of dollars into renovating and replace it with something new?

Basketball is my first love.  It really is, but I would fire any AD who came to me with a basketball forward plan right now.  It is an absolute must for us to get competitive in football.  Our only saving grace at the moment is that we were grandfathered into one of the two big conferences.  If we were a Pac12, Big 12, or ACC school, we would be a school scrambling for a home eventually because nobody wanted us.  

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1 hour ago, IUCrazy2 said:

So in an environment where that $100 million is almost completely based on football, you would look to tear down a building we just put 10's of millions of dollars into renovating and replace it with something new?

Basketball is my first love.  It really is, but I would fire any AD who came to me with a basketball forward plan right now.  It is an absolute must for us to get competitive in football.  Our only saving grace at the moment is that we were grandfathered into one of the two big conferences.  If we were a Pac12, Big 12, or ACC school, we would be a school scrambling for a home eventually because nobody wanted us.  

I am with you.  Pour that money into the pigskin program.

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The Colts have proven that Indiana football can become popular.  There is no way that Indiana would be the one school in the south and Midwest that could not support football.  That makes zero sense.  In-state high school football is getting better and better.  

IU has done a good job improving the stadium.  It’s gone from the two ends being empty to a decent bowl.  Now, get a lights out practice and workout facility for football only and pay assistant coaches as much as anybody else does.  Build it and they will come.  There is no choice.  With the expanding conference, football is going to go even bigger.  You can’t go to a gun fight with a knife.  If you’ve got an assistant who is underperforming but you’re worried about his contract, you can’t afford to do that.  Bite the bullet and move on.  The money isn’t getting smaller, it’s escalating like a hockey stick.  You can’t treat this like 1978.   Invest like crazy.  

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12 hours ago, IUCrazy2 said:

So in an environment where that $100 million is almost completely based on football, you would look to tear down a building we just put 10's of millions of dollars into renovating and replace it with something new?

Basketball is my first love.  It really is, but I would fire any AD who came to me with a basketball forward plan right now.  It is an absolute must for us to get competitive in football.  Our only saving grace at the moment is that we were grandfathered into one of the two big conferences.  If we were a Pac12, Big 12, or ACC school, we would be a school scrambling for a home eventually because nobody wanted us.  

We would be Kansas. 

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Dolson needs to operate like IU is on the outside looking in, not comfortable because we are. There needs to be a bit of scrappiness in the mentality because unfortunately, we're not in a position to coast, even with all this potential money coming in. Things are simply too fragile and fluid, so building a football program that's deserving of a seat at the big table is the most important job, fair or not.

And to be fair, some of the little things are being done. Beer sales in the stadium, a good band/entertainment (I think we should amp this up even more. Take a queue from Clemson and Death Valley or Va Tech).

Certainly our recruiting has been unbelievable the last 5-6 years when compared to the past, so we are trending upwards.

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8 hours ago, MoyeCowbell said:

Certainly our recruiting has been unbelievable the last 5-6 years when compared to the past, so we are trending upwards.

Therein lies IU's problem. Recruiting has improved yet IU is still behind most of the B1G in that aspect. 

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15 minutes ago, go_iu_bb said:

Therein lies IU's problem. Recruiting has improved yet IU is still behind most of the B1G in that aspect. 

I hope and pray CTA gets it going...but at what point do you make a change and go after a big name coach?

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20 minutes ago, rico said:

I hope and pray CTA gets it going...but at what point do you make a change and go after a big name coach?

The Covid year is a gimme.  Then all the shenanigans, taking B1G of the uniforms and losing badly in the bowl game left a sour taste in my mouth. Last year was a total disaster, expectations high and the execution, was freaking terrible. If he has two more down years, his seat should be very hot.  I was never a fan of the hire in the first place. 

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7 minutes ago, BDB said:

The Covid year is a gimme.  Then all the shenanigans, taking B1G of the uniforms and losing badly in the bowl game left a sour taste in my mouth. Last year was a total disaster, expectations high and the execution, was freaking terrible. If he has two more down years, his seat should be very hot.  I was never a fan of the hire in the first place. 

Point being...CTA better get it heading in the right direction ASAP.

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1 hour ago, go_iu_bb said:

Therein lies IU's problem. Recruiting has improved yet IU is still behind most of the B1G in that aspect. 

That is and has been a systemic problem, but in the effort of fairness and looking forward, rather than backwards, CTA has visibly impacted recruiting in a positive way. It would be a problem if we were trending in the opposite direction with the quality of recruits and transfers, but I don't think that's the case.

IU is paying the price for not prioritizing football all those years, but it is making sizable gains to catch up. Where previous administrations simply did not care, I can honestly say that is not the mindset now.

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1 hour ago, rico said:

Point being...CTA better get it heading in the right direction ASAP.

We just went 14-7 over a 2 year time frame. Back to back Jan bowl games. Hell... we played in NEW YEARS DAY BOWL GAME. Honestly, going to games under DiNardo, Cameron, insert any other ex coach... I would have NEVER thought a NYD bowl game was possible. 

So... to me, the point should be... we need to be better fans and not so damn fair weathered. 

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I haven't read through all of the other thread, but I think people are underestimating our value to a football super-conference. We have the 2nd biggest alumni network in the country, and we provide a predictable win for the big name teams. Michigan doesn't want 12 hard games every year, even Ohio St. doesn't want that. It's easy to look at the results on the field and say we're not a top 50 program, but that doesn't show our value to a super-conference. We could certainly improve on things, but it seems very unlikely that we end up on the outside of any football driven changes. 

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25 minutes ago, btownqb said:

We just went 14-7 over a 2 year time frame. Back to back Jan bowl games. Hell... we played in NEW YEARS DAY BOWL GAME. Honestly, going to games under DiNardo, Cameron, insert any other ex coach... I would have NEVER thought a NYD bowl game was possible. 

So... to me, the point should be... we need to be better fans and not so damn fair weathered. 

That mindset lead to 20 years of mediocre basketball. 

I like CTA. But the drumming against a depleted Ole Miss team followed by the debacle least year.....

I do not think having major doubt is Fairweather at all.

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14 hours ago, MoyeCowbell said:

Dolson needs to operate like IU is on the outside looking in, not comfortable because we are. There needs to be a bit of scrappiness in the mentality because unfortunately, we're not in a position to coast, even with all this potential money coming in. Things are simply too fragile and fluid, so building a football program that's deserving of a seat at the big table is the most important job, fair or not.

And to be fair, some of the little things are being done. Beer sales in the stadium, a good band/entertainment (I think we should amp this up even more. Take a queue from Clemson and Death Valley or Va Tech).

Certainly our recruiting has been unbelievable the last 5-6 years when compared to the past, so we are trending upwards.

Great post.  You articulated my view better than I did.  Bottom line, we have made progress, and now it's time to ratchet it up on the football side in terms of investment.  We just don't have any other option. 

I do think our new President will be much more sensitive to this.  She sees athletics money as a separate pool than the academic money.  I emphasize this because we probably won't siphon off B1G money for some extra admin vanity building project.  That may sound crass, but it's all related. 

I am an academics first guy as I have multiple degrees from Bloomington.  But I am in the camp that investments in athletics  give you a big return on the academic side.  I live out of state and I hear people talk about where their kids are interested in going.  Kids want the full college experience and that includes fun with sports culture.  It will drive students to Bloomington.  It is anecdotal but I have seen it first hand.  Bloomington is a phenomenal campus and you can pursue as much high end academics as you want.  But it's a competitive landscape to get the best and brightest.  Investments pay off in the end IMO.  Honestly, it is common sense.

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2 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Great post.  You articulated my view better than I did.  Bottom line, we have made progress, and now it's time to ratchet it up.  We just don't have any other option.  I do think our new President will be much more sensitive to this.  She sees athletics money as a separate pool than the academic money.  I say this because we won't siphon off B1G money for some extra admin vanity building project.  That may sound crass, but it's all related.  I am an academics first guy as I have multiple degrees from Bloomington.  But I am in the camp that investments in athletics get give you a return on the academic side.  I live out of state and I hear people talk about where their kids are interested.  Kids want the full college experience and that includes fun with sports culture.  It will drive students to Bloomington.  It is anecdotal but I have seen it first hand.  Bloomington is a phenomenal campus and you can pursue as much high end academics as you want.  But it's a competitive landscape to get the best and brightest.  Investments pay off in the end IMO.  Honestly, it is common sense.

Great post. It seemed like Alabama overpaid Nick Saban because they were desperate after numerous rejections and coaching failures when he was hired. To see the difference in Alabama's campus pre Saban until now is shocking.

Alabama recruits east coast kids and out-of-state tuition just like IU. Their business school reputation has increased substantially. Bama had a vision and invested in it. Granted they have a completely different history and foundation than IU, but it's a great lesson on how bold investments can pay off.

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I haven’t been around campus for a long time and seen all the improvements. To me the funds should be put towards improving the sports facilities and housing for athletes. They bring in the money they should benefit the most from it. Have to look at it like an investment…it will pay itself back if things are done right.

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26 minutes ago, dgambill said:

I haven’t been around campus for a long time and seen all the improvements. To me the funds should be put towards improving the sports facilities and housing for athletes. They bring in the money they should benefit the most from it. Have to look at it like an investment…it will pay itself back if things are done right.

I know they have really nice housing for at least the basketball players but don't know about the rest of the sports 

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