I heard one of the best defenses today of ISU being in a P5 conference no matter what happens to the Big 12 by Dr. Rob Zatechka.
Rob is a former Nebraska Olineman from the early to mid 90s. He was in the NFL, then got his medical degree and has a practice in Omaha. He has a radio show where he talks about medical issues and sometimes comes on Omaha sports talk radio. He was on 590 today talking Nebraska Northwestern and the discussion turned to BIG 12 and Iowa State.
The hosts of course thought the BIG 12 would implode and wasn't it a shame ISU would probably be left out in the cold. He said why would that be and went on to give reasons why he thought any conference would jump at the chance to get Iowa State.
He thinks fans and the media only look at this thing through the football point of view. Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana haven't had great football programs but each brings something to the table. Iowa State brings a lot to the table.
Their basketball program has been on TV all the time and some of the players are nationally known. Wrestling and volleyball and other sports are very competitive. They recently expanded their stadium and sell it out. They have great fan support and administrative support. They've recently have put a lot of money into facilities and they are top notch.
Iowa State is a good academic institution that already has ties and working relationships with many BIG 10 universities. They have some of the best fans in the world. He reiterated that Iowa State would be a catch for any conference.
He then went on to compare Iowa State football to Nebraska football. He said its hard to recruit kids to Ames, Iowa, but is Lincoln any different? There is only one difference between the two programs and that is Bob Devaney. He came and built their program and stayed. Every other Nebraska coach has stood on his shoulders, and just had to keep it going. He said Nebraska got lucky. Iowa State hasn't had their Bob Devaney yet but they will.
At some point they will have a good young coach who can recruit and falls in love with Ames. Everything else is in place for that guy to succeed. He said it will happen we just don't know when.
I think Rob has a lot of connections at Nebraska. He didn't come right out and say Iowa State would and should be in the BIG 10, but he certainly implied it. I probably forgot some of what he said but he gave a very passionate defense of Iowa State. Ironically a more passionate defense than what many of our own fans do, but it was certainly great to hear.
Rob is a former Nebraska Olineman from the early to mid 90s. He was in the NFL, then got his medical degree and has a practice in Omaha. He has a radio show where he talks about medical issues and sometimes comes on Omaha sports talk radio. He was on 590 today talking Nebraska Northwestern and the discussion turned to BIG 12 and Iowa State.
The hosts of course thought the BIG 12 would implode and wasn't it a shame ISU would probably be left out in the cold. He said why would that be and went on to give reasons why he thought any conference would jump at the chance to get Iowa State.
He thinks fans and the media only look at this thing through the football point of view. Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana haven't had great football programs but each brings something to the table. Iowa State brings a lot to the table.
Their basketball program has been on TV all the time and some of the players are nationally known. Wrestling and volleyball and other sports are very competitive. They recently expanded their stadium and sell it out. They have great fan support and administrative support. They've recently have put a lot of money into facilities and they are top notch.
Iowa State is a good academic institution that already has ties and working relationships with many BIG 10 universities. They have some of the best fans in the world. He reiterated that Iowa State would be a catch for any conference.
He then went on to compare Iowa State football to Nebraska football. He said its hard to recruit kids to Ames, Iowa, but is Lincoln any different? There is only one difference between the two programs and that is Bob Devaney. He came and built their program and stayed. Every other Nebraska coach has stood on his shoulders, and just had to keep it going. He said Nebraska got lucky. Iowa State hasn't had their Bob Devaney yet but they will.
At some point they will have a good young coach who can recruit and falls in love with Ames. Everything else is in place for that guy to succeed. He said it will happen we just don't know when.
I think Rob has a lot of connections at Nebraska. He didn't come right out and say Iowa State would and should be in the BIG 10, but he certainly implied it. I probably forgot some of what he said but he gave a very passionate defense of Iowa State. Ironically a more passionate defense than what many of our own fans do, but it was certainly great to hear.
