From the TribStar…
"I want to meet with as many people as possible," he told the Tribune-Star when asked about his priorities. "Basketball is obviously what makes this place tick, but I want broad-based successes.
And football is a priority for me."
Exactly what I didn’t want to
He can be as big of a football guy as he wants, it still doesn’t change the fact that there is little interest in the program from fans, alumni and former players. It also doesn’t change the finances regarding the issues Jason mentioned above.
The fiscal reality of the situation says that unless he is is able to raise millions upon millions specifically for football, he will ultimately have to make some difficult decisions.
He is quoted as saying that he understands that basketball is Indiana State’s bread and butter. But basketball, baseball, etc are not helped by football. A rising tide can lift all boats, but the football program is a broken down fishing boat with more than a few leaks and taking on water.
There is only so much money in the athletic department coffers. Do you want to use a large percentage on a program that very few seem to care about, or will you continue to throw 4-5 million year after year at a program that Terre Haute and Indiana State students/alums have shown they have little appetite for supporting with their own donations?
His answer to the question above will tell us whether he is a forward thinking person with the backbone to actually improve athletics at State or whether he is a status quo, don’t rock the boat type who will just duct tape around the problems and continue to waste time and resources.
So, what if football does become a winning team, and we have a big excitement like we did basketball and baseball? Maybe the new casino that needs big spenders sponsors the team, and those fans stay at the hotel? Let’s face it! No matter how good our basketball and baseball team does at the Mid Major level, it will get dismantled by The Big, Power Whatever Vultures.