Shama: Iowa AD: U Football Potential ‘Special’

[BleedGopher]

per Shama:

http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/

Iowa AD: U Football Potential ‘Special’

Gophers football notes:

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta is familiar with Gophers coach Jerry Kill’s program building history and he talked about the task at Minnesota prior to his Hawkeyes 22-21 loss on Saturday. “I think very highly of Jerry ─ his background,” Barta told Sports Headliners. “They (Kill and his staff) start a program that is struggling, and they brought it up to success each step of the way if you look at their history.

“The other thing they have is continuity. They have stayed together as a coaching staff. That builds trust.”

Barta, who is a Minnesota native, said the Gophers have a proud football tradition, a new facility (TCF Bank Stadium) and a new coach in Kill. “You have all the ingredients to create that (program building) foundation and do something special,” he said.

Barta said Iowa home football games generate about $100 million in economic activity each year in the greater Iowa City area.”

Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker, who was on the Gophers staff in the 1970s, was using a walker to get around in the press box on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. Parker had his right foot amputated last year.

Here are Sports Headliners' weekly rankings of Big Ten Football teams: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern, Minnesota and Indiana.

Businessofcollegesports.com reports that for school year 2009-10 the Gophers football program produced a profit of $14,888,989, finishing No. 25 nationally on a list ranking the profitability of major college football and basketball programs. The Gophers basketball program is among the more profitable in the country and placed No. 49 in the combined football-basketball rankings at $8,041,167.

The basketball programs at Louisville, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Ohio State, Syracuse, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Arkansas ranked ahead of the Gophers, according to the article posted in June of this year.

Go Gophers!!

 

[Schnauzer]

Barta thinks a lot more of the UofM football potental than his fan base apparently. It has been fun to watch the meltdown on their fan boards the last couple days. Mixed in among all that mouth breathing is a thread on "rank the potential for each B1G football program over the next 10 years" - where the vast majority rank our program anywhere from 10 to 12.

 

[SJUgopher]

Mixed in among all that mouth breathing is a thread on "rank the potential for each B1G football program over the next 10 years" - where the vast majority rank our program anywhere from 10 to 12.

I'm not sure why you are taking offense to this. What in the last 40+ years would you to believe that it would be any different? Minnesota has the 3rd worst Big Ten record since MSU joined since 1953. The second worst since Penn St joined in 1993. Iowa is 5th in both instances. Mediocre, but still a lot better than MN. Let's not all get delusional and think just because we beat Iowa, we're now on the road to a Big Ten title.

 

[Schnauzer]

I'm not sure why you are suggesting I am taking offense to this. Perhaps you want to use that stellar SJU education to read my post again? I was simply stating that the Iowa AD has a higher opinion of the Gopher football potential than the folks posting on Iowa message boards.

 

[drinks at Northpoint]

Barta's name has been mentioned as a replacement for Maturi.
Not real impressed with the direction of the FB or BB teams at Iowa. Not sure he would be an improvement.

 

[SJUgopher]

I'm not sure why you are suggesting I am taking offense to this. Perhaps you want to use that stellar SJU education to read my post again? I was simply stating that the Iowa AD has a higher opinion of the Gopher football potential than the folks posting on Iowa message boards.

My apologies. Don't make me regret my overpaid education.

 

[RodentRampage]

Since 1968, the Gophers have averaged about between 6th and 7th place. Not fantastic, but not the cellar either. It is the Wacker era that gave the impression of the Gophers as perennial cellar dwellers. Before the Wacker era, the Gophers were mediocre, with a few really bad seasons. And we've had some recent bad seasons, such as 2007.

I'm not at all surprised the Hawkeye fans pick the Gophers to be between 10th and 12th place over the long haul, but it isn't a rational prediction. People aren't going to be coldly rational about their own team or about the rivals. I don't expect the Big Ten title to become the personal property of the Minnesota Gophers, but I'm not going to wear sackcloth and ashes. Enthusiasm and optimism aren't just good, they are essential.