After faculty petitions and intense debate, the Iowa State football program will now be allowed a volunteer religious adviser. First year head coach Gene Chizik had originally asked for a chaplain position that would be funded through private donations. The approved position, however, will now be named "life skills assistant," which seems like semantic sleight of hand, especially considering its apparent duties.
"We have taken serious the faith needs of Iowa State student-athletes, but also have worked hard to protect the interests of student-athletes of different faiths and those with no faith," said Tim Day, chairman of the athletic council and professor of biomedical sciences.
From a football perspective the Cyclones may rely heavily on their "life skills assistant" in 2007. They will be breaking in a new coach and have an extremely difficult conference schedule. Check out this stretch in particular:
Sept 15th Iowa
Sept 22nd @Toledo
Sept 29th @ Nebraska
Oct 6 @ Texas Tech
Oct 13th Texas
Oct 20th Oklahoma
Oct 27th @ Missouri
With a new religious advisor in place it looks like finding God might be easier than finding wins this season in Ames.
"I worried about the package (of Big 12 games) when most of them were regional games with a small part of the country," [Texas athletic director DeLoss] Dodds said. "I like national television. The Southeastern Conference has that with CBS. Notre Dame has it with NBC. We'd like to get more of it. I would count on it happening."
Certainly there is some television package envy motivating this deal, which is fine. The Big 12's coverage has always lagged behind that of the SEC and the Big 10. Striking any type of deal with ESPN will obviously reduce this discrepancy.
At stake in the deal is a group of six Big 12 games that have been carried at 6 p.m. on Saturdays. These games were previously broadcast by TBS under a sub-licensing agreement with Fox. TBS decided to end its Big 12 television coverage earlier this spring.
The deal stipulates that ABC will televise 19 Big 12 games per season, in addition to the Big 12 Championship Game. It will also allow for significant prime-time exposure of Big 12 games through ABC's Saturday night coverage. The agreement with ABC/ESPN also means that out-of-market games featuring Big 12 teams will also continue to be available through ESPN's Game Plan subscription packages.
"This agreement greatly enhances guaranteed national exposure for the Conference," Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said. "We have nearly tripled the number of men's basketball games guaranteed for distribution on ESPN national platforms and the Big 12 will be the only conference with three weekly windows on ESPN or ESPN2 during conference play. The agreement also is good for fans in that it provides a large number of games in distribution by over-the-air television."
While many have questioned the relative strength of the Big 12's television package in comparison to other major conferences such as the SEC, maintaining this relationship with ABC was an important step for Big 12 officials.
The Iowa State Cyclones are riding the momentum of the November hire of Gene Chizik as head coach. That has been good news for the athletic department, as season ticket sales have reached an all-time high. The Cyclones have currently sold 32,024 tickets, which tops last season's record of 30,728.
"We set our goals to surpass what we did a year ago," said Steve Malchow, senior associate athletic director. "Now, we're starting to ask ourselves,'What's the limit.' We feel like the sky is the limit. There's been great momentum. Probably a lot of it is tied to the debut season of coach Gene Chizik."
I'm not sure the sky is truly the limit in Ames. After all, Jack Trice Stadium seats just 46,721. But it is nice to know that that ISU fans can see beyond the pain the football team has caused them in the recent past, and are willing to continue to support Cyclones. With that said, I'm sure most fans would rather see Chizik make his impact on the field, rather than solely on season ticket sales. Hopefully by emphasizing increased intensity this spring Chizik will have Iowa State ready for the 2007 campaign.
Three Iowa State football players were cited Monday for fifth degree theft. The charges stem from an April 2nd incident in which the players allegedly took some items from a purse that had been left unattended on a bus in Ames. The players involved were defensive back Devin McDowell, receiver Derron Montgomery and offensive lineman Jose Vargas. All three of the players are redshirt freshman and only McDowell was apparently listed on the spring two-deep roster.
According to the article:
"Iowa State coach Gene Chizik said in a statement released this afternoon that the three players have been suspended indefinitely from the team."
The players were fingered for the crime after witnesses and/or videotape caught McDowell tossing the purse in a trashcan after the players got off the bus. Come on guys. That's Stupid Criminals 101. Remember, no purse – no crime.
While the indefinite suspensions might be bad news, the good news is that Iowa State just may have cracked the ubiquitous Fulmer Cup Scoreboard.
"According to Iowa Code, the penalty for fifth degree theft is a maximum fine of $500 and/or up to 30 days in jail."
That's got to be worth at least a few points for the Cyclones.
While most fans already suspected it, a recent study confirmed that the Cyclones are the most stressful football team to cheer for in the Big 12. In a completely non-scientific study, the Des Moines Sunday Register examined Big 10 and Big 12 schedules looking at a host of factors to determine which team caused its fans the most grief. Included in the analysis were:
"The painful stuff. The gut-wrenchers. Narrow losses. Losses to rivals. Losses at home. Losses in overtime. Losing streaks. Bowl games. Upset losses. Postseason foibles. Coaching changes."
Their findings indicated that Iowa State football:
" ... ranked first in the Big 12 - in creating grief for their long-suffering fans."
Much of the pain-inducing nature of the Cyclones' play relates to close losses and the inability to win in overtime. Between the years of 2003-2005 Iowa State won just three of the eight games they played that were decided by six points or less. They also lost all four of the overtime games during that time period. Two of those overtime losses just happened to come when the Cyclones had a chance to win the Big 12 North during the last week of the season. That definitely stings a little.
"I think there's a certain pain factor there," the Iowa State radio analyst says. We're talking Cyclone football, and, more specifically, about a 24-step recovery from the emotional train wrecks of Missouri 2004 and Kansas 2005. "In our case, we've had our moments."
"My former boss at Texas, Mack Brown, was an assistant coach at Iowa State (1979-81)," Chizik said. "In looking back at those teams, I noticed there was a lot more gold in the uniforms. It is one of our school colors, and should be used more prominently in our game-day dress."
Iowa State is apparently working hard to honor its past under new boss Chizik. The news about the gold pants comes on the heels of a decision to wear throwback uniforms in this year's rivalry game with Iowa. The new pants are also part of a move to completely new uniforms that will take place in 2008.
"It's quite natural for new coaching eras to coincide with a new look," [director of athletics Jamie]Pollard said. "Developing that new look will include input from many areas, including our students, alums and fans. Building pride for and branding a new era starts with the team's identity, which is tied to its uniform."
Fans can submit their own designs to the athletic department, as well as vote for their favorite design next summer. While it's refreshing to see a team get the fans involved in their uniform design, it will be interesting to see just how much leeway Nike will ultimately allow.
"It gets physical out there," said [quarterback Austen] Arnaud, a redshirt freshman from Ames. "We go hard. It is guys going at it full throttle."
It sounds as though Chizik is trying his best to change not only the style of football played, but also the attitude that accompanies it. These are crucial adjustments if the team is going to improve on its 2006 performance, which saw the Cyclones finish 81st nationally in total offense and 102nd in total defense.
Overall, Cyclone fans should be excited about these reports, as long as the team survives the spring relatively healthy. The training room is already a busy place after the hard-hitting practices. While many teams attempt to avoid injuries in the spring by preaching "high and hard" tackling techniques, Iowa State is taking it to the next level.
"We are doing a lot more stuff live, where in the past we've done more thud and wrap up," [wide receiver Todd] Blythe said. "Now (coaches) want you to wrap up and see if you can take a guy to the ground. (Receivers) do blocking drills for most of our individual periods every day. That's something we need to be better at."
First year Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik is opening up every position to competition as the Cyclones install a new system in 2007. If Chizik is to be believed, even the job of Bret Meyer, a three-year starter at quarterback, is apparently up for grabs.
"Nobody is exempt from competition," Chizik said. "Bret Meyer has to win a position. Everybody on our football team has to win a position."
It's not unusual for new coaches to state that every player has a blank slate under the new regime. In the case of Chizik, however, I'm not sure he really understands what he's working with. After all, this is a Cyclone team that finished 4-8 a year ago and lost seven straight conference games before upsetting Missouri in the season finale. In other words, they're not exactly bursting at the seams with talent in Ames.
So just who does Chizik think is capable of pushing Meyer? That would be hometown hero Austen Arnaud, a redshirt freshman out of Ames High School.
"He's really trying to work extra at doing the little things because he's very talented," Chizik said. "He's very talented. He's just got some developmental things that I think (quarterbacks) coach (Tony) Petersen will continue to work with him on."
Just to clarify, Meyer has started 36 games. Arnaud zero. Meyer's thrown for over 7,000 yards. Arnaud zero. Meyer's been responsible for 50 TDs in his career. Arnaud ... well, I think you get the picture.
There's a fine line between motivational coach-speak and blatant insanity. Gene Chizik just took a flying, forward one-and-a-half somersault leap into the latter.
In case you've missed the FanHouse's awesomely awesome and fantastic Spring Practice Questions, I've cobbled together the "Complete Series" for Big 12 teams.
Seriously, read these, folks. They're about football. And right now the sporting world isn't about football. And you're dying for more football. That's why you're here. To endure this choppy writing of mine. And read these Big 12 Spring Practice Questions. The complete series. Below.
After faculty petitions and intense debate, the Iowa State football program will now be allowed a volunteer religious adviser. First year head coach Gene Chizik had originally asked for a chaplain position that would be funded through private donations. The approved position, however, will now be named "life skills assistant," which seems like semantic sleight of hand, especially considering its apparent duties.
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First year Iowa State head coach 
