Good Luck Tomorrow Night

[_kai_]

His head is still safely above water for the time being, what with this being the first full class that's all his. I'd guess he still gets 2 more years but if it comes to be a full 20 years by that point since we've been to the Dance, a change will be made. I could be way wrong of course, but that's just my 2 cents.

We can't do any better than Muller. So there is no point and nothing gained by firing him. Besides that...we are a football school now. Basketball is never going to be what it once was. but at least with Dan there is a touchstone to past glory and success even though it will never return.

Dan has passion for the University and the program and that does have value. A coach better than Dan would not be interested in Illinois State. I am still holding out hope that we go FBS in football and leave the Valley for a conference we can better compete in on the hardwood. I think we are in way over our head in the Valley.

Thanks for the responses gents. Interesting take, I appreciate the perspective.

Two part question: Are you guys personally happy with the program? Does the general consensus of the fanbase happy with the program?

From the outside looking in, and not with a microscope as I don't pay a whole lot of attention to ISU, but it appears you guys are having cohesion issues with the players, and also with the players/coaches. Lynch leaving was a big knock, and it sucked for you guys and for the Valley (My personal opinion is that if Lynch was still at ISU, you'd clearly be #2). Then when Hawkins got sent home from Europe, it all just seems like big problems to have in a year when Muller should be thriving, as was mentioned it's his first full class that's his.

[Phantom]

Two part question: Are you guys personally happy with the program? Does the general consensus of the fanbase happy with the program?

Short answer: No and no.

We are the best team in the world at "almost winning." Sad but true. We'll play good teams close, but not finish them off. We haven't been to the Dance in 18 years, despite several appearances in the MVC title game and top-half finishes. We just never win the biggest games. After Stallings left, the Richardson & Moser eras were as dark as could be. There was a ray of hope during the Jankovich era, attendance went way up, there was star power on the team and we got back to postseason play in 4 of his 5 years, but his two best teams were marred by God-awful schedules that the Committee wouldn't even begin to consider for an at-large. Muller has taken us to several posteasons as well, and has scheduled great, but there is still something amiss about the whole thing. In the process, GoRL is correct---we have transitioned into a football school.

[engrshock]

It seems odd for any MVC team to claim to be a "football" school. While I have paid attention to some of the valley schools success in recent years with respect to football I find it difficult to believe that makes anyone of them a football school. Does football make money for the universities? I would hope that if WSU was to get football back that we would not end up a "football" school.

[1972Shocker]

You guys know your situation much better than any outsider but I have to say that it's seems a little bit pollyannaish to this outsider to look at your average attendance in 2015 of 9,194 for 7 games including a home FCS playoff game against Richmond. In fact, over your final 4 home games your average attendance was 6,047 including the 5,356 reported for the playoff game against Richmond. Heck, even Misery State reported average attendance of 10,036 in 2015 (of course your fans may actually have paid for their tickets).

It seems to me that we have schools like UNI, ILS, MSU, INS and SIU pouring money down the FCS Football money pit with little to no chance of ever being relevant at the top level of college football when they could use those resources to focus on, build and develop basketball programs and their other sports where they might have some chance of being nationally relevant on occasion.

But if Illinois State is intent on being a football school (or at least viewing itself as a football school) then yes you probably need to try to get into the MAC.

[WuDrWu]

Even though there has been animosity between the 2 programs/fan bases, I am happy to see @Phantom: and @Ghost of Rick Lamb: back and doing well. Great fans.

[ShockdaWorld]

Even though there has been animosity between the 2 programs/fan bases, I am happy to see @Phantom and @Ghost of Rick Lamb back and doing well. Great fans.

They both seem to be pretty good dudes in my book.

[Phantom]

You guys know your situation much better than any outsider but I have to say that it's seems a little bit pollyannaish to this outsider to look at your average attendance in 2015 of 9,194 for 7 games including a home FCS playoff game against Richmond. In fact, over your final 4 home games your average attendance was 6,047 including the 5,356 reported for the playoff game against Richmond. Heck, even Misery State reported average attendance of 10,036 in 2015 (of course your fans may actually have paid for their tickets).

It seems to me that we have schools like UNI, ILS, MSU, INS and SIU pouring money down the FCS Football money pit with little to no chance of ever being relevant at the top level of college football when they could use those resources to focus on, build and develop basketball programs and their other sports where they might have some chance of being nationally relevant on occasion.

But if Illinois State is intent on being a football school (or at least viewing itself as a football school) then yes you probably need to try to get into the MAC.

Good point re: the avg attendance but 2 of those games were over break with no students and 2 more had awfully inclement weather that drove people away. That drained the avg attendance. Most other home games were SRO. Attendance figures at Hancock Stadium are in actual tickets taken, not sold. What I mean by "football school" is that for decades basketball always had more attention and hype than football...and in the last few years there's been a noticeable shift to the opposite. From my outside perspective, schools like UNI and to some extent SIU have had a nice balance between being a "football/basketball school" and we at ISU have always been one more than the other.