Megan Franklin, new UNI AD

['70 Grad]

she mentioned student graduation more than once. That's UNI - these kids earn their degrees.

How important will that be in the age of the portal? It's a new world. (Bowen and Nate have UNI degrees and will always be alumni of my favorite college, but.......)

Did we need to hear that she was going to come in and listen/learn from the coaches? I wanted to hear "let's get going. Let's find another gear." Females advancing in athletic administration is fine. Did you learn from your mentors how to make it rain?

[UNIChippewa]

Well Moon just hired Doug Gottleib to be the Green Bay MBB coach today while also letting him keep his national radio show, so safe to say I’m glad that moron is nowhere near our campus.

Yeah...Gottlieb might end up being a good coach; it wouldn't surprise me much if he is, actually. But letting him keep a radio show is a disaster waiting to happen.

[BCPanther]

Yeah...Gottlieb might end up being a good coach; it wouldn't surprise me much if he is, actually. But letting him keep a radio show is a disaster waiting to happen.

Gonna be awesome when he's pissed about a call from the night before and gets suspended for calling out officiating...

[CincyPanther88]

Well Moon just hired Doug Gottleib to be the Green Bay MBB coach today while also letting him keep his national radio show, so safe to say I’m glad that moron is nowhere near our campus.

He's keeping the radio show? OMG! That's a disaster waiting to happen.

[Born-a-Panther]

She seemed more comfortable last night at the caravan in Waterloo than she did at the presser. I think we saw some nerves there. I did appreciate her emotion and that moment she got a bit choked up... no question that she cares -- about winning, about having fun and creating moments/memories - about the student athletes. I also noticed and appreciated that she talked some about her memories of watching friends/family members play in packed venues. She wants to fill seats. Will she bring some ideas to the table to help make that happen? Time will tell. But I do think she actually cares... which is an improvement. Everyone needs to give her a chance and the support she needs. Being at the caravan reminded me - again - that we are surrounded by fabulous coaches. Legacy is the right word. We're damn lucky there. We also have a good president in place that understands the importance of athletics... and Pete Morris just flat out gets things done. I felt re-energized being surrounded by everyone last night... had some great conversations with coaches and staff... and literally cannot wait to get the new school year/athletics year started.

[ronfitch]

she mentioned student graduation more than once. That's UNI - these kids earn their degrees.

How important will that be in the age of the portal? It's a new world. (Bowen and Nate have UNI degrees and will always be alumni of my favorite college, but.......)

It will be an important part for the majority of UNI student athletes.

UNI is a mid-major/FCS school ... the overwhelming bulk of players coming to UNI are not using it as a stepping stone to the pros, even in the very few sports where that is a possibility. Whether recruited out of high school or coming in through the portal (whether from a D2, down from a Power 5 or a another mid-major/FCS), these students - unless they are advised by unrealistic people or are delusional - aren't thinking UNI is the stepping stone to the pros. Some will transfer out, fewer will have a shot at a pro career but most are using it as a way to earn their degree.

UNI is not going to have a wholesale change of the lineup each season due to the portal. It will always be a core of home-grown students developed at UNI and some transfers coming in, some transfers going out. But UNI is not a football or basketball factory, even if some wanted it to be.

[Mudrafan]

As a lifelong Panther that's seen the program grow exponentially, I've known for some time, this critical fork in the road was coming. And now we are here. With the haves & have nots divide widening further on a daily basis, we couldn't be at more of an impasse. From enrollment to facilities to coaches/administrators & student-athletes, if you don't hit them all right, you are going to be in the latter camp.

UNI has been trending in the wrong direction for a while now. Certainly, since Troy Dannen left if not earlier. And we have little time to reverse course. We have numerous challenges on hand. Facility upgrades to financial support to pay the daily bills to a heavy dose of coach retirements to enrollment challenges. That's not even to mention how the landscape is changing w/ conference dynamics.

Is this the professional at this point in history to reverse our course? Someone that didn't compete athletically. Didn't coach. Doesn't have an athletics administration degree. No AD experience outside being an associate AD over women's athletics.

Absolutely nothing speaks of any athletics expertise. At best, she's a fan. Although it came off as a very casual one when you hear a story about how a small town came together to support athletics when she was in high school. She's an administrator. She likes supporting people. And teamwork. And communication. Are these good traits? Sure. But so much more is wanted & absolutely needed when you hire an Athletic Director let alone one that is in the crosshairs of time at UNI.

At best, I see her helping with increasing fandom in the Cedar Valley in the margins. I see her stabilizing teamwork, communication across the coaches & programs. Kids will graduate. Support for the olympic, minor and women's sports will be enhanced.

If you are a fan of football, men's basketball and wrestling, this will be a continuation of the backslide that is UNI men's athletics. Incredibly disappointing. It's not her fault. But she's now left holding the bag.

[UNIpanther99]

One thing the east side of Hudson Rd. could do that would be extremely helpful is to make changes to allow for as much flexibility as possible when it comes to transferring in credits toward a degree.

As we start seeing players that have transferred two or three times, their transcripts end up being a real mess. Not that we want to become a degree factory, but if the student was in good standing let's do whatever we can to get them a four year degree on time and without too much hassle.

That is one advantage we can have over some of the privates and more "prestigious" universities who tend to turn their noses up at transfer credits that don't exactly map to their own curriculum.

[sevelev711]

This is barely related at all, but speaking of the caravan being at Singlespeed, I looked across the way and I saw that the old Courier building had the steel plating facade taken off and there's some construction-y stuff around it. Does anyone know if they're doing something with that building now?

[BCPanther]

This is barely related at all, but speaking of the caravan being at Singlespeed, I looked across the way and I saw that the old Courier building had the steel plating facade taken off and there's some construction-y stuff around it. Does anyone know if they're doing something with that building now?

Ground level retail and 'luxury' condos on the upper floors. $25Mish project.

[sevelev711]

Ground level retail and 'luxury' condos on the upper floors. $25Mish project.

Well hey, beats "unoccupied, abandoned building in the heart of downtown" if nothing else.

...Back to the actual topic at hand, I'm very "whelmed" at what Franklin has given us so far. Not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, perfectly whelmed. Let's see what she can do with fundraising, it's comical the amount Bowlsby was able to do in like 30 minutes as a temp, so I want to see her build off of that.

[QCPanther05]

Well hey, beats "unoccupied, abandoned building in the heart of downtown" if nothing else.

...Back to the actual topic at hand, I'm very "whelmed" at what Franklin has given us so far. Not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, perfectly whelmed. Let's see what she can do with fundraising, it's comical the amount Bowlsby was able to do in like 30 minutes as a temp, so I want to see her build off of that.

Give her more than a week, dude.

[Panther AC]

Well hey, beats "unoccupied, abandoned building in the heart of downtown" if nothing else.

...Back to the actual topic at hand, I'm very "whelmed" at what Franklin has given us so far. Not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed, perfectly whelmed. Let's see what she can do with fundraising, it's comical the amount Bowlsby was able to do in like 30 minutes as a temp, so I want to see her build off of that.

Please cite specific examples and amounts of donations announced during the six months Bob was interim AD. Thanks!

[Wxcpanther]

Please cite specific examples and amounts of donations announced during the six months Bob was interim AD. Thanks!

3 million from the City of Cedar Falls for the Dome renovations and they got roughly half of the 10 million needed for the court sport facility. Sounds like he's gotten a good chunk for the wrestling facility, too.

[PantherAlum09]

My two cents on Dr. Franklin:

I was at the Panther Caravan tonight in Des Moines. It was a lot of fun to see coaches and others associated with the athletics and alumni departments. We really do have good people working in the department and it just seemed like a genuinely great group of fans hanging out and having a good time.

When Dr. Franklin spoke, you really could hear the passion and enthusiasm for the job until Farley got up and said "hold my beer". She seems genuinely personable and a great relationship builder. I firmly believe a big part of sales and encouraging support starts with solid relationships, and I really think she can do that well. I am hopeful that leads to bigger commitments from people and businesses with the means to do so. We obviously don't know much, yet, but I will take the obvious caring, passion, and enthusiasm from her rather than what I've seen from the previous AD for the past several years.

Let's show our teams how much we support them by filling the stadiums during their respective seasons.