Head Coach Todd Stepsis

[BCPanther]

I think there's a lot of soul searching that needs to be done at the state and university level on what the future of UNI Athletics as a whole looks like.

Unless we can play on a level financial footing with our peers, stuff like this doesn't matter anyway. When the state won't provide the resources that every other school at your level gets, it makes it really difficult to have a future.

All those years of wanting to be Iowa and Iowa State have come home to roost and come home to roost hard. UNI was always a unique institution in the state and there were way too many years of leadership being ashamed of it rather than celebrating it.

[UNIAlum95]

I think there's a lot of soul searching that needs to be done at the state and university level on what the future of UNI Athletics as a whole looks like.

Unless we can play on a level financial footing with our peers, stuff like this doesn't matter anyway. When the state won't provide the resources that every other school at your level gets, it makes it really difficult to have a future.

All those years of wanting to be Iowa and Iowa State have come home to roost and come home to roost hard. UNI was always a unique institution in the state and there were way too many years of leadership being ashamed of it rather than celebrating it.

This is a good point but don't expect any funding of any kind to be increased in this political climate at a "liberal arts school".

[MVCBeat]

UNI is unique in that we are the only public option in our state beyond the power four schools. Look at our neighboring states. Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, even Nebraska and South Dakota have multiple regional public options. In Iowa, UNI is it. I hope that the school (and the state at large) embrace that rather than reject it. UNI serves a very useful purpose in our state.

[UNIpanther99]

This seems to be turning a little too existential considering some of the recent progress. The UNI-Dome is getting done. Nursing program is taking off. Heading towards reciprocity tuition with neighboring states.

Are there obstacles? Yes. Are some of them unfair? Yes. That's life and we need to embrace the chip on our shoulder and build off of it.

[Newsbreaker]

I desperately want to be proven wrong, but this feels like another nail in the coffin. His record at Drake is mixed, at best. He has no experience recruiting at the D1 scholarship level.

While our competitive peers (or the schools we want to be our peers, recently) are hiring from our assistant ranks, we're picking off a D3+ coaching staff. If this was a guy who had coached at a peer-level, moved down to get a HC gig, and is now moving back up, that would be one thing. This ain't that.

Again, I will happily eat it if he succeeds, but this feels all wrong. I'm not saying this is what it is, but if you had an AD that didn't know how to go about hiring the (arguably) most important coaching job at the University, this is what the hire might look like.

[clenz]

I gave David Harris 4 or 5 years before I really turned on him.

If David gets 4 from me Stepsis certainly gets time as well.

[06panther10]

From the DMR article:

“On behalf of Angie and our family, we are extremely grateful to president (Mark) Nook and Megan for extending us this tremendous opportunity at the University of Northern Iowa,” Stepsis said in the statement. “I have a great appreciation for the winning tradition of UNI Football, as well as the litany of respected and highly successful head coaches who have held this role.

“As someone who has lived in Iowa for the past decade and who has recruited across the Midwest, I know the reputation of excellence that University of Northern Iowa carries as both an academic institution and as an athletic department,” Stepsis continued. “We will seek to live up to that championship legacy and field teams that all UNI students and alums can be proud of. Angie and I are looking forward to raising our family in a community like Cedar Falls. We can’t wait to get there to meet the team, the support staff and the fans. We’re going to have a lot of fun together in the UNI-Dome!”

[7YrsOfCollegeDownTheDrain]

We're kind of always going to be hiring guys that are somewhat off the radar. Salmon and Farley were not national brands when they were the best two options 20+ years ago when we picked Farley and got Salmon as OC. Dunbar wasn't a splashy hire in the national sense and he brought exciting offense but it was also 7-4 no playoffs for the tenure of his stay.

I'm here to give Stepsis a chance because i agree it's about leadership, drive, and salesmanship to get people on board with the plan.

I didn't go to a single game this year for the first time in probably 20 years but i'll buy my season tix again next year, set up the tailgate and hope for progress.

[Blue42]

Dr Franklin's chips are all in on this hire.

Her job was to replace the all-time winningest (although not lately) football coach in MVFC history.

She did a nationwide search and came out with the guy from her former school. A non-scholarship football program.

Her legacy at UNI rests with this hire. Hope she made a good choice.

[MVCBeat]

I wanted so badly to be excited about this haha.

[pnthr53]

I feel like this hire was made to completely abandon all ties to UNI football for as far back as Sheriff. Time will tell if this was a good thing or not. My initial reaction is that this isnt the best path. The Drake ties just don’t feel right at all. Certainly a bad look in my opinion. If cleaning house was the plan…..she accomplished that. Maybe this was all we could get….i don’t know….just doesn’t feel right to me as perception is reality. Sad as it is….a one year turn around isn’t going to happen….i don’t see anything exciting from this hire.

[Blue42]

https://youtu.be/V4yBTZ1FvIo?si=MD7Kj6yZ5g95mOEM

Coach Stepsis describing his coaching philosophy. A few years old.

[QCPanther05]

Give him a chance. After Four years if it’s a failure you get rid of him and the AD because she was the fourth option for AD and she hires her buddy as coach. Just looks too easy and cheesy.

it’s the beginning of finding the right guy to be head coach. We will know in 3-4 years.

Yeah that angle is kind of gross.

[QCPanther05]

Why couldn’t we also get Darian DeVries and collect the whole set? Maybe get them at a bulk discount?

[Fran McCrabby]

Oh my God stop being so negative about this hire. Number 1 Dr. Franklin knows him and to me that makes sense because she knows what he brings to the table which I like. If she feels he is a great coach why not hire him over someone she doesn't know a thing about. Also everyone starts somewhere just because he comes from a D3 school doesn't mean he's not a good coach. Iowa fans on here look at what Kirk Farentz's record was at U Mass before he came to Iowa it wasn't good. All you think were going to get a successful D1 assistant here common be serious. Give the guy a chance everyone.