Blogger: "I didn't know being the athletic director at Northern Iowa was a good job"

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com/2008/04/speaking-of-stunners.html


A guy learns something new every day. I mean, I didn't know being the athletic director at Northern Iowa was a good job. Rick Hartzell, who likes to wear striped shirts, never acted like it was. It's a shocker to me that 41-year-old Troy Dannen, executive director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union since 2002, is interested in being the Panthers' next AD. The university lists him as one of five finalists for the job. And here I thought Dannen already had one of the biggest sports jobs in the state of Iowa.

Gutless coward doesn't have his email address on his blog(s), but probably worth it to find out, eh, UNI fans? xanim_chaix

[89Hen]

He was a basketball ref on the side? xeyebrowx xconfusedx xeyebrowx

[DFW HOYA]

Ron Maly, now retired, was a longtime Des Moines Register columnist.

[Retro]

Anyone can put together and write on a blog.. Every tom, dick and harry wannabe sportswriter, retired or not has a blog including many that just want to write something without being edited by a media outlet or having their credibility questioned as with the normal channels of media..
I'm sure he will eventually here from many UNI fans.. This is exactly the kind of idiocy that thrives around the internet.

[89Hen]

I wonder if I'm becoming more immune to these kinds of articles (I thought the I-A vs I-AA article a couple weeks ago was good)... I'm just not seeing the issue here. UNI is in the shadow of the U of Iowa, aren't they? That doesn't mean they don't have their own fantastic following, it just means that statewide they don't have as big a following.

Also, if the UNI AD was moonlighting as a basketball ref, I see the writers point. I know I wouldn't want my AD spending his time working elsewhere. That said, it sure seems as though Hartzell did a lot of great things at UNI.

[Cap'n Cat]

You're right, Hen, it's no issue.

UNI is to the state of Iowa, sometimes (with some people}, what the SWAC is to FCS.

xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

[Big Al]

Wow. Multiple paragraphs. They're a good thing.

What a hack.

[bunny]

Northern Iowa is currently ranked 59th (of 243) in the 2007-8 US Sports Academy Directors Cup in Division I. Of FCS schools only Harvard (45), Georgetown (52), and Cal-Poly (55) rank higher.

I'd say that the AD job at a school in the top quarter of DI schools is a pretty good place to be.

http://nacda.cstv.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-current-scoring.html

[Model Citizen]

I first thought this was a ripoff of his blog. Maybe not, but I think he's being sarcastic, don't you?

[Peems]

I agree with Hen, who cares what people think, FCS is growing and even if it isn't it's doing fine with us.

[SeattleGriz]

You're right, Hen, it's no issue.

UNI is to the state of Iowa, sometimes (with some people}, what the SWAC is to FCS.

xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

That may be, but you should see how many guys blood pressure I have sent skyward by proclaiming UNI the best football program in Iowa this last year.

The discussion goes as simply as:

Me: So. Your from Iowa eh? How about them Panthers?
Them: Huh?

Me: You know. The UNI Panthers which beat Iowa State...the team Iowa lost to by more than State lost to UNI.
Them: Huh?

Me: Gold and Purple dude.
Them: Huh?

Get's 'em everytime.

[Chad4Life]

I took his comments to be more of shots at Rick Hartzell than UNI.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com/2008/05/scott-pierce-says-troy-dannen-has.html

Looks like he backpedaled a little:


[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I guess if Troy Dannen wants to break into the athletic director business, Northern Iowa is a pretty good place to start. By showing interest in the job, Dannen is demonstrating that being Wayne Cooley's successor isn't necessarily the best way to spend the rest of his working life. When I asked Scott Pierce if there was anyone at the Girls Union who might be a good candidate to replace Dannen if he should leave for UNI, he said, "Lisa Brinkmeyer is one of Troy's lieutenants. I worked with Lisa when she was doing radio sales. I think she's a top-flight person. But it's a good job. I don't think they'll be hurting for candidates." As for Dannen going to UNI, Pierce said, "I do think Troy is a longshot. Making the leap from the IGHSAU to a Division I program [in basketball] with scholarship football is a pretty big leap. But who knows?]

xconfusedx

[MplsBison]

More UNI dissing:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=wickersham_seth&id=3378230


Flacco, who is 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds with nimble feet and a slingshot for an arm, was a Division I-AA star against teams like West Chester, Monmouth and Northern Iowa. Nobody has any idea how playing against subpar talent will translate to the NFL.


Yeah, those subpar teams like West Chester, Monmouth and Northen Iowa.

[andy7171]

More UNI dissing:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=wickersham_seth&id=3378230




Yeah, those subpar teams like West Chester, Monmouth and Northen Iowa.

You think that's bad, you should hear some of the callers to local sports radio here in Baltimore. My favorite dis, "Flacco got picked off by Towson, how's he supposed to fare in the NFL?"
xnonono2x xnonono2x xnonono2x

[MplsBison]

Well I can see their point about getting picked off against a DII school.

[andy7171]

Well I can see their point about getting picked off against a DII school.

WTF are you talking about now?

[MplsBison]

Only joking.

[andy7171]

Only joking.

BTW, another AGS'er tipped me off that Towson and NDSU faced off in a second round D.II playoff game. Pretty cool. Well before my time in 1983.

[JayJ79]

"good" or "bad" is really in the eye of the beholder.
All I know is that being the UNI AD is a TOUGH job,
trying to run a big time program with a not-so-big-time budget.
And it's a TEACHERS college, which means it's not going to have quite the number of big-time alumni donors as a medical or law school.

[crunifan]

The AD at Sacramento State, the Assistant AD at Wake Forest and Cincinnati are other finalists.

It is a position people want.

[BearsCountry]

The AD at Sacramento State, the Assistant AD at Wake Forest and Cincinnati are other finalists.

It is a position people want.

I will be intrested to see what kind of candiates would apply for our job when Rowe retires. The right AD could wake the sleeping giant of the MVC up.