boisebengal
Active member
Mike Kramer has alluded to the fact that ISU has just had a handful of winning seasons over the last 40 years or so, and this losing tradition is the kind of thing that wears on the Bengal fan over the years, and you wonder if there's any glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. Now hiring a guy like Kramer is a good start in turning this program around, as he's definitely one of the better guys we could have gotten considering the circumstances. But right now when you look at the talent we have on hand, coupled with the injury situation and the APR problems, even guys like Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi would have a difficult time winning games here with what we have to work with.
We really need to spend another $20 million or so and get the dome renovated, and if this were to happen, then this would be a very nice recruiting tool and we could get some very good talent here that we wouldn't be able to get otherwise. And getting a nice new million dollar turf is a nice start, and very much appreciated by the players, as well as the new scoreboard, but we've got a ways to get to where we need to be. And I don't know where we stand as far as fundraising is concerned for the things we need, or if any money has been raised at all -- although I know that Jeff Tingey, Donna and Jay have been working very hard to achieve this goal. I think that renovating the dome is our first priority, and the next priority would be to build a nice $20 million gym next to the dome. And after that we would need a nice $10 million dollar indoor practice facility for football.
Just a few years ago it was the taxpayers of Pocatello who soundly defeated a $20 million bond which would have provided badly needed renovations for the dome -- although I know it's difficult to get any kind of bond passed in Pocatello. And ISU could very well go to the students for a vote on this kind of bond, but when you consider that in-state tuition is already over $2500 per semester, and out of state students pay over $6000 per semester, then I think that this proposal could be difficult to pass as well. But in any event something's got to be done soon just to bring the roof, plumbing, lighting, heating, A/C etc. up to code, or else the dome could be condemned.
I can remember back in the 70's and 80's when Kansas State had terrible teams in the back-then Big 8, and they were able to turn their program around after spending millions to renovate their stadium and after they hired a guy by the name of Bill Snyder. And the same thing happened to Oregon State back in the 70's and 80's. They had terrible teams for some time before Reser's spent millions to renovate their stadium about 20 years ago, and they were able to hire some decent coaches. And at ISU some badly needed renovations are the thing that could help Kramer turn this thing around, and we can try to get some kind of winning tradition here. But you wonder where we're going to get the money from.
We really need to spend another $20 million or so and get the dome renovated, and if this were to happen, then this would be a very nice recruiting tool and we could get some very good talent here that we wouldn't be able to get otherwise. And getting a nice new million dollar turf is a nice start, and very much appreciated by the players, as well as the new scoreboard, but we've got a ways to get to where we need to be. And I don't know where we stand as far as fundraising is concerned for the things we need, or if any money has been raised at all -- although I know that Jeff Tingey, Donna and Jay have been working very hard to achieve this goal. I think that renovating the dome is our first priority, and the next priority would be to build a nice $20 million gym next to the dome. And after that we would need a nice $10 million dollar indoor practice facility for football.
Just a few years ago it was the taxpayers of Pocatello who soundly defeated a $20 million bond which would have provided badly needed renovations for the dome -- although I know it's difficult to get any kind of bond passed in Pocatello. And ISU could very well go to the students for a vote on this kind of bond, but when you consider that in-state tuition is already over $2500 per semester, and out of state students pay over $6000 per semester, then I think that this proposal could be difficult to pass as well. But in any event something's got to be done soon just to bring the roof, plumbing, lighting, heating, A/C etc. up to code, or else the dome could be condemned.
I can remember back in the 70's and 80's when Kansas State had terrible teams in the back-then Big 8, and they were able to turn their program around after spending millions to renovate their stadium and after they hired a guy by the name of Bill Snyder. And the same thing happened to Oregon State back in the 70's and 80's. They had terrible teams for some time before Reser's spent millions to renovate their stadium about 20 years ago, and they were able to hire some decent coaches. And at ISU some badly needed renovations are the thing that could help Kramer turn this thing around, and we can try to get some kind of winning tradition here. But you wonder where we're going to get the money from.
