....ISU Women's Softball
.....4 and 20 heading into today's game with Montana......what has happened to a once mighty program where we recently won the regular season and hosted the conference tournament 3 or 4 years in a row ?....Anyone in the Athletic Department want to admit they may have made a mistake in their hire of a head coach and fix things ........wow......... ....
....You know, here's a good example of a program at ISU which has had recent success. You could come up with a million and one excuses as to why this program should lose.
We're not a warm weather state.
We have to play more road games than home games.
We don't have the budgets of other schools.
It's hard to recruit.
But the reality is, ISU softball had awesome years, within the past 5, where we beat many Mountain West teams and some P5 teams.
It's really about the people.
I will never understand the hiring of Letts. I've heard Julie Wright really recommended her, but that shouldn't be the sole reason she was hired. She had one good stretch at Colorado State. She didn't win at Ole Miss and resigned. Then she was hired at Utah State, a team ISU regularly beat, and she was fired there after 3 seasons after going 41-107. Then she went to Fairleigh Dickinson where her overall record was 60-62.
If my calculations are correct, including her ISU stint, her overall record is 459-591-1. There's usually a reason why a coach who went from the mid-major level to the P5 level and then way back down to the low-level major level is there.
This was a bad hire, no ifs ands or buts.
We're not a warm weather state.
We have to play more road games than home games.
We don't have the budgets of other schools.
It's hard to recruit.
But the reality is, ISU softball had awesome years, within the past 5, where we beat many Mountain West teams and some P5 teams.
It's really about the people.
I will never understand the hiring of Letts. I've heard Julie Wright really recommended her, but that shouldn't be the sole reason she was hired. She had one good stretch at Colorado State. She didn't win at Ole Miss and resigned. Then she was hired at Utah State, a team ISU regularly beat, and she was fired there after 3 seasons after going 41-107. Then she went to Fairleigh Dickinson where her overall record was 60-62.
If my calculations are correct, including her ISU stint, her overall record is 459-591-1. There's usually a reason why a coach who went from the mid-major level to the P5 level and then way back down to the low-level major level is there.
This was a bad hire, no ifs ands or buts.
...thanks for the facts sasquatch and I believe you are right on........it's in total disarray in my opinion....after being at the top with Julie Wright.............needs a "reboot" quickly.....PLEASE ISU Athletic department :.....recognize the problem.....and fix it...
After now taking their last two homestands 2-1 against what was each weekend the second-place team in the league, ISU is now 5-7 in Big Sky play, tied for the last playoff spot winning 6 of their last nine games, and that's with only two available subs if Mariah Mulcahy is pitching. They play at 1st place Weber State next weekend.
...sorry votb...after Friday's doubleheader.....5 and 9 in conference....and 10 and 29 overall....unacceptable in my book...I get sad watching the demise of another sport at ISU ...spiraling downward....the women used to dominate their sports....soccer....volleyball....now softball...thank God for Seton.....
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I'm not going to make any excuses for this season. I will comment on some things, however. No one feels the pain of this year as much as the players and coaches feel it. It is VERY easy to sit back and criticize from a safe distance. How many of us are "involved" with the program? Are we contributing in some way to help, or do we just look at win/loss records and complain. Do fans really expect that we should be able to find and keep coaches like Julie Wright, who is phenomenal? How many of you know who and how many applied for the job when she left for Maryland? Julie did personally recommend Coach Letts to replace her. As good as she is, Julie's Maryland Terps are currently 18-33, 7-13 in league play and have lost 6 in a row. They got some big wins last year but were still 11-39-1. I wonder what kind of pressure she's under now? Yes, Coach Letts is in the hot seat right now, but I feel unless one knows all of the back stories of the season it's too easy to just complain. Finally, you all can complain as much as you'd like. I'm not trying to silence anyone, just offer a different perspective. That's what this board is for. I could be wrong about all of this, but I'm pretty sure next season will be the telling one.
You call it complaining, I call it being accountable. You might be surprised at how many of us on here know exactly what's going on inside the various programs.
Nobody likes losing, and most of us do not wish the losing these young women and coaches endure. But I've also been involved in different capacities through the years where I see this program ending up like so many others. NOW is the time to start - what do you call it - complaining. Instead of years and years and years of losing, why not ask for the department and program to be accountable NOW. Let's strike while the iron is still hot.
ISU should be a stepping stone school. Do you really think fans expect a successful coach to stay here year after year? Duh. Women's basketball is a good example. Except for the Huyett hiccup, that's where all the programs should aspire to be like. McInelly had success and was hired at a Mountain West school. Newlee had success and was hired at a WAC school (which, at the time, was a conference comprised of many of the current Mountain West schools). Women's soccer had a very good thing going under Gordy Presnell. It had a brief hiccup after hiring a failed MAC coach, and then things started out okay. Now it has tanked, and there hasn't been momentum there in quite a while. Women's volleyball had a great thing going with Chad Teichert. I fear the current coach is leading a regression of the program, especially when I hear some of his comments. But I don't think it's at the point of softball. Yet.
Jerry, sometimes I feel like the athletic administration sends you and others out to put out fires which were set by the department in the first place. It reminds me of the Facebook drama from last year. A husband of an athletic staffer started posting messages chastising folks who were critical of the athletic department (especially after the FAT issue). He accused them of not being loyal and not contributing money to the athletic department (which, if true, is information he received from his wife). Then, magically, he deleted all of his posts.
Nobody likes losing, and most of us do not wish the losing these young women and coaches endure. But I've also been involved in different capacities through the years where I see this program ending up like so many others. NOW is the time to start - what do you call it - complaining. Instead of years and years and years of losing, why not ask for the department and program to be accountable NOW. Let's strike while the iron is still hot.
ISU should be a stepping stone school. Do you really think fans expect a successful coach to stay here year after year? Duh. Women's basketball is a good example. Except for the Huyett hiccup, that's where all the programs should aspire to be like. McInelly had success and was hired at a Mountain West school. Newlee had success and was hired at a WAC school (which, at the time, was a conference comprised of many of the current Mountain West schools). Women's soccer had a very good thing going under Gordy Presnell. It had a brief hiccup after hiring a failed MAC coach, and then things started out okay. Now it has tanked, and there hasn't been momentum there in quite a while. Women's volleyball had a great thing going with Chad Teichert. I fear the current coach is leading a regression of the program, especially when I hear some of his comments. But I don't think it's at the point of softball. Yet.
Jerry, sometimes I feel like the athletic administration sends you and others out to put out fires which were set by the department in the first place. It reminds me of the Facebook drama from last year. A husband of an athletic staffer started posting messages chastising folks who were critical of the athletic department (especially after the FAT issue). He accused them of not being loyal and not contributing money to the athletic department (which, if true, is information he received from his wife). Then, magically, he deleted all of his posts.
One thing I can say is the athletic department has never sent me here to "put out fires". Ever. Gordy Presnell ??? The women's basketball coach at BSU? I think you mean Gordon Henderson, who left ISU for Arkansas for a few years and who is now Exec. Dir. of the Ohio South Youth Soccer Association. I sure miss that Scottish accent! I still remember the outcry when Chad Teichert was hired. A high school VB coach that had been a college wrestler! Really??? How is that ever gonna work? Then he leaves ISU because the State of Idaho can't provide the retirement that Wyoming can. An athletic director, aided by search committees, goes through applications and resumes' and interviews with dozens of coaching candidates. There are all kinds obstacles that can stand in the way of hiring the so-called "best" candidate, but an offer is eventually made and the candidate either accepts it or turns it down...for a variety of reasons. I've been around ISU since 1982 and I've never seen a perfect athletic director yet, let alone one that got every single hire right. Arkansas and Maryland were sure they got it right with Gordon and Julie, but now maybe not so much. The factors that make for a successful season, i.e., academics, injuries, eligibility, homesickness, team chemistry, family interference, etc., are too numerous to mention. Sometimes things go great. Sometimes things can tank regardless of what a coach does. Sometimes a coach screws it up. Sometimes it's a combination of everything. It would be great to be able to hire a coach in every sport that always gets it right, every time, and that stays here...turning down two-to-three times as much money to go to a bigger, better school. We all admit that ain't happening. If you think a change should be made right now, do you have suggestions for replacements? You may be right. I'm not saying you're wrong. I just have a different perspective.
Last edited by votb on Mon Apr 30, 2018 2:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
