I support the University of Idaho
I am getting tired of all the naysayers out there that say the University of Idaho football and athletics should move back to Division I-AA, also known as FCS. Idaho is in the right conference and the right division.
Has the football team struggled the last 10 years? Yes!
Has the basketball team struggled? Yes!
But there are signs of improvement in the football program. I think Rob Akey is the right person to lead the turnaround. He came in and had to deal with a disaster of a team, one that Dennis Erickson tore apart in one year.
Akey had to let go 18-20 players who were dealing drugs, stealing from teammates, and couldn’t handle the academics of college. They are now playing mostly freshman and sophomores. While they are getting experience, they are making mistakes and it is costing wins, but the future is quite bright.
There are signs are getting brighter for Idaho’s basketball program. They have a good coach who can guide them. I am also hearing that they are getting commits from some good recruits. Face it, the basketball program can only get better.
Now I am a person that thinks that Idaho needs to build an outdoor football stadium, but I wouldn’t get rid of the Dome. It is too heavily used by the student body for intramurals and workouts. It would also make a great practice area for various sports.
Having an outdoor stadium would add so much. Also when Idaho played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Idaho averaged higher attendance than the Kibbie Dome holds.
Basketball needs a new arena for basketball and volleyball. The Kibbie Dome does not cut it for those sports. The new arena could even be used for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival where good jazz gets lost in the vastness of the Dome.
I am a supporter of Vandal athletics and the University of Idaho as a whole. They are going through a transition in their athletic program, but the academic program is growing. The enrollment is up, they are getting more grants and research dollars (over $100 million since 2003), and is consistently rated as one of the best values in education.
The search for a new President is on and it will be nice to get that settled and the new person into the position.
Everyone just needs to be patient with the football and basketball programs. They will come around. The future is bright for the University of Idaho.
Go Vandals!
University of Arizona football a model for bad sportsmanship
I just want to say that the University of Arizona football team will get theirs sometime this season. They are the perfect model for bad sportsmanship.
This Saturday, they are playing the University of Idaho in Tucson. I will be the first to say that Idaho was over-matched in this game. No doubt about that.
As the favorite you want to beat your opponent, but you don’t want to embarrass them. But at the end of the second half, Arizona got the ball on their 45 yard-line with about 39 seconds to go. At this time, they had a 35-0 lead.
They then proceeded to air the ball out and call time outs and scored a touchdown with four seconds left.
You just don’t do that. You take a knew or run a couple of running plays. As I said, you don’t embarrass the opponent.
Now you are probably saying that Idaho should stop them and if they can’t, then so be it. But that is not sportsmanship.
Stoops and the University of Arizona showed their true character tonight, they don’t have any. I hope when they get to the Pac 10 league schedule, they get their throats stomped on and embarrassed.
I don’t usually root for USC, but they play Arizona in Tucson and will definitely be rooting for the men of Troy.
University of Idaho researcher faces deportation back to Poland
Local News | UI researcher faces deportation back to Poland | Seattle Times Newspaper
I just want to say that this is the most stupid things that I have heard of. A Univesity of Idaho researcher who is studying bioterrorism defenses for the FBI was denied citizenship because she illegally worked for 8 months because the immigration and Naturalization Service didn’t like the photo she submitted.
This is horrible, wrong, and many other things including expletives.
Not only is it affecting her, it is affecting her husband and their son. Her husband is researching ways to fight diseases such as AIDS, can longer receive grants to do that work.
Their son is stuck because he can no longer receive tuition reimbursement from his work so he can’t go to college.
The kicker is that they weren’t doing anything wrong. They were playing by the rules and doing everything you were supposed to do. Where they got into trouble is that the INS didn’t like the photos that she submitted, so it delayed her annual work permit.
When they finally got a photo they liked, her annual permit had expired. She ended up working eight months without a permit. She tried to do the right thing and checked, but got some bad advice.
This is just plain stupid and wrong. Our country is and Immigration and Naturalization Service is wrong.
The INS is a horrible organization. There are many people who have come here illegally and they do nothing. But a family who is doing everything by the book and doing tremendous research to help this country and the world is denied citizenship and shipped home because the INS didn’t like her photo is wrong and needs to be corrected.
No wonder immigration is screwed up in this country. Something needs to be fixed and fixed now!
University of Idaho President Leaves for UC Riverside, why?
University of Idaho President Tim White has announced that he is leaving to take over as Chancellor of the University of California Riverside. My question is why?
There is no way that UC Riverside is better than the University of Idaho. UC Riverside has more students (17,000 to about 12,000), but that is about it. They will be getting a medical school soon, but that is about it. The one negative at Idaho is that you are under much more of a microscope than other schools.
The quality of life and a residential community is so much better at the University of Idaho. There is a lot more to do, the weather is better, the traffic is non-existent in Moscow compared to Riverside.
At least I can breathe in Moscow, Idaho. At Riverside you breathe nothing but 100% pure California smog.
President White did a great job at Idaho and I guess he thought it was time to move on. I hope that the Idaho State Board of Education moves quickly, but deliberately in getting someone who will take the University of Idaho to the next level.
The transformation of the University of Idaho basketball programs
The transformation of the University of Idaho men’s and women’s basketball programs is well underway.
Last Monday, Athletic Director Rob Spear introduced the new men’s basketball head coach Don Verlin. Verlin comes from Utah State where he was serving as the assistant coach. He ran the offense for the Aggies and for the last 9 seasons, the Aggies have had a winning record and post-season appearances.
Verlin has yet to coach a team that had a losing record. Read more
Idaho to hire Verlin as Men’s Basketball Coach
FoxSports is reporting that the University of Idaho will hire Utah State associate head coach Don Verlin as the new Head Coach.
Verlin has been coaching with Stew Morrill for the past 15 seasons, the last 10 at Utah State.
This seems awfully quick to me. There are a bunch of good coaches out there, many of them are still coaching in the NCAA Tournament. To make a decision this quick, Spear was set on one person and he was going to get that person.
That may or may not be a good thing.
According to FoxSports, a press conference will be held on Monday at 8:00 P.M.
UI Men’s Baskeball Coach George Pfeifer Fired
University of Idaho Men’s Basketball Coach was fired today after two years of leading the helm. It is tough to see an alum and a nice person go, but changes had to be made.
As the search goes on, it will be interesting to see who is interviewed and who is hired.
According to the Idaho Statesman, alum Dan Monson is not interested. But several names are being mentioned.
mong the names that might crop up for the job: Don Verlin (Utah State assistant), Gib Arnold (USC assistant), Ray Giacolleti (Gonzaga assistant) and Leon Rice (Gonzaga assistant).
One name that is not being mentioned in this group is Jeff Hironaka of Seattle Pacific. He is a recruiting fiend and knows the Northwest and he is a native of Weiser, Idaho. He has done a tremendous job at Seattle Pacific and I think deserves a shot at being the next coach at Idaho.
Let’s get a good coach in and bring this program back.
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