Will Kansas look more like Texas or Old Dominion this season?

[Norm]

After looking at ODU’s impressive results at the prestigious occoquan challenge they may improving and Kansas is looking more like ODU. Wonder if the assistant that left ODU and went to KU is feeling like she made a laderal move with the coaches behaviors ?

Impressive? A big victory over William and Mary's club program? If you were not posting tongue in cheek, please explain what "impressive" means.

[fullmetal]

Seems pretty tongue-in-cheek to me. It's hard to turn a program around if you can't recruit...or if you don't have a steady supply of tall walk-ons.

[Prettyinfiveseat]

After looking at ODU’s impressive results at the prestigious occoquan challenge they may improving and Kansas is looking more like ODU. Wonder if the assistant that left ODU and went to KU is feeling like she made a laderal move with the coaches behaviors ?

Impressive? A big victory over William and Mary's club program? If you were not posting tongue in cheek, please explain what "impressive" means.

Mostly tongue cheek but looking at results was impressive just look at the coaches quote 3 wins three races three hours in his world impressive

[Norm]

Got it. My staggering sense of humor failed me.

[fullmetal]

What really amuses me is that of all the programs in NCAA-land to discuss, we somehow let ODU and Kansas catch our attention...part of that is because their struggles represent interesting drama, I guess. But in the larger picture, there's just not much publicly known information about rowing program operations. Football publishes weekly depth charts; football has beat reporters who attend coaches' press conferences; and football makes a lot of program details known to the outside world. Rowing is pretty insular, which means there's not a lot from which to generate interest. Sure, keeping it all in-house is well and good, but if we want to make rowing accessible to the larger sports community, maybe we need to be more public with certain details. After all, there are plenty of armchair football fans who base their fandom off of nothing but regurgitated press conference tidbits versus actual insight. They spend money on football too.

But maybe that kind of publicity is something that the athletes aren't ready for yet either. No one comes out of high school rowing expecting to be scrutinized the way football recruits are measured, evaluated, or ranked.

[bloomp]

So let’s rank a bottom ten

[Norm]

What really amuses me is that of all the programs in NCAA-land to discuss, we somehow let ODU and Kansas catch our attention...part of that is because their struggles represent interesting drama, I guess. But in the larger picture, there's just not much publicly known information about rowing program operations. Football publishes weekly depth charts; football has beat reporters who attend coaches' press conferences; and football makes a lot of program details known to the outside world. Rowing is pretty insular, which means there's not a lot from which to generate interest. Sure, keeping it all in-house is well and good, but if we want to make rowing accessible to the larger sports community, maybe we need to be more public with certain details. After all, there are plenty of armchair football fans who base their fandom off of nothing but regurgitated press conference tidbits versus actual insight. They spend money on football too.

But maybe that kind of publicity is something that the athletes aren't ready for yet either. No one comes out of high school rowing expecting to be scrutinized the way football recruits are measured, evaluated, or ranked.

Yup

What makes the NCAA so intriguing to me besides the terrific rowing at the top are the bubble crews. Not the AQ's which can't really compete outside their leagues, but those that are in a pitched battle to get in at all - the WSU's, Indiana, MSU, etc. All teams are in campaign mode, but there is finality and drama that the OSU's, Viginia's and Washington's don't have to face except in extreme cases.

[fullmetal]

So let’s rank a bottom ten

There's probably a five-way tie for each of those spots.

Norm - the bubble crews tell us what factors are important in NCAA rowing: was it new coaching, was it recruiting, or was it just that special combination of extra effort from the athletes that put it together for one or two graduating classes? I feel like I've seen all three factors be single points of improvement that have taken programs to the next level. That kind of drama reflects certain things about our sport, and I think that's what makes the bubble teams so interesting. But alas, I feel like the rich are getting richer these days, and the NCAA landscape is short on proven head coaching talent. Or maybe it's short on athletic directors who give a rat's behind about their rowing programs.

[rowing]

The Jayhawk Jamboree results are pointing to the ODU end of the spectrum....

I would not be surprised if the university wipes the entire slate clean if she doesn't act soon.

[fullmetal]

They've been there for the last decade...what makes you think the university is really motivated to act now?

[Norm]

Hey, KU won the Nov 8.

But the interesting thing was Iowa. They had an 8 (15th) and 4 (10th) at the Charles, so few expectations in the varsity events, but the novices were way back. Likely due to flooding and the fact that the two regattas they normally go to in the fall (DesMoines and Rock) were cancelled due to flooding. I hear things are or were pretty bad out there.

[rowing]

They've been there for the last decade...what makes you think the university is really motivated to act now?

Catloth was a dedicated coach with a long history of good rapport with KU admin. Sadly they threw him under the bus because they lacked a spine, but not because he was a bad staff fit or because he didn't take good care of the student athletes.

Cook-Callen doesn't have that currency, and last year's control freak nonsense doesn't give her much wiggle room. If hiring Sullivan doesn't produce more than a victory in a 300m splash fest along with a crap ton of boathouse angst, one or both of them will have to go. I predict she takes the only parachute left before it's gone.

[fullmetal]

I appreciate that insight on Catloth vs. Cook-Callen. It is a tough order to try to build a program from the ground up and take it to the next level (but then not get there and then get canned for...whatever the AD wanted to say it was).

[Yuk Yuk]

Hey, KU won the Nov 8.

But the interesting thing was Iowa. They had an 8 (15th) and 4 (10th) at the Charles, so few expectations in the varsity events, but the novices were way back. Likely due to flooding and the fact that the two regattas they normally go to in the fall (DesMoines and Rock) were cancelled due to flooding. I hear things are or were pretty bad out there.

Iowa raced a Champ 8 and Champ 4 at the Charles that same weekend - so I would guess those boats at the Jayhawks were made up of mostly 3V and 4V kids.

[rowing]

What delights will the Big12 deliver?