Hello K-State folks. I'm the publisher of the Iowa site on Rivals and earlier today I sent Fitz an e-mail about Gene Taylor to kind of fill him in on the great hire that the Wildcats made today. Since Fitz is out, he asked if I would stop by and share some thoughts on Gene Taylor and I'm happy to do that and answer questions you guys might have about him. I might not be able to answer all of them, like who he might hire as a coach.
Anyway, you guys are getting one of the best people that I have met in college athletics. I've only covered Iowa, but been around college athletics since 2000, when Bob Bowlsby was the AD at Iowa. Gene is just a fabulous person. Not flashy, but when it comes to substance and getting the job done, he is fantastic. He's as down to earth as they come. True Midwest guy and carries himself that way.
When he arrived, the Iowa athletic dept was in transition. Lot of older senior admins in place that were headed towards retirement. Gene, along with AD Gary Barta, basically remade the entire dept. They got rid of some dead weight that frankly wasn't very effective and Iowa needed to do better. He found some great people who have improved the production in terms of marketing and fan experience.
One thing you learn over the years is that if someone in the athletic dept isn't helping the coaches or supporting them appropriately, the word gets around. While his time was relatively short at Iowa, I never heard one coach, even off the record, say a bad word about Gene. No one in the athletic dept said a bad word about Gene. He was universally admired and respected by the coaches and everyone in the AD office. Kirk Ferentz absolutely loved Gene. He supports coaches and programs and get them what they need to compete and that doesn't always happen. He was in charge of new food for everyone that the NCAA started a few years back and that worked perfectly at Iowa because of his management.
I've talked to some folks at NDSU, where he was the AD before coming to Iowa, and they raved about him in the same manner which they did in Iowa City. His leadership helped build that program into an FCS power.
Honestly, it's been a bittersweet day for the Iowa program. I'm thrilled for Gene Taylor because he's now an AD at a great school in the Big 12. He is ready and deserves this opportunity. Having said that, Iowa is going to miss him a lot, but the athletic department is in much better shape thanks to his work.
You guys are going to really enjoy and appreciate having Gene as your AD. IMHO, this is a home run hire.
Anyway, you guys are getting one of the best people that I have met in college athletics. I've only covered Iowa, but been around college athletics since 2000, when Bob Bowlsby was the AD at Iowa. Gene is just a fabulous person. Not flashy, but when it comes to substance and getting the job done, he is fantastic. He's as down to earth as they come. True Midwest guy and carries himself that way.
When he arrived, the Iowa athletic dept was in transition. Lot of older senior admins in place that were headed towards retirement. Gene, along with AD Gary Barta, basically remade the entire dept. They got rid of some dead weight that frankly wasn't very effective and Iowa needed to do better. He found some great people who have improved the production in terms of marketing and fan experience.
One thing you learn over the years is that if someone in the athletic dept isn't helping the coaches or supporting them appropriately, the word gets around. While his time was relatively short at Iowa, I never heard one coach, even off the record, say a bad word about Gene. No one in the athletic dept said a bad word about Gene. He was universally admired and respected by the coaches and everyone in the AD office. Kirk Ferentz absolutely loved Gene. He supports coaches and programs and get them what they need to compete and that doesn't always happen. He was in charge of new food for everyone that the NCAA started a few years back and that worked perfectly at Iowa because of his management.
I've talked to some folks at NDSU, where he was the AD before coming to Iowa, and they raved about him in the same manner which they did in Iowa City. His leadership helped build that program into an FCS power.
Honestly, it's been a bittersweet day for the Iowa program. I'm thrilled for Gene Taylor because he's now an AD at a great school in the Big 12. He is ready and deserves this opportunity. Having said that, Iowa is going to miss him a lot, but the athletic department is in much better shape thanks to his work.
You guys are going to really enjoy and appreciate having Gene as your AD. IMHO, this is a home run hire.
