On the heels of the Michigan practice time scandal, the Hawkize Investigative Journalism Department has uncovered astonishing allegations regarding coach Paul Rhoads’ practice regimen at Iowa State. Current Iowa State football players, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have told Hawkize that the Cyclone football program has not conducted a single practice during Rhoads’ nine months at the school.
The allegations include:
- In-season football activities that never even approached the 20-hour-per-week allotment from the NCAA. Players said they do not participate in football activities during the week or weekend.
- Offseason workouts were never even scheduled, and the training facility was never opened. Though players are voluntarily allowed to work out as much as they’d like, the allegations suggest the Iowa State training staff required no commitment whatsoever from its players.
- Members of the team’s coaching staff staff were not present for practices and drills during the season. Collegiate coaches are generally expected to attend these workouts.
- The lack of time demands on players negatively affected their athletic performance.
- Players were forced to sign forms stating all rules had been followed and agreed not to inform the school’s compliance department of any violations for fear of punishment from the program.
In this exclusive interview, Hawkize speaks with a current player about Rhoads’ routine.
Hawkize: On average, about how many hours do you spend on football activities per day?
Player: None, man. Zero. I haven’t practiced since coach took over at Iowa State. Every day we show up down at the complex, there’s a sign posted that says “Practice canceled today — gone shopping. You guys are so money, ha ha ha. Love, Paul” I don’t know how he expects to come in and save a program that’s on the verge of extinction by never scheduling a practice. This just isn’t working.
Hawkize: Paul Rhoades’ salary is worth $5.75 million over five years. It really must be tough to spend all that money.
Player: He’s a really dedicated individual. Too bad his dedication is toward throwing his money around instead of winning football games. He even hung up this banner in the Jacobson Building talking about dedication:
Hawkize: Wow, that’s some serious dedication. How else has he influenced you as a player?
Player: As a player? Not at all. My skills are fading like you wouldn’t believe after this lack of practice. The only thing that’s improving is my NCAA Football 2010 skills. I play as Iowa, though. Too painful to play as ourselves in that game.
Hawkize: What about film sessions? Surely you’ve spent some time breaking down film on your next opponents.
Player: When coach said last week that he didn’t watch the second half of the Iowa game and went shopping instead, he was serious, man. I couldn’t even watch film if I wanted to. The only thing you can watch in our new film room is the Home Shopping Network.
Hawkize: What about plays? Strategy? Have they coached you on any of that?
Player: When coach issued the playbooks, we were handed a stack of white paper. A couple guys asked, “Yo, coach, where are the plays at?” and he said, “This is the new offensive philosophy my staff is bringing to Iowa State. We want a wide open offense that allows our players to use their creativity to win games. Go be creative, guys. Be creative.”
Hawkize: Now that these allegations are out in the open, how much of an impact do you think they will have on your season?
Player: I mean, this team has no talent or direction anyway, so I guess he’s saved us all a lot of time, in a sense. We were probably only going to win a game or two this year whether we practiced or not, so I don’t think this controversy will have much of an impact on our record. We’re really, really bad.
Iowa State University President Gregory L. Geoffroy issued the following statement regarding the allegations: “While I am highly disappointed to learn of these allegations regarding practice time, there’s nothing to investigate. During Coach Rhoads’ nine months at Iowa State University, the football program has done nothing wrong. I mean that quite literally. They have done nothing at all.”
