Iowa State’s Jamie Pollard is not one of the biggest names in college sports, nor does he lead an athletic program that generates a lot of national attention. But when Pollard speaks, his colleagues across the country generally listen because of his pragmatism, his track record of sound coaching hires and his fiscal savvy.
And on Thursday, Pollard spoke in a way that should reverberate all across a business that is starting to come to grips with what the coronavirus disruption could mean to its future. In discussing why Iowa State became the first major conference school to install pay cuts to athletic department officials — including the highly paid, high-profile coaches in football and basketball — it seems both inevitable and appropriate that others will follow.