By Chris Bahn
3/26/2012

Gus Malzahn isn’t shy when outlining his expectations for the Arkansas State University football program.

Malzahn believes Arkansas State can make last year’s 10-win season the norm rather than the exception. He envisions a day when the Red Wolves are a perennial Top 25 team.

Look no further than Malzahn’s salary for an example of how quickly things are changing in Craighead County. Malzahn will make four times the money of his immediate predecessor, Hugh Freeze, and his $850,000 salary is likely just the beginning of the increased financial commitment the Red Wolves will make in their football program.

ASU athletic department officials are evaluating facilities and meeting with campus leaders to put together a master plan for renovations and new construction. An early wish list includes an expanded pressbox with more luxury seating, an indoor practice facility and bigger office and meeting space.

Little Rock public relations firm Stone Ward has been enlisted to help with a statewide marketing push. Billboards have been posted on some of the state’s busiest roadways as ASU attempts to capitalize on buzz generated by a 10-win season and the hiring of Malzahn, one of the highest profile offensive coordinators in the nation.

“This movement that we’ve made was not just in a coaching hire, but in really changing the entire program and stepping it up on multiple levels,” ASU System President Chuck Welch said in an interview last month with ArkansasSports360.com. “We feel very good about the possibilities before us.”

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article....909&page=1

Go stAte . . Go SBC !!

awesome.

with that kinda money flowing they could go out and sign a final 4 basketball coach too.

(03-26-2012 02:12 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  awesome.

with that kinda money flowing they could go out and sign a final 4 basketball coach too.

(03-26-2012 02:12 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  awesome.

with that kinda money flowing they could go out and sign a final 4 basketball coach too.

Nice.

all kidding aside. i'm impressed as hell with the gus level of commitment at asu.

heck, i was impressed that we took willie up to 475 this year. i know the red woofs love their football but it's one thing to say it. it's another to back it up.

i love how far the conference has come in a very short time.

Agree . . SBC football has made great strides in a relatively short period of time . . we are in an area of the U.S. with rabid football fans and lots of high quality recruits.

Go stAte . . Go SBC !!

Very impressive stuff by ASU. Way to go!

(03-26-2012 04:38 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  heck, i was impressed that we took willie up to 475 this year. i know the red woofs love their football but it's one thing to say it. it's another to back it up.

I sure hope this works....because if it fails, it will be a tough sell to get the backers to pony up at this level again.

(03-26-2012 10:02 PM)Fanof49ASU Wrote:  I sure hope this works....because if it fails, it will be a tough sell to get the backers to pony up at this level again.

On that note, what is the expectation level from Gus and the program?

Will fans/administration only be happy with confrecne championships every year or will they be understanding if there is a drop off every now and then?

Exciting time for stAte and the 'Belt. We gotta get one of those top 25 teams ASAP.

Gus has talked about building a top tier team, but I haven't seen a time table/line. Maybe he thinks there will be immediate results...? I don't know.

But I don't think that will happen right away, and I hope that I'm wrong.

I think most fans are looking for 7-8 wins this next season.

(03-27-2012 12:13 PM)OwlFamily Wrote:  

(03-26-2012 10:02 PM)Fanof49ASU Wrote:  I sure hope this works....because if it fails, it will be a tough sell to get the backers to pony up at this level again.

On that note, what is the expectation level from Gus and the program?

Will fans/administration only be happy with confrecne championships every year or will they be understanding if there is a drop off every now and then?

Exciting time for stAte and the 'Belt. We gotta get one of those top 25 teams ASAP.

I think the next "level" is to get to 7+ wins/bowl most every year as a worst case baseline.
Our fans have lost for so long they won't ***** about this for a while anyway.

But, The level the AD, President, and Malzahn are "selling" to recruits and potential boosters is the level of top 25 on a regular basis - and winning 9+ games - and being recognized more nationally. Part of this is going to only 1 money game, and making it NOT against a top 5 or 10 program like Oregon this year. The rest is increasing talent level and support.

I think for this to work, and for the administration to get donations up to that level they plan/hope - Gus will have to win 9+ starting 2013 or else the momentum will have been depleted somewhat.

Like the other stAte fans that post on here I am one of the long time fans and speaking for myself and I would have to think others of us..I don't think 7 wins is enough. I also doubt if that is Malzahn's idea either. A seven win season would be a failed season with the amount of money spent. Besides he is talking top 25. For an SBC school that would have to be at least 10 wins..or more. We won 10 last year and just came close.

I'm expecting a good season from stAte. It'd be nice to see ASU Stadium packed for some games, not just Memphis or UL. I think the same can be said for Middle. Coming off of a 2-10 year I wouldn't expect much but our new offensive scheme seems to be impressing early and the team seems much more "together" than in years past. I hope that's a good sign. Who knows... maybe we'll go and steal a win down at Georgia Tech this next year. That would be nice.

(03-28-2012 07:48 PM)mtsufan561 Wrote:  I'm expecting a good season from stAte. It'd be nice to see ASU Stadium packed for some games, not just Memphis or UL. I think the same can be said for Middle. Coming off of a 2-10 year I wouldn't expect much but our new offensive scheme seems to be impressing early and the team seems much more "together" than in years past. I hope that's a good sign. Who knows... maybe we'll go and steal a win down at Georgia Tech this next year. That would be nice.

I don't know what went wrong in Murfreesboro after the great season, but I sure hope we can avoid it in Jonesboro.

Was it Dasher? Coordinators? New Coach can't recruit, but could whip old coach's talent into shape?

I don't get it. MT was primed for a nice run. Perplexing. Disturbing.

We lose a lot on defense this year and some people are going to have to step up. I'll be just fine with 7-wins and a bowl that we WIN. That will be just fine with me for this year.

(03-28-2012 07:52 PM)WinstonTheWolf Wrote:  

(03-28-2012 07:48 PM)mtsufan561 Wrote:  I'm expecting a good season from stAte. It'd be nice to see ASU Stadium packed for some games, not just Memphis or UL. I think the same can be said for Middle. Coming off of a 2-10 year I wouldn't expect much but our new offensive scheme seems to be impressing early and the team seems much more "together" than in years past. I hope that's a good sign. Who knows... maybe we'll go and steal a win down at Georgia Tech this next year. That would be nice.

I don't know what went wrong in Murfreesboro after the great season, but I sure hope we can avoid it in Jonesboro.

Was it Dasher? Coordinators? New Coach can't recruit, but could whip old coach's talent into shape?

I don't get it. MT was primed for a nice run. Perplexing. Disturbing.

Dasher was prone to turnovers. There were games where it seemed like he could have had 10... That was one reason. The giveaways just got worse and worse, and lost us a bunch of games. Coordinators were a part of it too, but I think we've gotten that straightened out, hopefully. You're right - we were primed for a nice run, but things went wrong. I think this season will help us get back on track.

Edit: In addition, I'm pumped about MT basketball for next year, even though I won't be able to make many games. Hopefully we'll have another great season ending in an NCAA run... that'd be awesome. Sky's the limit for that Blue Raider team!

(03-26-2012 02:12 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  awesome.

with that kinda money flowing they could go out and sign a final 4 basketball coach too.

Actually we have 2 final four coaches (not that its doing us any good)

(03-28-2012 09:23 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(03-26-2012 02:12 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  awesome.

with that kinda money flowing they could go out and sign a final 4 basketball coach too.

Actually we have 2 final four coaches (not that its doing us any good)

He knows.....it was a joke.

(03-27-2012 12:13 PM)OwlFamily Wrote:  

(03-26-2012 10:02 PM)Fanof49ASU Wrote:  I sure hope this works....because if it fails, it will be a tough sell to get the backers to pony up at this level again.

On that note, what is the expectation level from Gus and the program?

Will fans/administration only be happy with confrecne championships every year or will they be understanding if there is a drop off every now and then?

Exciting time for stAte and the 'Belt. We gotta get one of those top 25 teams ASAP.

One of the first adjustments for ASU fans will be just to Malzahn's character. He is a man of few words, and is not exactly the engaging personality that Freeze is. Malzazhn also tells it like it is. Freeze would go all out to compliment at least one player every practice. Malzahn doesnt. He's getting all sorts of "Any grous of players stand out to you at practice? and answering each with "No"

There are a lot of ASU fans who have pretty much had all access for years under previous coaches, and I get a feeling some of those passes are going away. Spring Practices are closed to everyone, There are fewer message board leaks coming out of the football office. Coaches dont feel tied to certain people because they've been there a while.

Its going to take some adjustments for some of our fans to get used to a program that is run like a BCS school, and not the ASU of the past which would leak anything, if they felt it might increase attendance.

(03-28-2012 09:29 PM)Fanof49ASU Wrote:  

(03-28-2012 09:23 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(03-26-2012 02:12 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  awesome.

with that kinda money flowing they could go out and sign a final 4 basketball coach too.

Actually we have 2 final four coaches (not that its doing us any good)

He knows.....it was a joke.

I knew that it was a joke, but I didn't know if he knew we actually had two w/ Williams