Go West, Mr. McDermott

It was announced yesterday that University of Northern Iowa men's basketball coach Greg McDermott is moving 120 miles west from Cedar Falls to Ames and becoming the new face of the Iowa State basketball program.

Consider what McDermott had accomplished at UNI:

• He was an all-conference player for the Panthers during his collegiate career.
• During the past five years, he led UNI to three straight NCAA tournament appearances. Prior to his tenure, UNI had participated in just one March Madness run.
• He was a momentum coach, capturing the imagination and enthusiasm of Pantherland.
• He had a winning record against the University of Iowa.
• The Panthers 2006 team was picked in November to be conference champions, and even mentioned as a legitimate Sweet 16 candidate.
• He was going to preside over moving his basketball team from the cavernous, football-oriented UNI-Dome to the brand new, intimate McLeod Center.
• He was so desired by the administration and boosters, he was due for a 60 percent pay increase.
  He was part of a surging Missouri Valley conference, recognized this year for the first time as a legitimate basketball threat to the traditional power conferences.
• And though not an accomplishment, McDermott was a homeboy, growing up in small town Cascade, just a short drive from Cedar Falls.

McDermott had every reason to stay at UNI, accept two -- money and prestige. And this is where even ardent Northern Iowa students, staff, and alums have to submit themselves to a reality check.

McDermott's salary at UNI was $180,000. He was being increased to $300,000, a huge jump. Both piles of money look like chump change now that Iowa State has signed him for $600,000. Plus, shoe deals and basketball camps are in the offering, likely pushing the total comp higher still. Even that puts him near the bottom of the Big 12 conference, so he has a lot of room to grow.

More significantly, Greg McDermott said what we all know in our heart of hearts to be true -- UNI and the Missouri Valley will never consistently be Iowa State and the Big 12. As proud as we might be of the purple and gold ... as strong as the MoValley rated out this year ... it just isn't the same as the money and prestige of the Big 12, the Big 10, the SEC, or a few other leagues. All men might be created equal, but the same is not true of collegiate athletics.

I've said all this before. Back in 1989 as a student at UNI, I was a columnist for the school newspaper. Following a magical night when UNI defeated Iowa in basketball before 22,000 fans at the Dome, I wrote that Panther fans should celebrate the win, but also appreciate it's context. It was an upset, an aberration. UNI was not Iowa's equal, and would not be in the future. Love your team, love the win, but remember that when the clock strikes midnight, your carriage is still just a pumpkin. (In retrospect, Iowa had a down year in 89, and the UNI team ended up going to the NCAA tournament for the first time, and posting the schools only tournament victory (over Missouri).

What followed my column was amazing -- a personal "visit" from the basketball captain, death threats, even a meeting with basketball and football coaches Eldon Miller and Terry Allen. I was burned at the stakes -- my first real experience of the power of the press. I remember one "Letter to the Editor" with the headline, "Hagerman not a Dreamer."

Well, 17 years later, Greg McDermott has validated my opinion. He didn't use the same words, he didn't have to. His actions spoke volumes. They said, "I've done all I can, and maybe more than I should have been able to. I want to take my game to the next level and see if I can compete." I'm sure the money and prestige doesn't hurt either.

We shouldn't begrudge or deride Greg McDermott. We should admire his pragmatism, his sense of reality. We should wish him and his new program the best of luck.

And, the next time UNI catches lightning in a bottle, we will say we remembered when it happened three years in a row. I do hope we don't have to wait another 17 years.