Glass talks scheduling, flagpole

In this week’s Q&A with IU Athletic Director Fred Glass, we talk about how IU was able to schedule Missouri, what the future holds for scheduling and why IU has the biggest flag pole in college sports.

IDS: What was the process like of scheduling Missouri to come to Bloomington?

GLASS: We’ve been interested in scheduling one really BCS quality opponent as far as our non-conference schedule. That’s the kind of teams that our fans like to see.
And even before it was essentially mandated on a go-forward basis by the Big Ten, we had already embraced that. We wanted to reach out to similarly-situated universities. We’re scheduling Wake Forest, Virginia, Missouri — big time public universities with a really solid academic reputation.

IDS: Is football similar to basketball now in that it is important to have a big-time non-conference opponent at home each year?

GLASS: Yes, exactly right. Our scheduling philosophy, and on a go-forward basis when the Big Ten goes from eight conference games to nine conference games, of those three remaining games, we want one of those to be a quality, BCS institution-type team, and obviously those will generally be home and home, so it’ll be every other year. But that’s the philosophy that we’d like to do.

IDS: In the future, is there a possibility that IU could go on the road to an SEC school?

GLASS: Yeah, I mean, we will be. We’ll play Missouri there in an upcoming season. We will be playing an SEC team on the road. Scheduling is a balance.
We want to play the kind of schedule that makes sense for a program that’s building. At the same time, you want to play the kind of teams that fans want to see.
Coach Wilson and I are on the same page in putting that together. We’ll continue to work at doing just that.

IDS: Why did you decide to add the flag pole?

GLASS: My staff makes fun of me because I’m kind of a flag pole nut. We’ve added, I don’t know how many, scores probably, of flag poles since I’ve gotten there because I think they’re very collegiate. I think they’re very colorful. They bring a lot of pageantry, and they’re not very expensive.

Then I sort of think, “Well jeez,  we’re going to have all these flag poles. Shouldn’t we have the tallest flag pole in college football?” So we set about doing just that, did our research, and we believe we have the tallest flag pole in college football.
I think that makes particular sense in that we play at Memorial Stadium. Memorial Stadium obviously connotes a special connection with patriotism and support of our current and former veterans and service men and women.

Adding a flag pole and connecting that with what I think is a very moving way to sing the national anthem I think adds a lot to the whole game day experience and is something I hope Hoosiers take a lot of pride in.

IDS: Several people on Twitter asked: Where exactly is “Big Jake” (the cannon) located?

GLASS: Big Jake is on the hill behind the South End Zone. It is staffed by our ROTC folks. ROTC has been taking the initiative to make Big Jake even louder. It’s been challenging in this post 9-11 era to get the kind of ordinance that really creates a loud bang, so the ROTC is not satisfied with the loudness of the bang, and they’re working on a bigger bang. Once the cannon gets even louder, I think it will be easier for your readers and your followers to identify the Big Jake location. But he’s there. It’s shot off after every score.

IDS: Several people on Twitter asked if it’s possible to raise the victory flag faster so that more people can see it after the game?

GLASS: That’s a great question. Our challenge there is that there are rules of engagement, if you will, on the way that one takes down the American flag.
It’s not something that can be rushed. It has to be done deliberately and solemnly. We deferred to ROTC on how that is done.

We take the American flag down with all deliberate speed, but not more quickly than is considered appropriate. And then we get the victory flag up as soon as we can, but unfortunately, that’s oftentimes after our fans have exited the stadium.

Although, we did that before our football players got out of the locker room, and they’ve been really excited to come out and see the victory flag flying as they exit the locker room.

IDS: Matt Elliott asks on Twitter: Are there still pass outs to go back to the tailgate field, and have there been any discussions of eliminating that?

GLASS: We are, as I understand it, one of only two schools in the Big Ten so that you can leave at halftime or other points in the game and re-enter.
We do allow that now. I think it’s possible on a go-forward basis that could change. It’s under sort of ongoing evaluation. But certainly for the balance of this season, we’ll continue to allow pass outs.

Follow columnist Robby Howard on Twitter @robbyhoward1.