Matt Nicholson leaving

[PlayerRep]

1. "Inside Look: Owen Strength and Conditioning Center
Author. By John Moody April 26, 2018"

"On Redbird Arena’s lower level, tucked behind the stands just paces from the hardwood so familiar to basketball fans, sits the Owen Strength and Conditioning Center. This 9,200-square-foot space is the training center for 400-plus men and women who participate in the University’s 19 varsity sports. Redbird athletes come here for expert training tailored to their sport and for nutrition advice.

Named for Richard and Fran Owen, this state-of-the-art facility was dedicated in 2005. As the name implies, most of the facility is dedicated to strength and conditioning, but it’s also home to a cardio center and staff offices."

https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2018/04/inside-look-owen-strength-and-conditioning-center/

2. Ill St strength coach is retiring.

https://goredbirds.com/news/2020/12/3/football-isu-director-of-strength-and-conditioning-jim-lathrop-announces-retirement.aspx

3. "Nicholson Hired As ISU Football Strength and Conditioning Coach

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football program will have a new face guiding its strength and conditioning efforts, as Matt Nicholson has been hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for ISU athletics and will work directly with Redbird football.

"I'm excited for the opportunity to work with a program with a winning pedigree at the national level," Nicholson said. "This feels like a great fit for me and my style, and the fact there are a couple coaches on the staff that I have previous relationships helps a lot. I'm ready to get to Normal, hit the ground running and start working with our student-athletes, coaching staff, and strength staff to continue to move this program forward."

Nicholson is no stranger to working with top-level FCS programs, as he spent the past five seasons as the Montana football program's strength and conditioning coach. While at Montana, he worked with Redbird defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp and defensive line coach Brian Hendricks.

"Matt came highly recommended from Travis and Brian from the time they spent with him at Montana and my former teammate Kevin Sumlin gave him rave reviews," ISU head coach Brock Spack stated. "He's very smart, tough and a hard worker which I think he learned from his playing days as a walk-on and has transferred that to his coaching career. It seems like the players at his previous stops really engaged with him and bought into what he was trying to accomplish, and I have no doubts our players here will do the same."

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

Sorry to say it...

But

Illinois State has a better football program right now than UM. Not historically, but the last 10 years they have been undoubtedly the better program.

Their 2014 team was ridiculously talented. Yes NDSU won the championship that year, but Illinois State matched them straight up.

Facilities are fine. Actually, they have a pretty significant expansion plan for a possible FBS move.

Their enrollment is stable and nearly twice the size of UM.

Probably a good move for the guy, especially if he got a pay increase.

Montana 2019 attendance 157,812; Illinois St. 2019 attendance 55,454. But you are the judge.

Good for us that EWU's attendance isn't as impressive as Montana also...ya know, since that seems to be a big factor in success.

 

[2011BisonAlumni]

Sorry to say it...

But

Illinois State has a better football program right now than UM. Not historically, but the last 10 years they have been undoubtedly the better program.

Their 2014 team was ridiculously talented. Yes NDSU won the championship that year, but Illinois State matched them straight up.

Facilities are fine. Actually, they have a pretty significant expansion plan for a possible FBS move.

Their enrollment is stable and nearly twice the size of UM.

Probably a good move for the guy, especially if he got a pay increase.

Montana 2019 attendance 157,812; Illinois St. 2019 attendance 55,454. But you are the judge.

Which program has more playoff wins, playoff appearances, conference championships, and national championship game appearances this past decade?

Which program produced 5 players on an active NFL roster right now (one of which is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year) compared to 0?

One day you guys might get it. You have a great stadium and good fan support.

You also have a program which....

Hasn’t finished the season ranked in the top 5 in a decade

Hasn’t made a national championship game appearance in over a decade

Hasn’t won a conference championship in over a decade

Hasn’t consistently produced NFL players in over a decade

Represents a university having significant enrollment and financial difficulties

Is in the same state with a university having a booming enrollment and more on field success (both against UM head to head and overall)

Yep you have a great stadium and fan support.....but that only goes so far.

Illinois State is an upgrade over Montana right now....especially if a pay increase was in the cards.

 

[CatGrad-UMGradStu]

Montana 2019 attendance 157,812; Illinois St. 2019 attendance 55,454. But you are the judge.

Good for us that EWU's attendance isn't as impressive as Montana also...ya know, since that seems to be a big factor in success.

Come on man! Attendance, especially this year, is all that matters...

None of the traditional powers are doing worth a shit in those stadiums built to seat 110k...



Oh wait!

 

[PlayerRep]

Montana 2019 attendance 157,812; Illinois St. 2019 attendance 55,454. But you are the judge.

Which program has more playoff wins, playoff appearances, conference championships, and national championship game appearances this past decade?

Which program produced 5 players on an active NFL roster right now (one of which is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year) compared to 0?

One day you guys might get it. You have a great stadium and good fan support.

You also have a program which....

Hasn’t finished the season ranked in the top 5 in a decade

Hasn’t made a national championship game appearance in over a decade

Hasn’t won a conference championship in over a decade

Hasn’t consistently produced NFL players in over a decade

Represents a university having significant enrollment and financial difficulties

Is in the same state with a university having a booming enrollment and more on field success (both against UM head to head and overall)

Yep you have a great stadium and fan support.....but that only goes so far.

Illinois State is an upgrade over Montana right now....especially if a pay increase was in the cards.

Montana is still a much better football program than Ill St. Missoula is a great town in general and nice football town. And much much better town than Norman. Great place to raise a family. For players, football is about success, large/loud crowds, teammates, position coaches, support in the community, and quality of the school, quality of the surroundings. Bison you wouldn't know that, as you never played the game.

 

[kemajic]

Montana 2019 attendance 157,812; Illinois St. 2019 attendance 55,454. But you are the judge.

Which program has more playoff wins, playoff appearances, conference championships, and national championship game appearances this past decade?

Which program produced 5 players on an active NFL roster right now (one of which is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year) compared to 0?

One day you guys might get it. You have a great stadium and good fan support.

You also have a program which....

Hasn’t finished the season ranked in the top 5 in a decade

Hasn’t made a national championship game appearance in over a decade

Hasn’t won a conference championship in over a decade

Hasn’t consistently produced NFL players in over a decade

Represents a university having significant enrollment and financial difficulties

Is in the same state with a university having a booming enrollment and more on field success (both against UM head to head and overall)

Yep you have a great stadium and fan support.....but that only goes so far.

Illinois State is an upgrade over Montana right now....especially if a pay increase was in the cards.

Yeah, facts are stubborn things. You wear your bias on your sleeve. Methinks level of fan support for a program is important when considering employment. Ticket revenue is important. A lateral move at best. Suspect as a Stitt holdover he wasn't feeling the love he needs and the necessary cost-cutting at UM is transparent and brings risk.

 

[PlayerRep]

Which program has more playoff wins, playoff appearances, conference championships, and national championship game appearances this past decade?

Which program produced 5 players on an active NFL roster right now (one of which is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year) compared to 0?

One day you guys might get it. You have a great stadium and good fan support.

You also have a program which....

Hasn’t finished the season ranked in the top 5 in a decade

Hasn’t made a national championship game appearance in over a decade

Hasn’t won a conference championship in over a decade

Hasn’t consistently produced NFL players in over a decade

Represents a university having significant enrollment and financial difficulties

Is in the same state with a university having a booming enrollment and more on field success (both against UM head to head and overall)

Yep you have a great stadium and fan support.....but that only goes so far.

Illinois State is an upgrade over Montana right now....especially if a pay increase was in the cards.

Yeah, facts are stubborn things. You wear your bias on your sleeve. Methinks level of fan support for a program is important when considering employment. Ticket revenue is important. A lateral move at best. Suspect as a Stitt holdover he wasn't feeling the love he needs and the necessary cost-cutting at UM is transparent and brings risk.

He wears his bias on his tongue.

 

[kemajic]

Montana 2019 attendance 157,812; Illinois St. 2019 attendance 55,454. But you are the judge.

Good for us that EWU's attendance isn't as impressive as Montana also...ya know, since that seems to be a big factor in success.

This probably goes right by you, but attendance, a measure of program support and revenue, is far more important when looking at an employer than small differences in results. And, 2019 Montana 11-4 to the Qfinals; EWU 7-5, no playoffs.

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

Good for us that EWU's attendance isn't as impressive as Montana also...ya know, since that seems to be a big factor in success.

This probably goes right by you, but attendance, a measure of program support and revenue, is far more important when looking at an employer than small differences in results. And, 2019 Montana 11-4 to the Qfinals; EWU 7-5, no playoffs.

Guess this goes right by you, but attendance doesn't measure the entire success the program, especially at the FCS level. Also, this was about the past decade, not just 2019. But narratives, I know.

 

[2011BisonAlumni]

Which program has more playoff wins, playoff appearances, conference championships, and national championship game appearances this past decade?

Which program produced 5 players on an active NFL roster right now (one of which is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year) compared to 0?

One day you guys might get it. You have a great stadium and good fan support.

You also have a program which....

Hasn’t finished the season ranked in the top 5 in a decade

Hasn’t made a national championship game appearance in over a decade

Hasn’t won a conference championship in over a decade

Hasn’t consistently produced NFL players in over a decade

Represents a university having significant enrollment and financial difficulties

Is in the same state with a university having a booming enrollment and more on field success (both against UM head to head and overall)

Yep you have a great stadium and fan support.....but that only goes so far.

Illinois State is an upgrade over Montana right now....especially if a pay increase was in the cards.

Montana is still a much better football program than Ill St. Missoula is a great town in general and nice football town. And much much better town than Norman. Great place to raise a family. For players, football is about success, large/loud crowds, teammates, position coaches, support in the community, and quality of the school, quality of the surroundings. Bison you wouldn't know that, as you never played the game.

In college athletics, very few coaches set up “roots” to raise a family....especially at this level.

Is he getting a pay raise?

Assume yes is the answer

Is he going to a program which has had more success over the past decade?

Yes

Is he going to a more stable university ?

Yes

Is he going to an area with more local talent?

Yes

Good move by him.

The overall athletic picture is deeper too. He’s going to a University who has a football program competing in a better conference and who has non-football programs competing in a better conference.

Montana is not currently a better football program than Illinois State. Sorry, but they aren’t.

 

[2011BisonAlumni]

Montana has peerless facilities at the FCS level and the tradition is rivaled by only a few teams in the division.

From a pure football perspective though when comparing on-field success recently:

- Since Brock Spack took over in 2009, Illinois State is 84-50 including 53-35 in Missouri Valley play. ISU shared the MVFC title with North Dakota State in 2014 and 2015, advancing to the national title game in 2014 where they lost to NDSU. The Red Birds have finished in the Top 8 of the final FCS poll four times in the last eight years.

- Since 2009 (including Hauck's last year, a 14-1 season) the Griz are 88-36 overall, 59-26 in league play. The Griz have qualified for the playoffs five times, same as Illinois State.

- Since Nicholson came to Montana, the Griz are 37-25, qualifying for the FCS playoffs twice and winning two FCS playoff games.

- Since 2015, Illinois State is 38-24 with three FCS playoff appearances and three FCS playoff wins. That's not including 2014, when ISU went 13-2 and finished as the national runners-up.

So from Nicholson's perspective, Illinois State is on par with the Griz in terms of on the field football success. Illinois State has more recent conference championships and a more recent national title game appearance.

I'm not arguing this is a better job by any means but the football success is even when it comes to the last five years (my how the Griz have fallen, although they are reascending...) but you couple the factors that Nicholson was not hired by Hauck, he's getting a pay raise, he knows multiple defensive coaches on the staff (Brian Hendricks, Travis Niekamp) and Brock Spack played with Kevin Sumlin in college before Nicholson played for Sumlin at Houston, plus he's going to a program that has won at a higher level than most give them credit for, the move doesn't seem mysterious.

All of those points make sense to me. Generally I hate your “woah how the Griz have fallen” that is an over blown point a bit by you on the radio.

I’m sure Bobby has a name or two in mind and everything will work out just fine on this front. Not sure what the hiring freeze could do but I assume this is a must fill position.

A decade ago, the Griz were unquestionably a top 3 FCS program. They had just came off a decade period in which they had won more games than any other FCS program before, had won a national championship and made three other appearances in the national championship game, were consistently not only producing NFL players but NFL players who made an impact, and had just turned down an FBS offer.

As a University, the University of Montana was booming with enrollment and financially stable.

A decade later, the football program is maybe the third best in their own conference...maybe. Enrollment has dropped by over 50%. The University has had significant financial pressure.....and, their hated rivals, Montana State, has had not only far more success on the football field, but the university has skyrocketed from growth.

It is a fall....pretty steep at that.

 

[alabamagrizzly]

Which program has more playoff wins, playoff appearances, conference championships, and national championship game appearances this past decade?

Which program produced 5 players on an active NFL roster right now (one of which is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year) compared to 0?

One day you guys might get it. You have a great stadium and good fan support.

You also have a program which....

Hasn’t finished the season ranked in the top 5 in a decade

Hasn’t made a national championship game appearance in over a decade

Hasn’t won a conference championship in over a decade

Hasn’t consistently produced NFL players in over a decade

Represents a university having significant enrollment and financial difficulties

Is in the same state with a university having a booming enrollment and more on field success (both against UM head to head and overall)

Yep you have a great stadium and fan support.....but that only goes so far.

Illinois State is an upgrade over Montana right now....especially if a pay increase was in the cards.

Montana is still a much better football program than Ill St. Missoula is a great town in general and nice football town. And much much better town than Norman. Great place to raise a family. For players, football is about success, large/loud crowds, teammates, position coaches, support in the community, and quality of the school, quality of the surroundings. Bison you wouldn't know that, as you never played the game.

In the end the only thing football is about is W’s and L’s or would you argue against Vince Lombard and Herm Edwards on this crucial point. How about asking Bob Stitt how the job search is going based off his history at Montana.

 

[alabamagrizzly]

All of those points make sense to me. Generally I hate your “woah how the Griz have fallen” that is an over blown point a bit by you on the radio.

I’m sure Bobby has a name or two in mind and everything will work out just fine on this front. Not sure what the hiring freeze could do but I assume this is a must fill position.

A decade ago, the Griz were unquestionably a top 3 FCS program. They had just came off a decade period in which they had won more games than any other FCS program before, had won a national championship and made three other appearances in the national championship game, were consistently not only producing NFL players but NFL players who made an impact, and had just turned down an FBS offer.

As a University, the University of Montana was booming with enrollment and financially stable.

A decade later, the football program is maybe the third best in their own conference...maybe. Enrollment has dropped by over 50%. The University has had significant financial pressure.....and, their hated rivals, Montana State, has had not only far more success on the football field, but the university has skyrocketed from growth.

It is a fall....pretty steep at that.

I was with you tell you said that the the kittens had far more success then us on the field. Since 2010, here’s the comparison.

Overall record
Montana 79-44 64.2%
Montana State 78-46 62.9%

Playoff record
Montana 5-5
Montana St 6-5

Con titles
Montana 1(‘11)
Montana St 2(‘11, ‘12)

Looks pretty even to me.

 

[PlayerRep]

Montana is still a much better football program than Ill St. Missoula is a great town in general and nice football town. And much much better town than Norman. Great place to raise a family. For players, football is about success, large/loud crowds, teammates, position coaches, support in the community, and quality of the school, quality of the surroundings. Bison you wouldn't know that, as you never played the game.

In college athletics, very few coaches set up “roots” to raise a family....especially at this level.

Is he getting a pay raise?

Assume yes is the answer

Is he going to a program which has had more success over the past decade?

Yes

Is he going to a more stable university ?

Yes

Is he going to an area with more local talent?

Yes

Good move by him.

The overall athletic picture is deeper too. He’s going to a University who has a football program competing in a better conference and who has non-football programs competing in a better conference.

Montana is not currently a better football program than Illinois State. Sorry, but they aren’t.

Montana is a much better program than Ill St and a much better place to play.

 

[atomik235]

This is a big loss, especially since lifting will start back up early Jan, for a stupid Spring season.

 

[Paytonlives]

I though this was about the UM strength coach leaving????

 

[2011BisonAlumni]

A decade ago, the Griz were unquestionably a top 3 FCS program. They had just came off a decade period in which they had won more games than any other FCS program before, had won a national championship and made three other appearances in the national championship game, were consistently not only producing NFL players but NFL players who made an impact, and had just turned down an FBS offer.

As a University, the University of Montana was booming with enrollment and financially stable.

A decade later, the football program is maybe the third best in their own conference...maybe. Enrollment has dropped by over 50%. The University has had significant financial pressure.....and, their hated rivals, Montana State, has had not only far more success on the football field, but the university has skyrocketed from growth.

It is a fall....pretty steep at that.

I was with you tell you said that the the kittens had far more success then us on the field. Since 2010, here’s the comparison.

Overall record
Montana 79-44 64.2%
Montana State 78-46 62.9%

Playoff record
Montana 5-5
Montana St 6-5

Con titles
Montana 1(‘11)
Montana St 2(‘11, ‘12)

Looks pretty even to me.

LMFAO

First, you are counting a VACATED conference championship and VACATED playoff wins.

Montana State has more head to head wins (including 4 straight wins), more playoff appearances, more playoff wins, and more conference championships than Montana this decade

But

Ya they are pretty much equal lol

I didn’t say the margin is wide, but Montana State has clearly been the better program over the past decade.

 

[alabamagrizzly]

I was with you tell you said that the the kittens had far more success then us on the field. Since 2010, here’s the comparison.

Overall record
Montana 79-44 64.2%
Montana State 78-46 62.9%

Playoff record
Montana 5-5
Montana St 6-5

Con titles
Montana 1(‘11)
Montana St 2(‘11, ‘12)

Looks pretty even to me.

LMFAO

First, you are counting a VACATED conference championship and VACATED playoff wins.

Montana State has more head to head wins (including 4 straight wins), more playoff appearances, more playoff wins, and more conference championships than Montana this decade

But

Ya they are pretty much equal lol

I didn’t say the margin is wide, but Montana State has clearly been the better program over the past decade.

Yes, I count them. We gave them up after we earned them. They weren’t taken away. They have one more con title, one more playoff win, and one more playoff appearance. 6-4 vs us. Not exactly domination. Just because they’ve eaqualed the playing field, don’t get it twisted.

 

[PlayerRep]

LMFAO

First, you are counting a VACATED conference championship and VACATED playoff wins.

Montana State has more head to head wins (including 4 straight wins), more playoff appearances, more playoff wins, and more conference championships than Montana this decade

But

Ya they are pretty much equal lol

I didn’t say the margin is wide, but Montana State has clearly been the better program over the past decade.

Yes, I count them. We gave them up after we earned them. They weren’t taken away. They have one more con title, one more playoff win, and one more playoff appearance. 6-4 vs us. Not exactly domination. Just because they’ve eaqualed the playing field, don’t get it twisted.

And there's no magic to a 10-year period. I say we do 15-yr comparisons.

 

[alabamagrizzly]

Yes, I count them. We gave them up after we earned them. They weren’t taken away. They have one more con title, one more playoff win, and one more playoff appearance. 6-4 vs us. Not exactly domination. Just because they’ve eaqualed the playing field, don’t get it twisted.

And there's no magic to a 10-year period. I say we do 15-yr comparisons.

Bison picked 10 because that’s when we started our “decline”. It’s more so the playing field has been leveled but a good spin doctor can put any “information” out there and claim there point. Luckily he’s NOT a good spin doctor. See that Bison, I used all caps just like you to prove my point.