It has become clear throughout the two years Jamie Pollard has worked at Iowa State that he has an agenda. Pollard has made head coaching changes in seven sports, the most recent coming two weeks ago when he informed the head coaches of men’s and women’s track they would not have their contracts renewed, along with three assistants on the teams.

A straight look at the facts merits the most recent changes. The Cyclones have brought up the bottom half of the Big 12 in track ever since the conference expanded in 1996. They have fallen behind in the conference and are arguably the third-best team in the state. They sent only four events to NCAA Nationals this week, as opposed to 11 from Iowa and 10 from Northern Iowa. The men’s team only had one point at NCAA Regionals.

All of the changes Pollard has made are acceptable – maybe even commendable – given the success of the programs he made the changes in. Wayne Morgan could see the writing on the wall, as could Dan McCarney. Keeping Cael Sanderson from bolting to Iowa was also a necessary move. And the current situation, replacing Steve Lynn and Dick Lee with Corey Ihmels, could certainly be argued either way.

What has become apparent, however, from following this situation is when Pollard has an agenda, no one will stand in his way. Although he can be praised for being driven to make Cyclone athletics the best it can be, how he has gone about doing so is questionable, to say the least.

Lynn has been at Iowa State since 1978 as an assistant under coach Ron Bergan, and became head coach for the men’s team in 1993. Lee has been the head coach for the women’s team since 1986. According to both, the coaching change was completely unexpected. Lee described it as a “complete surprise.” Although neither of them would ever want to cause controversy within the administration they are leaving, there is something to be said about firing two coaches who have given more 20 years of their life to Iowa State, for less than $60,000 a year, out of the blue.

Everyone wants to see the athletic department and all the programs succeed, but there is definitely a way to do it without treating people like pawns within your dictatorship. Every coach being released from the track program has been with the department more than 10 years. They clearly deserved better treatment than a surprise release. Was a coaching change warranted? Based on recent results, that argument could be made. Should it have been handled differently? Definitely.

Perhaps the greatest travesty in this situation is people will never fully appreciate the impact the two outgoing head coaches have had on Iowa State. When McCarney resigned, many tributes were given to him, and his final game was used as a tribute. There will be little written about these two, as they have not been in the public eye in the same way as a coach in football or basketball would be.

However, if Cyclone fans should know anything, it’s that these two have been just as much a part of the Cyclone family as anyone else. Their athletes will tell you how much they have grown from working with these men, not just on the track, but as people.

Pollard has made it clear that ISU athletics is about winning. However, I would hope Cyclone fans would not support the win-at-all-costs attitude he is bringing to the department. The fact still remains that these are 18- to 22-year-old people coming through here.

These are defining moments in what kind of person someone will turn into as they grow up, and the way our athletic department is heading, they seem to be forgetting that. I want to have winning programs as much as anyone, and I think there is a way to do that while continuing to treat the people involved with respect. With Pollard’s attitude toward athletics, the term “Cyclone Family” doesn’t mean the same thing it used to.

Kyle Oppenhuizen is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Pella.