With a rumored Heisman Trophy candidate in Dan McCarney’s backfield, Olsen Building hype has been dominated by football. Meanwhile, an Iowa State legend is quietly slipping away.

Earlier this month longtime ISU baseball coach Bobby Randall said he was packing up shop and heading home to coach the Kansas Jayhawks. He is a native of Norton, Kan.

Randall, who spent 12 years as ISU’s head coach, compiling a 309-311 record, will be missed.

Perhaps more than anyone on the athletic department payroll, Randall has been a coach in the truest sense.

He has maintained respectable programs here for more than a decade with a budget just a fraction of Oklahoma’s or Oklahoma State’s. He has kept his composure when faced with a university commitment to baseball that’s about as consistent as Pee Wee League pitching.

As the lowest paid coach in the Big Eight — at about $40,000 annually — Randall has worked wonders with teams clearly dwarfed by the conference baseball giants. Just last season the former Minnesota infielder had his team within one out of winning the conference tournament and qualifying for a regional.

But apparently occasional upsets on the field, which Randall churned out with some regularity, ultimately weren’t enough to convince Randall to retire a Cyclone. I can’t say I blame him.

The last few years Randall’s duties have drifted more and more away from coaching, toward a Cyclone baseball lobbyist. When last spring came, Randall should have been worried about his pitching staff and his batting order, instead, however, he was forced into a battle to keep his job.

After months of turmoil, university officials said the 100-year plus tradition of baseball at ISU would be maintained. Randall’s squad rebounded well, but just the threat of elimination crippled recruiting efforts.

“We’re way behind,” Randall said after learning his program would be kept.

Playing catch-up was probably the biggest monkey on Randall’s back since he came to ISU as an assistant in 1981. Though Randall performed admirably with the resources available to him, his teams never made the jump from good to championship caliber.

Randall’s squads hovered around the .500 mark, competing well with Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska and Missouri for the Big Eight’s No. 3 spot, but never seriously threatening to dethrone the Oklahoma powers.

Ames’ northern location, a shoe string budget and poor facilities all contributed to resounding Cyclone baseball teams to mediocrity. Always being in the middle has to wear on a coach so committed to winning.

What’s more, Randall is popular with his players and coaching peers. His efforts to keep ISU’s program above water have drawn praise from the biggest names in collegiate ball, and as a teacher of the game, high school coaches and college players say Randall is second to none.

But in an age when collegiate athletics are run by the bottom line, Randall alas has been hired by a company with more market potential and available resources. It’s a great opportunity, one that he very much deserves.

“I am excited about going back to Kansas,” Randall said when announcing his resignation. “I’ll always want nothing but the best for the Cyclones. It’s been a great 14 years in Ames.”

Those are kind words for a university that, at times, has been anything but kind to a coach who went above and beyond for little reward.

Randall will have better days in Kansas, of that you can be sure. But Kansas’ gain is most certainly ISU’s loss.