Good luck, Coach DiNardo

Welcome to Bloomington, Gerry DiNardo. \nWe are anxious for you to start turning around a mediocre football team and be a part of bringing IU back to a Big Ten standard of athletic excellence in both football and basketball.\nYour promises of a championship ring on the players' fingers as they walk across the graduation stage is a nice thought. But you have your work cut out for you.\n The football team's reputation is less than complimentary. In 2001, the team had its best record in the past five years: 5-6. That was with Antwaan Randle El, who's now long gone.\n That means not only that you have to try to do something with an offense that is missing college football's most exciting player, but one that's missing his backfield pal Levron Williams, as well.\nThe good news is that you still retain a strong offensive line and an even stronger fullback.\nNow the bad news: the defense. It was inconsistent all season; well, actually, for the last five years. We wish you much luck in bringing it on-board your winning team. \nBut not only do you have the team itself to contend with, you have a lack of fan support. Remember, you're in Indiana now, the home of basketball. Football is not the front-runner in popularity to begin with, but throw in a losing team, and you have what happens each Saturday in the fall: fewer than 30,000 fans. We're lucky if we get 28,000.\nWhen he fired Cam Cameron, Athletics Director Michael McNeely said he was going to look for a coach who would be successful on and off the field and someone who would draw fans to the games.\nIt's not going to be easy to convince over 36,000 students to get out to support a football team that lost half of its starters and has a brand new coach. \nBut when you were announced as head coach Wednesday, you did not mince words and you did not take a gentler tone.\nYou were straight-forward, passionate and clear about your intentions for the future. You said you would go to every high school in Indiana to recruit new players. We hope you follow up on that promise.\nIn fact, we'd like to see you follow up on all of your promises. If you can do all you say you want to, it's likely IU will have a winning football team. And maybe more people will be in the stands, instead of tailgating in the field across the street, on fall Saturdays.\nSo we welcome you to IU with handshakes and wishes of good luck.