Women's gymnastics boots Iowa, Penn State hoops from Carver shootarounds

For the second year in a row, Penn State's men's basketball team was subjected to some harsh Iowa City reality. The Nittany Lions didn't get a practice or shootaround at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday because the arena hosted a women's gymnastics meet that night. The same thing happened to Penn State last year.

Maybe that's by design. After all, Iowa beat Penn State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena both times as part of an eight-game winning streak against the Nittany Lions in Iowa City. But the women's gymnastics meet didn't do the Iowa men any favors, either.

"Our practice time in here was 8:30 in the morning to 10:30 in the morning (on Friday). We came in at 9 o'clock," Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter said. "If we wanted to go in again or later, we would have gone off campus.

"As far as I know Penn State did not get a shootaround. We could have had a shootaround at 7 a.m. (Saturday); we elected not to take that. It was a noon start time.

"This is the second year in a row Penn State was limited."

Six sports compete at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, including both basketball and gymnastics teams, as well as wrestling and volleyball. Iowa tends to treat all sports (except football) the same, which is why the rowing program received a state-of-the-art $7.5 million boat house before the basketball teams saw a shovel in the ground for their practice facility.

But at some point a light bulb needs to go off, that the men's basketball program is the only other money-making sport (outside of football) on campus. Men's basketball may not be more important to the student-athletes and coaches of other sports, but it is to the athletics department's bottom line. It's a weak Saturday crowd when 9,651 tickets are sold for a Big Ten men's basketball game. But compared to the 300 that attended the women's gymnastics meet Friday night, the arena looks like the Final Four came to town.

The swimming programs move from the Field House pool to the new $70 million recreation center next year. That leaves the Field House pool area vacant. Iowa should fill in and renovate the pool area and consider moving the gymnastics teams and the volleyball team permanently to the Field House for competitions. It would create an intimate environment where the athletes could hear the fans cheering for them. It also would alleviate the scheduling nightmare that has engulfs Carver-Hawkeye Arena every winter.

I doubt this situation occurs at Michigan State with Tom Izzo or at Indiana with Tom Crean. Could you imagine a scenario where field hockey plays at Kinnick Stadium the night before an Iowa home football game? At Iowa it's not so far-fetched.