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Former Indiana coach Bill Mallory, who started 0-11 back in his first year in Bloomington in 1984, thinks it is more difficult to turn things around today than it was in his era. "Negativity from fans and naysayers is a problem and it is a lot worse today than back in 1984," Mallory said. "You simply can't allow it to infiltrate the program. "I have watched Purdue this year, and I see some good things happening. They got better, though at times it may not look like it to untrained eye. It just takes time." The BTN effect Probably the biggest change since the early days of Alvarez, Ferentz and even Mallory is the way the game is distributed to and digested by fans. The world of high-definition television is changing the landscape of spectator sports. The fact that fans can stay home if the weather is poor or the team isn't performing up to standards is causing empty stands, and it presents a challenge for a struggling first-year coach who is trying to build a following. "It is an instant gratification world out there," said Richter, the former Wisconsin AD. "There were even Green Bay Packer tickets available (Dec. 8) due to weather. When you have guys like (ESPN radio personality) Colin Cowherd saying that you can stay home, buy your own beer, not battle parking, that is the type of mentality that all of us have to deal with it." Richter says in the end that revenues for the Big Ten Network will help even the playing field for all teams. "With all the money involved for the leagues, I think it will tend to bring teams more towards the center and not split them apart between the haves and have-nots," Richter said. "I think it could have the effect of making it more equitable." According to a article in the New York Times on Nov. 30, during the negotiations to join the Big Ten, when Maryland president Wallace Loh expressed concern about the limited capacity of the school's football stadium, league commissioner Jim Delany reassured him. "He told me it's no longer butts on seats, but eyeballs on screens," Loh told the newspaper. That mindset, along with the fact that coaches like Hazell have much bigger contracts with bigger buyouts, might have the effect of giving a longer leash for coaches. It is projected that Big Ten schools could receive $40 million each when the new national TV deal is done in 2017. f The split from the conference was $25.7 million in 2012. "Don't kid yourself, it is still important to have people supporting your program in the stands," Alvarez said. "You put a good product on the field and people will come, and it is important that they are in the stands supporting your program. The faster that happens, the better chance the program goes places." Recruiting Tells Tale For Ferentz and Alvarez, it came down to getting the type of talent necessary to do the things they wanted on the field. "Obviously, there were issues at Purdue before Darrell came or there wouldn't have been an opening," Alvarez said. "You have to supply your program with quality players, but you can't compromise your values to do that. "In the early days, we had to sell guys on having the courage to go to a place to turn it around. Yet our first two recruiting classes laid the foundation to turn the program around." Alvarez was able to redshirt most of his first two classes, a luxury Hazell didn't have as nearly half of his first class saw the field as true freshmen. For Ferentz, his turnaround came from a couple of guys who were in the program when he got there but blossomed under his staff. Dallas Clark was a third-team outside linebacker who became an NFL tight end, for example. "A lot of it is good fortune, but you just try to get the best out of the people you're around," Ferentz said. "You try to recruit to what you think is important to your school. What you deem important, you try to identify that in people and try to get those people to join you." But maybe the one who Purdue fans are hoping can get the ship righted said it best late in the season. "If we can teach ourselves how to execute, there are plays to be made," Hazell said. "That's the frustrating thing probably for our fans is that you see no success, but if you watch the film and you see a guy steps here, a guy makes this block, that's where the hope comes in. "We've got an excellent staff. They know what they're talking about. When we start winning championships, they'll think we're geniuses. We're not geniuses. When you lose, they think you're idiots. You're not idiots. It's just what you have and what you do with what you have. But we're going to be good." j IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 13