I agree, UNI is a much better team than Iowa, and deserved to get into the NIT.
The thing I hate about Alford, his inflated ego and off court antics aside, is how grossly overweight his contract situation is - it's downright obese! $2 million to buy him out? Whatever happened to "pay for performance"? And why is it that a top coach (or executive for that matter) can ask to renegotiate for a fatter contract every year if they actually win games? There should be some modicum of performance required each season. They hand out bonuses for things like successfully graduating athletes, winning the conference championship, NCAA berths and so on, so why can't they factor in demerits for a losing season, poor ticket sales, and having no post season play whatsoever?? Something like: if there is no post season, you forfeit half your salary.
Instead, if a college coach exceeds expectations, he can simply have lunch with the AD and fatten up his already obscene salary arrangements? PLEASE. A signature on a piece of paper doesn't mean much these days, unless the person you are working for wants to see you leave, in which case they have to "buy out" your contract? What's wrong with this system? EVERYTHING.
He's losing top recruits because NO ONE respects him OR the program he created. Period. Time to cough up the coin and send him packing.