I know there are a bunch of different factors, but this seems like the most obvious reason for our dropoff in 2004/2005, of course other than my purchase of ICAT tickets for those years. Not so much that we didn't recruit good players, but that not a whole lot of anybody even bothered to show up at all. Even half of those guys showing up could have changed everything.
I'd love to hear some stories regarding some of these guys, and how the staff reacted when things fell apart recruiting-wise.