...apparently, McDermott's kid has a signed LOI to attend UNI, Creighton's conference rival.....McDermott had stated that his son Doug would be joining him in Omaha....not so fast says UNI's AD.  On top of that, this has inside conference transfer ramifications if i read correctly that must be waived or Doug may have to sit a couple of years

CEDAR FALLS — Greg McDermott’s move to Creighton has created juicy storylines that stretch from the Missouri River to the Cedar River.

McDermott, who coached Northern Iowa’s men’s basketball program from 2002-06, officially left his post at Iowa State Monday, and is back in the Missouri Valley Conference, in Omaha.

But the reverberations of McDermott’s departure in Ames were far-reaching, and were felt on UNI’s campus in Cedar Falls. McDermott, of course, is the father of 2010 UNI signee Doug McDermott, a promising forward.

Coach McDermott told reporters Monday that his son would be joining him in Omaha and that Doug would play for Creighton.

“That’s completely inaccurate,” UNI athletic director Troy Dannen said Monday night. “The only person that has the authority to grant that release is me. And I have not received any request.

“Someone has the cart before the horse a little bit on that.”

Said Jacobson: “Doug is aware he has to fill out that paperwork, and that is something I anticipate us receiving.

“I can tell you,” Jacobson added, “I can understand Doug’s thoughts about wanting to play for his father and Mac’s thoughts about wanting to coach his son. When we receive the paperwork, Troy and I will proceed from there.”

Dannen said he wants to speak with Jacobson face-to-face before deciding on whether to release Doug McDermott of his Letter of Intent. Dannen would need to receive a formal, written transfer request and then sign off on it.

“If and when that request comes,” Dannen noted, “I’ll look at it and discus it with (Jacobson). Until that point, I wouldn’t make any commitment one way or the other.”

By rule, when a scholarship student-athlete transfers within the Missouri Valley Conference they are forced to sit out two seasons.

MVC commissioner Doug Elgin, however, said that Doug McDermott should be eligible to play next season, as long as UNI gives full clearance.

“If the administration at UNI supports the waiver of the intra-conference transfer rule, I believe (Doug McDermott) would be eligible immediately next fall to compete at Creighton,” Elgin said in a phone interview.

Doug McDermott admitted interest in playing at Creighton Monday night, but would not speak on the record. If the Ames High senior does end up heading west for college, that would leave UNI with two open scholarships for next season.

Greg McDermott, who won 90 games at UNI earlier this decade, leaves Iowa State after compiling a four-year record of 59-68 with the Cyclones. He also went 18-46 in Big 12 competition in Ames. At Creighton, McDermott will replace Dana Altman, who left for Oregon on Sunday.

Jacobson said he welcomes the challenge of coaching against his friend two to three times per season in the Valley.

“I’m certainly happy for Greg,” Jacobson told The Courier. “It’s a situation that, obviously he feels very good about and I know he’s very excited about.

“It’s different now, because we’re in the same league, but because we played each other the last four years and we’ve gone through that, I don’t think it’ll be as big of a deal as it might’ve been.”

Last month, Jacobson was rumored to have been an early candidate to become the University of Iowa’s next head coach, after the Hawkeyes fired Todd Lickliter. On Monday night, Jacobson reiterated his plans to remain a Panther for the foreseeable future and shot down the possibility of listening to a sales-pitch from Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard.

“That’s not something I’ve even thought about, in terms of Iowa State or anywhere else,” the 39-year-old Jacobson said.

In March, Jacobson signed a 10-year contract that will initially pay him a guaranteed $450,000 per year. The UNI coach was also given assurance from Dannen that the Panthers’ assistant coaches will be given raises from a pool of $50,000-70,000, which will be raised externally.

“My commitment is here at Northern Iowa,” Jacobson said Monday. With

”the commitment that was made in a very short time, through Troy and our president and a number of people, I was extremely happy to have signed my new contract.”

Leaving for Iowa State, said Jacobson “is not something I’ve even thought about — nor will I.”

Additional reporting for this story was done by Waterloo Courier Sports Editor Doug Newhoff.