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What does this discussion have to do with the portal? Can we get this VeRy InTeReStInG discussion moved to an appropriate location?

Waiting for the Giveth part.

What’s the point of a $6 million scoreboard if you rarely show a replay on it? Less Simba and kisses and more replays please!

Mood:

Midwestern and FB Fan need to let everyone know how bad the program is with the exact same talking points over and over and over and over and over again in every thread on here.

Let’s continue to have the same argument over and over again

One thing we've learned on this thread is that the Hindsight Hawks would have probably been undefeated this year.

When I read the BS about how Sandy does so much more with less I remember this. Possibly the best season of coaching in college hockey history.

First, to Quintin - it was fun watching you develop and preform on the field the last several years. The best of luck moving forward. I believe that Quintin did everything that we would expect as fans - he has finished his field of study and has graduated. He is going to continue his education at another school as many of us did ourselves. Great job Quintin.

In order to destroy what used to be (arguably) the best college hockey franchise, in terms of money making, recruiting, and consistent on ice winning (if fewer titles than their rivals ) it took a lot of really stupid, stupid, decisions. Start with bad decisions on the design of Mariucci Arena, made by Doug Woog in the late 1980s. They made one enormous bowl instead of a middle-basin concourse, and made it steep. Hard for fans to get up and down "quickly", especially those "older than average". They failed to make it big enough when ticket demand was there - after filling 8000 consistently in the old Williams barn, they only added 1000 capacity originally (and have been scrambling to squeeze in additional seats ever since). Frankly Doug Woog failed to think big enough, and his colleagues and leaders didn't challenge. Last, the rink itself. They built a trendy Olympic size arena which hampers their players development as their top players seek to move up to NHL. Another example of obsolete thinking (very few guys made it to NHL when Wooger played; now all the top-end guys want a shot). Then came B1G. Minnesota added seat licenses and forced the entire season ticket holder base to pay up or get moved to cheaper seats. At the same time, they forced buyers of student season tickets for hockey to buy football season tickets - with predictable results of a plunge in hockey season ticket from students. And all this was the first years of Big Ten Hockey. In the midst of all that, Lucia tells all his disgruntled fans to get over it. Just wow. (Gopherpucklive.com has a decent history in their archives, and CityPages in Mpls also wrote about the plunge in 2019. ) Then came the decision not to include Big Ten playoff tickets in with season tickets, which led to those catastrophic scenes in spring 2019. Almost Empty at Puck Drop Add to that the constant shuffling of game times and game dates. ================================================================================= As of today, UND now has the premier college hockey franchise, in terms of money making, recruiting, and consistent on ice winning. And the story above is a great lesson in what not to do. I hope our leadership is paying attention.

Better quality video of the timeout game here....btw, what a great game!!!!!

Let’s not equate playing college football with anyone who risks life or health for others. These athletes play for themselves and their teammates. Fans are important to make games an event that brings people together for a good time. Also generates revenue. In return, athletes are compensated with the cost or part of the cost of a college education, free flights, lodging and meals to places all over their region, state or country. TV, radio, media attention and fan attention are some of the perks. A value usually worth around $10,000 to $75,000 per year. With most contracts leaving early can result in penalties and non-compete clauses. If we allow a handful of high profile kids to receive additional compensation, we ignore teammates who work just as hard to make the team and their teammates better. If we are going to support transfers with no restrictions, then the receiving school should have to repay the scholarship unless released by his school. The investment made by a school to evaluate, recruit, coach and train an athlete provide a medical team, tutors etc is in addition to the cost of a scholarship. We have allowed the media, some lawyers, and activists to move this whole idea to fruition without full consideration and planning. We are moving away from amateur status not only in college sports but with kids playing for club teams/AAU teams etc.

Gopher Week is also a good time to talk about "Never Give Up. Don't Ever Give Up." Fall 1996, UND at Minnesota on Saturday night, trailing 10-3. They didn't give up, and scored 3 late goals to make it a 10-6 final. Eventually those 3 goals, combined with a split of the season series (after a legendary sweep in GF), gave the Sioux the tiebreaker (total goals) for seeding at the WCHA Final Five. Which meant the Sioux got top seed, an "easier" Friday afternoon game, last change vs Minnesota in the Championship Game, and meant Dean Blais could pick and choose matchups, which he did to great effect. That win gave us an easy route to the Frozen Four in Milwaukee - just one regional game in those days of a 12-team tournament. Minnesota had to win two games, and didn't, and UND of course did win. At the Frozen Four, well anything could happen, and it did. "Never Give Up. Don't Ever Give Up."

Can we please stay in the lane where we blame Tommy for everything? Thanks in advance.

I agree and I believe that. The message to prospective recruits from so many of the experts posting on multiple SS.com forums is that we have to start over. Which means they are sending a negative message to prospective recruits. I get the frustration level and where the buck stops, and the blame game but we are at a point where we can win this conference and beyond. Hopefully recruits and their parents avoid toxic fan forums but the fact is they find them. We are very close. Oline needs to be able to start dominating in the run game consistently and continue to pass block to prevent sacks. Dline and LBs need to improve pass rush and dominate line of scrimmage. Our dbacks no longer give 15 yd cushion and get beat deep consistently. Our special teams are much better except we need FG kicker to remain healthy and be consistent. This is an outstanding University with a great campus, very good facilities, with a chance for kids to be part of the team that will be the first to move us up to being an FCS power.

You really need to give it a rest.

1. The Transfer Portal is already killing mid/low major D1 basketball and FCS Football. Not sure what it will look like 2 years from now, but I think really bad. There will be more losses at UND. No penalty transfer means "depth" players can go look for a chance to play and good players can try and make the jump to a top 10 FCS team or an FBS. 2. Building through transfer may be the wave of the future..... but that is still an unknown. The biggest losses will be those sitting behind starters. I heard several weeks ago that Robertson felt he was better than starters and upset about playing time. Entered the portal immediately after the season. 3. Players no longer sign 4 year NILs They are 1 year, renewable. 2. The last minute of the Nick Saban's rant is a great fan check. I think it speaks to all college athletes, not just Alabama: "Nobody wants to win worse than they do, not you not me.... and nobody feels worse when they lose than they do" Worth a listen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone This coulda woulda shoulda of particular UND football plays over the course of the disappointing 2021 fall season is depressing. Time to move on. Get better players. Make staff adjustments as necessary. Change the schemes and schedules that didn’t work this year. Get better. Get hungrier (Thanksgiving reference) and desire to be a winning program. Enough with losing. The culture needs to change and why not 2022 to be the year to do it. Go Hawks Football

1. Because they are not professional athletes yet now college athletes can make anywhere from $0 to over $1 million. (More than some NFL players). 2. For many it is the 1st Contract they have signed. And now that Contract is meaningless. Employees and Coaches that don't honor their contracts can have very severe consequences. (Like monetary fines and non-compete clauses!!) This will fall in the category of "Ending Badly". Some structure and integrity needs to be inserted back into the equation.

You are not sorry I feel this way. You simply have a woke superiority complex clouding your judgement. These new norms are bad for college athletics and people are beginning to not care anymore.

You make some decent points, but the decision on football really needs to be about the profile of the university. UND has a great hockey tradition and fantastic facilities and is definitely known in college hockey hotbeds as the “hockey school”. The problem with that for the university as a whole is those “hotbeds” consist of Minnesota, the Red River Valley, and greater Boston. To 99% of the US population, college in North Dakota is NDSU. As an alum, that bothers the crap out of me and there is only one solution to that problem and it is NOT for UND to become a D2 powerhouse or have a strong women’s volleyball team.

Loved how everyone got in lines at the old Ralph pregame, then when the doors were opened it was like a land rush in Oklahoma in the 1800s. NO RULES. An afternoon at Buck Pitchers at the Spud made everyone happy.

There's one thing worse than someone pointing out the problems. That's nobody giving a < bleep >. Never forget: The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.

Having lived and worked in Wisconsin for over 30 years, I can tell you Wisconsin fans LOVE to have fun and party--in any sport. We moved to WI in 84 after having lived in warmer places for a number of years, and the minute WI hockey fans learned I was a Nodak and a hockey fan, they would go on about how much fun the rivalry was, and they almost always showed respect for the Sioux program. Intense, but in a fun way, which seems to be the way most Wiscovites enjoy their sports, which is partly why their hockey program's struggles in recent years and the sharp decline in attendance have been a shame.

semi finalist for UND football head coaching position in 2013 now to be hired as head coach of power 5 conference team, University of Washington Huskies. point of this, don’t hire hometown familiarities, hire the best coach, that’s it. Missed opportunity as far as I’m concerned. https://www.inforum.com/3066035-und-narrows-its-coaching-search-two-candidates https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/sources-fresno-states-kalen-deboer-in-talks-to-become-uw-huskies-head-football-coach/%3famp=1

My 3 stars from last night First....Senden Second....Moore Third....NODAK jerseys

Also those new alternative unis look great in person on the ice.

This one's on the players. Ralph was ready for something big to happen. Biggest crowd of season so far. They played uninspired, lazy at times and undisciplined. They did nothing to ingite what could have been a super atmosphere.

That just confirms what everyone here already knew: you are a fair weather b****. You never post here to say good things but always around when things aren’t going UND’s way. There have been plenty of games and if you can’t remember, goes to show how much of a fan you really are.

1. You missed my point. They don’t take the risk of injury for “us”. They do it for themselves and their teammates. The majority of college athletes don’t leave the college game with lifelong disabilities. I would never compare risk of injury vs risking life but I feel saying they “put their bodies on the line for us” is an overstatement of the risks of serious injury when they are playing a game they love and a misunderstanding of who the athletes actually are playing for and our importance on the priority list of us as fans for the athletes. 2. This isn’t the same as a normal full time job. It is an opportunity to play a game that’s fun and an opportunity for a free or discounted college education. For very few but importantly, it is an opportunity to improve the skills necessary to get a chance to play at the next level an an increased opportunity for exposure to pro scouts. It isn’t a full time job. Practice, meetings/film, weights require more time in season but no where near 8-10 hrs/ day 5 days/wk yr round. That includes NFL players. 3. Those “poor teammates “? Linemen, key backups, special team players? My point is the skill players or key defensive players who make plays so the so called stars can shine should feel that the QB or RB they do the work for should get monetary benefits for their work in exchange for a valuable life lesson? I’m not referring to the hardworking 4th teammates. What about the noseguard who takes on the double team every play to keep linemen from getting to the LB’s. This is still a team game. They already get a stipend for spending money. I would rather a system where dollars can go to the program rather than the individual. The so called stars can still endorse products/businesses but money goes to the program/team. I would argue that would be a more valuable life lesson than telling the “lunch pail” guys to learn a “cream rises to the top” lesson. 4. I’m not opposed to grad transfers or even undergrad “portal” transfers. I just believe the school that loses a player should be compensated for their investment in some manner. I get your points, just have different perspective and thus a different opinion.

Simple Dan on Thanksgiving nonetheless! What a day

Kid played hurt. Two fumbles were out of character and shouldn’t happen. Injury rendered him less effective. We are lucky he’s coming back.

UND: We want logo. SME: Ok $350,000 UND: We were thinking..... cheaper. SME: ok... we can recolor a current logo... $200k UND: We dont actuallycarr what it is just need something..... SME: We have a secondary logo for $100k UND: Getting warmer but like..less. SME: we can do a generic bird secondary logo "inspired" by the USPS, that can really only work in one direction?... $50k? UND: Awesome... I have this coupon.... SME: FML.... fine, go grab that intern we just fired and tell him we have another 2 days of work.

The majority of America doesn’t give two shits about college hockey. It’s on par with lacrosse for them.

I don’t think I could disagree with you more. this has nothing to do with community, safety, awareness, or anything else. Generally when the NCAA makes rules it comes down to money in some fashion. Making it so easy for kids to transfer does certainly doesn’t empower critical life decisions, it means they don’t really need to have any responsibility or accountability for the decisions they make. This has been especially true for basketball, where you see kids transferring multiple times. Rather than taking an opportunity and trying to make the best of it; learning, developing, growing ... they can throw that opportunity away because they think they deserve more .... a big problem with these kids anyway entitlement. It’s not doing them any favors in the long run, and certainly not preparing them for real life. It is wrecking college sports in the process. only thing I can agree with you on, is that it opens up an opportunity for someone else, and hopefully someone else that appreciates it a little more. Not saying there are circumstances where transferring makes sense and should happen, but it has become the all to common route for entitled children who haven’t gotten exactly what they want.

It's a new era in football recruiting/roster retention. I get what those of you who are saying that we shouldn't build a team using the portal mean...but the damn portal is going to destroy teams if we sit back and do nothing. Gotta match inflows and outflows...if talent is available that can help us win...go for it...because you never know who's going to be left when the dust settles anymore! And I don't blame kids for betting on themselves and leaving either...life's short...if you are willing to bet on yourself then I think you should! We need to adapt with the changing times...

People want to love this football team. A lot of people love football more than they love hockey. It’s just that Hockey is relevant year over year. When UND was relevant at the end of DII the Alerus was sold out, full of students and season ticket holders. They traveled well. I remember there being conversations of how we were going to have to expand the Alerus center when we went division one. After Lennon left we took a step back at UND and he couldn’t meet the same expectations at SIU. We had some fun players but we didn’t have very good teams. If the product is good and relevant North Dakota will fill the building every time. Unfortunately it’s a fickle crowd.

The visiting Badgers fans always seemed cool and ready and willing to party at the bars with Sioux fans, win or lose.Is that a pretty accurate description?

We usually hit Bonzers but decided to switch it up on Saturday and hit Tavern United. It didn't take long to remember why we hadn't been there in awhile.

Agreed - but I see absolutely no indication that Bubba has learned anything. At this stage of his coaching career there is absolutely no excuse for managing games like a Junior High Math teacher who was talked into coaching 7th grade football.

Its not the best but "making the playoffs two out of the last three years" doesn't scream new coach. But there's plenty of work left to do. Winning a playoff game. And being more consistent year to year.

Senden line was damn impressive tonight.

Not sure how we can measure expectations and commitment from the outside looking in. I would guess the expectations were high and from everything I read and heard the players had a great off season in the weight room. I couldn’t care less what the Bison do with Entz.

Heyyy youuu guyyys

Get the split tonight, and once again the world will be spinning on its axis properly at a 23.5 degree tilt.

LGB chant breaks out.....

Didn’t that happen at Minny?

Happy Thanksgiving! Figured I’d repost this for everyone’s enjoyment on Turkey Day.

Schlossman did a podcast with Ben Holden a number of months ago and this topic came up in a round about way. He said that even though a school such as Ohio State-which arguably has one of the largest athletic budgets and biggest name recognition in the country and could squash a school like a UND, St. Cloud, or Duluth in this regard-doesn’t draw fans at Minnesota and probably wouldn’t at UND the way existing rivals, and much smaller legacy WCHA schools with less name recognition is the years and in some cases, decades that these rivalries have been nurtured and grown. Not sure if I’m sharing any new insight but it was interesting to hear Brad’s take on this. I personally would much rather see a UND/SCSU, UND/DU, or a UND/UMD series than UND vs Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc.