The Sicatoka

No, an amateur junior (ages 16-20) team that plays in the USHL.

Pay? Bite your tongue. Sioux Hockey is already on cable in NW MN, ND, and SD. Here's a discussion of the cable provider for ND and SD. http://siouxsports.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3110

Contracts? Like money? You mean money would motivate the NCAA? I thought all they worried about is the well-being of student-athletes. Sayitaintso. ;)

The head of the UND Alumni Association seems to disagree with you. Or are you sure what you overheard wasn't "reclassification takes five years"? Or did you mean "restructuring" by the NCAA? Just asking.

Enough sidebar. Back to the original article, here are the closing paragraphs: " ... discussions"? Discussions of what? Maybe .... " ... if the three-division model ... continues to be the best house ... "? " ... if the three-division model ... "? If? Sounds like restructuring could be on the mind of the Chair of the Executive Committee (president at Kent State) also. Earlier in this thread I pointed out where it was on the mind of the Chair of the Division I Board of Directors (chancellor at Kansas). Interesting.

Based on this, UND needs Central Washington and Augie to win to get over 0.500 and Ferris to keep winning to stay over 0.700. CWU and Augie would offer an immediate boost.

Now I'll admit I didn't do an exhaustive search, I just picked what I thought would be the best attended games, but in looking at baseball from this spring and volleyball so far this fall, the best baseball number I saw was in the 420s versus MSU-Mankato and the best volleyball numbers I saw were in the mid 600s versus Augie and USD. Admittedly, both had some real stinker attendance numbers too.

From Dr. Chapman's address: Huh? Why the switch in Dr. Chapman's philosophy from hard-target, measurable, quantitative goals to qualitative ones, one's that can't be easily measured with numbers? Has Dr. Chapman gone soft and fluffy? (Kidding.) I don't get it. He seems like such a type-A driver personality (and those normally like "measureables") this doesn't seem to mesh with what he's done up to this point. Meanwhile, Dr. Kupchella, who has always seemed to me to be more of the type-B, the more relaxed "are we going the right direction" leader, who accordingly seemed more 'qualitative' than 'quantitative' in style, rolled these out: Those are pretty quantitative. Kupchella moved the bar out again. Good for him. But I'm surprised this from Kupchella hasn't gotten more play:

1. The sport with 7 NCAA national championships and that had a $104 MM arena built for it just might be #1. 2. Dale Lennon's lads. 3. WBB 4. MBB 5. Swimming and Diving (M/W) 6. Womens hockey 7. Womens volleyball 8. Other. I'd also note that 6 and 7 are probably moving up in importance because they each have the potential to produce revenue at the gate.

I'd say he's being honest about the true cost of athletics. I've said all along that the cost is the primary concern. Didn't both Montana and Montana State run million-dollar red-ink athletic budgets recently? Didn't NDSU admit that they started this fiscal year with projected revenues nearly a million dollars short of known expenses? Kupchella's saying to do it right, the UND way (winning), he'll need that much. Guess what. He's probably right. Here's what else he's said recently: He sounds like a man who wants to know he'll be able to pay the bill before he orders.

Great answers over here.

Finally Midcontinent Cable has produced a full listing of the games that will be on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network. Plus, it has a drop-down listing which cable channel FSSN is on in which city served by Midco. (Fargo people: Remember, you have Cable 1 and that's why it's not listed.) It is here: http://www.midcocomm.com/editable_content/...sed_Sports.html PS - Thank you Midcontinent Cable.

How were champions determined before 1973 (the current divisional system)?

Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona are close? Hasn't Marshall already left for Conference USA? I was really bored one night. I computed the average lat-long of BSC schools and MAC schools. BSC Average 42.93N 115.36W MAC Average 40.84N 83.74W Grand Forks is at 47.92N 97.05W The MAC, though centered slightly further south than the BSC, is closer east-west. Plus, airline connections (NWA via Detroit) would be easier. Still, it's an admittedly out-there pipe dream.

Come January, with the chair of the Division I Board of Directors saying things like (not a direct quote of him, but): I'd say, as to what may happen, all bets are off. Why? Look at the mindset of the same man: Then look at what NCAA president Dr. Miles Brand says: You have to wonder what their solutions would be. Go to the old (no divisions) system? Add divisions for more resolution and clarity?

From the original linked piece: For something that some believe won't be enforced, they sure talk it up in the article. Alternatively, if it won't be enforced anyway, (right?,) UND's athletics programs are a better fit with the MAC than the BSC. The BSC doesn't offer baseball, softball, or swimming and no BSC member plays hockey. Alternatively, the MAC offers things UND doesn't have: mens soccer, tennis, and wrestling, plus womens field hockey, plus three MAC teams play hockey in the CCHA. UND wouldn't be "searching for a home" for existing programs.

Robert Hemenway is chancellor at the University of Kansas and chair of the Division I Board of Directors. That sounds to me like a guy who's had the idea of divisional restructuring cross his mind and he sits on the DI Board of Directors.

Yeah, but they both (DII and DI-AA) want more television. Why? "There seems to be more and more blurring of the lines between classifications," -- Robert Hemenway, chancellor at the University of Kansas and chair of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. That's a quote from the NCAA News article in this thread.

Isn't the closest I-A conference the Big Ten? The MAC? Hey, that's just some crazy notion from some guy. Then again, how much longer is the MAC going to be a I-A conference (in light of the new attendance minimums for I-A)? MAC teams Kent State, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, SUNY-Buffalo, Akron, and Central Michigan didn't average 15000 in 2003. Ohio made it by 824 (and that's not a good margin). There's half the MAC right there.

From the Herald: http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/9903962.htm http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/sports/9903963.htm

UND president Kupchella and UC-Davis president Vanderhoef are interviewed in the NCAA News this week. Topic? NCAA divisions and division membership issues. http://www2.ncaa.org/media_and_events/asso...al/4121n09.html

Could they have crossed up the regular season vs all games numbers? Streak for all games: 14 Streak for regular season games: 11

I just came across a recent NCAA News piece on DI-AA. It's an interesting read, expecially when you "compare and contrast" it with a past piece by former NCC commissioner Marcil. Marcil on DII woes: http://www.ncaa.org/news/2004/20040315/edi...al/4106n04.html Positions or ideas espoused: - philosophy of regional teams: "has a philosophy of geographic regionalization" - philosophy of fiscal sanity: "limited athletics grant-in-aid maximums" - rename the division: "connotes a second-rate or inferior product" - establish some type of national television coverage plan for Division II Fullerton (et al) on DI-AA woes: http://www2.ncaa.org/media_and_events/asso...ws/4121n01.html Positions or ideas espoused: - philosophy of regional teams: "What makes a team I-A is that, ... No. 2, you are going to play a national schedule. We don't aspire to do either of those unless we're forced to. We understand that we're not trying to be I-A," (Fullerton) said." - philosophy of fiscal sanity: ""What makes a team I-A is that, No. 1, you are going to make enough money to support your program, ... We don't aspire to do either of those unless we're forced to. We understand that we're not trying to be I-A,"(Fullerton) said." - rename the division: "officials continue tossing around the idea of changing the name of the classification ... people often misunderstand the I-AA name ... is applied ... in "unintended and harmful ways."" - want more television coverage: "treat I-AA football as a primary event, even more television coverage would be forthcoming."

I won't dispute what you've heard. I'll ask a question. The question: Who is the "we" Scarano speaks of, is it internally at UNH or with other DI-AA ADs? The "in I-AA" ending makes me believe it may be external to UNH.

Dr. Kupchella gives his State of the University Address later today. Here's a portion of what he previewed to the Grand Forks Herald: