The Sicatoka

If the learning is "don't sit on your thumbs, delay, delay, delay, and spend a lot of money unnecessarily", they missed.

Guess what all the teams in red have in common.

The long and the short of my last post: The "15k attendance" issue has been solved (precedent) already by the MAC. So, again, what's it take to be FBS? Obviously you must meet FCS minimums plus (20.9.9) ... 1. Sponsor 16 varsity sports including football at the DI minimum requirements 2. Play 60 percent of your games against FBS opponents 3. Meet the minimum average attendance (see above) 4a. Average 90% of FBS minimum football scholarships 4b. Provide 200 total scholarships annually to athletics 1. Done 2. If the whole BSC was FBS ... done 3. See above 4a. If you do it you add the scholarships -- at 90% (of 85 for FBS) it works out to be 13.5 more than the current FCS 63 ... 4b. Some rough accounting (I know I'll get help from resident forensic accountants, so thanks in advance) ... Sport: M + W Football 63 Hockey 18 + 18 BB 11 + 13 That is 123. Knowing for Title IX you have to have about the same number of womens scholarships to balance out the 63 from football you have to figure there are at least 40 womens scholarships that I'm not listing by specifics (think: volleyball and the rest of the other 16 non-listed UND sports). So, ... let's call it 160 right now. But remember the 13.5 for football to go FBS? You also have to balance those (13.5 womens). There's at least 27. Suddenly it's at about 185-190. Do the full 85 scholarships for football and you're easily at 200. OK, so what's the issue? Honestly, a facility to claim 15k seats.

Yup. Precisely. (I'm pleased you knew and understood how that works.) It's all spelled out in the 2014-15 NCAA DI Manual section 20.9.9.3. -- "Once every two years on a rolling basis, the institution shall average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football games." At EMU they have it set up where the EMU foundation buys enough tickets to ensure EMU Football averages 15k per home game. Per NCAA rules they can buy them at least one-third of the highest regular established ticket price as established prior to the season (20.9.9.3.1.2). At UND highest priced season ticket is $90. Let's make it bad and say that's for just five home game --> $90/5 = $18 per game. Now, let's make it bad the other way: Say it's a six home game season and you have to average 15k --> you must sell 90k tickets. Say you sell half, 7500 per game, to the public; that leaves half, or 45k of the 90k for the foundation to buy. But they can buy at just $6 per ticket (1/3 of $18!). So, 45k tickets at $6 per is $270k. I'm guessing a full scholarship these days is $13.5k -- that's 20 scholarships. Is the foundation already providing those? If so, rather than the direct gift, maybe the foundation "buys" tickets with the money. The money still goes where it needs to ... but with the extra benefit of making the attendance numbers work too. As John called it: "the Eastern Michigan model". PS - "Once every two years on a rolling basis ... " -- The foundation only has to do this every other year.

Wasn't there another train/school bus collision in that same area about 25-30 years ago?

If Umdonkeykong Suh had run onto the field without his helmet they wouldn't start talking about this week's games until Saturday morning ... if then. It might have even overshadowed the Stuart Scott tributes ... too soon?

Coming up with a process? Fine. Doing it a decade later than it should've been done? Not fine. Every day this lingers on and on costs more money. That's an embarrassment.

He is probably the best goaltender at the event.

Dallas, Indy, Carolina win at home; Baltimore wins on the road. Let's see ... nailed it. For my next amazing prediction: One NFL home team loses this weekend.

Is that near Finen? And where do Denmany and Germark fit in?

Uh ... no. Terry Casey. http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204971645

Seems Bucky is getting away with a lot in front of their net late.

Sorry, not me.

Why is Zane in net?

The Missoulian article in reference: http://missoulian.com/college/griz/speltz-big-sky-s-commish-eyes-change/article_921c10a0-1ab4-11e4-8876-001a4bcf887a.html?comment_form=true

Be a good son and get him a tissue.

Agree. Lisa is the best looking female anchor at KVLY.

I worry that an Achilles injury is a scary one. It's easily re-injured. If (big IF) Jeff Driskel wanted to play at UND it'd be foolish to turn him away. He could open doors to other recruits.

First, that's why I said "circa". Next, the television camera adds 10 pounds. Finally, not all the pears here have hair.

Cam Newton completes a 50 yard pass ... to Cromartie.

At all the games. Totally connected. Knows how it all should be. Are we sure we shouldn't call you the new "Kauk"? Who's your "Gretzky"?

Ah yes, KVLY's "bubble headed bleach blonde*" ... I stood next to her by the bar in a trendy Fargo pub one evening. She wasn't one of the three best looking in the room and didn't come across as more than a news reader (not so sharp). PS - What's this "NFL" non-sense. There's hockey tonight. * © Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" circa 1985

Pairwise is the worst possible system out there ... except for all the rest. I'd use KRACH because it's the most objective. What I don't like is that most think some guy named Ken came up with it out of the clear blue sky. KRACH is actually based on a very respected mathematical model called the Bradley-Terry Method. Bradley-Terry was first used to model chess master rankings from tournaments where there wasn't time for every master to play every other master. http://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php/Bradley-Terry_model

Why didn't we send a Matthews sized bag with Nick Schmaltz? Carry on!

This is KVLY wanting more money from Cable One. I just checked my (Midco) DVR and I don't see a single series recording on NBC and just one from CBS. (There's a couple from ABC/WDAx and a couple friom the CW which is also WDAx and a bunch from nationals like USA and TNT.) I think the KVLY/KXJB folks are over-valuing their product. Signed, Not a Cable One fan