The Sicatoka

Idaho leaving the WAC leaves too much money on the table, money Idaho can't affort to leave behind.

Indeed.

The Boise State president is making all sorts of statements today that his school is definitely in the Big West (for Oly sports) and a presidents' vote is now just a formality. What's that mean (if accurate)? If nothing changes, come July 1, 2013, the WAC is down to four: Idaho, New Mexico State, Denver, and Seattle U. If you've never seen a slow-motion train wreck before, you should be watching the WAC.

Leave PCM and Rick out of this.

Don't give Montana ideas. They have enough problems of their own making already.

From 1992 to 2011, the logo at mid-field in Fargodome was not an NDSU logo. It was the Fargodome wordmark and their star-thingy logo. There's the answer to your question.

And as I've said to you when you said that to me in the past: Blame the NCAA. They make the "minimum number of mens and womens sports" rules.

Color me not impressed. This just seems like a reason to keep colleges that should be shut down open. (I'm looking at Valley City, Mayville, Willston, Bottineau, and Devils Lake.)

NMSU probably has better options as an FBS indy given that they have relationships with UNM and UTEP for home games and they have a good sized stadium (gate revenues). Being next to all the programs in Texas doesn't hurt either. Idaho is in a world of hurt when it comes to trying to survive as an FBS indy. Small stadium. Small budget. To me, the keystone in the WAC becoming an FCS conference is Idaho admitting they need to move to FCS and reset and regroup for a few years. If they do that I suspect there is a group of BSC schools that'd make some moves.

There is an ongoing discussion on one board about how to interpret the NCAA rules as written. Basically, for a team to move FCS to FBS they must have an invitation from an FBS conference. (No disagreement on that.) However, the disagreements in interpretations starts with when does a conference lose FBS status and thus the right to give invitations to FBS. Basically, does the currently FBS WAC lose its FBS-making "magic wand" and if so, when.

Maybe UND should just adopt "Alerus" as the nickname. Problem. Solved.

OK, flip it around: What if midfield say "North Dakota" and the end zones said "Alerus Center". Would that be better?

Background info: Read or the conversation won't make sense. To be a DI conference on the mens side you must sponsor either: (a) MBB and FB or (b) MBB and two additional team sports (see this thread for what "team sports" are) The folks writing that are thinking of the WAC as a Olympic sports only (no FB) conference. Thus they are thinking of having to play MBB plus two additional team sports. That's why they keep bringing up baseball and UND. I'm trying to think of where Idaho (and Seattle U and Denver U) are in this. (I'm not thinking about Boise State because they've already started begging to get into the Big West; I'm not thinking about NMSU because they will probably cajole their way into a conference with Texas teams.) Idaho is jammed up (see above). There's about no way they can survive as an FBS independent. They don't have the bling. So, if they face reality, FCS is staring them in the face. Does Idaho really want to have to go back to the Big Sky? (Boise State fans would never let them forget it.) What's a better option for Idaho? Honestly, trying to survive the WAC not as an Oly, not as an FBS conference, but as an FCS conference. That would require UI to go back to FCS but at least they would still be in the WAC (that they'd be relatively dominant in). The WAC has better NCAA MBB money coming into it and it has exit fee dollars coming to it from Nevada, Hawaii, et al, over the next few years. But for the WAC to live on as an FCS DI conference UI: (i) UI would have to move down to FCS, and (ii) UI would have to convince 5 FCS schools to join the WAC, and (iii) convince DU and SU to stay (as non-FB schools) This scenario would put the WAC at 8 MBB and 6 FB schools and that qualifies as a full DI conference (albeit FCS in this case). The WAC lives on, but at FCS level. (If NMSU tried to do indy FBS FB and play the other sports in this new WAC it's not a make or break.) Who would UI and SU and DU want in that scenario? Schools that look like them with similar budgets and academics and research. UI would love to have the Montanas. Academically, UND is the best in the Big Sky today. That would make UI and DU happy (and DU would like to spread the rivalry beyond hockey). Find two more BSC schools with academics and research that make sense (cough-Portlant State-cough-Sac State-cough) and you might have something. SU/UI; Sac/PSU; MSU/UM; UND/DU as a new FCS WAC. If Sac State isn't interested (pretty sure they'd rather be in the Big West to save on travel costs) you go with EWU and have SU/PSU; EWU/UI; MSU/UM, DU/UND. Now some of you are rightly asking: Why move from the stability of the BSC to the turmoil of the WAC? Well, ... - to be aligned with peer institutions (and that's an ego thing that matters to university presidents) - because the WAC has better MBB NCAA money coming in ($2.9M to WAC; $1.7M to BSC) with fewer splits of it - because the WAC has exit fees coming in for the next five years from Nevada, Hawaii, et al - because of the potential future opportunities the WAC gives over other conferences All this is pure speculation and supposition by me (and others on various boards I've read lately). Feel free to shoot it to ribbons.

That's a very interesting observation because ... The State of Idaho Board of Regents (they govern UI, ISU, and BSU) meet this week in Pocatello. UI has to put their cards on the table in one way, shape, or form then because if UI plans to (a) change conferences, or (b) change FB subdivisions, like FBS to FCS, the Regents have to approve it. The Idaho Regents don't meet again until October. That's also important because ... In the article from over the weekend (linked in this thread) the UI AD says they need to have a plan by September 1. They also admit they (UI) only have one FBS home game scheduled for 2013. They need 5 to maintain FBS status. (They also need to average 15k at home at least once on a rolling two-yearly basis. They have only hit 15k average once in the last six and not in the last three. Technically, the NCAA has grounds to move UI back to FCS.) UI is jammed up writ large.

Please correctly refer to the problem as "Penn State" or PSU. I'm pretty sure Ivy Leaguer U of Pennsylvania (i.e. "Penn") wants nothing to do with this disaster in State College, PA. PS - We don't like it when folks mistake UND for NDSU either.

So my "complete a pass/throw to a teammate" theory works for everything except womens rowing ... unless you consider throwing the coxswain into the water after a win a 'throw' ...

Swimming is like golf or tennis: You may be on a team, but you compete as an individual. Same for track and cross-country. Not the official way to think about it, but I think of team sports this way: Can you complete a pass/throw to a teammate during play? Football, baseball, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, water polo, soccer, volleyball? Yes. Tennis, golf, skiing, swimming, diving, wrestling? No. I think the NCAA does it this was so a school can't have but one mens tennis player or one wrestler and claim to have a "team". Team sports should mean a roster of team players (see FB, BB, hockey, etc.)

Nope. Golf is played as individuals. Same for tennis. I don't have the full list but some of the team sports for men are baseball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, mens volleyball. and water polo (and of course football).

The catch is to be a conference on the mens side you have to play FB and MBB or MBB and two other mens team sports (for example, baseball, soccer).

Just when you think the situation at Penn State couldn't get any uglier ... http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fbi-u-s-postal-inspectors-probing-disgraced-penn-state-coach-jerry-sandusky-involved-a-pedophile-ring-involving-men-connected-university-report-article-1.1134125

It looks like part of the north end zone has gone in.

A guy like Mathieu is going to stick close to his hometown (New Orleans). Nothing more to see here. Move along.

C'mon folks. Any place that will let Jerry Sandusky be a predator for a decade has to have some "Enron accountants" around to make things "look right" too. (That's the beauty of the Penn State situation: They've proven to be untrustworthy so we can freely assume the worst of them. )

Walk into a bar on a Saturday afternoon or evening in small town ND in Sep/Oct/Nov and what's on the televisions? ESPN college game. ABC national college game. Maybe the SEC game on CBS. Sometimes Notre Dame on NBC. And maybe one set will have NDSU or even sometimes (gasp!) UND football. Walk into a bar on a Friday or Saturday night in small town ND from Oct to Mar and what's on the televisions? UND hockey. And it doesn't always have to be small town ND, just some town in ND.

For some reason I just like this smilie. Maybe it's the action. Maybe it's the color scheme. Maybe it's the combination of both. Your thoughts, Johnboy?