siouxjoy

I think you can say that the jump in numbers that happened immediately as a result of the change in counting can be an illusion, but the numbers since that point can still be considered impressive (after that point you are comparing apples to apples, etc.)

Full-time students pay $216.75 a year in student fees, a portion of which is an activity fee, according to the Business office I don't think it's exactly right to say that the Alerus and UND aren't getting any money from the students. The students are definitely using the concession stands and the 21 year olds are drinking the $5 beers (they just stand and drink them in the concourse, since they can't have the beer in their seats). My season tickets are right next to the student section, and I wouldn't have it set up any other way. I love being right next to them, they definitely are intimidating to the opposing team. That wouldn't happen if they were upper deck or even just smaller in numbers. I think that if the students were charged, most of them would just stay home or stay outside and tailgate instead of paying the $5.

I think it's fair to say that the noise factor had an effect on some of our games the last 3 seasons. Sure, the defense is going to do what it always does, no matter where the game is at, but the opponents sure were affected by the crowd, particularly UNA and UC Davis in 2001. That is something you have to appreciate the Alerus for

I totally agree with you that some people blindly use rankings when choosing a school there are so much more factors to take into consideration. Even using the discussion about the quality of education in North Dakota vs. other states: UND and NDSU admits a whole lot of students, especially from North Dakota. Does it mean that they let in everyone with a pulse, or that they admit more high quality students because that's what you find more often in this state. I like how your example about UND refers to hockey and not academics. I would have used an example of: if a student wants to fly for a commercial airline is there a better place than UND, but that's just me.

Part of the reason they changed their formulas was because of complaints. Selectivity is a huge example. Schools were given better rankings if they were more selective. So, a school could decide to arbitrarily admit less students (even if those students would have been admitted otherwise--they were good students), making them seem more selective , giving them more points and in turn a higher rank. They look really good in the rankings, but really are doing students a disservice by not admitting them simply to "look good" So the newest formula puts less weight on selectivity. But it still takes it into consideration. You can say that a school has great academics (like UND and NDSU) but if that school doesn't "turn students away" it can be seen as a lesser school. It's a vicious circle.

Okay, that was snottier than I meant it to be. There are a ton of flaws in calculating any formula (or any sports poll for that matter), but you have to use something to compare schools that are in totally different locations, have different philosophies, face different issues, etc. There are a ton of scandals surrounding the US News rankings, but that's what parents and high school students use when comparing schools, and until that changes USN&WR will continue to be a subjective but well received listing P.S. I do know what regional accredidation means! NCA SACS

Um, I am not trying to flame, but what about having a graduate degree makes someone smarter when it comes to looking at the US News and World Report? It's just about understanding how their formula is calculated

Delta state is an outstanding academic instiution.

In my opinion, it all comes down to the hogs. I know there is some experience returning to the O-line, but if they can't make holes or protect Bownkamp it is going to be a long season. For those who have seen practices, how did John's scrambling look? That being said, all that matters is that we score more than Delta, and with a stacked defense, I like our chances.

I never said I asked him about it... but there are always those morons who don't know what is appropriate to ask a person. Have you ever been in an organic chem lab? Sometimes you sit for three hours watching a liquid boil...it's amazing the stuff that comes up in conversation.

Didn't Murphy transfer to UND from Wyoming?

I had organic chem lab with Mitch, very cool guy. He pretty much refused to talk about "the check" because he felt so bad about what happened to Travis, and wanted to be respectful.

The feature on KVLY talked about the floor, the BB hoops are all retractable, and apparently can be moved up to the ceiling within minutes by a flip of the switch. They talked about a VIP suite area that looks over the court and has a marble bar and balcony that overlooks the entryway. They said on the show that with the retractable seats it holds 4,000.

Originally the plan was for soccer to be played at Memorial Stadium, and I believe it was played there for the first season, but all of the NCC coaches got together and complained, and after that season there was a ban on playing home soccer games on turf. It was kind of a funny deal, since UND was the only team playing on turf. So, goodbye Stadium, hello snow fence. I do agree that the soccer field sucks, but it is really low on the totem pole. Figure an indoor track would even take priority over a new soccer field. That has been talked about, but when will it arrive?

Actually, they can't skip the internal part. The job can be posted both internally and externally (national search) at the same time, but it would have to be posted for at least 30 days. UND policy. All current (full-time non-probationary) UND employees get first crack at UND jobs. I totally agree that choosing to do only internal was a nod in Hak's direction, but it couldn't have been skipped completely.

Although there have been many ideas and plans for the old Engelstad, the last one I had heard was in January, where the plan was to convert it into an indoor practice facility for the football team (since the Alerus isn't always opening their doors). Of course, there always has been talk about putting a roof over Memorial Stadium, once that magical thing occurs: Money is available

Another thing I had heard is that suiteholders are also given seats in the lower bowl as part of their agreement. The Ralph didn't allot enough seats for the suiteholders when they sold the regular season tickets, so they ended up having to figure out ways to get those seats back, which meant that the people on the waiting list wait even longer. Any seats that became open were given to the suiteholders, and then passed on the line to the FSC diamond, emerald, directors, etc.

Word is that Mr. Rudolph has already "annoyed" some of the high-end donors. I received the infamous letter, and while my seats are in those sections, I was already a member of the FSC for two years. The same thing with one of my coworkers. We both signed up at the same time. Another of my coworkers is in the Coaches Club lower level (has been for years) and bought extra tickets in the other sections as a gift to her brothers. She got the letter as well. No effort was made to filter out the names of current FSC members with tickets in the particular sections. Not impressed. I may not give thousands of dollars to UND, but we all could have been treated better. Another coworker that has tickets in that section called Mark R. to ask about the FSC change, and he said it was done "so we can make more money." In some ways I think it was a funny comment, but I also think it's a terrible customer service move.

Coach Belmore is the only coach that has been there a few years.

You did have free access to the interim wellness center while you were still a student, and it is much nicer than the old work-out facilities in Hyslop.

I was told by Coach Hakstol that each year they put up signs in the rink the first weeks of September inviting players to try out for the "walk-on" spots...how does Blais approve those folks? P.S. Not trying to call you a liar, or anything, just wanting clarification.

I thought invited walk-ons still had to do some conditioning tests as a part of the weekend (unless I am thinking of a different invited walk-on process). Either way, he worked dang hard his freshman season for not having any money.

If I had anything to suggest, I would say make the price to attend a little lower and then work on getting more donations of bid items of all different price ranges. I really wanted to go, but the $75 a person held me back, even if it did include food. The more people there, the more bids, the more money brought in. I think even though you could bid online, half the fun is being present during an auction. Of course, it may be that a "gala" is just too classy for my blood.

I have to vote for Digger, too, as my favorite (gotta love Sioux linebackers), but I definitely want to mention David Wisthoff. He has been a key contributor each season, with not a whole lot of glory. I also heard a rumor that he was a walk-on. Great job, David!