iramurphy

It’s usually early in the season. It is an opportunity to evaluate new guys and line pairings. We need to be able to win games against teams that play their style. How many times have our good teams been knocked off in games where we can’t get a needed goal? It’s an early measuring stick as to where we are and what we need to work on. If we are reluctant to play Bemidji or similar teams, then we might not be that good. I read goofy comments about “setting the bar”. We as “keyboard expert critics” don’t set the bar, but if we have any qualms about playing Bemidji, then that’s an awfully low bar. A small part of it is helping build college hockey. A part of it is regional interest. I like playing Army. I would guess they are usually lower than Bemidji in the pairwise. Heck we play Miami every year.

Then if we can’t beat them it’s on us. However it hurts us in the pairwise is on us. We are who we are.

Who has been complacent? It’s been a busy time in the last 10 days or so. The portal commits should fill some big holes. The Pilgrim commit is a great get.

Fortunately, Berry doesn’t rely on you or anyone else on this forum for his “chances”.

Former Sioux center #53 Bill Blake passed away. He was the consummate Sioux FB player. Played in the early 1970’s. He would make his block at the LOS then keep hustling and knock some DB on his ass 10-15 yds downfield. Led by example. Great guy, better man. God speed Billy, Rest In Peace.

I think he came at start of semester.

I believe I was mistaken. There is only one.

The freshmen have been here. German is a Purdue transfer. There are 2 Egunjobi brothers both transferred from Manitoba.

After a decade, he hasn’t reached all of his goals. I pointed out the ups and downs and frustrations for Bubba, his staff, us as fans and especially the players. He has had some success. For those who feel the successes and failures of an athletic team affect their social standing, their identity, and their happiness in life, it must be awful.

Agree, but we still need to be proactive. The B1G has the attention of the hockey world with a combo of the talent in Mi, Mn but also the improvement of Penn State and Ohio State along with coaching changes at Wisconsin they have gained momentum. The B1G also has the advantage of exposure because of their other sports and their TV contracts. The bigger markets are an advantage. Couple that with UND and UMD struggling this year and the fact the NCHC was absent from the frozen four for the first time since God made ice, we are facing some challenges. The response must be from the NCHC not just UND, Denver and UMD. The conference needs to proactively have a conference discussion regarding NIL and the conference might help schools moving forward. The conference should be actively courting ASU and considering Mankato, Bemidji, Northern Michigan, and (in due time) St. Thomas and Augustana. Having said all of that, it starts at home and the Hawks/Sioux need to get back on top quickly.

Yup.

No disagreement here on either point. The first ship has sailed years ago so for me it’s a moot point. Agree with your second comment but with certain exceptions. (Successful program, likely veteran coach with personal reasons for staying).

Head coaching contracts tend to include a two way buyout clause. If the school wants to fire a coach before the of the contract the buyout is in the contract. If the coach wants to leave early, there should be a buyout clause with cost to get out of contract. (Often paid by the new employer). It seems Bubba has been doing what you mentioned regarding assistants. Without looking up to see who I missed: Eric Schmidt, Jordan Gigli, Robbie Rouse, Steven Crutchley are a few that have been on the move. Freund, Pawlak, Flyger, and (despite his detractors on this forum) Kostich are all young coaches who will likely have opportunities for successful coaching careers. I think considering assistant coaching salaries, that is impressive. Bubba, his staff and these players all plan on winning. I believe Bubba’s focus is accomplishing his goal of conference championships, annual playoff runs and ultimately a national championship. I don’t believe he is thinking about possible future opportunities unless those goals are accomplished. Most of us are getting impatient, some are frustrated and want to start over. Either way, until contract time it doesn’t matter. To me, this will be the most important year for Bubba. We have gone through the struggles of the move to FCS, the struggles of finding a conference, the success of winning a conference championship (albeit The Great West), the struggles of switching conferences, then the excitement and optimism by winning the Big Sky followed by the frustration of laying an egg in the playoffs. The program is disrupted again with a move to a new conference a playoff appearance, another laid egg then the success of a conference championship followed by another laid egg, followed by another playoff year with limited success ultimately ending in failure so far to reach our ultimate goal. To his credit Bubba has steered the ship through some rough waters. Facilities are much improved but not there yet. Asst salaries have a ways to go yet. (Bubba has given part of his salary to go to asst salaries). I believe Chaves sees and feels any change would be too big of a setback. Despite all of the thorough vetting of potential replacements by our forum folks, I haven’t seen anything that would indicate making a change would be beneficial right now. Every time contracts are renewed would be the opportunity to re-evaluate the need for change. Just my opinion.

Good athlete. Good student. Good enough to have switched to defense where I think he could have made the transition and helped us. He wasn’t unhappy. I would wonder if they discussed a position change and he wanted to remain at QB. Kaminski coming is may have been a factor. I would have liked to see him stay.

Former HS coach said Schuster, Feeney and Hackel all looked good. With Kaminski coming in, QB should be a strength with quality depth. I like Romfo’s athletic ability especially cuz he’s from Calvin, but he had an off day throwing. If our Oline improves we should be very good offensively. The versatility of our RBs should create options match up options for opponents. I wonder if Quincy might also be an option out of the backfield. I was told he has good hands. He has a great attitude. I’m not worried about our size defensively as much as our speed, but size with speed would be great. I haven’t heard much about our punters or kickers. We need to improve our FG range and consistency and our ability to consistently kickoff into or beyond the end zone. If we can match or improve on last years punting our special teams can create field position that can shift momentum and lead to points. If our defense makes significant improvement we can be very good. Anyone else see or hear anything else this spring?

That would be one of the reasons.

Probably, but sometimes teammates decide to stick together to win it all. This is one I’m sure they thought they would win. Next year FF in St. Paul. Some NIL $$ might make a difference. Also depends on odds of playing in NHL right away.

I agree with you, I should have included St. Thomas, but I would include Bemidji. I would also keep a close eye on the progress of Augustana. Sanford will continue to support the programs and facilities in Sioux Falls and Bemidji. I don’t believe Sanford will directly participate in NIL funding but that is not based on anything except gut feeling.

I agree with most of what you say except your team’s culture (which includes accountability Sic) needs to be in place before players arrive on campus. The blue chippers as well as the grinders need to understand and buy into that. The staff needs to figure out each players role and put them in a position for personal and team success. I am more concerned about whether or not the guys who entered the portal are guys we should have kept and a concern about whether we are losing kids or is it a problem in our evaluation of talent and lack of development. I’m also concerned about the direction of college hockey and what that means for UND. The emergence of Penn State and Ohio State in a league with Michigan State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota with NIL and the Portal in play is a big threat to UND, Denver and UMD. Our league with Miami, Western Michigan St. Cloud and Omaha, faces a major challenge right now. I believe we need to add ASU and consider Mankato and Bemidji to strengthen the league. I may be wrong and we may get frustrated with a year like we just went through but that’s why the repeated criticism of Berry’s comment about culture isn’t the problem Lots of other comments regarding financial support are spot on. I believe a challenge for Chaves and our athletic programs is reaching and connecting with Alumni that have resources not typically committed to Athletics. Strinden and Clifford did a great job of managing those relationships and funding. I sense that athletics is a lower priority with Deanna. Kupchella seemed to treat it as an unnecessary evil. Kennedy understood, but was ambushed by the name fiasco which took a lot of money fighting a lost cause. Lots of challenges but we are in good position right now. We need to be proactive and we need to be thinking outside the box. That includes changing leagues, adding teams to NCHC, creative funding sources etc.

If anyone thinks our staff evaluates prospects and discuss “culture “ during those evaluations I would strongly disagree. It’s amusing to see how fans have found a way to make it a negative connotation related to an athletic team. I believe “Culture” is a philosophy, attitude, approach to the game, priorities etc that every team develops instills in programs once the players/staff join the program. It has been interesting to hear how many times coaches and players of successful teams, when interviewed, refer to their team’s culture. I would argue that all organizations try to develop a culture that provides an environment where players, coaches and ultimately the team/organization are positioned to develop their full potential as individuals and as a team. That obviously increases the likelihood of success. Regardless of the end result your culture needs to remain dynamic and adjusted each year. Culture isn’t about the individual, it’s about the organization.

How long before new portal transfers or any decommits from Mankato?

I have never done a UND trip but I would guess travelers are either retired or close to retirement ages. I went to the pregame function before last summers Twins game. Deanna Zink didn’t seem to get around to chat with many. My wife and I were sitting by ourselves waiting for friends to join us. Jeff Dodson and his wife introduced themselves. They were very engaging. ( I can see why he was able to recruit some outstanding baseball players to UND when he coached). He also introduced me to the new track coaches. I started the DL Siouxper Swing over 20 yrs ago with help from Pat Kenney and Rob Bollinger. Last summer when I signed in I asked Val Sannes and the C Club staff if they knew how it got started. They had no idea. Earl Strinden was still head of the Alumni Assn when we started and he always knew and mentioned those who started it. Earl also worked the room and seemed to know almost everyone by name. Times have changed. Unfortunately, your experience isn’t different than some others and needs to be addressed. I know the C Club and Alumni staff folks work hard and it’s sometimes a thankless job. I would think when you renew your Champions Club membership this year it would help to share your experience and frustrations. Our contributions however big or small are important to UND athletics.

It seems there are recurrent frustrations regarding UND fund raising, marketing, communication etc. it doesn’t matter if we can attend events/buy tix, donate an extra $25/yr or $25,000,000 supporters and donors at all levels are important and should feel appreciated The Champions Club has used game day gatherings at FB, gatherings at away athletic events and the summer golf outings to raise funds and connect with Alumni and supporters. They also help with hockey, football, and other sports specific gatherings-reunions. They along with the Alumni office are involved with the annual Athletic Hall of Fame gathering. They work closely with the AD and the Alumni Office. Frankly I’m not sure whose umbrella oversees or manages the funds. I believe the Alumni Assn has used our destination athletic events including playoffs, the Alumni publications both online and mailings. They use UND sponsored travel, and multiple Alumni gatherings around the country often hosted by UND alumni. The also have an annual UND Mn Twins game and an annual UND Mn Wild game. Students who have received scholarships have made phone calls or sent thank you notes. I have always wondered if our Athletic Dept and Champions Club efforts have been curtailed in deference to our Alumni Foundation but I don’t know. I’ve sensed that at times. I would suggest those who have supported/donated who feel they are not made aware of either opportunities to get more involved or are missing gatherings, contact Val Sannes, Tim Belmore or Bill Chaves and share your concerns or thoughts.

Toronto. Went with Murphy to Cal State Fullerton. Left there to join former S Dak coach Joe Salem with the Gophers. Then to Toronto as an assistant before taking the UND job.

There were a couple of connections back then. Former UND player Paul Robson played for the Blue Bombers for 8 years and later served as their General Manager. His son later played at UND and he maintained a great relationship with UND FB during those years. For a number of years, UND’s FB coaches would participate in off season/preseason evaluations and practices with Edmonton. I don’t recall the details of that exact involvement. I believe the regional rights clause you mentioned, allowed teams to bring in players in their region for workouts. When our coaches saw guys with talent/potential that weren’t quite ready for the CFL, they recruited them to UND. The best player to come from that connection was Dave Fennell who is in the UND and CFL Hall of Fame, but there were others.