iramurphy

I think UNDsportsfan brings up reasonable points. I have emailed private communication and I agree with her that the name will likely change and if that is what she strongly believes in, then keep working to make it change. I think the reason the other boys made fun of the child with braids was because he was different and they didn't understand. The Sioux logo doesn't have braids so I think the child may have been mistaken in associating the logo if that is what he did. This is not unusual behavior for children. It also occurs both ways from American Indian kids toward blacks, causcasions and hispanic kids. I think this is a good example of how almost anything negative directed at American Indians can rightly or wrongly get associated with the logo issue. I also think the multiple examples of hostility and racist behavior at Dartmouth is evidence that the negative or racist behavior here at UND, when it occurs, would very likely occur regardless of the logo. It occurs because of ignorance and bigotry rather than the logo. The use of the Fighting Sioux name could be used to bridge our differences and make things better, but I don't think there will be any compromise on behalf of the opponents. They are very close to achieving their goal of forcing the change and unless the many American Indians who support keeping the logo are willing to put up with the abuse and harrassment they will get from the opponents of the name, UND will change the name at some time in the future. I will predict there will be no improvement in the lives of our American Indian students just because the name changes and likely there will be negative backlash for quite some time. It is too bad that people on both side of this issue weren't smart enough years ago to do whatever necessary to have prevented this from becoming such a contentious issue.

The purpose of this thread was next FB season. UND 92,96 sums things up pretty well. The big question offensively will be who replaces Manke. Freund should enter spring ball as No. 1. Landry is big strong and one of the best athletes in the state of ND his senior year. It is tough to be ready as a freshman. I don't know much about the other returing QB's. We will likely run more with the experience at O-line and the depth at RB and athleticism at QB. The contributions of Reed were tremendous and it will be tough to expect someone without experience to be able to run that short passing game as efficiently and still have the abvility to throw deep. Had he not been hurt I think he would have broken most single season passing records. (It would have been fun to see how good we might have been with him at QB as a Soph and Jr). Defensively, the corners should be good and Manke at safety should be one of the best we have had. Line and linebackers are good athletes. We might even be better at LB next year but it will be tough to replace Wolf and Enger. We have number of promising DL who are good athletes. It will depend on what kind of work they do in the off-season. We need to replace Greenwood and Desuatel. It will be tough to find someone as smart as Greenwood to help get people in the right spots but Rory Manke is also one of the kids with or close to a 4.0 GPA and knows the game . Depth at DB and Dline and the QB situation are the biggest questionmarks. We should have great RBs and good depth there. We have great receivers and good depth there. We have a great O-line with good depth there and 3 great tight-ends coming back. One of the improtant things we have had and will need to maintain are the kids like Beatty, Loegering etc. who have been willing to play their roles so when they were needed we were able to insert them and didn't seem to miss a beat. Championship teams have those guys and their teamates know how valuable they are. Beatty always came in and ran hard and stayed positive. Strouth got himself healthy again and was playing well when he got hurt. Loegering made some key blocks against UNO and a great catch against GVSU should have had a lot more playing time this year but didn't complain and went about his business as a pro but delivered whenever they called on him. The media and many fans don't realize how much those guys contribute over their careers by making others around them better and those ahead of them on the depth chart better. The contribution of Belmore can't be over looked. He was beat out by Manke yet stayed postive and filled in when Reed was hurt and did enough to win. He seemed to handle the situation with class. One area I would like to see improved is getting these guys more playing time when the situation allows. Loegering played a lot last year yet didn't get on the field until the end of the year. He is an excellent student and works hard. He was a senior and the coaches need to reward that or those kids won't stick around in the future. I ahve a lot of respect for him for hanging in there. Beatty and Brady needed more reps but with Stouth and Chappel doing well I know it is hard. Belmore could have gotten earlier time in the early games. When Manke broke his collarbone he should have been on the sidelines drinking Gatorade and checking out the co-eds rather than running from the fat guys when we were ahead by 30+. (he also shouldn't have let those fat guys catch him). On the positive side we usually get kids in on defense with the rotating system and that is one reson I think we have been so good defensively. You can't do that with the QB or O-line but should be able to with the backs, TE's and receivers and they ahve been doing that pretty well the last couple of years. Lastly, we still have great coaching and hopefully we can keep these guys around to take another run at a National title next year and then transtion to D1AA.

That is why I said points well taken. (maybe you missed that part). I don't know how many programs will struggle at UND and for how long. What difference does it make at this time? Why would anyone want to waste their time speculating? Anyone can figure out we will struggle with baseball, track, VB etc. As I said we will need to get better. UND will put the necessary resources into making this a successful transition and time will tell. Our transition has to do with UND doing it the best way we can. If someone wants to compare with you guys or SDSU more power to them, but most of us will focus on what we are doing and the things we can control. For those of us who are alumni and boosters, that means writing a bigger check and making an effort to get to the games. For students, it means get to the games and take some friends to the games. For the coaches and athletes it means keep getting better. For the president and faculty it means continuing to make UND the best intitution of higher learning in this area and getting even better. Those are the same things all schools that are trying to move up need to do. The AD and school officials and coaches need to work out the details but the mission is clear. If someone feels better because they made the move sooner or think they will be better than someone else, then go ahead and feel better and have a Merry Chritmas.

I disagree that the WBB team there is "getting a slower start". These last two years are some of the worst teams they have fielded in the last 15yrs. Baseball learned the difference between D1 and D2 pretty fast. They have a good coach and a great facility but the best kids are almost always going to go somewhere that they can play year round. MBB and FB are both far exceeding expectations. FB should remain a D1AA power. MBB will do well as long as Miles is there and then it depends on the next coach. BB can change so fast with injuries and a kid getting homesick. WBB will improve. Wrestling should be OK but Minnesota's emergence as a national power has slowed them a little. Other points well taken. There is no excuse for UND's traditional poor showing in track, VB, Women's hockey. MBB should get better but it isn't as easy to turn things around once those bigger programs slip. It will come. The poor showing in track has been a cultural attitude that we don't have the resources and we make some sort of half hearted effort to recruit a few kids but no one is going to bust their butts to improve things. They work hard with the kids they have. Right now there are enough kids on the FB team to make them a decent track team. Womens hockey needs to get better fast. That is too much money to spend just to meet title IX requirements. They swimming teams are D2 powers but will struggle to compete at the elite level of D1. They will need to get nearly every D1 kid in this area. UND's D1 move will go well and it will take time. The traditionaly poor programs will either need to improve or changes will have to be made. That should have happened regardless of the D1 move. The learning curve should be improved based on the lessons learned in Fargo and SDSU.

I don't think he would go to Sac State unless it was a lot more money. He definitely is not going to take a step back and go to the AC. Bohl has earned consideration as the Gopher coach.

The hotdogs are first then you get the gas.

Thanks, good luck and Go Sioux !

Froggy, How difficult will it be to get tickets? Can we get them at the game?

I know, but UND should be the school by which the others measure themselves and that should include attendance. How do we compare with Montana, Montana St, UNI, uur pals from the south etc.? I know we are OK but we need to step up to that next level as fans with our support by putting our butts in the seats as well as the extra $$$. These kids and coaches have worked too hard and deserve no less.

Frankly, based on the poor attendance at the Winona State game, the fans don't deserve a home playoff game. 5000 and change was pathetic. Where were the students and where were the people of Grand Forks? That alone should have been enough to fill the Alerus. There have been too many playoff games in GF in the last few years where the attendance has been poor. Any thing less than 12000 is not acceptable for a team that is planning to move up a division. The team deserves a home game but until the community of GF/EGF appreciates the economic impact of a home playoff game and works to get the Alerus filled I can't whine when we get screwed by the NCAA. I wouldn't be mistaken for a Bison fan but they get the seats filled for the big games.

ACL on the other knee. He would be a 6th year senior and with the emergence a Chappel, And Beaty and Brady back, I think he will elect to pass up his final year. Tough kid, had a good career. By the way his brother was averaging 25ppg for Moorhead State. How did UND mens BB miss on him?

The tailgaters report there is no wind and the sun is trying to break through. Mid 40's already (they have been drinking so they may not be able to tell the weather). Sioux have a mobile Manke and he should be able to run. He couldn't last game against UNO because they were trying to protect his shoulder. He might be hard pressed to start as well as he did last time when he completed his first 15 passes, but he is the most accurate QB in UND history with a group of very good receivers and a good O-Line and the fastest RB UND has had. The key will be if we can contian the UNO QB, give Manke time and give Chappel room to run. I don't think we will have that group of clowns from St. Cloud reffing this time because it is a playoff game.

The Benedict kid is tough as nails with good speed. I don't know what kind of 40 time he has but he is also a very good hockey player although undersized. He is very strong. The TRF lineman mentioned elsewhere on this thread is a project. He doesn't seem to punish opponents like he could. His footwork is OK but needs to get better. He leans on kids rather than drive them and doesn't explode off of the line of scrimmage. He won't get away with that in college. The wrestler who was hurt part of the year was a better HS player and Mumm said he was their best lineman. He was about 6' with spikes on and 270 lbs. He is one of the best heavyweights in the state.

NDSU still has a big advantage this year because they should have more money (63>36). They will maintain an advantage for another 4-5 years because of the play-offs. I think you mistake kids getting a letter from the PAC -10, Big-10, and Big-12 with being recruited. If they are offered scholarships from a D1A school that means it is a full ride. There are not 15 kids who committed to NDSU then or now who are turning down scholarships at the big schools. That is nothing against NDSU, it is just reality. Also doesn't mean the kids are good recruits. UND's maintains the academic advantage and will have a lot more scholarship money after this years class because of the move to D1. Both schools will continue to do well because of the tradition of the programs and the quality of education they can get. NDSU will need to transition through a new coach when Bohl leaves. This may or may not be the year. Because of those factors I think the advantage might not be as big as some think. Time will tell.

Two things that we need to remember. We got hosed on two interference calls. The one in the endzone against Rory Manke was so bad the only thing I can think he was calling was faceguarding which isn't a penalty in college. Watching it in person there wasn't any contact and that seemed confirmed with the film. The one on the sideline against Desautel looked like the receiver initiated the contact then the ball was so far out of bounds it landed just near Toto's food dish somewhere in Kansas. Odds are we won't get hosed on two interference calls again. The other thing to remember is that Reed Manke is healthy and can run again. Against Omaha the first time, he was just coming off of his bruised shoulder and they didn't let him run. These guys have something to prove and I wouldn't bet against them. Behrns has done a good job at Omaha, but he won't be a factor. Go Sioux!

Craig was hospitalized in Fargo for pancreatitis and apparently his kidneys and possibly liver started to fail so they were putting in a shunt to prepare him for dialysis and he had a cardiac arrest and couldn't be resuscitated. He leaves his wife Leslie and 2 daughters ages 3yrs and 7 weeks. He was one of the best high school athletes I have seen and a great guy. I would expect him to be a future Bison athletic hall of famer. He was a multiple year All-American for Bison track in the decathalon. He also played FB for the Bison for 2 or 3 years. He started as a running back for the Bison before they started playing Lamar Gordon and then he quit FB to concentrate on track. The funeral will be Monday afternoon at 1:30 P.M.

I received word tonight that Craig Fredrickson, former all state FB player and state champion hurdler from Detroit Lakes and former Bison running back and All American track athlete at NDSU died suddenly today in Fargo. He was only 29 years old and apparently died of a massive heart attack from what I was told. He and his wife have a little girl and an infant daughter. Please remember Craig and his family in your prayers. Craigs father Jim was an excellent HS athlete at Carrington, N.Dak. and later Valley City State.

I think the Bison can beat the Gophers in BB. What do you think can you get your pizzas deliverd faster than Pizza Hut?

Must have been too windy to golf. You were able to join Siouxsports.com and fire off such a witty 4 lines in in the same month. I believe you hate to be honest with anyone but you didn't need to validate anything about the AC football team. They are good and prove it on the field. They would have a good shot at D1AA national championship this year if they were eligible. People on this website already know that but don't care. Dont' spend too long doing this or the next pizza delivery in Tucson will get soggy.

Capacity is too small. Make it the Fargodome.

Let me add some thoughts. I believe the person who posts under the name "undsports fan" has tried to make some intelligent points about how he or she feels. I do not believe that person is our pal Graham Kracker. I don't think it matters whether or not I understand right now but he or she and many of their friends are feeling this issue defines them and it shouldn't. Like many who have overcome adversity, they do not want to be defined by the "Fighting Sioux" issue. They are proud of the hard work they have put in to even get to college. When you don't have parents neighbors, brothers, sisters or cousins that have made this journey it can be intimidating. This issue is very unsettling for some. Yes, I realize there are programs that they can take advantage of but at least at UND, being American Indian doesn't mean a free ride. (I used to work as the Director of High School Relations at UND and at least it didn't used to be that way). Frankly, it has nothing to do with the Fighting Sioux issue anyway. There are assistance programs for lots of different groups. (We even had academic scholarships at the Sigma Chi Fraternity if you could stay above a 2.5) I still support maintaining the Fighting Sioux name, but if this is a UND student, why not make him or her feel welcome to post their opinion. Maybe we might obtain a little more insight into the group that supports change. Unless we can figure out a way to work with them and try to find a way to compromise the opposition on the reservations is only bound to increase and I hate to see that happen. Ira

It is my understanding that even if Winona is ranked ahead of Bemidji State, if Bemeidji is ranked in the top 10 and win their conference they will "trump" Winona. Anyone else heard that. I bet 92-96 knows that one.

I am not really second guessing, I just believe in getting your backups in. Key substitutions shouldn't jeopardize a big lead and I think it is important for development of the backups and team moral. Dale and his staff are doing a very good job. They are the ones who see the kids at practice everyday and are the ones who get paid to make those decisions.

If Manke is ready to go he needs to start and be the guy. I am surprised that Freund didn't get time against Duluth. We don't need to leave Belmore in when we are up by 35-0 and the backup needs reps. (That was also true when Manke initially got hurt. We were way ahead of Winona and Belmore needed reps). That is one of the most important things you can do for a team. Get your back-ups playing time whenever you can. They are going to tend to work harder in practice and they are going to work harder in the off season and they are gong to have more fun. They are also going to be more prepared if you really need them.

If this guy was truly working on his MBA I would be very surprised if he was doing well academically. Why not finish the semester and then quit? You make the same point and you have a half semester of credits to transfer elsewhere. Doesn't make sense regardless of his opinions of the school and environment. He did his undergrad here, so he didn't just learn about the Sioux issue.