iramurphy

I am confident the students and University can come up with a solution. I still can't get an answer to my question why is it so important to stand the whole game??? Do I understand there is anyone in their right mind who would propose we "rope off seats" so students can stand the whole game? Why would we want to keep people form attending the games? I would think if you gave the students an option of sitting and standing occasionally when it makes sense vs losing those extra tickets, they would want the extra seats. Especially those students who couldn't get seats otherwise.

I assume a UND alumnus maybe. I doubt the UND alumni office. Bottom line... the problem still needs to be clearly defined. Then the groups you mentioned can work on it. I am still wondering... what is the deal with students standing during games?

That is my biggest concern with administration. Who did you submit ideas to and why didn't they follow up? Things tend to be assigned to subordinates. Does the president actually listen to the students? What exactly is his concern? What is the concern of non-students? I firmly believe most of us had a great time at UND and wish the same for the students. If I am sitting next to someone who is foul mouthed I will ask theem politely to clean it up and if that doesn't work tell them to knock it off then have them tossed. I might get my butt kicked someday but we can all help a little. Wouldn't it be wise to clearly define the problem before we try to solve it? I would like to know his specific issues not just "fan behavior". Thanks for your reply.

Great publicity for the school. I don't think UND fan behavior is anything close to what they were taking about at Maryland and the Reddick kid. Maybe I am missing something but I didn't hear anything way out of the ordinary at Sioux games. Maybe it gets more entertaining near the penalty box. I still think Kuppy needs to get closer to the students and hear from them.

Mike Greenwood is not leaving UND according to Mike Greenwood himself. He is doing very well athletically and academically. He has no clue where the rumor came from.

I agree but is there anyway for students to address this? An earlier poster commented that it is the students University. More accurately is that the professors and administrators work for the students and taxpayers. There should be some way to open communication with the president. In my opinion it would be good for him to get out into the dorms, fraternities and sororities and wherever on campus he can meet with students. Tom Clifford did it and it was very effective. He needs to listen to the students. He could take his concerns to them and then consider stting up a more formal forum if he still thinks he has a problem.

It already is hot. Last week, he told one of the kids he knew from a select team he would choose the Sioux over the Gophers at this point in time. He will be a hell of a player and he is only a Jr. Also QB for TRF in FB. They have a very good group of Jrs and Sophs and could very well get by Warroad next year in section 8.

I don't think the "general public" is complaining. I think it is similar to a "small minority" of students causing problems. When all is said and done more is said than done!! I believe Kupchella is referring to the letters or comments he may occasionaly receive but that doesn't mean it is anywhere near the majority. Most fans want to see the game and don't wish to stand. I still haven't had anyone help me understand why the students want to stand the whole game. Standing to yell at the refs or to react to play on the ice I would expect. I believe the new AD, whomever that will be, will work out where the students sit. I know Bollinger understands the importance of students at athletic events. I believe the other candidates do as well. Is the language in the student section a big deal? What is Kuppy referring to? Is there no forum by which thee students can express their opinions on how to solve these issues?

Where did you hear that? He is a hell of a player and will play a lot. He will be an all conference player before he is done for the Sioux and likely an academic all-american. (he is a 4.0 GPA student) and they like him. They play two sets of DB's so he gets a lot of playing time. Why would he give up being a stud and having a good shot at two National Chapionships in the next two years to play for the Jimmies? He had a hell of a spring scrimmage.

I think they have 3 pretty decent candidates. I would prefer Bollinger and I liked Buning. Molde won't be around that long. Any of the four will have the ability to say no. The mistake that Wanless made was that he didn't feel it was his job to raise money and therefore did not ahve a good relationsip with enough Alumni and former athletes. He did some things very well at a difficult time. I liked Roger but he may have been such a nice guy that he had difficulty dealing with the previous REA guy (when that guy wasn't in the back seat of some car in the parking lot with a Bimbo or making off with REA profits) and difficult subordinates. The new AD would be smarter to assign the admin duties to his staff. The leadership duties and team building will be his top priorities and that will include fundraising. He will need to solve the REA dilemma, improve the relationsip with the city and UND students, work with Kupchella and his staff to improve their relationships with students, Alumni, and the regional businesses who support UND. If you are doing a good enough job raising $$$ you won't need to make your teams operate on shoestring budgets and wil be able to reward them at times with an overnight instead of an all night bus trip. Bollinger has raised millions of $$$ and has a strong backing among those who have thick wallets. Buning seems like the type of guy who has the personality to eventually do that. I don't now anything about the other guys. It will be interesting.

I am not positive what you mean. I was in Grand Forks and had heard from a number of people from Grand Forks that Harmeson was making it clear to some of those folks he felt Bollinger didn't have the AD experience that he felt was needed. I was also led to believe that that opinion in view of Harmeson's position as acting AD and search committee member was potential stumbling blocjk to Bollinger. These were people who have been strong UND supporters, not necessarily Bollinger supporters. I do not believe that is appropriate for the committtee members to be voicing these opinions publicly. That belongs at the committee discussions. The public comments are for wags like us who have our own thoughts and opinions. I am not here to lobby. I sent a letter to the appropriate people with my opinion. I have no comments to make about anyone's family and haven't. I wondered if what I had heard was true and other posters seemed to provide evidence that this was so. If I am convinced there is anything in-appropriate I will speak to Harmeson and Kupchella myself. I may know more about Harmeson than you think, but this isn't about him. It is about the AD candidates. I think it is valid to question how committeee members, working for the tax payer, conduct themselves during the course of their job. I wanted to be clear on exactly what his job and title are and was given a nice reference. I believe it is relevant to know someone's background and how they might view UND and UND athletics. If a person went to school here, I believe they are more likely to develop loyalty to the school and athletic programs than if they didn't. I agree it is important to be careful what we say and keep it from getting too personal. I will keep that in mind. Thanks for your thoughts.

Dowzak's birthday is March 1988 so he will only be a senior this coming year. I would think he is big enough physically and whomever gets him may need to promise he can play right away as opposed to playing Jrs for a year. I have no knowledge of what he is thinking and have no inside info other than I know how old he is.

It is my understanding that he doesnt' feel Rob has the necessary administrative experience. I heard the same comment that someone close to Harmeson had made comments that were not complimentary to Bollinger. It is probably best to leave it at that. I also heard that Harmeson was very excited to have Purpur apply and seemed to be a supporter of Purpur. Those of you in GF may know more. I believe Buning was in Columbus to meet with key UND people. I do not nor did I ask specific questions. I visited with him for about 5 minutes. He is a West Point Grad, articulate and seemed like a nice guy. I hope Bollinger gets the job and this guy could be his assisstant. For what it is worth I would not say that about Kupchella. I do not find him personable. Kendall Baker and his wife were at Columbus for the frozen four wearing their Sioux apparel and greeted me and others warmly. I hdd not seen him since he left UND and I was out of the country for about 5 yrs. Yet he still remembered me and others. I have met Kupchella on a number of occasions and have had dinner with hem and he still wouldn't know me from Randy Moss. Not that I am anyone other than a loyal UND alumnus and will do what I can to help UND or UND students, but somehow Ken Baker remembered and Kuppy has no clue. Kuppy is bright but it tells me something about his priorities and personality. Therefore I would not have then, nor would I today, compare him favorably with Tom Buning as far as his demeanor. By the way, what exactly is Harmeson's position other than acting AD?

Word at the Sioux scrimmage Saturday was that the committee gave Kupchella two names and he told them he wanted three. If they bring in another candiadate, I would think it is the guy from West Point who is an assistant AD there. He is a West Point grad. He was in Columbus at the Frozen Four talking to some key people. Seemed like a nice guy. Grand Forks folks were also saying Harmeson seems to be hurting Bollinger's chances. That is what I would expect from an administrative type. I would hope he is smart enough to know that the Alumni will remember that and when Kupchella moves on he will be moved out quickly. I would hope Harmeson and those close to him do not continue to say anything about Bollinger that isn't complimentary. Rob is a great guy and would be an excellent AD. If there is someone better they can should hire them. I have no problem if someone prefers another candidate but I would hope they would support their choice based on that person's merits rather than Rob not having AD experience. Being the faculty rep doesn't make Harmeson anymore of an expert than any of the rest of us. Being Kupchella's gopher doesn't make him an expert either. I would wonder if he was ever an athlete or coach. He is entitled to his opinion, but I hope he understands many people are disappointed by what is perceived as undermining Bollinger's chances. Bollinger has excellent experience in some of the key areas especially fundraising and team building. Maybe there is someone better, but Rob is an excellent candidate as well and I think thus far would be the best choice. My opinion is not anymore than that but I have nothing bad to say about the other candidates and Rob qualifies based on his record not what someone else did or didn't do.

So let me get this straight. Are you saying Rohde quit or what? Is that on the new poster for for 2005? Someone asked how many werre at the scrimmage. About 1200 fans maybe. Some stayed only for part of the scrimmage and some came late. Defense looked pretty good. Greenwood had a good scrimmage and a nice pick and made some run stops. Longe had a nice pick on Belmore. Alexander is fast and also covered pretty well. Belmore missed an open receiver for a TD and seemed a bit frustrated with his poor play in the second half of the scrimmage. Freund isn't ready yet and Carney was OK. Manke moved the team pretty well. Pick on the goal line that he tried to force a bit but other wise scrambled well and had a nice TD pass he laid right on the receivers hands. One of the guys who has been to all of the spring practices and scrimmages says he is playing better than Belmore but it is close. As long as Mussman is there he will need to grow 2 more inches before he gets a break from him. He should come out of spring ball ahead of Belmore. He did last spring and they moved him down to three when Bowencamp got hurt. A number of receivers made nice catches (3 diving) but on two of the picks they need to knock those down so the DB can't get to the ball. Receivers also blocked well at times. O-line usually gets knocked around in the spring scrimmage but they did pretty well. Teams looks quicker. RB's had a good day. Overall good depth. Save your frequent flyer miles for Florence if they stay healthy.

Franklin had surgery on his shoulder.

He won't move ahead of either Belmore or Manke. Carney has had a good spring. If Freund continues to develop he will be the QB of the future, but he won't be for a couple of years yet. That is also why Groeschl moved back to wide-out.