iramurphy

Posters bring up good and valid concerns. I supported Rob and he has been a friend for many years. He would have been a great AD. I think Kupchella and Harmeson did what they usually do and they did nothing wrong. I don't think either of them wanted Rob from day one, but they are certainly entitled to their own opinion. There are many many people in Grand Forks and the Alumni community who appreciated all of what Rob has done for UND and Fighting Sioux athletics. He is too valuable to be an asst. or assoc. AD here. His present job had a lot more responsibility and would be a step down. He already has other job offers from the private sector. Bottom line, he didn't get the job. Rob would be the first to say support Tom Buning. Remember all Tom Buning did was apply for the job and get it. Please give him your support and make him feel welcome. If you have time go on over to the press conference and meet him. I think you will be impressed. Lastly, I don't think anyone is "whining". Kupchella and Harmeson work for the students and the people of North Dakota. Those of you who feel bent our of shape when others critcize their decisions, should remember that. I get the impression that they do not feel they are there to serve the students and the people of the state of North Dakota but that is based on personal contact with them not their comments on the subject. . If people have concerns about their performance then they need to take them to task. I would however, separate that from Tom Buning's position as the new AD. To do otherwise would be unfair to Tom Buning. It is also the best way to show respect for Rob Bollinger. As I said, if you get a chance, go meet him and welcome him to the UND family. Have fun with Kuppy and Dr. Phil.

I think Buning is an impressive guy and will do a good job and deserves our support. I also felt Rob Bollinger should get the job. He earned it, but no way will anyone change this decision. Kupchella will never regain support from a number of former Sioux athletes but he has never shown he cares what they think. There are a number of big $$$ supporters who have stated this is the last straw and will pull their support. It isn't as much that Rob didn't get the job, but the callous way he was treated by some in the administration and the disregard this administration has for the alumni, especially former athletes and the tradition of Fighting Sioux Athletics. I am disappointed for Rob but happy for Tom Buning and will do what ever I can to help him move UND athletics to higher levels of success. He is bright and articulate and will work very hard to continue and improve the high quality athletics we have come to expect from UND. I hope he has a plan to shake up UND's dismal track and field, softball and volleyball programs. They have slid by for too many years with mediocore programs. At the same time he will need to support FB, MBB, WBB and hockey with the goal of national championships. He will also need to raise the funds to build an indoor track/baseball/softball/soccer/FB practice facility and continue the process to DI when appropriate.

Back then there was no DIAA. There was DI, DII, and NAIA. I can't remember if there was DIII but I don't think so. DII was made up of smaller Universities and Colleges that didn't play DI, and included almost all of the DIAA teams today in addition to teams that have since gone on to the real DI. Montana, Montana State, Northern Iowa, Youngstown State, San Diego State and UNLV among others. There were a number of Bowl games for DII teams and these three Bowl games were some of them. There were no playoffs. The Camellia Bowl was in Sacramento and thought by some to be the "Rose Bowl" of DII. It was televised on ABC. UND won all three of these Bowl games. Details of the games are in Lee Bohnet's book about UND Sports history. Is that what you wanted?

Thanks for setting me straight. I was under the mistaken impression that because UND beat the Agricultural College 10 of the last 13 games and also owns a decisive edge in the series, that everyone, except the jock-sniffers in Fargo, would believe that would be the criteria one might consider when trying to decide which is the better team. Obviously, I was wrong. Unlike the rest of the world, you simply declare it to be the case. Where do I get season tickets. That also means that Army is better than USC, Rutgers is better than U of Miami or Harvard is better than Michigan. Some time back I believe they were better, especially Army. Times change buddy and UND has been a much better team in the last 15 years or so. If you wish to consider all of history the same holds true. There was a decade or so in the 1980's when they used creative accounting to increase their scholarships and were the best DII program in the country. The NCC made them stop it and they were no longer dominant. One of your beloved former assistant coaches outlined how it was done over a few beers. I figure it created almost 13 scholarship equivilants. That is a rough estimate but it was significant. Once they were back on a level playing field UND resumed our dominance. As for being comparable academically I was again mistaken. US News and World Report rankings year after year rank UND in the tier above the AC. A number of other ranking services do the same. These ranking services see clearly UND is a better academic institution. They obviously have not heard from Fargo Bison and I would assume you will straighten them out.

It does. Well said.

You left out a very important part of DFS's post. He/she said "UND and the fan" (fans). I am not trying to lobby for Bollinger because I have stated my opinion. To clear up misconceptions of those who have not coached or been part of an athletic department Rob has been functioning as an assisstant AD for years and has been very successful at it. The assistant AD in Fargo with similar duties is Inniger. No one would say he has no experience, yet I read where some posters think that because this position at UND is with the Alumni office, it wouldn't count as AD experience. At the bigger Universities around the country this is a typical duty of one of the assistant AD's. Because a candidate is very good working with people and well liked does not mean they can't make difficult decisions or work with difficult people. The assistant AD's make those decisions all of the time, so all of the candidates should have experience doing just that. I think all four of them do. If folks don't realize the importance of the fans, students and Alumni then I am not sure they understand modern day Intercollegiate athletics. Read the thousands of posts on this site and I would think one might change their mind. People want their opinion to matter and if your AD makes you think your opinion is important then you are much more likely to donate, support the University, cooperate with projects or plans, donate your time or attend athletic events. I respectfully disagree if you meant to say that there are more important things in chosing the AD than the people skills, but I disagree. If you don't have the people skills you won't get people to listen beyond the superficial BS. It isn't the only thing by a long shot, but whether we are looking for a new AD, new coach, new president of our University or a CEO for our company these people skills are of paramount importance.

I would hope not and that doesn't make the atmosphere. The best atmosphere is likely your own arena and it isn't worth debating which is best but I like ours. Other than tounaments, I have only been to Gopher and Duluth games. If you are a Gopher fan you will prefer their atmosphere. UND and the Gophers have better atmosphere than the Dogs but that is just my opinion. Why would anyone give a rat's behind if they stand or sit. It isn't worth having your seats threatened by the president of the university and making National news for foul language is it?? It certainly isn't worth giving up seats to be able to stand. The team has no clue whether the students stand or sit and could care less. They appreciate the cheers and the support but you don't need to stand the whole game to accomplish that do you?

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?