iramurphy

These athletes get missed when recruiters focus more on listed height and weight, sometimes quality of hs competition (small school kids) rather than quickness, foot speed, overall athletic ability and projecting potential for those athletes. The best recruiters see the potential in these kids and get them on campus where the programs develop them as they physically mature. To me this is one of the keys to improving programs. Waletzko, Haeg, are two examples but there are many over the years. Also seeing the potential of hs kids who can play other positions in college. (ie can the 6’ 6” QB from DGF play free safety, TE, OLB or DE at this level? ).

Of course not. Sooo… You had a cat in the dorm?

Was that lovely or “lovely”? Asking for the masses.

These kids are coached to form tackle properly. Our team didn’t tackle well this year. You focus more on knocking the ball out when either you need a turnover toward the end of a game or the opportunity presents due to poor ball security by the ball carrier.

You are both right.

I have no issue with anything other than the beginning is too drawn out. Maybe just getting too old but I don’t like screaming into the microphone.

I hope they win tonight. I don’t care what color they wear Nor which jersey. Neither uniforms nor logos have ever one a game.

Another voting conspiracy? It’s a logo, who cares?

I’m not sure what you were trying to say in your last paragraph. If you meant to say “nothing but exemplary…” I would agree. Almost all alumni I have spoken with, including those from GF, have been impressed with Andy. I would concur.

You are correct. But frankly, once the NCAA made us drop the Brien logo it doesn’t matter. We are the Fighting Hawks which is better than some. It’s never been about a logo or name to me. It’s all about success of our programs. The logo/name nonsense remains divisive. It does UND no good.

In addition to sorting out the facts and most importantly, making sure no laws were broken or policies violated, regardless of whose fault this is, UND takes a PR hit and is scrambling to clean up this mess. One would hope the facts will help put this to rest. Once the media gets involved, facts may get clouded. I’m afraid this issue will continue all season,especially if the hockey team continues to struggle.

You stated clearly that they did. Now you admit you have no idea what you are talking about. I have always wondered what motivates people to make statements like this that may harm the reputation of others. It’s one thing to speculate over a beer or private communications but it was posted on a public forum so it will now have “legs”. (Similar to the nasty remarks about Chaves regarding the FB bid).

You are correct. The announcer is ok. He didn’t used to drag it out which has become abrasive. Just my opinion.

Someone needs to tell the announcer to tone down and shorten the “aaaaaaaaawwwwww…………………… it’s 3rd down…. Or stop it all together. By the time he finishes there is little time for fans to crank up crowd noise.

We don’t know anything other than who owns the trademark and that NODAK is on UND jerseys and apparel. All of the assumptions and accusations only create rumors. It would have been best to inquire to UND with the legitimate concerns regarding the trademark, who made decisions and were policies violated or laws broken. If UND doesn’t respond in a timely manner with the clear answers and the accurate information regarding the situation (appropriate action depending on the facts) then the media can help get the facts. Instead we have a sh.. storm to deal with.

They earned it. Defending champs. Tight games but losses to SDSU and an Arizona team that was Ok by end of year. Can argue for others too but they earned it.

Those dollars can’t be diverted to NIL unless some were a commitment from donors to help with the bid. Otherwise I would assume they can be used for athletic dept. priorities.

I would think obvious group to approach is the FB alumni. They are already funding multiple endowments that are either in or approaching the 6 figure range. At homecoming one alumnus proposed $1,000,000 donation with strings, but those dollars would go to UND so can’t be part of NIL. All of this needs to be done outside UND and many present donors may then choose to donate for NIL rather than directly to UND. Not sure if anyone wants to take this on. FB alumni tend to donate to scholarships and right now funding phase 2. This won’t happen overnight but I think initially it might be GF businesses who will benefit from using athletes for marketing.

Good idea. I’m not retired. Lol.

More importantly, do you and I? It’s up to you and I and everyone else who wants to win Championships to fund this. Chaves can’t officially do this. His job is to increase coaches salaries, make sure we have max scholarships available and improve facilities. Now is the opportunity for you and I and the rest of us to stop being “complacent “ and contact Gundy who likely knows how to put our money to work. Time to stop talking and start becoming part of the solution. It can help get faster, bigger, stronger players. It will help recruit players who are recruited by other FCS and FBS schools. If you and I want things to change then we need to act, not talk. Too many people have the answers as long as someone else pays for it. I learned a long time ago, I can’t make decisions about other peoples money.

I hate to be forced down that “rabbit hole” but the NCAA has created this mess. To me step one is the organized group to form whatever legal entity necessary to collect funds and make decisions. I’m not sure individuals would have the option of a tax deduction but I would guess businesses/corporations could consider it part of their business/marketing budget. I would defer to attorneys to sort that out. I would also think we would need to look at keeping present players. Health Care organizations are dealing with the mess created by paying “traveling nurses” $5-6000 per week while paying their own staff nurses not much more than that per month. The NCAA has lost control over recruiting/transfers/portal/scholarships and now NIL. No longer is a full scholarship worth $25,000-$75,000 considered to have much value, especially at the power 5 schools. As inconsistent as the NCAA is, when they act it will likely not be against Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame etc. Having said that it is where we are and as far as I can see, any individual can give any amount they wish to an athlete of their choice for NIL rights. Although schools can communicate with the booster groups who will fund most of this, they really won’t have much control. Slippery slope but it is today’s reality.

I can. As I said before, I’m not one of the decision makers. I don’t think there is going to be a change based on the contract and based on a Big Sky and MVFC championships and this years playoff team. I had higher hopes for this years team as did many of the rest of you. My expectations are for us to be better next year. We have a good nucleus of RBs, TEs, OL, WRs and 2 returning QBs who have proven they can be effective. These guys all need to continue to get better. We need to improve every position and our depth with our guys we redshirted and any new transfers. We can’t afford to lose any through the portal. Defensively is a different story. We need help across the board even though we have a handful of guys who have shown they can play. We need to improve our depth in addition to adding starting talent at the obvious positions. Hopefully our new kicker will be as good as advertised. The coaches have from now until next fall to move things forward. I will continue to support the program and the coaches hired to get the job done. I’m just a fan like the rest of you. The fan forum is entertaining and a source of information for me. It should be ok to have different perspectives.

My comments about Charles Shaw didn’t include anything about Bubba. I said Bubba put together a strong staff I didn’t say he was a strong coach. I said I thought Bubba and staff had done a good job recruiting. I didn’t say I was satisfied and I didn’t mention Detroit Lakes. In fact I said we need to get better. Bubba doesn’t recruit DL by the way. DL is assigned to one of the assistants. There is nothing “ smoke and mirrors “ about my comments regarding that our comments on SS.com won’t be part of the discussion regarding coaching decisions. Bubba just got an extension and they got to the playoffs. Decision makers don’t rely on fan web sites to make decisions. Do any of us have the credentials that would bring us to that table? I assume we all want UND to be successful. That means top tier FCS team year in and year out. To me, it also means preparing for an FBS move if that is in our best interest. Until change occurs, then clamoring about changing coaches is fruitless. That isn’t “smoke and mirrors”. I wasn’t happy with this season either but focus now needs to develop and improve the players we have and continue to recruit the best talent available. Our coaches and players need to get better and our fans need to get better. I think we have the nucleus with these players and this staff to improve. Hopefully, we can hang on to our commits and bring in some additional talent to compete at the top FCS level.

Good point. Done.

Charles Shaw was a 1965 West Point grad and a classmate of my oldest brother. He also received his Masters from Stanford. He spent time in France and loved wine. He got into the wine making business after living in France when he and his wife bought a vineyard and actually made good wines. His wines won a number of gold medals and were served at 3 White House dinners. Unfortunately, they didn’t sell well and they went bankrupt and his wife divorced him. He had a lot of bottles of unsold wine which he sold to another Sanford Alumnus, Joe Colom (Trader Joe). In the last 20 yrs, Trader Joe’s has sold billions of dollars of Two Buck Chuck, none of which ended up with Shaw. Some other guy bought the rights to the name. Sometimes we need to look a lot deeper into a story/issue to get the facts. Turns out that in this case, the winemaker was pretty damn good. A couple of you have referred to me in your venting after the game. Don’t be foolish enough to assume you know my opinions on the program, coaches, etc. They are my opinions which I base on my experience as a player, position coach, recruiter, and high school and college official. None of my opinions are more valid than yours. However it may give me and others with similar experiences a perspective that differs from yours. I have never seen anything come of the constant criticism or call for change that for some starts in the pre-season. It’s reasonable to state opinions of the shortcomings of the program including coaches but not every thread and every post. Go back and count up how many times this season we keep complaining about the same thing that won’t change in the middle of the year. It isn’t that some of us don’t agree it’s that the same complaining in every thread is like kicking a dead horse. The season is finished so now is the time for teeth gnashing, hair pulling and pontificating about what went wrong, what has to change etc. Few of the chronic complainers indicate any depth of thought. Everyone can figure out we want bigger, stronger, faster, quicker, smarter guys. All coaches know that and want the same. I can’t find our guys 40 times so I wonder how some seem to know how fast/slow we are. I look at height and weight listed for our players and compare with our opponents and I’m not sure I see a big difference. So to me it’s much more than that. It’s technique, quickness, foot speed, discipline, work ethic and personal responsibility and drive. Some assume the “culture” is an issue. I wouldn’t know anymore than what kids and parents say but that’s anecdotal. Where are you learning it’s a cultural issue? Someone decided we should go after Olson, a position coach at NDSU. What evidence is there that he is ready to be a head coach? To me, the obvious target on that staff would be Randy Hedberg but doubt he would be interested. I’m pretty sure there isn’t going to be a buyout or forced change so I will let all you experts debate that one. Regardless our debates won’t be part of those decisions. I do feel Bubba has put together a strong staff. I believe they do a good job recruiting despite our present disadvantages but having said that we need to keep doing better. Because I don’t hire and fire I look to myself as to what I can do to get the program to the top of the FCS and positioned for a move to FBS if that becomes what is best for the program. I will focus on the positives of attending UND, the positive culture of UND football that goes back to players from the 1960’s. (Read your most recent Alumni review), the progress (though slow) of the program and what it can and will be. In addition I will continue to support the program and Phase2 as best I can by attending games, activities and financial support. I can’t do financially what some do and I can’t attend everything. I can’t hire and fire coaches so although I’m disappointed in how this season played out and I can also second guess decisions, I have learned that isn’t what I do best. That part I will leave up to you and others, and if that is important to folks now is the time.