bincitysioux

I'm hopeful about making the playoffs, but it is hard for me to expect it coming into this year given what I saw from the defense last season and the fact that there will be a freshman QB at the steering wheel. If we make the playoffs in 2013, Mussman would be deserving of Coach of the Year honors in the Big Sky...........

I would consider a 7-4 season a tremendous success.

Barring injury, academic, or eligibility issues, I feel Golladay will get selected in the draft by the time he is done. Prior to this season, I felt Hardin had a chance to be a 6th or 7th round pick, but after seeing that Kaufman had to go the free-agent route, I'm not so sure. Depends on what he does this season I suppose. I felt that Dressler could have gotten drafted, but I was wrong about that. Hardin is a similar player, but much better IMO.......................

I think Belmont actually was a MVC target and they told them no thanks. Summit has been interested in Northern Kentucky in recent years. If they they make the move, and the Horizon can display some stability, NKU would take the Horizon over the Summit every day of the week and twice on Sunday.....................

FCS games count toward BOWL eligibility. We don't really know yet how teams will be selected toward the FBS playoff. FCS games will surely count, but what amount of weight will it carry? I agree completely with your sentiment. The point I am trying to make, is that the Big 10, and probably more BCS conferences to follow, are trying to put themselves in the best position possible to be included in the 4 team FBS playoff that is on the horizon, and that means bolstering their schedule. I'm very aware that there are many FCS teams that are stronger than a good portion of the bottom of the FBS. I admit I have no idea what the selection criteria will be for a team to make the 4 team playoff. But IMO, if it is some sort of a selection commitee, my guess is that a win in 2012 against Akron, which was the worst team in the MAC, would look better in the eyes of the committee than a win against an NDSU, Sam Houston St., or any other top 10 FCS team, simply due to the fact that a school from the MAC is considered to be at the same "level" as a team from the Big 10, ACC, C-USA, MWC, etc................ FBS and FCS are just different and that is all there is to it. The line may be blurred between the bottom of FBS and the top of FCS, but I truly feel that those at the BCS level see a distinct line there. And the presidents and A.D.'s at the BCS level are the ones who will decide who plays in the 4 team playoff.

So if the last of 4 playoff spots is between an 11-1 Big 10 team that has a win over a 63 scholarship FCS team, and an 11-1 PAC 12 team that has a win over a Mountain West or Sun Belt team, who gets that last spot? I understand that both FBS and FCS are DI, and that FCS counts toward bowl eligibility, but FCS is still a division below FBS. Games against Mountain West, Sun Belt, or MAC schools would be far less risky and look better on the resume.

How so? The Big 10 is trying to ensure stronger schedules because that will be a criteria for the selection to their playoff. This board goes crazy whenever a team from a lower division shows up on a North Dakota schedule. Why is it OK for a Big 10 school to schedule lower division schools and not us?

9 games cancelled this year now.............

BREAKING NEWS ABOUT THE DAKOTA SCHOOLS FROM THE GF HERALD!!!!!!!!! Dakota schools forming new athletic conference

Big Sky Attendance Leaders: Football Montana Montana St. North Dakota Women's Basketball Montana Montana St. North Dakota Men's Basketball Weber St. Montana Southern Utah Montana St. Idaho St. North Dakota

This fan’s take on North Dakota’s first season as a full DI institution and member of the Big Sky Conference…………………… Football Record: 5-6 (3-5) Conference Standing: T-8th The Good: The Sioux had one of the most prolific offenses in school history, only a year after it had one of it’s most inept offenses in recent memory. Arguably had the most talented wide receiving corps in FCS, and they all return. Of the 6 losses, 4 came against Top 25 teams, and one came against an FBS opponent. Continued the tradition of excellent Special Teams play. The Bad: A great offense was countered by perhaps the worst defense in North Dakota history. Traditionally a strong running team, UND was rarely able to establish the ground game. Suffered wildly embarrassing losses to the top two teams in the conference. Summary: While I was disappointed overall with the season, I don’t consider it a failure, like alot of fellow fans do. North Dakota was a middle-of-the-pack team in the best FCS conference. Despite embarrassing blowouts against MSU and EWU, the Sioux played well against Top 25 NAU, FBS SDSU, defeated decent Big Sky teams in UM and Sac St., and were a blown call away from beating UNC which would have given UND a winning record in their first season. I think the team will improve overall in 2013, but given the schedule, the record may not necessarily reflect it. Grade: C- Volleyball Record: 15-17 (10-10) Confernce Standing: 5th The Good: Qualified for Big Sky tournament in first year of membership. Went 9-1 against the teams that didn’t make the tournament, including 6-0 against traditional conference powers Sac St., EWU, and UM. Went 5-6 in non-conference play, but 4 of the losses came to teams from the “Power 6” conferences including Top 20 teams USC and Texas A&M The Bad: Went 1-10 against Big Sky teams that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament. Really were not even competitive in their lone tournament game. Summary: Seems like the volleyball team did fairly well in their first Big Sky season, although I admit heading into the season that I felt a top 3 finish was attainable. Seems there was a distinct line in the conference competition between the teams that finished above UND in the standings, and the teams that finished below. The Sioux need to narrow the gap and compete better on the road. I believe they lost no seniors, so there should be a quality chance to make a move up in the standings in 2013. Grade: C+ Women’s Basketball Record: 11-18 (6-14) Conference Standing: T-10th The Good: Wins against Utah of the Pac-12, Big Sky preseason favorite Idaho St., and rival NDSU were really the only highlights of an otherwise dismal season. The Bad: An injury to perhaps the best player, Alyssa Wall, and poor guard play that led to an embarrassing rate of turnovers all season. Players were defecting from the team before the season even concluded. For the most part, were not competitive against the teams that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament. Summary: This was perhaps the most disappointing team in the UND Athletic Department this season. Picked to finish as high as 5th in the conference in preseason polls, I felt the ladies could have done even better than that. Wall’s injury changed a lot, but there turned out to be other major glaring deficiencies thoughout. The Big Sky is a legitimate Mid-Major Conference in DI basketball, that actually had a bit of a down year this season as a league. North Dakota has a lot of ground to make up to be competitive on an annual basis in the Big Sky. Grade: F Soccer Record: 2-13-1 (0-9) Conference Standing: 10th The Good: Not much. A win against South Dakota St. and a tie against South Dakota. The Bad: Zero conference wins. Outscored on the season by a margin 45-15. Summary: This program has been bad for a number of years now. Hopefully the new coach can breathe a little life into this program, because there was nothing about the 2012 season that would suggest that improvement is on the horizon. Grade: F Women’s Tennis Record: 3-16 (0-10) Conference Standing: 11th The Good: Not much. Their lone win against a DI opponent came against South Dakota in a DII tournament. Their other two wins were against NSIC schools. To their credit, they suffered narrow 3-4 defeats to SDSU, UNO, and Drake, so they were competitive at times in the non-conference season. Fairly competitive in doubles competition. The Bad: No Big Sky wins. Were “out-scored” 62-8 in conference matches. Summary: North Dakota was quite competitive in NCC tennis. Unfortunately a significant investment into the recruiting budget will need to be made in the sport if it is to move up the food chain in the Big Sky which places a certain amount of emphasis on tennis. Grade: D- Men’s Tennis Record: 4-12 (2-8) Conference Standing: 9th The Good: Wins against UNO, Northern Arizona, and Southern Utah. The Bad: Non-competetive against everyone that finished higher in the standings. Summary: Given the fact that Coach Wynne basically assembled this team from the student body, I was actually impressed that UND managed to stay out of the Big Sky cellar. Like women’s tennis, funding is going to be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of North Dakota being competitive in Big Sky tennis. With a great new facility, the tennis programs could actually possibly become factors in the conference if the University offered more, or any, scholarships. Grade: D+ Men’s Basketball Record: 16-17 (12-8) Conference Standing: 3rd The Good: Qualified for Big Sky tournament. Received 3rd consecutive berth to CIT Postseason tournament. Advanced to Big Sky semifinals, suffering 2 point defeat to perennial power Weber St. One of just 3 teams to have a winning road record in Big Sky play. The Bad: Dismal 1-7 non-conference record against DI opponents that included very winnable games against SDSU, UMKC, and UNO. Embarrassing losses @ UNI, @ Weber St., @ UM, and @ rival NDSU. Summary: It was an injury plagued season for the Sioux. With a fully healthy roster, this team could have won 20 games this season. With the majority of the offensive ouput returning, the upcoming season holds much promise. Focus and consistency were problems at times, but under the circumstances, Coach Jones did a remarkable job this season. The team should be in the hunt for a Big Sky Championship next season. Grade: A Softball Season still in progress…………………..

My guess is that Midco would be interested in picking up the feed of another station for road games in the future, like they did with the outdoor hockey game in Omaha this past season. No way would Midco ever send a crew to Missoula, Bozeman, or Greeley. They have lots of cheaper programming options in Brookings, Fargo, Vermillion, etc............... I could see them sending Hammer to St. Cloud, Omaha, or Duluth, but not to a Big Sky venue.....................

Never happen...................

Track meet in California cancelled today due to a bomb threat accoding to a Hajdu tweet............

Well, Midco televised all our home games last year except the one that Root did, so hopefully they televise all 7 this year. Of course, I can actually get Root whereas Midco is not available to me, but that is another whole can of worms. Bummer we don't get any games on national TV, but given that we were 5-6 last year and way out of Root's footprint, I'm not surprised. Now, unlike the NCHC deal with CBSSN, the Root contract does not preclude teams from farming out games that they don't pick up to other national networks. Maybe we still have enough of a working relationship with Fox College Sports to persuade them to pick up one or two of Midco's broadcasts.

Just curious, what places in GF/EGF would be considered some of the fancier upscale places to eat? Need to take the wife out to a nice place for one last hurrah before spring planting starts.....................

Loyola Chicago makes move to Missouri Valley Conference official

True about the Horizon being on the brink for baseball. However, Oakland is a baseball playing school, another reason they are the best fit to be the first addition to the Horizon. Given the fact that both the Summit and Horizon are in dire need of baseball schools, I wonder if a merger in that sport alone would be an option?

The Summit League has a done a lot to bolster it's western presence over the years, adding USD, UNO, and now Denver. But that has back-fired to an extent with the losses of Oral Roberts and UMKC. I think there is going to be an interesting game of chess played between the Summit, the Horizon, and the WAC in the next two years. I think it behooves low and mid-major non-football conferences like these three to cap membership at 10. It keeps costs down, and increases the payout to each school from revenue sharing. The Horizon has the luxury of being able to factor in geography when considering future additions. They are going to be down to 8 with the loss of Loyola. Despite potential objections from Detroit, they almost have to add Oakland. If they take any other Summit school, I think they'd look first to IUPUI. Again, geography will be a large part of the criteria for the Horizon. They also like to play in large cities, and Indianapolis is by far and away the Summit's biggest market. A lot of chaos can be avoided if the MVC either stays at 10, or adds schools that are not currently in the Horizon.

I really don't think the Summit will just fold. Autobids don't die easily, as we saw with the WAC.

I had spoke in the past to former head coach Sami Strinz about playing in the Alerus. It is large enough to accomodate, but at that time, the rental fee the Alerus was asking was too high for UND to consider it. I'm sure it would be almost impossible to move games there on short notice, but I think it would be great if UND could work something out to host an early season tournament there in February each season.

Given how poor the run defense was last year, and how pedestrian the run offense was last year, I'm not quite sure how accurately either side of the ball can be evaluated come Saturday. Especially since neither Miller or Sparks will play...........

Conference cancels upcoming softball series

Title game getting lots of play on Sportscenter this morning. Yale winning is a great story, and it doesn't hurt that both schools right in ESPN's back yard. Haven't seen the Frozen Four get this much play on ESPN in the 9 years or so that I have had season tix........

I wish they would have included Hardee's salary in there. IIRC, he also makes more than Jones.