bincitysioux

27 16 6 wins, 0 losses 2 wins, 3 losses (San Diego St., Montana St., EWU) Cal Poly. It will be the only conference game that the Mustangs lose. 13,500 No. Only around 8,000 on average last season. Expect to be in the neighborhood of 10,000 this season............

Absolutely. When North Dakota was poised to join the Summit Leauge, I thought that was an awful proposition (although slightly better than the Great West). We would have had "X" schools for hockey opponents, "X" schools for basketball/olympic opponents, and "X" schools for football opponents. If Denver had football, that would totally change how I view them as far as this discussion goes.

Nothing wrong with that at all! I hope they keep all games in the Sioux Center though. Someday, I think the interest may justify having a Big Sky game in the REA (Montana, Montana St., Weber) but for now, I think the atmosphere that the Sioux Center provides trumps what the REA could. I'd rather have 3,000 fans in the Betty for an important Big Sky game against Weber or Montana than 5,000 in the cavernous REA.................................

Hard to argue with any of that. All I'm saying, is that in my eyes, Denver and UNC would be a push. I view Denver as has quality academics, mediocre olympic sports, geography, and hockey going for it. UNC has above average olympic sports, geography, and football going for it. If I had to pick one, I'd personally pick UNC because of the familiarity across all sports and the fact that they have football. Having said that, I don't know why I'm lobbying so hard for them, since they are not even in my "dream" conference! As far as "academic peers", I think my hypothetical conference offers quite a few to UND with Idaho, Montana, Montana St., South Dakota St., and Drake in the mix................ In the NCC days, I'd say SDSU, USD, and NDSU were the only ones that came close........................

Did your source give a reason for turning it down? Not calling you out, just saying that given UND's history for scheduling FBS teams, it seems unlikely that they'd turn down 4 times what they've agreed to in the past on multiple occaisions..............................

This video was linked in the football forum. It mentioned that season tickets for basketball were unusually ahead of pace compared to prior years. So, I was just wondering what people's thoughts were on how attendance could or should be for this upcoming season in the Big Sky. Last year, attendance was 2,045. That includes the 7,000+ that came for the NDSU game. That game will be in Fargo this year, so we don't get that one to pad the stats. During the 4 year transition, the average has been 1,873. So, do you say over or under 1,900? I think if we are competetive, we can do 2,500+............................

I think only Montana St. in this hypothetical conference has skiing. None of the others have Lacrosse (unless Sicatoka gets his way ) . Surely, neither would be sponsored by this conference. I'm just not as big on Denver as alot of others are. I love them in the NCHC, and WCHA, but like I said, what do they bring to the table other than hockey, that Northern Colorado does not? I'm not even including UNC in my proposal, but they have a football program, a baseball program, better basketball, better volleball, a history with UND, and don't have 4 pro sports teams 10 minutes away to compete with.

Denver has been DI forever and have been to the Tournament the same number of times that Northern Colorado has. I don't like affiliate members. I like academic peers as well, but you have to "give and take". Northern Iowa is nowhere near an academic peer to North Dakota, but they have location and quality athletics going for them. Same goes for Eastern Washington. Personally, I'd take Northern Colorado over Denver. Denver destroys them academically, but UNC has the same location, better athletics, and probably a better fan base for every sport that isn't played on ice.

The numbers are definately trending upward. If the number we are debating was in fact offered to North Dakota, I have a hard time believing they'd turn it down. Which leads me to believe that high a payout wasn't offered....................................

I can acknowledge Denver both academically and geographically.................... But as far as athletics go, outside of hockey, they are below Idaho St., and even Northern Colorado as far as I can tell......................................

Agree.................. The most I've ever seen reported was in the $500,000 to $600,000 range that Montana got from Tennessee.................................. Oklahoma could probably pay more than Tennessee, but I doubt they'd offer it to a school like North Dakota...........................

Buning left in December of 2007. He was the fool that agreed to a $10,000 buy-out clause with both Idaho St. and Southeast Louisiana (which they both excercised). He also locked us into two games with Idaho at $100,000 a pop, barely enough to cover expenses. That was gross. Faison came in May of 2008. He got us $225,000 from Texas Tech (as a non-counter), $250,000 from Fresno St., and $275,000 from San Diego St. Faison has been awesome......................

If we are talking a purlely hypothetical "pie-in-the-sky" conference, I would offer this................ North Dakota Northern Iowa Montana St. Montana Idaho Idaho St. South Dakota St. Weber St. Eastern Washington Drake Travel partners would be: UND-SDSU UNI-Drake Idaho-EWU Idaho St.-Weber St. Montana St.-Montana -All schools have football -The home state's of all schools adjoin contiguously -A nice mix of FCS football powers and a couple highly regarded mid-major basketball schools -Allows for intriguing non-conference games against NDSU, USD, UNC, etc.....................

Faison is the one who made that deal. And it was quite the accomplishment at the time, because North Dakota was not a "counter" to Texas Tech for bowl game aspirations...........................UND is one of the few teams to get an FBS game as a "non-counter". I can't see Faison turning down Oklahoma for even $300,000...................unless prior scheduling requirements precluded it, which is very possible. But for $1 million? UND would find a way to make the game happen..................... Sorry, but I question your "source".......................

$225,000

That website should be "www.tall-tales.com."

All of the current Big Sky schools that you didn't mention......................................except Sac St.

Can this be viewed by non-Midco subscribers anywhere? UNDinsider.com, Youtube, or Midcosportsnet.com?..........................

If find it hard to believe that North Dakota would turn down a game against Oklahoma for even 1/3 the amount that you are suggesting...................

Yes, their series with South Dakota was a 2 for 1. And as it turns out, USD didn't even get a home game out of the deal. They are playing in Sioux Falls.

Agree. A North Dakota win over NDSU in the playoffs for the first meeting since 2003 would be epic. Keep them off the regular season schedule for football. IMO, keeping the football series on ice intensifies the rivalry in all the other sports, specifically basketball. That is where I think everyone can agree, the games benefit both schools equally, and create a statewide buzz around programs that really need it.

UND NDSU USD SDSU Montana MSU Idaho Denver (olympic) Ohio U Miami (Ohio)

The Sports Network: 2012 Big Sky Conference Preview

Countdown to Kickoff: North Dakota

I honestly would prefer not to play them in football during the regular season, and I've held that position for quite some time now. However, I'm confident that a game will be scheduled within 12 months after Gene Taylor moves on from NDSU. It maybe, won't happen for two years after that, but it will be agreed upon.