bincitysioux

UND and NDSU will NOT be playing in the same tournament at Drake this upcoming season. NDSU is playing in a Drake tourney this fall (2008), UND will be playing in a Drake tournament in the fall of 2009. I believe I may have started this rumor , but I know now that UND will not be participating in either of Drake's tournaments this upcoming season.

That is good to know, although the last time I saw him, he is pretty skinny isn't he? I feel we need someone that cannot be pushed around on the block.

Mertens is another nice pick up for UND, he is a talented player. However, unless something has changed, the coaching staff has said that they only planned on bringing one JUCO this off season. I had hoped that that would be an athletic and big power forward or center that could contribute right away in the post, something that is a glaring need on this team.

It was also pulled the day that UND and NDSU publicly condemned the video. I doubt it was pulled because Tatanka was feeling sensitive to the anti-semetic dorm situation. I wasn't by any means offended by the video, nor was I surprised. I get frustrated though by all of those running gags at Bisonville that compare or refer to UND to the Nazi's, or call us or the University racists. Portraying Hitler as one of UND's biggest supporters is not flattering, and not real funny. Hammersmith, you know as well as I that it goes on all the time there. The "Under the Bunker" theme has been going on since Buning resigned. That !@#$ gets old.

Hopefully, down the road, when they do expand to 24 teams, that means the Great West will get an auto-bid.

I like all of dakotadan's ideas, especially displaying the National Championship trophy, Nickel, and Sitting Bull trophies. The other thing I would like to see added is gigantic larger than life-sized photos of historical Sioux football game portraits or players displayed in a couple spots throughout the concourse, like in the Ralph. Also, to steal from the Ralph, portraits of the UND players who have gone on to the NFL.

Like I said earlier, there would be little benefit for either school to play each other in football and I really don't give a rat's ass if they ever do. But that is one of the dumbest posts I've read in a while. I suppose then that you would prefer that UND cancel its games with Idaho St., Southern Illinois, UC-Davis, and several others. Stop being so obsessed with a school that is in every area completely and totally insignificant to UND. You've become Siouxsports.com's version of JBB.

There's a post over on Bisonville that "a player from Canada is leaving UND". Anybody heard if Denny Dumas will or will not be back next year?

I see no reason for the two schools to start playing on the gridiron again at this point in time. There is no benefit to either institution. Both football programs have been wildly successful in recent years. The home stadiums of each program will probably be at or near capacity as far as attendance goes. Both football programs are excelling, so they really don't need each other on the football field. UND has had so many wins against NDSU that, to me, it had grown tiresome and somewhat boring years ago. I'm looking forward to competing against long-time established DI FB programs like Southern Illinois, Cal Poly, and Idaho St. Basketball is an entirely different beast, IMHO. The two schools, especially NDSU, have nothing but positive things to gain by renewing the rivalry on the hardwood.

I have wondered the same thing about Joseph. He saw very little playing time during UND's little run to end the season. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he were not back for next year.

Sioux have plan in place

I think it would be wise to find someone else to punt. Not that I question Hellevang's ability to do both, I just don't like the idea of one guy doing both. Besides exposing the kicker to more snaps and therefore the potential for injury, I'd think that taking up punting again when he hasn't done it regularily could throw off his mechanics for place-kicking.

I agree. Forgive me if I missed it, but was there a timeline ever mentioned for when a new A.D. would be named, and when he would start his duties?

Has Rob Bollinger applied for the position? I have not heard that. I don't know anything more or less about Bollinger than I do about the other canditates, other than the fact that the UND coaches and the UND/GF community know and respect him. And that he is known to be a great fundraiser. Aside from being noted for being able to raise funds at a DII university in North Dakota and a DII university in Minnesota, what are his other administrative qualifications that could be found on his resume, if he decided to to present it? It sounds like he has great relationships and connections with the community, alumni, former players, potential donors, etc. That would be a great asset to have right now, for sure. But what relationships, connections, or contacts does he have with other coaches, athletic directors, or administrators of other schools that we'll be needing to forge quick relationships with in DI. What conference officials does he have the ear of while we search for a home for all sports? Basicaly, what relationships or skills does he have to help make this transition go as smoothly as possible? I ask these questions because I don't know, and I'm sure some here do. I would not necessarily be against Bollinger being the next a.d., nor am I ready to endorse him. But I do know that for those who want him mainly because he has great relationships with the coaches and community, should remember that he did not originally come to UND with them in place. As everyone else he built them over time. Who's to say one of the candidates who have actually applied for the position could not do the same over time?

The Sioux and Yotes will play twice next season.

I heard NDSU coach Saul Phillips mention on the Dan Hammer show today that the Bison will be playing in a tourney at Drake next season. In January, Coach Jones was on Hammers show and said that UND will be playing in a tournament at Drake next year. Drake normally hosts two tournaments in November and/or December, so I don't know if they'll participate in the same one or not. Just something to ponder.

Interesting timing, considering that the radio broadcast rights for both UND and NDSU are up this summer. I wonder if Hennen's new station could be another candidate. If he does add him to the list of Clear Channel, Leighton, Radio Fargo-Moorhead, and Forum Communications all as possibilities for wanting to acquire the rights to one of the two schools. Personally, I think there is a good chance that Ingstad's Radio Fargo-Moorhead will become the new flagship for NDSU soon.

I also don't think next to the Alerus would be the right location since this is a facility that would be used nearly everyday by hundreds of student-athletes and several athletic departments. However I do think that UND should make a long term commitment to keep football in the Alerus.

Here's a link to the video for the story.

What was the average attendance for the games of the Class B boys tourney this year, and what was the attendance for the championship game?

As always, thanks for your great insight BisonBacker.

It was a bit of a roller coaster season for the men's team this past season. We had some optimism in December, we were praying for mercy in January and Februray, then we nearly pulled off a near miracle to end the season including upset wins over two ranked opponents. Although I admit I was questioning the direction of this program during the middle of the conference season, I feel comfort knowing that Coach Jones had this team playing it's best basketball at the end of the season. That was the opposite from 2006-07, when the Sioux were competetive virtually all season long (suffering several close losses), then fell off the face of the earth and got blown out the last 3-4 games. Obviously there will be huge holes to fill next year with the loss of our top 2 scorers Emmanuel Little and Earvin Youmens. But I see Bledsoe stepping his game up and O.J. Harrison taking on a huge role next season. Add a productive post player and this could have been an entirely different team. With the move to DI commencing next season, no post-season to shoot for, and no conference race to be a part of, we must reconsider what we should expect from this team in 2008-09. I'm sure Coach Jones, his staff, and players already have highlighted their goals for next year, but we should discuss what this squad should set its sights on next season, and for the following seasons throughout the transition, for that matter. Here is what I would like to see this team accomplish next year: 20 Wins: We went from 11 to 15 wins in the last two years. The first season of our reclassification will most likely have one of the weakest schedules we've seen in years. Possibly littered with even more NAIA and DIII schools than the high number we've seen in the past few years. 20 wins should be very realistic if improvement continues. Win against the other transitionals/independents: We don't have a conference, but we will be playing home-and-homes against fellow DI newbies South Dakota, Seattle, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. All three have been known to be good basketball programs in DII. I want an above .500 record against those three teams. We will probably play some of the other indy's out there, and I expect us to beat them more than we lose to them. Beat an established DI on their court: It sounds like we won't have many games against DI teams in our first year, but we need to take advantage of the ones we do. I'm not saying beat Kansas or UCLA, but we should be competetive against a handful of Horizon, Summit, or Big Sky schools if we get the chance to play some of them. Beat South Dakota: I hate the Coyotes. Let's sweep them. What are other goals that this team should shoot for? Am I too optimistic, or not enough? I know we've had some down years recently, but UND has traditionally been one of the top two basketball programs in the history of the NCC, so I expect alot, even when the program is not meeting its own standards.

A strong finish

Sioux begin new chapter

It won't be real pretty. There will be home and away games against South Dakota, Seattle, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. They are playing in tournaments at Iowa St., and at Drake. They are trying to get games with several Horizon and Summit schools. I'd look for probably all of the DAC schools (at least the North Dakota ones) to be on the home schedule. Probably Crookston and Mary, too. South Dakota will definately be the highlight of the home schedule. I wonder if Concordia may come up to GF for a game next year?