bincitysioux

I also agree! And I think that the majority of Sioux fans realize that this is a good thing for NDSU, and also in the long run for UND. This stabilizes the Great West, and the Mid-Con is a very "fluid" DI conference that undergoes alot of turnover. So chances are pretty favorable that in a 3-4 years when UND is a DI "counter", and with two members within driving distance of GF, that the Mid-Con will really be a viable conference option for UND. On the other hand, however, before NDSU fans get high & mighty with UND fans for "tearing down" the Mid-Con, remember that as little as six weeks ago, and for the last 3 years, the Mid-Con was affectionately referred to by many Bison fans as the fat chick that NDSU might end up going home with because the hot-chick (Big Sky) was looking elsewhere.

12 is better than 10 for the Mid-Con because it doesn't sponsor football and because there are strength in numbers. I am happy for NDSU that they got in, and I hope that UND gets in down the road. But the Mid-Con is a historically unstable conference, that is a fact. After 25 years of existence, there are now 15 former members of the Mid-Con. So on average there is turnover in that conferene in just a little under every 2 years. So based on that, I don't think it is a stretch to speculate that the Mid-Con will indeed expand again in the near future.

The most important thing that this does for Sioux fans is provide stability for the GWFC, at least for the near-term, which will most likely be the first DI conference that UND will join whether it be in 2008 or 2009.

Congratulations to NDSU & SDSU. It looks like you may have found a home.

Sounds like the folks at UC-Davis wouldn't have a problem with another Upper Midwest school like UND being added to the Great West Football Conference. Talk Pleases Great West By Jeff Kolpack, The Forum Published Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Don't forget about baseball. UND and NDSU played in 2004, and had an agreement to play in 2005. NDSU gave UND the middle finger at the last second and backed out of the game. This goes both ways.

Not getting much love from Lindy's........Sioux rated 16th in the preseason poll. Lindy's Magazine NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25 1. Grand Valley State (MI) 2. Saginaw Valley State (MI) 3. Bloomsburg (PA) 4. Albany State (GA) 5. Presbyterian (NC) 6. East Stroudsburg (PA) 7. South Dakota 8. Northwest Missouri State 9. West Texas A&M 10. Nebraska-Omaha 11. Valdosta State (GA) 12. North Alabama 13. Washburn (KS) 14. Pittsburg (KS) State 15. Edinboro (PA) 16. North Dakota 17. Shepherd (WV) 18. Tuskegee (AL) 19. Northwood (MI) 20. CW Post (NY) 21. Minnesota-Duluth 22. West Georgia 23. Delta State (MS) 24. Central Washington 25. Texas A&M Kingsville 5 NCC teams in the top 25.

UND is rated 7th Street & Smith's Preseason Division II Poll Street & Smith's NCAA Division II Top 25 1. Grand Valley State (MI) 2. East Stroudsburg (PA) 3. North Carolina Central 4. Saginaw Valley State (MI) 5. Northwest Missouri State 6. Pittsburg State (KS) 7. North Dakota 8. North Alabama 9. Bloomsburg (PA) 10. Presbyterian (SC) 11. West Texas A&M 12. Shepherd 13. South Dakota 14. Nebraska-Omaha 15. Carson-Newman (TN) 16. Valdosta State (GA) 17. Ashland (OH) 18. Washburn (KS) 19. Minnesota-Duluth 20. Nebraska-Kearney 21. Winona State (MN) 22. Concordia-St. Paul (MN) 23. C.W. Post (NY) 24. California (PA) 25. Southern Connecticut I feel anything lower than #1 is a little insulting.

I voted that IPFW only gets added this week. The Mid-Con is getting desperate, but is not totally there yet. When you've got seven schools (including UND, and potentially USD) all wanting in, there is no need to get real excited. IPFW satisfies DI core member requirements (I think....I'm getting confused by all this math ), and does really nothing to shake up geography. After Valpo leaves after the 2006-07 season, that is when NDSU & SDSU will receive serious consideration before the start of the 2007-08 year. If there is one thing that I've noticed in following NDSU & SDSU's transition, it is that these conferences move at their own pace, which seems to be a very slow pace. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Montana is also in a conference with an auto-bid.

A rather unflattering column regarding the UND move to DI from the Wahpeton Daily News. [url=http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/articles/2006/06/22/sports/sports01.txt]Division I

This may be a little premature to be talking about, but UND will get to designate two sports to become playoff eligible in two years rather than 5 after we move DI. I was wondering which two Sioux fans think it should be. I think the standard answer is going to be M & W Swimming & Diving, which makes alot of sense because they are so very competetive and often already compete and have success against DI competition. However, I am leaning toward Volleyball and Women's Soccer. The soccer team has seen alot of improvement in recent years, and there is a conference that could be a possibility for membership, the United Soccer Conference. The USC already has regional members in NDSU & SDSU. And even if NDSU & SDSU get into the Mid-Con, the USC would perhaps consider UND as a possible replacement for one of them. Although volleyball has struggled alot in DII, it has a huge asset recruiting-wise in the Sioux Center. And it is really the only sport currently offered at UND other than hockey, football, & basketball that has the potential to generate revenue. Also, this is one sport that could potentially have DI opponents in close proximity from the get-go in NDSU & SDSU that would probably be looking for nearby games, unless of course they do in-fact get into the Mid-Con by 2008-09.

Here's an article on Toews from the Blackhawks website: Top Prospects Profile: Jonathan Toews As a Hawks fan , I'm glad he went to Chicago. It'll be fun to watch him play with Bochenski. But I'd rather watch him play in GF, so I hope sticks around for another year. Here's hoping for Tuomu Ruutu to get healthy!

UNC got invited to the Big Sky because of geography, and really that is the only reason.

I think going IA would be huge mistake for either UND or NDSU. I think the most success we could ever hope to achieve would be on the scale of the Gophers, and that would be a huge stretch to even assume that. And the Gopher football program is nothing to brag about in IA circles. And despite their mediocrity, it would be pretty hard to recruit IA players with U of M so close by. Both the UND and NDSU football programs can be built up to be something to brag about in IAA circles. I also would much prefer to have the IAA playoffs and championship to strive for than something like "Ed's Bait Shop Bowl". IA football doesn't interest me in the least, I don't know why it is being brought up when we are only 3 days removed from finding out that we will join I-AA three years from now. Let's concentrate on preparing our football program for the highest level of play that offers an NCAA championship, and concentrate on building our basketball programs up to a level where they can be competetive in DI. Let's keep the horse in front of the cart.

What I was getting at is that with I-A going to a 12 game schedule the trend seems to be I-A's scheduling I-AA guarantee games which is generally a sure loss (in most cases) for the I-AA school. To offset this sure loss, the I-AA school brings in a DII for a guarantee game and a sure win (in most cases). I don't see why in 2008 NDSU wouldn't bring in UND. They likely won't have the full alotment of scholarships, they won't have to pay a guarantee, and it will be a sell-out. It probably doesn't really matter though, because I think the GWFC will extend an invitation to UND before the start of the 2008 season, and UND will be in the Fargodome for conference game.

I also feel that USD should move up. I think they, like UND, would be a lock for the GWFC. But after that as far as conferences go it is every school for themselves. I think it could change the dynamic a little bit if all 4 Dakota schools were available for conferences to choose from. I think a USD/SDSU combo would be more appealing to the Mid-Con than would UND/NDSU. The Mid-Con tries to emphasize basketball and the SD schools are traditionally much stronger basketball schools and offer better geography for that conference than do the ND schools.

Yes, UND is a space grant university.

I don't see why that would be a factor. Carson-Newman, Arkansas-Monticello, and Concordia St. Paul are also DII in the eyes of DI. As long as NDSU continues to schedule at least one I-A game each year, they will likely continue to schedule one DII each year to offset it. In 2008, that could be UND. Wouldn't it be better for NDSU to bring in UND in 2008 for free and have 19,000 fans buy a ticket than it would for them to pay a different DII $35,000 to come to Fargo and only have 12,000 butts in the seats?

Yeah, I agree it is too bad that only 58 schools field an ice hockey program. It gets real old for us UND fans watching our school beat up on the schools that do have DI hockey. Ya know, like Minnesota, Notre Dame, Michigan, Wisconsin, Boston College, Ohio St., etc., etc., etc. Not nearly as exciting as NDSU's first DI sporting event against Valparaiso's non-scholarship football program. Did you know that that game was like NDSU's 5th biggest drawing fb game at the Fargodome in history? The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th biggest were all against UND.

That makes alot of sense. Kearney is the key, I think. If the NCC loses USD and fails to add Kearney, UNO has absolutely no incentive at all to stay in the NCC. I also think that the NCC and the NSIC will do everything that they can to avoid an actual merger. But they will perhaps work together on an unoffical expansion and scheduling arrangement, in order to maintain the two NCAA autobids that they currently have in the Northwest Region. The remaining NCC schools will look to add a few of the NSIC schools and/or DAC/GPAC schools like USF, Minot St., or preferably Winona St. or Northern St from the NSIC. Remember, Roger Thomas also has ties to Augustana and the Sioux Falls area. Although, I think that with UND and USD gone (if USD ends up going), that the top NSIC schools would prefer to remain in the NSIC. I think 5-10 years from now, the NSIC is going to be the premier DII conference in the upper midwest.

On WDAZ, Coach Lennon said he wanted to be playing NDSU, Montana, & Montana St.

I think it is unlikely that it would be that early. There are alot of variables. I would be surprised if it happens before the middle of the 2007-08 academic year (exploratory year) at the very, very earliest. All the UND fans now need to start pulling for NDSU & SDSU to get into the Mid-Con within the next couple of years because that would solidify the Great West, and make UND extremely attractive to the Mid-Con & GWFC. The worst thing that could happen would be if the Mid-Con snuffed the State U's, and the Big Sky added NDSU at some point during our transition.

Don't forget which University had DI athletics first! The reality is that in the last 5 years 3 of the top 4 athletic programs of the NCC left (now UND is leaving making it 4 of 4). NDSU has always been one of the top athletic programs in the NCC. However if NDSU had been Augustana-like athletically in the past 25 years and Augustana had been NDSU-like athletically in the pat 25 years and Auggie had left while NDSU stayed, UND would still be leaving. NDSU doesn't have an inferiority complex, they are simply inferior! I admit though, NDSU made the right decision when they left, and UND is making the right decision to leave now (finally).

When they do finally play again for the first time, it will undoubtedly be in the Fargodome.