bincitysioux

Pitt St. should have been in the slot that Mesa St. is in, they are, or were open for that date in 2006 according to D2 Football.com. They're open on the same weekend in 2007, Bunning should try to get that game, home or away. South Eastern Oklahoma St. is also looking for a home-and-home deal for the future. They would be more intriguing than Mesa or Ferris.

I was referring to the quality of the competition. I was at the Mayville St game this week. That is not the type of competition that I think should be on the floor with the Sioux Women.

If you're worried about that sort of thing, look at Montana St. They won the DII title in 1976, and then won the I-AA title 8 years later in 1984. How many years did it take UND to go to its first National Championship game in football? A long time. How about women's basketball, have we been a national power since the program's inception? Nope. Everything takes time. Dale Lennon could be offered a coordinator job at a Big 10 school and the football program could easily end up where Minnesota State is at. Probably won't happen, but it could. Gene Roebuck could retire, and the dominance of the Sioux Women's program could come to an end. Don't forget, the men's bball team wasn't always what it is now. There was a time when they were a force to be reckoned with.

Obviously the conference situation is paramount to the success of the basketball teams, probably more so than any of the other sports. Last season home conference games drew nearly twice as many fans as the non-conference games. The only three existing conference options are the Big Sky, Mid-Con, and Horizon League. Realistically, all three of those are long-shots, especially the Horizon. I really think that some sort of DI NCC is going to emerge in the near future, and that is where UND will land, which means no auto-bid for basketball for 13 years, and no tournament berth for at least 13 years. I wonder if attendance will struggle as much in basketball for UND as it has for NDSU? I'm sure there would be a drop off until a conference was found, but I doubt that it would be as severe as NDSU's has. UND basketball is played in a state of the art facility, which helps draw fans. I also think that since Basketball is a tertiary sport at UND, the fans that regularly attend now, are the really devoted ones that will likely be there in the future. But just being labeled DI, could bring in more of the casual fans. I go to several games now, but honestly I'd probably buy season tickets if we were DI, because it would be a better brand of basketball. We only have six conference home games now, and last year attendance for those games were 3,907. Remember, if we were DI we would have, at minimum, one home game that would be held in the REA and draw probably 8,000-9,000, in NDSU. And a home game with SDSU would likely draw no less than any NCC conference game did last year, which is right around 4,000. So those two games would be the equivalent (attendance-wise) of three NCC games. That means we would need to find only 3 other "big draw" games, for things to look similar to what they do now, attendance wise. If one or more NCC school moves up at the same time, any one of them could be one of those "big draw" games.

If we move to DI, we will probably still have games against schools like Mayville and Jamestown, at least throughout the transition period. But if we stay in DII, we will likely be competing against those schools for conference titles in five years or so.

If the Alerus Center had the new style "Field Turf", like in the Metrodome and what alot of sports facilities are going towards, could soccer be played in the Al?

I think it is just another illustration of how much support and interest is garnered by baseball and softball at our fine University.

USD Offensive Coordinator Glenn Caruso is leaving to take the head job at Macalaster College (St. Paul). http://www.d2football.com/ Personally, I think it is about time that USD makes a change in offensive philosophy!

Appalachian St won the DI-AA Football Championship this weekend over Northern Iowa. Congratulations to App St., and to former UND-foe and NCC member Northern Iowa on their first championship game appearance.

The success of NDSU baseball is equally affected by the college baseball-unfriendly climate of ND. Still, I have to believe that when a coveted baseball recruit narrows his choices down to UND and NDSU, that 80% or more of the time that recruit is going to choose NDSU because of the fact that NDSU's facility is, at minimum, 100 times better than UND's.

That is encouraging.

Again, I like the idea of Lacrosse at UND. It does make more sense than baseball and softball, and one can make a very solid case for UND not sponsering those sports. That pains me to say because I've always been a fan of baseball, as it was always my best sport. The problem with baseball and softball at UND, aside from the climate, is that we can never realistically compete with NDSU for recruits (local or otherwise) because they have the luxury of playing in Newman Outdoor Field. It would be the exact same thing if they do end up adding hockey, trying to compete for recruits with us when we have the REA in our pocket. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no way that UND could cut both baseball and softball in favor of adding lacrosse, unless we added both men's lascrosse and a women's sport? Is there women's lacrosse? I do think lascrosse fits for UND, if it could be played in the Alerus. I'm sure the Alerus would be more than willing to put anything in that building with all of their financial troubles. And I would think that with as few schools sponsoring lacrosse, travel wouldn't be that big of an issue, especially if it was played in a facility like the Alerus. Denver would be an instant rival. And it should be pointed out that many of the schools that sponser DI Lacrosse, also sponsor DI hockey which could help out UND if they picked up the sport. Also, many of the universities that sponsor DI lacrosse, also play DI-AA football.

I'm going to both the basketball game and hockey game tomorrow. Just wondering if any of you could tell me about parking. I normally park either on the streets south of REA or in the Memorial Stadium lot for hockey, but am wondering if I park in the BESC parking lot at 4:30, if I'll be okay there through the end of the hockey game? Thanks for any help!

GK, you come off as sounding as if you are ashamed of your heritage. Wishing that you could blend in is no solution to anyone's problems.

I don't think UND should cut women's tennis, because both M & W tennis are required "core" sports for the Big Sky conference. Whether or not the BSC is in the fold for UND down the road, the school should still position itself as if it will someday be a member, because it is still the most attractive conference option, if we are to move DI. I like the idea of Lacrosse at UND, Sicatoka makes a great argument for it. And actually, far more people attend the NCAA lacrosse championship than do the Frozen Four or I-AA football championship, so it is a popular sport.

If a farmer that graduates from NDSU is a hick, what is a farmer that graduates from UND (like me)?

Would being DI in all sports possibly help recruiting for the hockey program? If UND were more visible in other sports besides hockey, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio St, etc. it could sway the decision of a highly touted recruit. On the other hand, could Hakstol be thinking that a move up by the other sports would possibly put on fiscal drain on hockey and threaten the program's finances, making him against it?

I have read on another board that this review committe is stacked with members who oppose a move to DI. Is this true?

I think I am way far off base.

I was just wondering as a sports fan in general where you would like to see a game, whether it be football, hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, horseracing, bullfighting, or whatever, be played. Whether it be a city, a stadium, a favorite team, favorite sport, bowl game, or championship game. Personally, I would like to go to Yankee Stadium, walk around Monument Park, and sit in the right field stands where Roger Maris hit No. 61 and watch the Yankees play the Red Sox. Second, I'd like to see a Packers-Bears game at Lambeau Field in December. I'm kind of a history buff, and as nice as the REA, Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, or the Ballpark at Arlington may be, I would rather explore the Ivy of Wrigley Field, or walk around the floor of the Boston Garden (before they imploded it ).

The best part about it is that now I can say that our season ended against the eventual National Champion, and the REAL National Championship game was played on November 19th. I refuse to congratulate GVSU, because they are supposedly our "new" rivals, and you don't congratulate rivals!

No, I wasn't suggesting it, I was just wondering if that's how in fact it works.

Well, it's happening again. Not that I much care this year. I understand that it is only DII football, but for crying outloud it is the National Championship! Couldn't they put a regular season basketball game on the Deuce or ESPNU and make sure the broadcast starts on time or vice versa? How many channels does ESPN have anyways? Half if not more of the first quarter will be gone by now.

Isn't it true that mens and womens hockey are exempt from this loophole and don't count towards the 2 "other sports" being DI? So couldn't a school like UND or Duluth move up two other sports to DI like volleyball and Mens swimming in addition to M & W hockey and actually have 4 sports at DI?