FargoBison

The only DI expeirence UND has is hockey and that isn't going to mean anything to the Big Sky. The sky is never going to add one Dakota school it is either going to be 2 or 3 but NDSU has tons of support from both Montana and Montana St so they would be ahead of UND even on probabation. Academic wise the two schools offer different programs so comparing the two is hard but a degree from either is worth about the same. The Sky is no lofty goal, the last vote NDSU recieved an overwhelming majority but just couldn't get the unanimous vote it needed. A lofty goal for NDSU is the MVC not the sky.

To answer the football question NDSU is in IAA and playing and beating IAA teams until UND does the same they will not be on equal ground. I wasn't even talking about past success what NDSU is doing now in IAA is what matters. And I don't care what US news says their isn't a big difference between an NDSU or UND degree.

UC Davis is happily in the Big West and will be there unitl they go IA in football. IF UC Davis wanted to be in the Big Sky I'm pretty sure they would already be playing there.

First of all NDSU and SDSU both have a great chance at getting into the Gateway all it would take is one of three schools going IA(SIU, WKU, or MSU). If either one of those schools leave NDSU and maybe also SDSU, NDSU could be potentailly added alone. And that Big Sky comment was an absolute joke. The only way UND is getting in the Sky is with NDSU because they would want to add the rivarly to their conference. And UND has ZERO shot at getting into the sky while in D2 sitting behind both NDSU and SDSU. NDSU is a football school that has beaten Big Sky schools and has the best football program between the three Dakota schools if they took one team NDSU would be a lock. If UND wants to be in the Sky you better go DI otherwise it ain't happening, same with the Mid-Con and the Horizon these conferences aren't going to add D2 UND with NDSU and SDSU waiting for a conference. DI hockey means nothing to the Big Sky, none of their schools play it and none are ever going to play it. The Sky isn't going to take in UND because they can play hockey good. Academics are pretty equal among UND, SDSU, and NDSU so there is no advantage there either. You may have an edge on Facilities but the edge isn't huge(the BSA will be renvoted or replaced before UND even enters DI.)

The head coach of the highly ranked Southern Illinois Salukis said that not Bohl or Taylor. Here is the link.

I'm not gloating I'm just saying what the head coach of SIU said about NDSU's football program and I was saying that to make a point that NDSU is not mediocore. I know NDSU has some work to do be on Montana's level of dominance in IAA. And for now NDSU's meaningless games really only are for pride but it is very important to win these games so that by the time NDSU is playoff eligable they are nationally recognized for their quality football program and are well known throughout the landscape of IAA football since the playoffs are decided by a national comitee.

NDSU was hardly mediocore for the past 15 years in football but you can believe whatever you want. NDSU has already made a lot of waves in IAA and are already being called "the next Montana" and a "powerhouse" those words don't seem to match to closely with the level of mediocrity that you are trying to describe. Also IAA is alot more then a few LA schools and SUU, IAA is UMASS, Villinova, Harvard, Montana, UNI, SIU, WKU, etc. And also as NDSU progresses into IAA they will get more and more exposure, IAA football recieves just as much or more exposure as DI hockey gets and that is a fact. Again people all over the country will not take notice of a UND-UMN hockey game because hockey has a limited fan base, other college hockey fans will care but not the rest of the nation. While UND and the UMN play hockey most of the nation is concerned about what is happening in the world of DI college basketball not hockey.

NodakVindy- IAA is more prestigous and also has a lot more exposure then D2 football has. IAA football receives just as much or more national exposure then college hockey gets. There are 5 IAA playoff games on national tv, all the others are going to be on ESPNU. Also there are games on FSN and other networks weekly. Plus there is one game on network tv,the bayou classic which is on NBC. Another advantage of being IAA is that you can play IA teams which bring with them large checks just for playing the game, it is also cool just getting to see your school competing with the best schools out there. So being IAA has many advantages over D2. The main reason UND should want to play IAA is because more IAA schools are like them in terms of funding and facilities, overall D2 is closer to D3 then it is with IAA. There are about 8 or 10 solid D2 schools that are like UND, in IAA there are about 40-50. You are right the NCAA would never allow for this to happen since football is a revenue producing sport and a school from a lesser division shouldn't get to share the benefits without taking the risks.

Koenig was a solid high school football player and had a fair amount of DI offers form what I heard and if he wanted to play football NDSU would be a clear choice since he wouldn't have to sit out and would have 3 years of eligiblity. And since NDSU is playoff ineligable there would be less overlap between football and basketball seasons making it easier for him to play both sports if he wanted to do so.

I was really the only Bison fan opposed to him coming here, and the reasons were that it would probably be better for him to go to UND. Since he could play right away and it wouldn't be a sure thing for him starting even after he sat out a year at NDSU. The only reasons I could see him coming to NDSU is because his freinds and family are here or if he is serious about playing football. I think he has some talent and could make an impact on either team if he ever reaches the level of potential he had during high school. And I also said that NDSU only has a couple scholarships left to give out and since the team will be so young they could really use a couple of impact players from the JUCO level that they could give NDSU some depth and expeirence right away.

I have to agree that some of the former NCC bottom feeders have been getting a little better over the last few years but none of them can still not come close to replacing the losses of NDSU and SDSU. If the SU's were still in the NCC they along with UND would have probably taken 3 of the top 5 seeds.Without the SU's the NCC is still a strong conference but it is no longer an elite conference.

Dave K- Fargo has some kind of youth program for almost every sport. And the youth program for basketball starts at about kindergarten at the Y-ball level then at about fifth or sixith grade traveling teams get started, and there are a large amount of traveling teams in the FM area. Then from 8th grade on school ball starts. There is a fairly large amount of kids playing basketball in the FM area and it is probably about even in popularity with hockey. I just graduated from South a few years ago and I have also watched my brother go through about every level of youth basketball this city has so I know what I am talking about. CoteauRinkRat- And I never called Fargo a basketball city, I just said that basketball was even with hockey in popularity in Fargo. Fargo is a football city then every other sport follows.

Hockey is about even in popularity in Fargo with basketball, it is too hard to say whether one is more popular then the other. But I agree keep the hockey tourney in GF, and have basketball tourney out in Bismarck(except State A rotates with Fargo). But football belongs in Fargo just like how hockey belongs in GF. I was at the last title game at the Dome and Fargo South and Bismarck drew about 10K there wasn't even half of that watching South vs Central at the Alerus. Fargo is a footbal city and the state football title games belong there just like how hockey belongs in GF . Even if Fargo or Bismarck were ever to build an arena half as nice as the Ralph I would still never move the hockey tourney out of GF.

It may be the opposite in Grand Forks and Grafton but for the rest of Eastern ND basketball is more important then hockey. And yes the state hockey tourney belongs in the GF moving it to Bismarck would be a terrible idea. Why would you want to move the hockey tourney out of one of the best hockey cities and venues in the country? Regardless of whether the west ever gets good, the state tourney belongs in GF. The state football tourney however doesn't and I'm glad it's finally returning to it's rightful home in Fargo, GF couldn't support it just like how Bismarck would never be able to support the state hockey tourney like GF does.

This trade isn't that bad if Fowler can open up his checkbook(Red would never do this), here is my best case offseason for the Vikes. Draft Mike Williams or Braylon Edwards then with the next pick draft the safety from Georgia(Thomas Davis?). And in free agency pick up Coles, Rolle, and Bell. The Vikes are 36 milllion under the cap, so they could do all of this. Wr corps of Williams or Edwards, Coles, Burleson, and Robinson would be better then what they had with Moss and the defense would be much improved as well. The trade was terrible but if they would just spend some money in free agency and draft the right guys they could still be a better team next year.

South won 5-3 and won their first ever EDC title

I had to say something about that since I am an ND sports fan and UND hockey takes a back seat NDSU football. And many ND sports fans are fans of either school. A better question would have been does UND hockey take a back seat to NDSU football in the ND media? Or which team does the average ND sports fan favor more in the state? Do you really think UND hockey holds any edge in either two of those question? I would think media would edge slightly towards NDSU because of Fargo but as to who which team do you favor or follow more I think it's pretty much 50/50.

Is Fargo much of a metro area now? No(but you can make a case for it, unlike GF). Will it be in 10-20 years? Most likely. Fargo will most likely start growing into most of the outlying towns and will become a metro area of probably around 200-220,000 people, it wouldn't be the Twins Cites but it would be a metro area. Now to the NDSU half of your post, NDSU won their titles in a much stronger era of D2 football. D2 has just started becoming a "girls division" in the mid 90's. And you should know that to Bison backers NDSU football is king and to UND backers Sioux hockey is king, most of the state either leans one way or the other and the people with a neutral veiw probably follow both teams. You can say UND hockey never takes a back seat to NDSU football but I will say NDSU football never takes a back seat to UND hockey and depending if you live in Fargo or GF would and should affect you veiwpoint. In Fargo NDSU football dominates the news, and I'm sure Sioux hockey dominates the news in GF.

SiouxMeNow- You are right some D1 conferences pusue D2 teams based on being a solid geographical fit, but some D1 conference tell D2 schools to be a D1 indy for a few years and show us commitment. Both statements are correct and the better way for a D2 school to go is debatable and in NDSU's case time will tell. It has only been one year, if somone told me NDSU would be in a conference after year one then I would have been amazed. The Big Sky is still looking at adding NDSU the door still isn't shut. It is almost impossible to judge if the Sky will ever make it's mind up regarding adding NDSU, one week it seems unlikey and then a week later I will hear something and it will seem as likely as ever. And also the Gateway may also start pursueing NDSU if they lose WKU to the MAC and there is serious talks about dropping the IAA division and merging it with 1A and creating a two divsion 1A one playoff and one non-playoff(BCS), that would probably throw another 20-30 teams into IAA and could cause some conferences to need schools. NDSU will get into conference in this decade there is just too much instabilty among DI conferences for something to not open up. I still will mantain that going D1 will help NDSU in the long run on getting into a conference faster, and that staying in D2 was the right choice for UND. Womens hockey- Will probably be a money drain for a long time since nobody cares about it will always be a money drain and will be the reason NDSU will never have a hockey team. And for that I am glad since NDSU can focus on a much more cheaper and popular sport in D1 mens hoops and at the same time they can have a womens team competing at the NCAA's highest level that will be making money not losing it. If UND is going to wait for the womens hockey team to make money then they may be waiting a while. I think UND is waiting because they want to see how NDSU handles the transition and how it affects UND, not because of the womens hockey team

The Gateway would give NDSU an auto-bid and membership into an established and respected IAA conference. The Gateway could also help NDSU get into a D1 all sports conference because it would actually be in a league with teams in other conferences they want to join. Yeah that isn't the most exciting line-up of teams but UNI and SIU would be two great opponents to have on the schedule and the Gateway fits NDSU geographically much better then either the GWFC or the Big Sky. The best case scenario would be for the Gateway to add three teams and form a ten team league by adding NDSU, SDSU, and UNO?/UND?/GVSU? that would basically make the league a perfect fit for NDSU, but it would be alot more likely for them to just add NDSU. And if moving to the Gateway shuts the Big Sky door so be it. I think it is highly likely that Montana will jump to D1A in the next ten years and whats the Big Sky without Montana. I would rather be in any combination of Gateway/Mid Con, Horizen, or MVC(best case) then the Big Sky(especially a non-Montana Sky). And I agree NDSU is doing most of UND's work and UND's only punishment for not jumping may be having to wait because of tourny prohabition and shortend one at that thanks to NDSU and SDSU.

There again another school in a favorable region entering a conference that just lost a school. But in more favorable conference news to the SU's, Western Kentucky from the Gateway conference may decide to jump up and play D1A football in the MAC leaving the conference down a power team. And if they want another power school they would probably add NDSU to give them 8 schools again. The Gateway is football only but playing in an established IAA conference with Mid Con, Horizen, and MVC schools would probably make it easier to get into one of those conferences. I think either WKU, SIU, or Montana could make the D1A jump leaving a IAA power conference in need of a solid team in the next few years. You may not agree with the (damn the torpedos, full spead ahead" approach but I think it will pay off for NDSU in the long run and will get them into a conference much faster. A D1 conference in this region is much more likely to take an established D1 indy school before it takes a D2 school.

No way, both GF and Fargo blow Bismark away. And Cratter I never ment to say GF is a dump, all I was saying was that Fargo is a little more of a major regional city. And to GF's credit it is growing and doing some very good things and is probably on the way to being a bigger and better city. Not to many cities GF's size can say they have a very good University, a pro quality sports arena(that houses one of the best college hockey teams), and some other great things like the Kings walks GC, and the Alerus. GF is not a dump, it actually has alot going for it. But it is still not as much as a regional hub of activity as Fargo is, it is as DamStrait said a college town.

What was so ridiculous about my last post, I said Miles would take him in but there would be no garauntee in playing time after he sits out a year. What this team really needs are JUCO players that can play next year, Miles was down at NDSCS scouting two players the other night. And yes Jamal Stanten is doing well at Mankato but NDSU isn't in the NCC anymore and they play alot teams that Northern Illinios and UW GB plays so it's hard to say how good he would do here playing against the same type of competion. And it's hard to say what style Miles will try to run with this new group of players, what if he wants to try an up tempo style with all the undersized players he has. Koenig had a great high school career at North but the truth is he hasn't done much at UW GB and it's hard to say what he would do against similar competion. You guys are acting like Koenig went to UNC after high school and was some 5 star recruit, which he wasn't. The truth he was a highly touted rectruit from this area and is not doing so hot against D1 competion, how is he going to do at another D1 school that plays the same D1 competion. UW GB only beat NDSU by 6 points so the teams are comparable and yes UW GB runs an up tempo style but it is still yet to be determined what type of style Miles will run. And if Koenig was supposed to be this big difference maker that you say he is then why wouldn't GB try to get the ball more to him. GCwaters- are serious about this renovation of the BSA and will the news be out today.