mksioux

All of these are reasons. None of them are good reasons. The bottom line is that NDSU had the courage and foresight to get out of DII in 2002. UND did not. You can make up all the reasons in the world, but I believe Roger Thomas and Co. were unable to see that the Dakota schools could compete very favorably in Division I. Lack of vision on their part. NDSU is still feeling the benefits of its decision to move up earlier than UND. The truth of the matter is that both UND and NDSU should have made the move in 1978 when DI-AA was created, but that's a different discussion. Say what you want about Tom Bunning and his overall ineptitude, but at least he pushed Kupchella to make the jump when he did. I shutter to think of what might have been if UND didn't move up when it did.

You have to go for an onside here. The defense is incapable of a stop.

This defense is atrocious. If UND wants to be a serious program, they need to make some changes after this season.

1985. at Northern Arizona L 0-41 East Stroudsburg W 38-7 South Dakota L 3-45 at South Dakota State L 23-29 at MSU Mankato L 6-28 Augustana W 41-18 at Morningside L 7-48 St. Cloud State W 30-3 at Northern Colorado L 27-28 Nebraska-Omaha L 7-19 at North Dakota State L 0-49 To look on the bright side, as bad as losing 17-55 to EWU is, it can't possibly compare to losing 7-48 to freaking Morningside. If there had been message boards back in 1985, I can't even imagine what the fall-out would have been after that loss.

To put this blowout in perspective, you have to go back 27 years, to November 15, 1986 to find a game where UND lost by a larger margin to a team in its same division (13-62 v. NDSU).

If UND had better relations with the tribes, even one tribe, back in 2005, it probably would have gotten the same exemption as Florida State. FSU got immediate and unequivocal support from the Florida Seminole tribe. UND did not. All UND had was a five-year old vague and qualified resolution from Spirit Lake, and Spirit Lake refused to reaffirm it for the NCAA. Moreover, UND had active hostility from other tribes within its border (notably, Standing Rock), which FSU did not have to deal with.

We get it, Mr. Hamm is the big, bad boogeyman of Big Oil. Moreover, he is Romney's chief energy advisor and doesn't share your politics. Therefore, you assume there must be something sinister about this gift, even though you probably don't know any more about the specifics of this deal than anyone else. So you post some cryptic messages pretending that you have the inside scoop and the Big Oilman is pulling a fast one on the State of North Dakota and you're the only one smart enough to see it.

A $10 million gift is definitely worthy of a "major announcement" and a press conference. Cripes people. How spoiled are we?

Accepting Notred Dame would have been better for UND, and the NCHC, in three very important ways. First, with Notre Dame in place, there would have been no reason to add St. Cloud. The NCHC could have added Western Michigan as the 8th member and called it a day. Who brings more to a conference, Notre Dame or St. Cloud? That's a no brainer. Second, the NCHC could have gotten the benefits of Notre Dame's great television contract. NBC Sports Network is on basic cable for most people in the county and there is no need to buy a sports-tier package to get it. The exposure that would have provided to UND and the conference would have been outstanding. Sure, Notre Dame would be the focal point of the coverage and would get the most benefit from it, but it would have increased coverage and been a benefit to the other NCHC members as well. You don't turn down a great opportunity just beacuse it's better for someone else. Notre Dame was going to have that television contract regardless of what the NCHC did. It was just a question of who was going to get the secondary benefits. The NCHC handed those benefits to Hockey East. Third, UND could have kept its deal with Fox College Sports. I never understood the all-for-one mentality of the NCHC and the exclusivity clause in its television contract. Even if CBS Sports Network would have snubbed the NCHC without the exclusivity clause (which we don't know to be a fact), the conference as a whole would still have been better off with the television contracts of Notre Dame, UND, and DU than with the crappy deal it got with CBS Sports Network. You don't keep the entire conference down in the name of equality. Yes, I realize UND was technically only 1/6 of the NCHC at the time these decisions were made. But let's be real. UND and DU started the NCHC. Without UND, the conference wouldn't exist. UND could have made it a prerequisite to starting this conference that it get to keep its television deal and a conference exclusivity clause would not be on the table. Do you really think the rest of the schools wouldn't have joined the conference if UND had done that? Hardly. The way I see it, UND is using the conference as a public relations cover for its own bad decision. I was really excited about the NCHC when it was first announced, but it's been one disappointment after another ever since.

Thanks for sharing. I love these kinds of documentaries. I haven't been able to find the Mike Mooney play online, so hopefully this will provide an opportunity to get that play into the online world.

I was worried Big Sky TV wasn't ready for UND. This is Exhibit A why webcasting is not ready for prime time yet and is not even close to replacing television. It sure would be nice to be watching this game on Fox College Sports right now.

The way I see it, this regional deal is basically the same for UND as the past several years, except UND is going to make a little more money from it, and eventually get games in HD. The geographical coverage will be about the same. The number of games will be about the same. In sum, UND's regional coverage will remain intact for the foreseeable future. Other than HD in Year 3, I don't see much to be excited about. It's not really a game changer as far as I can tell. The only "game-changer" I've seen is the CBS Sports deal with the NCHC from a few months ago, and that is a "game-changer" for the worse. After the 2012-13 season, UND hockey's national presence on television will virtually disappear (limited to about 5 games per year). Anyone living outside of the Midcontinent footprint will have to rely on streaming video on the internet to watch UND hockey. The only thing I don't know is whether the Root Sports deal with the Big Sky prevents Fox College Sports or any other national network from picking up UND football and basketball games. I suspect it does, but I haven't heard one way or the other. Either way, the reality is that if you live outside of the Midcontinent footprint, get used to seeing A LOT less UND sports on TV.

I know how to hook my laptop up to my TV. Done it several times. ESPN3 is somewhat watchable, but not as good as TV. Big Sky TV is absolute joke. If TV contracts are going to be functionally moot in a few years because everyone will be online streaming, then why did the NCHC even bother to ink a TV deal with CBSSN? Why not pour all of the conference's efforts into internet streaming and let schools do what they want with TV?

You do realize that only a small percentage of the population have any idea what you’re talking about? It’s going to take years and vast cultural shift for the Average Joe to get in the habit of watching sporting events on the internet. Sure, a few tech savvy fans like you will figure out a way to watch the games in a semi-watchable fashion, but most of the people aren’t going to bother. If they can’t easily get it on their TV, they aren’t going to watch. This isn't just about whether you or I can personally watch the games, it's about growing the exposure of the program, gaining recruiting advantages, selling the University. TV is still where that is at, not through webcasting. All efforts should be made to expand your television footprint, not slash it to the point of being virtually non-existent. I understand technology is changing and the internet is a great supplement to a good television deal, but to think it’s going to replace the quality, convenience, and exposure of television for the vast majority of people anytime soon is mistaken.

You're not serious are you? The BIg Sky webcasts are a joke. I watched the UND v. Northern Colorado football game last year, hooked my computer up to my TV, and it was barely watchable. Horrible picture, couldn't get sound. It was fourth rate at best. If the webcasts are so great, why are all the major conferences fighting over television contracts and starting their own television networks? Why don't they go with just webcasts if it's a step up?

Sorry, not possible. That's the whole point. A contract like the one with FCS cannot be worked out. It would violate the NCHC's contract with CBSSN, which has exclusive rights to national broadcasts. In Seattle, the only way you're going to be able to watch UND is 4 or 5 times a year on CBSSN or on the internet.

We all know this news severely affects those UND fans outside of the region. But it will also affect thousands of people within the region. Those people that choose DirecTV instead of cable will not have access to UND games, except the 4 or 5 on CBSSN. If you have cable and live within the region, this will affect you as well. CBSSN will presumably televise 2 or 3 hockey games from Grand Forks per year. The way I understand this deal, CBSSN will have exclusive rights to the games they televise over the regional rights (in other words, the regional provider can only televise the games that CBSSN chooses not to televise). Thus, the thousands of people who have cable in the region, even in Grand Forks itself, who don’t have a sports tier, are not going to be able to watch the UND home games that CBSSN decides to televise. And I suspect people are not going to be real enthusiastic about buying a sports tier just for 2 or 3 games per year. So this deal cuts out 2 or 3 games for most cable subscribers in the region.

UND may be working on a "new deal" improving internet streaming or maybe expanding regional coverage, but the CBS Sports deal precludes UND from entering into its own national television contract, like it currently has. As I said in the hockey thread, this decision is stunning. UND is giving up 22 hockey games, 3 football games, a few basketball games, all on a sports-tiered natoinal television station in exchange for 4 or 5 hockey games on a similar sports-tiered national television station. Not sure if the Big Sky Root deal would have precluded the football and basketball games anyway, but even taking those out of the equation, this is a real head-scratcher.

I'm sure the NCHC will do something like this. Maybe internet streaming is the wave of the future, but let's face it, right now it's not an adequate replacement. I watched the UND v. Northern Colorado football game through the Big Sky's service and it was borderline unwatchable. ESPN3, which probably has the best internet streaming available, can look decent when you hook it up to a TV, but it's still not as clean and convenient as television. And internet streaming does absolutely nothing for exposure to the program, which is another important component to a television deal. A league-wide internet streaming service would be a great supplement to the existing FCS contract, but it pales in comparison as a replacement.

It seems very likely that the FCS deal would have been renewed, but even if it wasn't, UND still would have had options to look for another deal somewhere else. UND gave up its options by agreeing to go to a conference that required a conference-wide exclusive television deal. That type of arrangement would be okay if the conference could get a decent deal, like with NBC Sports Channel (which is not on a sports tier in most markets). But when the best the conference can do is a deal worse than the one UND already has, then it's a major backfire.

Unless Schlossman is reporting the story wrong, renewing the FCS contract is not possible because it would violate the exclusivity clause of the CBS deal. So that means it's not just FCS, UND has no options to nationally televise their games after next season. I can't think of any other possible options other than internet streaming, and maybe FTA satellite.

UND gets bascially nothing, or very close to nothing, from Fox College Sports. According to the Duluth reporter, the NCHC will actually have to pay CBS College Sports production costs as part of the deal. Thus, the Fox College Sports is a better deal from a financial standpoint, as well as exposure.

Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly, UND has an existing contract with a sports-tier national channel to televise 22 games and it is giving it up so the entire 8-team conference can land an 18-game contract with a different sports-tier national channel? This makes absolutely no sense. UND, by itself, currently has a better deal than the entire conference is getting. There HAS to be more to this story. As it's being reported, it just doesn't make any sense. It does not seem rational to voluntarily cut national TV coverage from 22 games to 4 or 5 games. The NCHC is a great concept and I was excited when it was first announced. But between losing Notre Dame, adding St. Cloud State, and now this, I'm just left scratching my head. Given the crappy TV deal with the NCHC, I can fully understand why Notre Dame wanted no part of the NCHC. UND is squarely back to where it was in 2001. With all the talk about expanding television coverage over the last ten years, to end up with a regression of this magnitude is stunning.

This is the boat I'm in. I'd much rather play only 5 games at home in 2012 if it means we can keep the annual UND-USD game going or start an every-other-year series against NDSU. Going every other year with 5 home games just doesn't seem like a big deal to me if it means a quality schedule. From a financial standpoint, UND could make more money hosting NDSU every fourth year than four straight guaranty games against teams like SD Mines.

I get that it may be too expensive to bring in an FCS guarantee game. But I just don't understand why it's so difficult to schedule home-and-homes with the regional FCS schools. We're the only FCS school in the region in the Big Sky, so we have a lot of potential OOC FCS schools in the region. It just doesn't seem like it should be so difficult to strike up an annual game with USD or an every-other-year game with NDSU (as reportedly has been offered). Then sprinkle in home-and-homes with SDSU and Northern Iowa, and the occassional home and home against non-regional FCS schools. It just seems like a schedule could be filled-in going that route, particularly if you don't insist on 6 home games every year, which would be fine with me. And it's very disappointing to see that the rivalry with USD is not going to continue. It would have been nice to preserve at least one rivalry game.