mksioux

Perhaps. But didn't you essentially say the same thing on AGS about the games against La Tech and Alcorn St.? I mean, that's what football is all about. A call here, a bounce there can change the course of a game. I'm not saying your wrong or dismissing the fact that your team has underachieved up to this point. But I would like to hear from a South Dakota fan whether the disparity between the two teams was as great as you claim (or at least whether USD's radio announcer thought so, considering most USD fans probably didn't get to see the game).

Perhaps not. But we do know whose side Ron His Horse is Thunder is on....

I think that has to do with the 3 point margin of victory in the Idaho State game. I think people were expecting a better showing than that. It appears that most people believe Southeastern is better than Idaho State, which is probably correct. I think the game on Saturday will come down to the health of UND's secondary. If it's the same personnel as in the second half of the Idaho State game, UND will be in deep trouble.

I'm sorry, I thought there was a one-year prohibition against smack talking from fans of teams coming off bad seasons of historical proportions. Apparently not. To the point, Minnesota merely managed Montana State, which is likely about the same cailber of team as UND. But carry on about blowouts if it makes you feel better.

I know...Gibson sure was stupid. Taking pointless political potshots is not going to further the discussion on this board. But if you really want to get into the politics relating to the nickname opposition, I'm more than happy to do that. It isn't people like Sarah Palin, or her supporters, that have problems with Indian nicknames.

It will happen not only in football, but in many other sports as well. But don't misunderstand, the fact that Minnesota will schedule UND if the Sioux nickname is dropped is not enough reason to drop the nickname. I was just disagreeing with your assertion that it would not happen.

Brewster does not want to schedule FCS teams. Maturi does. Maturi is the boss. So Minnesota will continue to schedule FCS teams, as evidenced by the fact they scheduled South Dakota after Brewster made those comments.

Iowa and Wisconsin rescinded their policies against scheduling UND once the settlement was reached. Minnesota did not. However, my post was responding to Goon's claim that it was doubtful Minnesota would schedule UND even if UND dropped its nickname.

UND doesn't need Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Iowa to get a big pay-day. You must not have heard about the Texas Tech game next year. There are still plenty of teams of FBS teams willing to pay UND for a game. Getting a pay day from an FBS team was clearly was not the reason for the settlement, and will not be the reason if UND drops the nickname. Moreover, if the nickname is changed, the chances of playing Wisconsin or Minnesota in football is not "slim and none". You are obviously very unfamiliar with Division I football scheduling. Wisconsin plays Cal Poly this year. Minnesota played NDSU twice, Montana State this year, play South Dakota State next year, and is rumored to have scheduled South Dakota for a future year. Wisconsin and/or Minnesota scheduling UND in the future is a very real possibility...I'd even say likely. Minnesota "shelling" UND in football? Obviously you haven't watched a Gopher football game lately. And there are no pre-season games in college football. Carry on...

Expectations. Going into the game, UND was a bit of mystery... a DII power with recent success against FCS competition, that has blown out lower level competition this year. After the game, some of the voters might have seen UND as only three points better than a bottom-level FCS team.

TV or webcast options for this game?

The exact words are "...transition to a new nickname and logo which do not violate the Policy..." I think the legal question is whether "no" nickname and logo is a "new" nickname and logo. Whatever the case, if UND wanted the option of having no nickname, the lawyers did a terrible job drafting the settlement agreement. At a minimum, it is questionable whether UND can have no nickname and be in compliance with the NCAA. www.ag.nd.gov/NCAA/SettlementAgreement.pdf

Yea I went a looked at the settlment agreement again and edited my post.

To the main point of the article, which is speeding up the decision process, keep in mind that the settlement only requires that UND begin to transition to a new nickname on Nov. 30, 2010 if tribal approval is not obtained. UND has until August 15, 2011 to complete that transition. I don't see the need for an immediate decision on this.

I don't think you are pissing anyone off. It's just that you are a few years late to the conversation. For me, while it will be sad when the nickname finally goes, it's hard to worked-up about this issue anymore. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. I thought part of the settlement with the NCAA was that facilities did NOT have to remove the name and logos. Am I dreaming on this? Edit: I went and looked at the settlement again. Items of historical significance like championship banners, team photos, the statue of the hockey player near the student entrance, and the Sitting Bull statue do not need to be removed. Also, the in-floor granite logos do not need to be removed. However, it appears everything else needs to be removed on a certain timeline schedule from 2011 to 2015.

I think it's still evident that Idaho State supporters don't fully understand what UND football is all about. They're being much too hard on themselves.

I think it's possible that this was not originally scheduled as a home-and-home, but the contract was modified to make it a home-and-home after Faison became A.D. Since SELA is going to South Dakota next year, my guess is they will be returning UND in 2010 or maybe even 2011. In any event, that's great news. The more quality teams to make it to Grand Forks the better.

I think people objected to your use of the word "proper" as if it would somehow be "improper" if the football team became as big as the hockey team. In my opinion, there is no "proper" pecking order between UND football and hockey. This is not a zero sum game. Growing UND football does not have to mean waning support for hockey.

I can't wait to be there. It'll likely sell out.

I agree. If anyone should be upset by the final score, it should be UND, not Idaho State.

Not that it really matters, but it would be interesting to know whether Grom is still forbidding a Poly-UND matchup or whether Poly's AD had a change of mind and has decided against UND.

Honestly, his ignorance and misdirected anger remind me of some comments on this board from the not-too-distant past. I'm sure St Cloud State fans would much rather have the Dakota schools visiting their campus than Upper Iowa, Moorhead, UMary, and Crookston. I'd be mad if I were a St Cloud football fan too. But directing the anger at UND and USD is misdirected, just like the anger from some UND fans felt a few years ago was also misdirected. The fact of the matter is the Dakota schools finally did what they should have done in the 1970s and are where they belong.

Serious question here. Do you honestly believe the University has enough funds to build a new on-campus football stadium in the next ten years? I guess I don't see the harm in signing a 10-year lease because I doubt the University has the resources to get up a new stadium that fast, particularly given some of the higher priorities like a practice facility (which as far as I know has not even been started). I'd guess it will take several years of fundraising to get enough funds to even start the stadium project, not to mention the construction time. A 10 year lease starting with the 2009 season would keep UND at the Alerus through 2018. I'd be extremely pleased if UND could get a new on-campus stadium on-line and ready for the 2019 season. But I admit I don't have the first clue how the fundraising is going. If they are further along than I think, then obviously they would not want to be bound to the Alerus Center for 10 more years. The length of the lease UND signs will probably be a pretty good indicator where they are with the stadium fundraising.

That is a good schedule. Having McNeese State coming to Vermillion is huge. SELA is a nice get too. Anyone ever hear of SELA will ever be making a return trip to Grand Forks? It seems like we should have been able to get a home and home out of that deal.

This is what makes Fighting Sioux fans the best fans in the country. Compared to some other fans, we have to work harder to watch our team play, whether it's the Grand Forks Sioux fan driving five hours to the Twin Cities for the Final Five or an NCAA regional, or the Twin Cities Sioux fan ordering a $400 satellite system to watch home games on television. Being a Sioux fan does not come as easy as being a fan of our favorite rival, but I think the extra effort makes the payoff more rewarding.