mksioux

There's a lot of focus on whether BSU would be competitive in the WCHA in determining whether they are worthy for admittance. While obviously that is a factor, it's not the factor. There are more important considerations. Does anyone have any insight as to what Minnesota and Wisconsin think about adding Bemidji State? I've heard they are against it. If that it is the case, do we really want to vote in BSU over their objection? What are the unintended consequences of doing so? I don't claim to have the answers, but UND needs to look out for UND on this one and can't worry about BSU. The absolute worst thing that could happen would be for Minnesota and Wisconsin to leave the WCHA and UND be on the outside-looking-in on their new conference. UND needs to take that into consideration in whatever decisions it makes with regard to conference affiliation.

NDSU isn't going add hockey anytime soon no matter what BSU does.

I agree that it's bad for college hockey to see teams fold because they can't find a viable conference. And I agree that the WCHA will have to step in and save Bemidji State. But don't mistake that for a second with "thinking big" and "advancing" college hockey. This move will be done out of pure necessity to save Bemidji State from extinction. Nothing more. What would be good for the growth of college hockey is to maintain six viable conferences, allowing openings for schools that may one day consider adding hockey.

With 59 teams in Division I, there is definitely enough teams to fill-out six conferences. Even with Wayne State dropping hockey, There are 26 teams in western conferences, plus Air Force, which should be in a western conference. That's more than enough for three western conferences. The question is how you re-allign the schools to make that happen. No team is going to voluntarily leave their conference to go to the CHA, otherwise it would have happened by now. The problem with forced reallignment is there is no central authority to make the tough decisions (to my knowledge, the NCAA doesn't get involved in conference affiliation). Therefore, it won't happen. So the CHA will die and the CHA teams will either latch on to other conferences or will drop hockey.

Some interesting discussion. Nobody really knows where UND will end up, but I'm pretty sure it won't come until the transitional period is over, the reclassification moratorium is lifted, and movement resumes.

Winona State. Plus first round DII playoffs are old-hat at UND. The game simply did not excite anyone. So nobody went. I have no doubt NDSU's first home playoff game in FCS will be sold out. As will UND's.

Because the teams don't play on the field, this is the rediculous stuff we have to argue about.

Stunning? What's stunning is that this huge upgrade for UND's head coach -- "an opportunity too good to pass up" -- is for a position that is essentially the same as taking the head coaching job at NDSU. We're in no position to talk smack with NDSU fans on this topic.

I have little doubt that Mussman will be named the next coach. I don't know enough about him to have a positive or negative feeling. I think the first indication will be whether any of the recruits back out of their verbals, and whether Mussman can land the same caliber of recruits that Lennon was getting.

Fair enough. But keep in mind, all we've heard on this board over the past several years is how much loyalty and integrity Dale Lennon has. As it turns out, maybe he's not all that different than most coaches.

What a mess. It should be opened up externally, but it won't be because of the horrible timing of Dale's departure. So, in sum, it's Mussman (whether or not he is the best option).

I agree with the Bison fan, that's an odd thing to say to the SIU reporters. And quite frankly, this UND fan isn't yet in the mood to hear Dale talk about his loyalty to UND.

I agree. UND should expect nothing less, even if it's not quite the reality yet due to the transition. As to the question posed, SIU is obviously a better job in the short term, UND *should* be the better job in the long term. If UND is losing its head coach to another FCS schools five years from now, things will be seriously wrong.

There's probably never a good time for a head coach to leave, but I seriously can not think of a worse time for Lennon to leave the UND football program. The first year of a transition that he wanted, no athletic director to quickly hire a permanent replacement, a lame-duck President, an incomplete 2008 schedule, right in the middle of the recruiting season for the first DI class, and the probability of an interim tag being placed on the next coach. Thanks Dale. This is the kind of thing that could cause a program into a tailspin. Transition is a delicate enough time without this kind of turmoil. Coaches come and go and of course Dale has a right to leave to "better his family" or "for a new challenge" or whatever other cliches coaches give. But let's not pretend this is anything like when Roger Thomas or Dean Blais left. Given the timing and circumstances, this is a much bigger blow to the program than either of those departures.

How do you replace a head football coach when you have no AD and a lame-duck President? This has the dreaded "interim" written all over it.

What this shows is that it comes to this controversy, some random guy in Jamestown, ND who has sold 15 t-shirts of questionable taste is "newsworthy" to the Twin Cities media. But that's the kind of thing we're up against.

If it offends one person, that's one person too many. It must be dropped.

You can kill the time by counting the cars in the ditch.

Yes, it's just a discussion, which usually includes opinions. I gave mine.

I don't like 'Emeralds' because it has nothing to do with North Dakota or the region.

You could keep it, at least for a while, and have it re-directed to your new sight.

You don't need 3,300 seats for a practice facility. I'll stop discussing this issue as it's been beaten to death already.

Maybe technically you are correct from a grammatical context, but the possibility must not be all that strong if it didn't warrant a specific mention along with the Ralph. After all, the Alerus is a football stadium. I know basketball can be played there, but do you really think it's an ideal venue for a Division I basketball program? The ideal option for basketball long-term is a new facility. Yes, there are other options, but none of them fit very well. That's why the Betty, and the lack of foresight it represents, was such a waste of donated dollars.

The Betty opened in 2004, and in 2007 they are already talking about a way to "address basketball" and outgrowing the Betty. But it sure will be a nice volleyball facility. And I don't see where it's implicit in the comment that the Alerus is a possibility.

Trying it on.... Fits comfortably.... I like the sound of the name, the overall uniqueness as a nickname, and the specific uniqueness to North Dakota. I'm not yet sold on a Horse logo though. I'll wear it for a while and see how it grows on me. It's in my top two so far, along with Nordics.