82SiouxGuy

A regional alliance makes sense for most of the smaller schools with smaller buildings. But schools like UND, Denver and Colorado College are used to traveling a great deal anyway. They have the tradition of playing the top programs in the country because historically they are among the top programs in the country. So playing in a regional alliance with mainly the smaller Minnesota schools would not be desirable to the hockey programs or the fan bases of a school like UND.

I wouldn't assume that they are going to have the South Dakota games in the Ralph just because they are switching them to Sunday. They might have decided that it would be easier for the staff or the facility to hold the games on Sunday rather than the day of a Gopher game. Doing basketball at 1 & 3 in the Betty plus hockey at 7 might be a challenge on the first weekend back to school for the students. Or maybe South Dakota has a conflict and needed to move it. But it is definitely possible that they have basketball in the Ralph on Sunday. I helped with the switch from hockey to basketball one time. It took at least 4 or 5 hours with a pretty good size crew. I'm sure that the switch back takes about the same time. Plus having the basketball court over the ice isn't really great for the ice so I doubt that they would do that on Thursday before the Gopher series (although the new ice equipment might make a difference).

They had equipment working on the field last week. I'm sure they want to make sure the field is complete before weather becomes an issue this fall. That way they will be able to use it as soon as the snow goes away next spring.

I would guess that you are exactly right. There has been a limit on seats in the student section since they moved into the Alerus, just like there is a limit for students seats at the Ralph and there was in the old Ralph. I don't know if there was at Memorial Stadium because they just let students crowd the student section, and I seem to remember bleachers and standing room in the endzones. But this says that the students will get in at a reduced price even if the entire student section is filled, as long as there are empty seats to sell. That's a good thing for the students (not quite as good for those that would end up having to pay, but still a good deal).

We know what he meant. The point is that UND has already been successful in Division I in another sport (even if some people don't want to consider hockey a legitimate DI sport). Big wins will come and will be nice in football and in basketball. But they won't be the first big wins for the school in DI.

My choice would be:

I'm pretty sure that they always have a small section of seats set aside for the visiting team. They are usually sold through the visiting school.

Since I don't have the details of what happened it is very difficult to take sides. But the coach has done a good job with the team to this point so I won't assume that he did something wrong in this case unless there is real evidence to prove it. Leadership positions in sports should be decided on a year to year basis, with the best leaders being chosen as captain for that year. You don't get to be captain a second year just because you were captain last year. A history of leadership is part of the equation, but it isn't the only part of the decision.

I don't think that you can compare the twins to anyone else that has come to play at UND in any sport, men or women. They already have college experience playing at the highest level and excelling, they have been part of the extended Sioux family all of their lives because of their Dad and brothers playing at UND, and they have experience excelling at the top level of their sport in the world. They aren't freshmen, and they aren't new to the program. This is a unique situation.

I say it will be a lower scoring event. UND's defense should be ready but the offense may need some more time. Throw in an inexperienced offensive line for Idaho and I think it will be UND 17-Idaho 13.

I agree that it is probably staff rather than the AD themselves that are watching message boards. But it is a useful tool to find out what some people are thinking. These are often people that are very emotionally invested in the programs. I highly doubt that decisions are made solely on the basis of what is said on message boards. But anywhere you can get more information is a good tool to use.

I missed that story. Thanks for the info.

She's listed on the roster at fightingsioux.com. Is this a new development?

UND will play BC at 2:00 and Miami will play Bemidji at 7:00. ;-) Actually, IIRC, the first game usually starts at 2. You can probably find actual times at the NCAA web site, search for 2011 Frozen Four.

The minimum number is usually 6. The Big Sky would probably be looking to add more than Southern Utah if both Montana schools leave because there is a chance that other schools could leave also.

Great idea. I don't know why a school would need all of those teachers anyway. Maybe they should just fire all of the faculty so they can expand the athletic department.

The Community area is a place to discuss other topics of interest to members of this board. Both Favre and the Vikings are of interest to many people on this board. Get over it.

I agree that most of us face challenges in our personal lives. Many people have faced bigger challenges than I have. That was actually part of my point. Those challenges are usually much more important than fighting for a sports nickname. What have I done in the realm of social action? Does running for office count? You know, putting my neck on the line to try and make a difference? I lost, but will probably try again. How about working on the campaigns for others? Talking to elected officials about issues on a regular basis (not writing letters but actually speaking with them)? Serving on the boards of multiple non-profit organizations? Helping raise money for a variety of causes? Working with youth (not my own kids since I don't have any) to teach them about values, leadership and a variety of life skills? I kind of think they do, and those are some of the things I've done and continue to do on a regular basis. There are 2 main reasons why I am ready to move on if a miracle doesn't happen to save the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. First, there are much more important issues in this country than a college sports nickname. I don't care if it is the best, most unique nickname ever created. Losing that nickname is nothing compared to people losing their lives, losing jobs, losing children, natural disasters, and a huge list of other issues. I think it is a great nickname and logo. But I believe that my time and efforts are better spent making a difference in my community. I think I've done my small part to do that and I plan to continue trying to make Grand Forks and North Dakota better places to live. If you want to spend your time writing blogs about how a nickname should be kept, go ahead. Just don't put me down because I'm doing something else that I think is more important. The second reason is that the chances of keeping the nickname are very slim. You may not acknowledge it, but the November 30th deadline is very real. It is part of a legal written agreement between the SBoHE and the NCAA. That agreement has now placed all of the power in the hands of a very few people, the tribal council at Standing Rock. It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, says or does. The tribal council holds all of the cards. And they aren't interested in dealing any to UND or the SBoHE. The tribal council has had almost 33 months to do something and they haven't moved an inch. I really don't expect them to unless someone can find some lever that will force them to move. Many people predicted that at the time of the settlement. A lot of things would have to happen in a very short period of time to be able to keep the name, and nothing happens until the tribal council lets it happen. I've had almost 3 years to prepare myself in case this happens and I have. Your ideas about civil rebellion can be a good thing, but you are coming late to the party. This issue has been part of the landscape since the 1960's. The current predicament has been building since the NCAA made their proclamation almost exactly 5 years ago. Trying to rally support and to build a relationship should have been done 3 years ago, or 5 years ago, or 20 years ago. Not 3 months before the deadline. And some people did try. They weren't successful, at least in part because the powers that be at the time didn't take the time or make the effort to get those things done. They didn't see a day when UND's hand would be forced by an outside agency. They were wrong. If you had started promoting your social action themes 3 years ago, or 5 years ago you would have had a better chance of success. You would have gotten more people involved and probably would have had a better response from a much larger segment of the population. But you're late. And we don't know if it would have made a difference then or not. The Standing Rock tribal council doesn't care about your social action. The only people they really answer to are their constituents, the members of the Standing Rock reservation. Those people have much bigger issues to deal with than UND's nickname. Unemployment is sky high. They have major issues with their schools, and alcohol and many other things. The majority probably don't have a problem with the nickname, but they aren't going way out on a limb for that issue. And if the tribal members don't care enough to make it an issue, the tribal council isn't going to be forced to change their mind. And I believe that a change in nickname won't have a major negative effect because I believe in the strength of the University of North Dakota. I believe that the people are what make it special, not a name on the chest or the scoreboard. After all, "We are North Dakota". The only way those people are going anywhere is if they choose to go away. I believe that the vast majority will remain a part of the UND family, and that will keep alive the Fighting Sioux tradition and heritage even if it lives under a different name.

I don't know about Missoula, but Grand Forks weather changes a lot in October. The average high during the first week is probably much higher than the average high during the last week. It is definitely a transition month during most years. But the weather in October varies greatly from year to year. I would say that the biggest challenge for attendance would be from about October 15th through the end of the season during most years. Some years you could have decent weather and attendance could be good. Other years you could have early snow storms and have to fight cold and snow for almost a month.

The temperature isn't always the problem. The problem is often falling moisture and/or wind when combined with the colder temperatures. 35 degrees with falling rain, or 30 degrees with a 25 mph wind from the north are both very unpleasant experiences for 3 hours. In some ways they can be more unpleasant than 10 degrees with falling snow (as long as the wind isn't blowing). Most people like to be comfortable and many would rather not expose themselves to extreme weather experiences if they can avoid them.

Student attendance was very poor this past year. My seats are in the section next to the students so I get a good look at the actual numbers. My guess is that it was in the hundreds for an average, and was really poor after the Sioux Falls game. In past years student attendance was very good. I believe that they have 2 sections devoted to students. My guess is that there were 1,200-1,500 for a lot of games, probably more for the big games and less for some of the weaker opponents. And student attendance was way down for playoff games since they had to pay for those games, plus they were not allowed to sit in the sections behind the opponents bench during the playoffs. The one constant for student attendance between the Alerus Center and Memorial Stadium is that for most games, the number of students in attendance for the 2nd half of games was much smaller than the number of students in attendance for the 1st half of the same games. I'm not sure where the students go , but they must have a lot of home work that needs to be done.

Just remember that the reservation is a sovereign nation. That means the court system of the United States doesn't apply to what happens on the reservation. The court system on the reservation is modeled on the US court system, but it doesn't always work the same. Any legal challenge to the tribal council versus elders question would have to go through the tribal court system. The tribal council doesn't always follow what the tribal courts say, much like Congress passing laws that go around what the court system may say. In most cases I would bet on the tribal council winning.

People think that weather is an issue because it has proven to be an issue far more often than it is not an issue. The Packers are the exception to the rule. In most places attendance decreases with moisture falling and with lower temperatures. There is no guarantee that UND fans would stay away from the stadium during inclement weather. But they have almost every time over the years, so it is a pretty good bet that the trend would continue. Attendance is down at the Alerus Center when the weather is bad, so I wouldn't expect those people to show up for an outdoor game. Edit: One other factor in lower attendance at UND games versus Packer games is the fact that UND games are much more of a family event. Most of the crowd at Packer and other NFL games are adults. There aren't a lot of kids at games when it is below zero. Much of the crowd at UND games is kids and family. You are gong to lose a lot of them for outdoor games during bad weather.

The pipe ceremony was done by the elders, not the tribal council. The tribal council has voted against the nickname on more than 1 occasion. Whether the pipe ceremony trumps the tribal council is up to the reservation, and since the tribal council is in charge of the reservation they say it does not.

Don't forget rain and cold weather in October, as we saw last fall. Outdoor sports in the fall are going to be a crapshoot in this area, you never know what the weather is going to do. Playing in 2 different home stadiums would also cut into the home field advantage. But it wouldn't be the first time that someone played home games in more than 1 stadium.