82SiouxGuy

Eades was on KNOX radio this morning like he normally is on Mondays during the season. He casually mentioned that some players on the team didn't like a couple of comments that were written by Eastern press. A couple of people wanted to know exactly what was said that the players didn't like and some of us were trying to identify the comments. No one here is belly-aching about anything, and I don't think the players were that concerned about it either. It was just a point of conversation. So I think every already has a grip, they just wanted a little clarification and information.

Knight said that he was recovering faster than they originally thought he would. My guess is that he plays and Hextall is out 1 or 2 more weeks.

That's what Eades was talking about. He said that the team didn't appreciate the comments or getting picked to be swept. Here is the prediction for Saturday.

Knight did not play. He was interviewed by Tim H and said that he thought he might be ready this coming week.

I have a pair of tickets available for each game of the UND-Denver series this coming weekend. The seats are at the top of Section 306. Tickets are in Grand Forks and we can arrange delivery any time up to 5 minutes before the game since I will be at the Ralph each night. Asking $100 for the pair each night. Send me a PM if you are interested.

The next date of interest is a little hard to predict at this point. If the State Supreme Court makes any kind of ruling, that could be the important date. A meeting of the Standing Rock Tribal Council that makes some progress on the issue could be important. But if nothing happens before the next SBoHE meeting, that meeting will probably be it. The entire issue is boiling down to whether Standing Rock will do anything, and how long can the SBoHE delay the decision without losing UND's place in line for the Summit. The latest reports are that absolutely nothing is happening at Standing Rock and there is no movement to get something happening. If that doesn't change by the February meeting the SB will probably decide that the probability of success at Standing Rock is so small that it isn't worth risking a place in the Summit. I won't be shocked if the issue is delayed again, but right now I won't be surprised if they make a decision in February.

It is a lot to expect a team in the middle of transition to be at or above the average of Division I RPI. After all, more than 150 schools that are already in Division I are below the average. It can and has happened, but I would be willing to bet a lot that it isn't the norm. People often have too high of an expectation for their team (not just at UND). But people really need to temper their expectations until they get a little closer to being a full fledged member of Division I. But you are right that this shows the potential for good support if the team is competitive. UND has had good attendance numbers in the past for basketball and they will again when the team gets in a league and does well.

This game filled the Betty last year and probably would have done much better this year if 1) the weather cooperated and 2) the team was doing better this year. Both of those were hard to predict when they scheduled this game last summer.

And to clarify the California Golden Seals a little bit. They were added to the NHL the same year as the Minnesota North Stars, 1967. Originally they were known as the Oakland Seals. From 1970 to 1974 they were the California Golden Seals. From 1974 to 1976 they were the California Seals. They moved to Cleveland and became known as the Cleveland Barons from 1976 to 1978. In 1978 they were combined with the North Stars to form 1 team that was still known as the Minnesota North Stars. Dennis Hextall played for the Golden Seals in 1970-71. I could find no former Fighting Sioux associated with the Cleveland Barons.

Adding a few more

I have said for a long time that the 30 year demand was a negotiating point. The SBoHE needed something that would assure them the tribes wouldn't say yes now and then change their minds next week or next year. So they put a big number out there. But I always thought that they would be willing to adjust that to a shorter period or some other verbiage that would give them some assurance the issue wouldn't come back during the near future. Remember, in contract negotiations you never start with what you expect to get in the end. You start with more demands and then negotiate down to something that both sides can live with.

You may or may not be right about the timing. Faison seems to feel that the window is potentially closing, but he doesn't know for sure since it doesn't sound like they have given him a straight answer either. You are completely right about the way people will accept Douple. But I don't think he really cares about that. I'm not too sure that Shepherd and Adam care that much either.

Ideology may be a factor for the Summit, I really don't know. But another factor that many fans don't look at is negative publicity. We have to face the fact that UND has gotten some negative publicity around the country while fighting this issue. I believe that at least part of the reason that the Summit League wants the issue settled is that they don't want any negative PR from being associated with a school getting such negative PR. They have had to fight issues with schools like Chicago State in the past. If they let UND in now with a clause stating that it would depend on UND reaching a conclusion by the November 30th time line, they would still be associated with the issue for more than 6 months (as in the University of North Dakota, a member of the Summit League, etc.). The other factor is the scheduling issue. The Summit will have league schedules for 2011-2012 completed by late summer or early fall to give member schools time to fill out the non-conference portion. If UND did have a clause to have the name issue settled by November and then didn't follow through, what would the Summit have to do? Drop them from the schedule and rework it entirely? Or try to find another school that could plug in? Neither one of those is a desirable outcome. If they are going to add a school they want to do it with the least problems possible. The nickname issue is a problem they don't want to deal with.

Nothing. Except the fact that the Tribal Council hasn't shown any interest in getting actively involved in the issue. The small group of individuals pushed the issue and got petitions signed for the referendum. The Tribal Council has basically been non-committal throughout the process. They don't seem likely to push the issue to keep the name. Plus we don't know what kind of a chance they would have to win and it would cost a lot of money, so what is their incentive to file a lawsuit. The individuals that have pushed the issue at Spirit Lake are more likely to try something like suing the NCAA. But as individuals I don't think they would have standing in Federal court to get the lawsuit through the system. There was a serious question whether they had standing in the state court and they lost that one before it went to trial.

You can demand anything you want, but you aren't going to get the Summit to make any more of a commitment than they have. They don't care what you want to hear, it doesn't have any affect on them in any way. As I said before, they don't release any information on the application process so why do you believe they are going to release any more information on this topic. Faison and Kelley seem to have a pretty good handle on what is required, or at least believe they do. That is probably all you are going to get. As far as the definition of "resolved", I don't have Douple's quote handy but I believe that he stated they wanted the argument decided. If UND was going to be able to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname going forward, that was fine. And if UND was not going to be able to keep the name and would be changing it, that was fine. They just want to know up or down.

That was probably a negotiated point in the settlement. We may never know why they agreed on 2 tribes. Maybe Wayne said 1 and the NCAA wanted 3 to include Wahpeton. Or maybe Wayne gave them 2 to get them to agree that UND wasn't hostile and abusive. Or it could have been a lot of other things. A negotiated settlement is just that, both sides throw a bunch of issues out and slowly narrow it down to something they can agree on.

That would have been nice, but the chances of that happening are just about zero. The settlement was signed by both sides that agreed to both tribes. The only possible way that this could be changed is if Spirit Lake sued and won the case. I believe that the tribe itself would have to sue to have any chance, not just the tribe members that filed the last lawsuit. And the chances of winning that case are probably still pretty slim.

Because the Summit League has publicly stated that they won't accept an application until the issue is settled. They won't hold a vote until they accept an application and research the school. Faison has stated that conference has not changed their stance on the issue. And Kelley said that he has talked to Presidents of schools in the league. They have told them that UND will probably be approved if a vote is held, but they aren't even going to consider UND until the issue is settled. UND can send as many applications to the Summit League offices as they want, but the Summit doesn't have to accept the application or hold a vote.

A year ago Douple made it clear that UND had to settle the issue. And he said that it didn't matter whether the name was kept or not, the issue just had to be settled. Repeating his stance doesn't gain anything for him or the league other than further upsetting the hardcore Fighting Sioux nickname supporters. According to the quotes from Kelley, the league Presidents he has spoken with have given him the same information. They don't release any information on the application process or how they add schools, or even when a deadline might be, so what makes you think they are going to do so for this issue. The Summit can make whatever rules they want, it's their game. They don't have to explain why they have those rules to anyone. If you don't like the rules you don't have to join the club. UND wants to join that club. Faison and Kelley have obviously done their homework. You can either believe them or not. And they aren't going to hold a news conference to make those statements because that wouldn't gain anything for them or for the University. The publicity would probably anger the Summit and hurt the chances of getting in, plus all it would do would be to further anger the hardcore nickname supporters. They have no benefit in arguing this issue in a more public forum.

The bulk of the reservation really doesn't care either way. They have no sense of urgency to do anything. Spirit Lake had a core group of people that were very interested and pushed the issue. Standing Rock seems to have a couple of people and they aren't as devoted to the issue. Plus they have historically had more people that were verbally opposed to the name. At the rate of action we have seen, I think they could set a date 2 years from now and Standing Rock still wouldn't get anything done.

It is a vote of the Presidents from all member schools.

Faison and Kelley did make their case at the SBoHE meeting. This is from the Herald article.

The hockey and football teams are not affected by getting into or not getting into the Summit. The rest of the program would be affected. That's where the money comes in, not getting the rest of the department into an auto bid conference is worth a lot of money. Pushing back entry 1 year would not be a deal breaker. But risking not getting in on this round of expansion is an irresponsible financial maneuver. If the Summit would guarantee entry in 1 year, then it would be fine to risk that 1 year of revenue and added expense. All indications are that they are not willing to even discuss that option. It's their league and we want to play in it so we have to play by their rules. It is not a wise move for the taxpayers of North Dakota to risk many years of those losses, especially since the odds of keeping the name are so slim. I sincerely doubt that Faison and Kelley have any opposition to the Fighting Sioux nickname. They entered this situation when the fate was decided. Their job is to make the best of this situation for the University of North Dakota. The nickname has been on life support for more than a year, pretty much since the court settlement was signed. There were signs of life when Spirit Lake passed the referendum. But there has never been any kind of clear signal from Standing Rock that they would allow the name to pass. A smart business person would never risk millions of dollars on the odds we currently have that Standing Rock will get something done by November. There is no longer a "keep the nickname at all costs" attitude with the majority of UND fans, much less residents of the state. The majority of people I talk to love the nickname but are tired of the issue. They just want it to be decided and want the issue to go away. There will be a segment of diehard fans that want the name and logo to stay forever no matter what, and some of them will go to their graves feeling that way. But the majority of the population will adjust to what ever is decided. The University and the State Board of Higher Education will make a decision that they are tasked with making, and they will make their decision based on what is best for the entire University in the long run. Not best for the UND hockey team, or football team or women's basketball team, but what is best for the entire University.

Roebuck doesn't have to pay the bills. Kelley and Faison are responsible for the financial stability and viability of the University of North Dakota and the Athletic Department. The major advantage of getting into a conference is money. Lower travel costs. Better crowds for familiar foes. Money from the Men's Basketball Tournament. Other advantages include getting something more for the athletes to compete for, which should make recruiting easier, etc. Keeping the nickname is still a real long shot even if the SBoHE would let the issue go until the deadline in November. Nothing seems to be happening in Standing Rock, and this is an issue that should take several months at a minimum to arrange and hold a referendum if the Tribal Council would allow it. If something positive would happen at Standing Rock during the next 30 days there might be a chance to let it play out. But if nothing happens by then, this might be the end. TSic, follow your own advice. Follow the money. The financial stability of the Athletic Department will be tough to maintain without a conference. That is more important to the powers that be than a nickname that is probably on borrowed time anyway.

No, to pay for the high priced administration and director of officials. I think they pay the actual officiating crews out of the popcorn money.