82SiouxGuy

Now we know where their fascination with "morale victories" comes from, only they called them "noble victories".

An example of Nodaks being used as a nickname for UND athletics in the past. http://library.ndsu.edu/tools/dspace/load/?file=/repository/bitstream/handle/10365/20649/nds-1927-11-01-0.pdf?sequence=1

Dakota is Native American related, too. The Kansas and Arkansas names come from the Kansa tribe. NoDak is a shortened form of the state name. Illinoisian is not, but Illini is also a shortened form. NoDaks is a closer comparison to Illini than to any of the examples you came up with, and shows that similar names are in use. NoDaks has been used for years as a nickname for people from North Dakota, and I believe that it has appeared on UND uniforms before. Shortened forms of the state name are used as nicknames for state residents in other states also, such as Okies from Oklahoma. It isn't as outrageous as you try to make it out. It also isn't very creative, so it isn't at the top of my list. But it is an option that makes at least a little sense, which is more than can be said for some of the names that have been thrown out.

University of Illinois Fighting Illini?

Champsosaurus One of the most common fossil animals of North Dakota, represented by entire skeletons, Champsosaurus was a late Cretaceous creature that closely resembled a prehistoric crocodile (but was, in fact, an obscure type of reptile known as a choristoderan). Like crocodiles, Champsosaurus prowled the ponds and lakes of North Dakota for tasty prehistoric fish. Or Champs for short

Yes.

I know it has been suggested before and I just don't remember when, but what about Pronghorns instead of Elk. A large game animal with horns that lives in the western part of the state. http://bismarcktribune.com/lifestyles/outdoors/the-plight-of-the-pronghorn/article_0ee544f4-3ca4-11e1-94ec-001871e3ce6c.html http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/pronghorn.htm I found a school in Lethbridge, Alberta and a high school in Wyoming that use Pronghorns as a nickname, but I don't see those as deal breakers. Someone could probably come up with a pretty good looking logo and you could even have a mascot. It meets a lot of the criteria that has been mentioned. Edited to add notes about speed.

They have 2 opportunities to win 1 game thanks to the 3rd place game. The UND-SCSU game isn't do or die for them.

I'm pretty sure 6 made it one year, but there were at least 10 teams in the league.

The NCHC could have had Bemidji and Mankato if they wanted them. The NCHC was set up to attract schools that will financially support their hockey programs at a high level. Bemidji and Mankato didn't meet those expectations. St. Cloud was a last minute addition when they wanted an 8th member. Schools from a Power 5 conference would be more likely to have the resources needed. If they are adding a sport like hockey like ASU, or have it and have shown an interest in supporting it, like Notre Dame, the school is more attractive to the NCHC. The conference was meant to be a national conference, which is why they invited schools from Ohio to Colorado, so they aren't going to invite schools based on decreasing travel.

Or maybe things like what degrees are offered at the school, the quality of the academic programs, the quality of the facilities, and the big one, relationship with the coaching staff, might all rank well above the proximity to a few away games. Moreover, some students might appreciate a chance to visit Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, Salt Lake City, UT, and Big Sky Country over trips to Brookings, SD, Vermillion, SD, Omaha, NE, or Carbondale, IL among the high points in the Summit/MVFC. Desire to have some friendly faces at a couple of away games may resonate with a few student-athletes, but it isn't the major deciding factor that you are trying so, so hard to sell.

I don't think there is any way to get pre-approval by the clearinghouse. Otherwise they would do it with all of the athletes. They do have the requirements, and usually can predict whether someone will get through or not. Sometimes schools take a chance on borderline cases, and sometimes things show up that the schools don't know about. But I think it is a process that just has to play out.

Most college coaches have more than a 2 year contract. Recruits, especially recruits with a lot of options, want to know that the coach is going to be there the whole time they are in school. They want that continuity. Most of them know that coaches can leave for a lot of different reasons, but they feel more comfortable if the coach has a contract for the length of time they will be in school. Most college coaches seem to sign 5 year contracts when they get a job, and usually get an extension when they have 2 or 3 years left if they are having any success at all. It is the way the game is played right now in college coaching, especially in basketball, football and hockey.

http://forum.siouxsports.com/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

We are probably looking at the last weekend in March most years for the first round of NCAA playoffs, so the NHL playoffs don't figure in. However, they aren't going to hold dates for a "possibility" if they can schedule something definite like a regular season NHL game, a boat show or whatever else would be sure money.

I believe that the locker room remodel done for the hockey team was well over a million this year. The things you are describing are probably going to cost at least as much. And it is a bandaid, it isn't a long term solution. The IPF is being built by UND. The Engelstad trust owns the REA and the Betty. They have covered all construction costs so far for the facilities out of revenue (after the original donation paid for the original building). I don't see the Alumni Foundation/UND spending money on the REA facilities. REA would need to approve and spend the money to do either the REA locker room remodel or work on the Betty. Depending on how much work they decided to do, it could cost much less than $5 million to make the Betty a nice facility.

I'm sure that someone will ask the question. I don't believe that the NCAA would give a direct answer.

The scheduling issue isn't nearly as easy as you assume. Getting leagues to work together on schedules is never easy. UND couldn't get the WCHA and the NCC to work together in the old days, it isn't going to be any easier with new conferences plus adding women's sports into the mix. There are a lot of years where UND hockey plays at home at least 3 weeks in a row, that isn't going to change. They play 2 weeks in a row every year, usually multiple times. I disagree with your premise on how much moving to REA would affect recruiting either coaches or players. The money you want them to spend on upgrades and new facilities to move basketball to the REA would be much better used to upgrade the Betty into a better facility, or potentially a start on building a new facility if you want to think big. Build a basketball facility and use the Betty for volleyball, practices, and other purposes. REA is still going to be a hockey arena, you would impress basketball recruits more if they had a real home that would give them an advantage on the court. NDSU isn't building a new facility, they are renovating a building that hadn't changed a whole lot in more than 40 years, not a comparison at all. The Betty is 10 years old. And even if you average 6,000 in the REA, you still have half the building, the entire upper deck, that is empty and there is no good way to fill that space to make a great atmosphere. You keep accusing people of not having vision or understanding potential. We just disagree with how to accomplish those goals and don't think your plan is the way to go.

I don't see the NCAA issuing an opinion on the question. That wouldn't fit with their typical style. They are either going to do something official, or they are going to avoid the issue. They aren't going to issue an unofficial opinion. And they aren't going to lock themselves into an official opinion on not having a nickname without having studies and exploring all of the ramifications on either side of the issue. Their answer would probably be something like, "It is up to the school itself whether they decide to choose a nickname or not at this time." However, the time, effort, and money that they have expended in eliminating Native American names and imagery is what leads many of us to believe that they will eventually push the no nickname issue since it is written directly into the settlement agreement. The NCAA spends a lot of money on lawyers so it is hard to imagine they would put a phrase like that in by accident. Leaving UND without a nickname makes it much easier for people to keep using the old nickname. That defeats the purpose of eliminating the nickname in the first place. They won't go as far as banning fans from using or wearing the name, because that would cause some potential 1st Amendment discussion. But getting UND to choose a new name helps move people to using that new name, which means fewer people using the old name over time. That is their goal, eventually eliminating any use of Native American nicknames or imagery.

You wouldn't be posting on the "non-rivals" football forum if you weren't a) Interested in the game or b) trolling. Are you interested in the game or are you trolling?

The system that REA uses takes at least 4 hours. They cover the ice with a layer of particle board, and on the ends they have to fit some specific pieces into place to make it work. Then they put down another layer of another material, I don't remember exactly what it is. They have the same issue with specific pieces. Most of the material on both layers are 4x8 sheets, like sheets of plywood. As you may be able to imagine, it takes a while to cover a hockey rink with that many pieces, and they have to do it twice. They have to have most of the 2nd layer down before they can start putting the basketball floor together. If I remember right, the floor itself comes in 4x4 sections that are much thicker. The first 2 layers just fit together, the floor has to be snapped together. Then add baskets, tables, chairs, etc. The Ralph wasn't designed as a multi-sport facility. It was designed as a high end hockey arena, that has some ability to be modified for other uses. Century Link was probably designed as a multi-sport facility. Design features can make changeover much easier and quicker. Some facilities are designed with the ability to raise and lower the floor so that seating can be added to fill the arena space for basketball. It would probably take major, expensive renovations to make the Ralph a real multi-sport facility and significantly cut the time needed to convert between sports.

My guess is that the reason the games don't happen is that Canadian Juniors don't want the comparison. US college teams are often older, bigger and stronger. Even if the Junior teams may have more high end talent, the competition probably isn't going to let them appear superior. And the Junior teams want to be known as superior to the college teams.

You can just keep telling yourself that this isn't a big deal, as you try to sell it on the "non-rival" forum. Everything about you being here trying to sell this tripe proves just the opposite of what you keep posting.

It isn't leading if no one is following you. And no one is going to go without a nickname in the near future (at least the next decade or 2). Actually leading would have been one of 2 things. Either developing very strong relationships with all local tribes to ensure their support to use the name, or dropping the name before it became an issue with the NCAA.

I'm pretty sure that college baseball teams have played Spring Training exhibition games against major league teams for many years. It isn't just Gophers-Twins. Very few real major league players actually play these games, usually just a couple so that they can put the label on to sell tickets.