82SiouxGuy

Midco has been negotiating with Twin Cities cable providers. From the list that Jayson provided it looks like they don't have any deals as of yet. The webcast from Big Sky TV is probably your best bet, at least for this week. I'm sure they will make an announcement if they work out a deal with any Twin Cities cable companies.

They have a limited number of DI players and 2 DI schools instate trying to attract them. I'm not surprised that most of the DI players stay close to home if they have a chance. I haven't looked real close, but I would guess that most of the North Dakota DI players stay at UND or NDSU.

O'Donnell looked pretty good at times before he got hurt last year so it wouldn't surprise me if he played that well or better this year. It wouldn't be a shock if he got some time at wing on the first line.

You nailed it. I've been tempted to post a similar thought for the last several weeks. UND athletics are now full members of Division I. They are full members of the Big Sky. There will be a new hockey conference next year. They will be eligible for post-season tournaments in all sports, with no sanctions. The entire program is stable. There is the potential of a new Indoor Practice Facility for several sports coming within a few years. The football team has new, state-of-art turf. Attendance looks like it will trend up. There are TV and video possibilities that will make most UND games available to a large audience. Recruiting has gotten better in almost all sports over the past couple of years. Life seems to be pretty good for UND athletics right now.

According to reports, CableOne and Midcontinent have not reached a deal yet. They are still talking. It is possible that they could get something done by Thursday, but I wouldn't count on it and I would find other options.

Would it be that much harder than leaving a conference? It seems like that has been pretty easy for a lot of schools in the past couple of years. Even for some of the top athletic programs in the country, like Nebraska going to the Big 10. Would it be that much harder than starting a new conference? Like say the National Collegiate Hockey Conference? Schools seem to be pulling that off. The BCS schools already have a basic framework in place for football. Leaving the NCAA would just be taking things 1 step further. It's an extreme idea, but it is certainly possible.

I'm pretty sure that they still do the weekly racing page.

The NCAA wouldn't have a choice about things if the BCS conferences, or anyone else, decide to pull out. The NCAA is a voluntary organization. How many times have we repeated that on this forum over the past couple of years? It also applies here. If the big conferences decide to pull out because they are tired of sharing the TV money they have the rights, the ability and the power to do so. The NCAA would do everything in their power to keep the schools. But if they decide to leave, the NCAA won't be able to do anything about it. It would simply be a case of the Big Boys flexing their power and selfishly doing what they believe is in their best interests, not worrying about anyone else. Don't you believe that a group of schools might act in their own best interests when there are potentially hundreds of millions of dollars at stake? You seem to be under the impression that we are making this stuff up on this board. Funny, people like Nick Saban have been quoted saying these things. This wasn't our idea. We are just speculating on how it would work or some of the potential ways it could happen. We didn't think up the idea. Based on some of the articles that have been quoted, there are some very connected people discussing this very idea. If this happened it would change the entire landscape of college athletics. The larger schools would be looking out for themselves and the rest of the schools would have to fend for themselves. No one know what that would look like. Maybe a lot of college athletics would return to what it was originally, an outlet for students and fun for alumni instead of the big business it has become for so many. Or maybe they would just pull back to what they can afford. I don't think there would be a huge rush of schools dropping football. They would adjust and make it work. The NCAA would probably survive. They would have to change how they do business. They might even have to charge schools to belong rather than paying them. But there would be a need to administer athletics and the NCAA would have to find a way to survive. Either that or a replacement organization would be created. This is worst case scenario for much of college athletics. I don't know if it will get there. They could just separate the top level of college football as we have discussed. Like I said, that could be as simple as adding a stipend to what students are given and have separate championships for all 3 levels. Or they could even keep things the way they are. Personally, I believe that some kind of change is coming. There is too much discussion going on. You know the old saying, where there's smoke there's fire. So I think we will see some kind of realignment that will result in 3 levels of football in what we currently know as Division I. And yes, I understand the magnitude of what I'm saying. I'm not predicting what will happen. I am just discussing some of the potential results of things that have been reported or speculated, and giving opinions on how these things could happen.

The Herald's opinion is that racing deserves more coverage. And it seems to be the opinion of advertisers because they get plenty of advertising associated with racing. The fact that the highest level of dirt track racing in the country, the World of Outlaws, makes 3 stops here each summer probably adds to that opinion. The 3 races this summer were all very well attended, with crowds approaching the size of some of last year's UND football games. Racing has a pretty good history in Grand Forks going back well over 50 years so I don't think they are going to change their minds any time soon.

Premise 1: If the top 60 or so teams pull out of the NCAA they are going to take millions of dollars in TV money. They would take most of the BCS money for football and most of the March Madness money for basketball. I think they could afford to create an organization to do what the NCAA does for the other sports. That part isn't going to slow them down a bit. Premise 2: If they decide to set up a level and invite schools or conferences from both FBS and FCS then they would have to make some decisions on scholarships limits for this new level. It might be 85, it might be 63, it might be someplace in the middle. If the FBS, non BCS schools are no longer trying to compete with the BCS schools they might be happy to make a change because many of them are struggling at least a little bit financially. That may happen more if the BCS schools pull out all of the TV money. And the NCAA might let schools decide that they don't have to give out the full limit of scholarships. Remember, in Division II not all conferences gave out the same number of scholarships. Not all of them gave out the limit of 36. The NCAA could do that for a hybrid level if they want. They aren't locked into the 63 and 85 scholarship limits that you seem to be, they can create whatever rules they want. Is it really that hard to see that they would be making something new, so the rules aren't already in place and they could set them up any way they want?

It draws that many fans because a lot of people enjoy it even if you don't. NASCAR attracts millions of people. The Herald doesn't have enough staff to hire a full time race guy for a 6 month race season locally. We are lucky that the Herald has someone that is pretty much a full time hockey guy. At this point they aren't going to have a full time football guy, and a full time high school guy, and a full time basketball guy, and a full time race guy, etc. They have a limited staff and they are trying to cover as much as possible.

Yes, Grand Forks gets the naming rights fees from Alerus. It is part of the Alerus Center budget. A couple of possible explanations for Altru logos on the turf (no knowledge). First, perhaps Altru paid a fee to help cover the costs of the turf. That would be similar to Gate City Bank paying for naming rights fees on the Fargodome turf. That money could have covered part of the city's costs or UND's costs. It is also possible that there were some advertising rights written into the lease between UND and the Alerus Center. How the proceeds would be distributed would be written into the lease, probably to cover part of the costs for UND leasing the building. A donation for the IPF is another possible explanation. Again, they would have written something into the lease to give UND permission to do that. It may have been tied to UND covering half the cost of the turf. But normally the naming rights would be associated with the IPF itself rather than on the turf at the Alerus Center. So I would lean toward one of the other explanations.

A week or 2 ago they reported that season ticket sales were up 10% from last year's total. There is a lot more interest because of the Big Sky. Attendance for opening night last year was 8,400+, so I could easily see 10,000 at the game. After all, opening night used to be one of the better attended games in past years.

Since Wayne Nelson is paid to cover both racing and UND football, I don't know why you have a problem with him tweeting about race cars. Thousands of people attend races every week in the region, several thousand in Grand Forks alone. As a matter of fact, racing in Grand Forks probably draws more people per event than UND basketball. And they race every Friday night from late April or early May to mid September, weather permitting. So Nelson has an audience for his race car stories and tweets. And as others have said, Nelson can ask as many questions as he wants. It doesn't mean that anyone has to answer those questions. This isn't a court of law, many people say "No comment" when asked questions by reporters. No one is going to give details until the deal is done and people give permission to give out details. If a donor wants to remain anonymous, no one at UND will give out that information even if the deal is done.

It's a legitimate question. Actually, German heritage is #1 in North Dakota, more than 47% have some German heritage. Norwegian finishes #2 at more than 30%. But Huns has some negative connotations from World War I and II when it was used as a derogatory term, and Krauts is worse. If someone came up with a Germanic name that wasn't considered negative it probably would get some consideration.

Nokota is not Native American. It is the name of a wild horse found in North Dakota, http://www.nokotahorse.org/cms/. The name comes from NOrth daKOTA. It would not be affected by the NCAA Native American rule.

You are just fixated on the scholarship thing. Here are 2 ways that the number of scholarships offered wouldn't affect splitting off the top layer of football schools. One I've talked about before. The BCS or a similar group of schools just pull out of the NCAA. Then they could have 85 or whatever number of scholarships they want, and what is left of the FBS could still offer 85, yet they would be different levels of football. The BCS schools would have plenty of money because of TV contracts and the rest of FBS may struggle to pay for 85, but that would be there choice if they wanted to continue at that level. Another possible way would be for the schools to all remain in the NCAA, but in addition to the 85 scholarships the top level could actually pay a living stipend to players. There is a growing group pushing for that. A lot of schools would have trouble paying for it, but the big conference schools would be in a much better position to do it. That would separate the top 2 levels even if they both kept 85 scholarships. Scholarship levels could be changed or they may find another factor to separate levels. The number of scholarships offered by different levels doesn't have to be the determining factor if the schools decide to officially add another level of football.

We don't know how many will be opposed. But I know that some will because I have heard it from some people. My point is that you shouldn't just dismiss that argument or that group of people. They have at least as much right to be heard as you. If the subject does come up, then it can be determined how large the opposition group is and whether that is enough to prevent use of the name. There are multiple examples of secondary schools sharing a nickname with colleges in that state. The difference is that they have coexisted for years. They both chose the name at a time when sports nicknames weren't nearly as important to people. Nicknames and sports in general have become a bigger deal to a lot more people. One example is the discussion on this forum, things like that never happened and weren't available 50-80 years ago when many school nicknames were chosen. School nicknames were just something cute or catchy, not a lot of thought went into most. A lot of school nicknames came from sportswriters looking for a hook. Choosing a nickname that is already in use in this community will cause a lot of discussion, and there will be some people opposed.

I said that some people from Grand Forks may not want UND to use the nickname because Red River uses it. Your quote is above, and you say that isn't a good enough reason to not use it. This quote implies that your opinion is more important than the people who would be against using the name. That might not been your intention, but that's the way it comes across. Everyone can have input on a new name, but don't tell people with a lot of history in the community and the school that their reason for not wanting a name isn't good enough. That is an insult. The name should be part of the discussion. But if a significant number of local citizens are against it UND won't choose it, and they shouldn't. Choosing a name that a significant number of locals don't want would be a bad PR move. UND doesn't need another bad PR move related to the nickname.

Sorry, but the Central alums and other locals make up a significant number of UND alums, a significant number of UND donors and a significant number of season ticket holders. I don't know how many would have a problem with the nickname, but those people are going to be taken into consideration. Just because you said you mean no disrespect doesn't mean that you didn't just disrespect them and their opinions. Why should your opinion mean any more than theirs, especially families that have had connections to Grand Forks and UND much longer than someone that just showed up at UND in the last couple of years?

It isn't the people around the country where the Rough Rider nickname would be a problem. If there is a group that would have problems with the name it would be local people or people that grew up in Grand Forks. Central alums like Darrell won't like it. And local people that pay attention to both high school and college sports may have a problem. If we didn't have Red River High School in the picture this would probably be my first choice. But I see a lot of push back by local people.

The football coaches won't be the ones to make a decision on whether there is a change. Neither will the athletic directors. The decision will be made at a much higher level. And lots of dollar signs will be discussed. The school presidents may not be as concerned with having 2-10 records if they are getting an extra $10,000,000, or something similar. Those dollars would come from an expanded playoff system and the TV rights that would go along with it. When you only have to split those TV dollars 60 ways instead of 120 ways, each school could potentially get a lot more money. That money could also make it much easier for the BCS schools to abandon the current bowl system. And if the BCS schools completely separated from the NCAA they could add the additional revenue they could keep from a basketball contract. The schools from the large conferences have watched more and more schools move up over the past 20 years and water down the top level of college athletics. They also have to share revenues with these schools, when the big schools are actually attracting most of that revenue. There is a chance that the big schools will at some point decide to change that dynamic. This is an opportunity for them to make a large change, and bring in a great deal of money at the same time. Will it be what puts them over the edge? Who knows. But it is a possibility.

It could happen if the BCS schools decide they want to keep their money. They can break away from the rest if they want. They basically set up their own championship didn't they? They have the ability to take the final step and just separate from the rest of Division I football. It actually wouldn't be hard for them to accomplish. The incentive would be money. They are the drawing cards in college football and television money would follow them wherever they decide to go. And if you don't believe that some of the key officials in BCS football have discussed the idea then you haven't been paying attention. The rest would decide what they want to do. Would they cut scholarships? Perhaps. Would they realign? Perhaps. You're right, the discussion about changing the organization of college football is more of a philosophical discussion at this stage, especially for fans. But it could develop steam and change rather quickly, just like the changing of conferences. You are so hung up on the scholarship thing. Scholarship levels aren't set in stone. They could change those levels very easily. And those levels are not the only thing that potentially separate the different levels. There is nothing that would prevent a BCS group from having 85 scholarships and the top level of the rest from also having 85 scholarships. Just because they have the same number of scholarships doesn't prevent them from separating into different groups for playoff or championship competition. Open your mind.

There are security people watching every section. There are probably more watching the student section. But over time they have proven they need more people watching them than the 80 year old alums that are donating $10,000 per year to the Alumni Association. There are plenty of other people that have gotten out of line. But the percentage of students who get out of line is higher than the percentage of older fans. It has always been that way and always will. Venues like the Alerus Center know that and react accordingly. I have been in the same seats since the building opened. I don't think the students behavior has gotten any worse (especially since attendance has been down for most games), and I don't think the Alerus Center staff has gotten any worse. The biggest change I've seen is having security go down to the railings at the end of the game so people don't climb over onto the field. But they don't interfere with the players high-fiving the fans along the railing.

Congrats to Ashley and the team. They have played well today, and have a big game tomorrow.