UND Fan

Is she Kenley's sister?

Is he healthy?

Although Jeff continued to be recruited by UND, the coaching staff knew after his sophomore season that he was going DI. Had he decided to go DII, he would have been at UND.

We started recruiting JC players more heavily because it became more difficult to recruit the better HS players. We were often the DII team a recruit planned to choose IF they did not get a DI offer. Many got that offer while others walked on at DI programs. That could mean that we either were recruiting players who were "too good" for us or that we were recruiting the right players but were unlucky at landing them. I truly think it was the latter. Our location and weather is also a real problem for HS kids who live in Iowa, Illinois, etc. We have lost a lot of kids to SDSU and USD in recent years - simply because Brookings and Vermillion were closer to home for them. Many of these kids went on to great NCC careers. Obviously, when you go after two or three talented HS players very hard and then they decide not to attend your school, you are in trouble - other quality kids have already made their decisions - this means you are forced to go to the juco ranks. Our problem was then compounded by injuries, etc. which forced us to rely even more heavily on JC kids for awhile. I agree with your comments regarding juco players who are quality people - I just think we were forced to take some chances in recent years out of necessity. Despite my comments, I think we could have done a much better job recruiting in recent years. As other posts have noted, our recruiting has really suffered since Mac left UND. He had lots of contacts plus he was very well liked by the athletes and their parents.

Refresh my memory - where was Arenson from?

I would say that you are correct - at least 75%. But, I am curious, what is your point? Were you responding to someone else's post?

My thoughts on your question: Hockey - with our success in this DI sport, it is not surprising that fans (both in the GF area and around the country) flock to a website like this to discuss our team, the WCHA, upcoming games, potential recruits, etc. Football - with our recent success, a great playing environment at the Alerus and the continued growth and excitement of tailgating at both home and away games - a great deal of interest in discussing the team, the NCC, national polls, upcoming games, potential recruits, etc. has developed. The fact that ND and NW MN produces many very talented DII quality FB players also makes the site more interesting as many posters have first hand knowledge about the quality of these athletes, who is recruiting them, etc. Basketball - the UND men have had limited success in recent years - including a couple of years where we all expected them to be very good. This has hampered the interest in the team. Also, very few ND and NW MN kids have DII BB potential so there isn't nearly the discussion about potential recruits as no one knows much about them. If we can get back to playing exciting, successful ball again (and not lose a few games each year to clearly inferior teams), the fans and interest in discussing UND buckets will come back. The UND women have had a lot of success over the last 10 years and the next few years could/should be outstanding. They play very exciting ball - fans really enjoy watching them play. Also, unlike the men, the area produces many very talented women BB players. I am somewhat surprised that there is not more discussion about the UND women on this site. Maybe once the season gets started...... I would guess that there are tons of UND fans (both locally and, like me, 1000+ miles away) that are not aware of this website. We should all do all we can to inform others of the site and encourage them to participate. More posters would be great - more discussion, more debate, more inside information, more insight into recruiting, etc. If anyone has any other ideas how we can spread the word about this site, please post them. As it isn't sanctioned by the University, I am sure that they would not include its existence in any of their publications. Any ideas? Jim - I haven't thanked you recently for the site. I am sure all of us loyal UND fans and boosters truly appreciate it!

I just checked out that site. It is amazing - I thought we talked about SU way too much here but that site blows us away with the amount of conversations about UND! Most of it being smack!! I am not sure why the are so concerned/interested in what we do!

Wow - you make a very good point! The UND BB staff has had an interest in Mertens - not sure if they still do!

I know the staff is also not enamored with the schedule. Of course, part of the problem is the fact that there are only 12 conference games. That means we have to find a bunch of non-conferences foes. With the budget limited and DII teams wanting/needing a decent guarantee to help with the costs of traveling to Grand Forks, it is a difficult task to book a better schedule. 17-10, 6-6 Obviously, I hope I am wrong and we can win more games than this.

Thanks for the insight. Do you know - is UND recruiting the kids you mentioned in your last paragraph?

Thanks, CRR!

What a great recruiting tool this is for bright, young athletes considering UND among their choices for continuing their academic and football careers. UND had nine players honored. The closest other school had only four!!! 92,96 - Help me out - I don't know how to post the link to the NCC website.

I guess that I had thought that Anderson was just a junior. If a senior, I am sure we are recruiting him hard.

It appears that the following is a list of players for whom UND may have an interest: Zach Fulmer 6'2" 245 OT/DT Detroit Lakes Brent Eidenschink 6'1" 215 LB Detroit Lakes Dylan Blasser 6'3" 270 OL/DL Bismarck Justin Andrushko RB British Columbia Curtis Dublanko LB Calgary Kiel Fechelhotter RB/LB Wisconsin DJ McGregor 6'2' 310 OL Warren/Alvarado/Oslo Evan Savageau 6'2" WR Fargo South Zach LaVigne RB/S Foley Can anyone else add or delete prospects to/from this list? 92,96 - you mentioned some others from last year's NF All State team. Do we know if UND is actively recruiting any of those kids? Are we recruiting Central's Kasowski.

There is no question that either two or four ND/SD/MN (or maybe UNO) schools would be preferred by the BSC - three would be especially difficult for BB scheduling. Therefore, it would certainly help the cause if USD or one of the Minnesota schools decided to take the plunge with us. Wow - I make that statement and I am one who doesn't think we should go DI. Well, if we are forced to, I hope at least one other NCC school joins us!

In one of the recent articles in the Sioux Falls newspaper discussing the DI and DII issues, there was a comment about UM-Crookston struggling athletically and as an institution. Obviously, they do have a lot of progress to be made athletically but I was unaware they were having problems otherwise. Can anyone enlighten me?

Yes, the building is worthless! It would cost millions to refurbish it - for any type of use. Therefore, it sits on valuable land and the Athletic Department would like this new practice facility to be close to Memorial Stadium, where the FB team is headquartered.

There are plans drawn up to tear down the old REA and construct a new building large enough for the football, baseball, soccer teams to practice indoors (a necessity in ND climate) plus it could hold indoor track meets. The Hyslop is not large enough for teams to really practice in plus its track is an embarrassment.

My thoughts on UND formally looking at a move to DI: -- It is about time! Although I personally feel staying DII is the best for us at this time, it is important that we finally take a serious look at all ramifications of the move: costs (scholarships, recruiting, travel), conferences, alumni support ($), etc. We have been making comments for years - mostly negative against moving - but have done so without formally evaluating all the pros and cons. -- I do not believe that we will make a decision by the end of the school year UNLESS the study reveals a very strong case for going one direction or the other. I believe that, if the study indicates the move to DI is appropriate, it will have an action plan in place "when the time is right". That may mean when DII cuts FB scholarhsips again or when a conference affiliation is available. It coulld be two years from now or five years downt he line. -- I do not believe we have any guarantees from the BSC or anyone else. I do believe that we think there is a reasonable chance that the Big Sky will expand in the next few years. -- I know that part of the study will include discussions with UNO, USD and maybe SCSU, MSU and UMD. I would also hope that we would not be too proud to talk to NDSU and SDSU. Getting the major players of the old NCC together to strategize can only be a benefit - to NDSU and SDSU as well as UND. On a side note, I think both UND and NDSU acted very childishly the last couple of years regarding SU's move to DI. I wouldn't blame SU for not being overly open to discussions but it would be in everyone's best interest. -- I am quite sure that we will also spend quite a bit of time with Maine, New Hampshire and other schools of similar size - who happen to also play DI hockey. We have an awful lot in common with those universities. -- I hope that there is an announcement soon regarding a new practice/track facility at UND. This would put us in the position to 1) continue to be a dominant force in DII athletics with a major improvement in Track or 2) position us to be in great shape facility-wise for a move to DI. -- I know that, if we make the move, it will be very frustrating for us UND fans for a few years. While we may have some facility advantages over our friends 70 miles south, they will be far ahead of us in the transition. In other words, they will likely kick our butts in most sports for a few years. That will be difficult for us to swallow! Again, I personally feel we would be better off staying in DII. I think we could compete well in FB in IAA quite soon but I think we would disappointed in our ability to compete in all other sports. The costs and inability to recruit talented kids to the plains of ND would be a huge challenge!

I live in Jacksonville, FL. One of the top high school quarterbacks in the country (if not the best) from here in Jax has just ruled out the school that he would have likely chosen because of a situation similar to this. So, yes, you can lose a recruit because of poor fan behavior or a coach who doesn't behave well in the mind of a recruit and/or his parents.

That is my point - I hope that is "the rest of the story". Obviously, the statement in itself is old news - the Athletic Department has been talking about a practice facility on that site for a long time.

I wonder if this means that the REA area is being set aside for a practice/track facility. I hope that is the case and there will be an announcement soon!