UND Fan

I was one of the first ss.com members – joining almost 21 years ago. I won’t be on the site much going forward but will give some thoughts regarding UND football on a few topics first. I will try not to make this too long and I have no interest in debating my thoughts with anyone. Recruiting I have followed our recruiting efforts for many years and was the guy doing the Wiki updates for the last 10 years or so until turning the job over to Hardcore Hawk (who is doing a good job) last year. During that time frame, I followed thousands of potential recruits during the recruiting process. This included kids who attended our camps, prospects we offered or were offered by other conference schools, prospects listed in recruiting websites (247 Sports, etc.), kids whose dads played for us, etc. I have followed these prospects during the recruiting process via their social media as well as other teams’ fan websites. Our recruiting classes of the last 15 years or so have not been great. If you look at the limited number of: signees we get that other top teams wanted, players contributing as true freshmen, players making all-conference teams, UND players in the NFL (or even getting good looks), etc. We are getting lots of kids without any, or very few, FCS offers. These are good, hard-working kids with some talent but turn out to be average-to-very good FCS players. This needs to change - we need more high-end FSC level recruits before we can expect to be truly competitive year in and year out. There has been a lot of talk about UND’s location (geography and weather) with many saying that it doesn’t have any negative effect on recruiting. Those who think that location isn’t an issue are very much mistaken! Most kids want to play somewhere that their parents, grandparents and/or girlfriends can attend most games. Although it is improving, the number of talented prospects from ND and NW Minnesota is limited. When you are recruiting kids from Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, etc., there are so many other FCS schools much closer than we are – including all the Dakota teams. The two SUs are getting most of the kids they really want. It’s not just NDSU we have to worry about now, SDSU has been winning just as many battles as NDSU (geography is helping them with some kids). I would like to see us recruit the Winnipeg market (heck, all of Canada) harder. Facilities are improving but are not there yet. If you had ever seen the offices and locker room under Memorial, they were worse than you can imagine. It was surprising any talented kids chose UND back then. In a couple of years, we should have facilities equal to (maybe better) than the other Dakota schools. That will help a great deal but there is still the distance issue. I will talk about NDSU a little later but, as the Fargo/West Fargo metro area continues to prosper and grow, the number of talented FB players in this market will continue to grow. We need to get a decent share of those kids. If SU lands the lion’s share, it will be easier for their dominance over UND to continue. Bubba Bubba and I are pretty good friends but I truly don’t have a great handle on his ability to lead us to the point where we consistently challenge for conference and national championships. I certainly have disagreed with some of his decisions at critical times in important games over the last 2-3 years. However, based on our inability to land many top-notch prospects, Bubba might be doing a hell of a job! Athletic Department Funding Funding remains a major issue. At this point, we are unable to pay our coaches competitively nor are we able to provide many of the “bells & whistles” for players provided by other programs. The latter is one of the reasons I organized seven “Let’s Help Bubba” campaigns over the last few years. We raised $60,000+ for first class knee braces, Guardian helmet caps, computer equipment for breaking down film, quality cold-weather jackets for outside games, etc. I offered to run a LHB8 last fall. I was not pleased when it did not happen. It was not anyone in the FB program who dropped the ball. I will leave it at that! I won’t get into details but I have some real concerns about our athletic fund-raising efforts especially related to the Champions Club. It makes common sense that averaging attendance of 10,000+ will create more revenue and a better game day experience – this needs to happen soon. We all agree that winning and a positive fan experience at the Alerus will have a positive effect on attendance. Lastly, on the topic of money, many have stated that the Engelstads only care about hockey. I have wanted to post this for a few years but understood it was not to be made public. Just recently, it did become public - Kris Engelstad has written a check paying for all FB players' summer school tuition for many years. That is not a small check as most FB players are taking classes during the summer. NDSU I attended UND when the rivalry was much more intense than it is today. I dislike the Bison as much as (probably more than) any other ss.com member. That said, it is ludicrous to continuously put down their FB program as well as the rest of their athletic department. Now that their womens BB team as back to being good, SU is very competitive in every sport. That certainly can’t be said for UND. Their expectations are to be successful and nothing else is acceptable. They do what is necessary to remain successful! Team Makers fundraising efforts pay for 100% of all athletic scholarships at SU every year. The Champions Club funds less than one-half of UND scholarship needs. Just think about what UND Athletics could do with an extra $2+ million every year. SS.com The constant bantering back and forth is getting real old and is one of the reasons I won’t be visiting the site much going forward. Too often, neither party knows what they were talking about in these “infantile” discussions. My recommendation – if iramurphy posts a comment (FB or otherwise), you can be confident that it is factual. He has the most knowledge and experience of UND athletics (and athletics in general) of any active ss.com member. Lastly, if you aren’t supporting UND athletics financially as best as you can through Champions Club membership or one of the other funding programs, don’t bitch about our coaching salaries, our bidding for home playoff games, etc. Reviewing the above, it probably came across a bit too negative. I think the program continues to make progress. Hopefully, we will soon be able to seriously compete for league championships and first round playoff spots annually. The new facilities should help a great deal! You will see me posting once in a while but, guys – please grow up and stay away from the juvenile discussions. Some prospective recruits (and often their parents) check out a school’s fan websites. Anyone reading ours would not be impressed. I fully realize that a lot of this is common on fan websites but that doesn't mean we need to follow their lead!

Not nervous, just tired of all the stupid, uninformed comments!

I hope you are writing checks every year to help address the primary issue - lack of $!!!

Where is this $ suppose to come from?

In explaining what happened when the Betty was built, I didn't say anything about the 3,100 capacity being an issue today (hopefully, it is an issue again someday soon). But it was a big issue back then... Year Attendance Rank in DII 2001-2 2,987 4th 2002-3 3,857 2nd 2003-4 3,423 3rd 2004-5* 2,550 11th * First year playing in The Betty. You can see why Rich Glas (and many others) were blindsided by the lack of planning and communication that took place when The Betty was built! A friend and I funded the weightroom! I could tell you more stories but you get the drift!!

The Ralph was built with little planning and forethought. They wanted to make sure it was complete prior to The Ralph hosting the World Junior hockey tourney in 2004 and they didn't want to spend any more than necessary. In fact, it was Coach Glas' understanding that that the capacity of the arena would be 4,000. It wasn't until the construction was well underway that he learned that it would hold only 3,100. You are correct that meeting rooms and a weight room were not included in the original plans.

Lack of respect from team, team coaches and other coaches around the league. If a had a dollar for every time Jones looked an opposing player or coach in the eye when shaking hands after a game, I would have very few dollars in my pocket. Jones would have been fired by Ed Schafer (and then Kennedy) if there had not been such a budget challenge during their time at UND.

I am quite sure they do not attend BB games.

For those of you who didn’t see Gunhus play, he often wasn’t the most talented player on the floor but he was one of the hardest working and smartest players in the league. Plus, he was a great guy!

There have been a lot of comments about the NCAA being overly greedy and I fully agree. However, they aren't going to make much $ on the FCS FB playoffs. The NCAA picks up the following expenses of the visiting team (a total of 130 in the travel party with a maximum of 64 players. 145 & 70 for the semis and finals): Transportation costs for 130 people. Interestingly, the NCAA forces schools to use a specific travel agency - probably a good idea. Hotel costs for all in the traveling party. They do want one hotel with at least 60 double-double rooms along with adequate meeting rooms, etc. Per diem of $150 per person. If the travel requires air travel and a night or two in a hotel, this adds up to a ton of $. You can see why they want to match up teams in fairly close proximity when they can. Below are couple of paragraphs from the FCS Championship Manual. See my comments in bold. ****** 2. Prospective host institutions must submit the following minimum financial guarantees, which shall be 75% of the estimated net receipts as submitted on the proposed budget: First round – $30,000 Second round – $40,000 Quarterfinals – $50,000 Semifinals – $60,000 3. If the minimum financial guarantees are met, the committee will award the playoff sites to the higher-seeded teams. This reads odd to me. For example: a third-round game and Team X is a higher seed than their opponent. If Team X bids $50,000 and their opponent's bid is $62,000 with both schools meeting the criteria in No. 4 below, Team X would win the bid as they met the "minimum financial guarantee". That isn't how it works but that is how it reads to me! 4. When determining host institutions for playoff games when both teams are unseeded, criteria shall apply as follows: (1) quality of facility (2) revenue potential plus estimated net receipts (3) attendance history and potential (4) team’s performance (i.e., conference place finish, head-to-head results and number of Division I opponents) (5) student-athlete well-being (e.g., travel and missed class time) No's. 1-3 are certainly important, but I am surprised that the team's performance is the 4th most important criteria!

Let's help Jerry Kaminiski and Ben Buxa win outstanding FB seniors at their respective positions. Right now, Kaminiski is 3rd among six QBs and Buxa is 4th our seven OLs. You can (and should) vote often for our guys! https://t.co/hB505HyKgk

This may be true but your statement above regarding the bid amounts, etc. was not fact!

Not true!

I sure hope I am wrong but it may be a long season for the ladies. Without having anyone over 6' in the lineup, it will be tough to compete against the many physical teams in the Summit!

Just lost in 5 sets. If anyone was there, your thoughts?

My statement above was incorrect. Bubba was named head coach between Christmas and New Years of 2013. In January, 2014, prior to Bubba completing his staff, Schleusner made the deal to move to SDSU (announced in early February). So.... he left due to the coaching change and (probably) not knowing if he would be retained at UND. Either way, he did make considerably more at SDSU.

Don't think he got a raw deal other than we were unable to pay him what he received to move to SDSU!

Mathew's first "healthy" action as a Hawk - still getting his feet under him BUT 12 pts and 10 boards in 20 minutes - not too bad!!

Must have been a little lesson for Trent not playing in the first half.

Another offer to a PG from Ohio. She averaged just under 4 pts/game as a freshman for the Ohio Division I State Champions. The team finished 28-2 for the season. PG Sa'Mahn Johnson, 5'6", Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg), OH ***** @samahnj_ After a great conversation with @coach_bernhard & @coach_mo, I am extremely blessed to receive my first Division 1 offer from @UNDwbasketball

Tied two sets each. All four sets very close!

That has to be the plan plus our limited size is very inexperienced. The many guards are going to have to carry the load. I really think Mallory knows what she is doing but I am surprised that none of the three committed kids for next year are 6'!

They were hoping that Abdur-Razeeq would commit during his visit a few weeks ago. I have no idea who commited!

I think so. She is a 5'8" PG who averaged 20.2/game last year. She was her conference's MVP and Metro Player of the Year as a junior. Garfield Heights is a suburb of Cleveland so I suppose that was the metro area.

Upper levels within UND and the Foundation will be reading these comments about the CC later today. If anyone has other specific examples, please post them. Obviously, they won't know who wrote them. Some day I will post a couple of my personal examples - amazing!!