BisonCardinal

Thank you sir. (missing Oral Roberts) Yes, the Summit HAS been a revolving door, but it has never had 3 flagship state universities as members either. Times are a changin'.

I'd take GV State. Last I looked, don't they have 20,000+ students?

Damn Darell, you are on top of it. Wouldn't have a map of the Summit league handy, would you?

I hear where you are coming from. When looking at the map, couldn't believe how much of an eastern outlier YSU is. Losing them would definitely shift the MVFC to the west.

Darell, thanks for the info. My concern is, even if a MVFC team were to leave, the MVFC would be down to a nine team league, which many say is the perfect football league. The pressure would have to come from the Summit. Not sure that desire is there.

How much is the buyout fee for UND? IIRC, the Big Sky waived the buyout for UND in their "let's cross our fingers" agreement.

Do you have a problem with this? Heck, the Summit would probably waive the entrance fee for UND also. The MVC is not near as sexy as it once was. Geographically and sports wise, the Indiana schools in the Summit have a better chance of getting in as they are closer to the other members and they do not sponsor football. A football centric school scares the crap out of Commissioner Elgin. Like it or not, the Dakota schools need to focus on the strengthening the Summit and make it the NCC 2.0.

I am guessing the NCAA is about as strict on the baseball rule as they are on the attendance rule.

I agree with what dmk and Matt are saying. I think UND would be the keystone that the Summit is looking for. The four Dakota's, Omaha, Denver, ORU and Northern Colorado would make for a very strong and stable conference. After the MVC picked Loyola over NDSU and SDSU, and just looking at a map, the MVC would likely pick any of the Indiana schools or Western Ill before picking any Dakota school. Screw them. We'll control our own destiny with the Summit. Douple is no dummie. Solidifying the Summit could land him a lifetime contract. Use whatever pull he has with the MVFC to get UND in.

What is happening with Mollberg sounds eerily close to our experience with Nick Mertens. Great athletes, smart guys, highly recruited. Both seem/ed to have trouble turning their skills into wins. Mertens never found "it". Wonder if Mollberg ever will?

Is it possible that the NCAA would look the other way on the baseball rule, much like they do on the FBS 15,000 minimum attendance requirement?

Ok, Lieutenant Literal, I am talking about football victories. I did not realize the Summit did not have football. Seriously, I want to know if SV thinks the Summit will survive with an additional two members. He has put a lot of energy into his conspiracy threads and predicting the demise of the Summit. Could it be that college presidents, particularly the Summit ones, are smarter than he is?

SV, with the addition of Denver and Oral Roberts, is the Summit League going to survive? If you think it will, how long before UND feels it may be economically beneficial to join the Summit? If you think it won't, what will cause its downfall? Signed, Dean B. PS, thanks for all your brainwork on this matter. I've been too busy celebrating Bison victories to think about it much.

Hey there Big Shooter, with my 16 posts, yes I am constantly over here. Just trying to broaden your horizon. Have a good day!

Easy there Captain Obvious. We in Bison Nation realize why GameDay was there. If we are a small town circus with major ass kissing, what does that make your program? Incarnate Word won yesterday. You got curb stomped. Right now a IC/UND match up would be a good game. I am patiently waiting for the UND football program to be a Big Sky contender. When is that going to happen?

Delaware State, Incarnate Word and UND. ESPN has shown the trend to be in Fargo for the game with our weakest opponent, so you guys stand a good chance. (sorry, had to get that one in there)

I know there is some real hard feelings with UND and Douple. But I don't think Douple is a dumbie. I would think that he wants to build the Summit into a league that competes with the Missouri Valley, and the Big Sky for that matter, on a regular basis. Adding another strong ND team to the league will add the rock solid base core he is looking for. Wouldn't it be something if the Summit were to get two teams into March Madness and the MVC only one? Last year, if you would won your last basketball game, ND would have had more teams in the big dance than the basketball state of Indiana.

To answer the thread title, not likely at all. I do not believe NDSU will make an FBS-type move without some company. What I would like personally is to keep the Dakota schools together, meaning a Big Sky east division or Missouri Valley west division. I believe UND will eventually end up back with the other three Dakota schools. With the Summit showing some real strength/stability with the addition of Denver and Oral Roberts, for some reason I believe that Douple/Faison could each swallow some pride and mend the UND/Summit relationship. The problem is with football. I can see Youngstown football ending up in some eastern conference. This would drop the MVFC down to nine members, which some say is the perfect size for a football conference. So, unfortunately, even with YSU leaving, it still may not provide an opening for UND football as the MVFC has a problem with adding western teams. I am not as thrilled with the Missouri Valley conference as some. They have shown their desire to be a basketball only conference with the addition of Loyola - Chicago. If the MVC, for some reason loses Wichita State, they won't be nearly as sexy as previously thought. Creighton and Wichita State seemed to be the only ones to make any noise in that conference. Seems to me if the MVC had their act together, they would be aggressively seeking expansion (adding the Dakota schools) instead of taking a wait and see attitude. There is strength in numbers. I am guessing that they think they can poach any Midwestern team that they want anytime they want, like an Eastern Illinois from the OVC, etc. I think the Summit (NCC 2.0) could become a force to be reckoned with the Dakota schools as the core. My two cents.

Got it. Good luck to UND today. Beat UM. Thought I would stop by while waiting for the Bison game.

GFH, you say it isn't cold, but it looks like you are typing with mittens on.

I believe so, otherwise the conference would not have adopted it for this year.

Will the weather help or hurt UND?

What's there to be offended about? Great post!

Looking at the EWU/SHSU score and reading about the game, wouldn't UND's ascent up the BSC food chain be accomplished quickest via a stout defense vs a high flying offense? Seems to me you guys will do well if Bubba can put together anything resembling a defense.

ISF, I like your thinking. I, too, think that all of the flagships in ND, MT, SD and ID need to band together for a conference. Is nine the perfect football conference? Maybe a U of NC, St Cloud or EWU for the ninth.