bisonguy

UND-GARY, Actually, I was at the Alerus for three games in 2001: vs. NDSU, Pitt St., and UC-Davis (father-in-law receives free tickets from UND).

Hmmm....... I surely haven't seen "estimated" attendance in recent years (such as 2001)- 13,500 in the Alerus Pot, meet kettle.

I believe it's the highest NCAA regional ranked team that gets in, not the conference champ. Example: Winona loses to CSP, and CSP ends up going undefeated in NSIC play and is the conference champ, Winona's only loss is to CSP and is second in the conference. CSP loses three non-conf games, Winona wins all of their non-conf games. CSP is not ranked in the top 10, Winona is ranked 9. Winona would get the playoff spot, and the number 6 ranked team would get bumped.

Sicatoka, Like I said, the 10/19/04 IAC minutes will be interesting to read, once they become available in another month or two. UND has already made "leaving" noises with the previous open-ended talk. I believe even you interpreted some of the talk to mean a possible move to DI. Saying they are looking at the possiblity is no different than what has already been stated. It's been stated for quite a while that no teams other than UMD have shown any interest in the NCC. U Mary would be a better fit in the NSIC, as they are rumored to be interested in the NSIC and in contact with the conference. UNO-Why mention them? Because they have stated they might leave if more changes occur, and UND could attempt a spin campaign of being the savior of the NCC by staying put in DII.

Sicatoka, Ditch the dial-up . The minutes from the Oct. 19th IAC meeting should be pretty interesting. Maybe the reasoning will be made more clear once they finally get those up on the internet. From the Sept. 21st IAC meeting:

Looks like Steve Hallstrom's interview with Phil Harmonson (?) today provides the answer to this question. On the Further Review segment on WDAY sports tonight (10:00 end of sports- WDAY.com if you want to view it), it sounds like the DII football scholarship reduction won't pass, and UND will not be moving to DI. Supposedly a "Thanks, but no thanks" response was given to the Big Sky conference when they Big Sky informed UND of possible expansion.

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Two words about DII football attendance in ND with no teams from ND: Snow Bowl.

On the WDAY 6:00 sports they announced that Manke will start, with Bowencamp and Belmore out with injuries.

I think that falls under the "what ifs" category. Interesting that Grand Forks/Alerus would pursue this. From all previous accounts on D2football.com, Florence loses a big chunk of $$$ hosting the championship.

I wonder if the NCAA might have a bias towards outdoor stadiums and natural grass for the championship? I know they do for some sports (such as soccer).

.....and DI men's wrestling, and DI men's baseball, and DI men's Lacrosse. Hmmmmm..... if the NCAA was really concerned about costs and turning a profit, they could just eliminate women's sports and have just one division.

Corella, It doesn't appear the teams are ranked purely by the SSI. Going by the Siouxsports SSI calculations, here's the Northwest Region rankings with the SSI number in parentheses after each team: 1)Michigan Tech (2) 2)SCSU (3) 3)Northwood (1) 4)GVSU (5) 5)Winona (4) 6)UND (6) 7)UNO (8) 8)SVSU (9) 9)Ferris (7) 10)USD (13) Looks like something else is a factor besides the SSI this year.

They have plenty of them at Krispy Kreme and most other doughnut shops.

I stand corrected. Thanks Tony.

NDSU does not have over $20 MM in non-science or engineering grants.

Whether or not Kupchella's numbers are worth anything, however, is another matter : From:http://www.UND.edu/president/html/stateofu/stateofu04.html

Much of the wishlist for DII and DI-AA might be alike, but they are on two different scales: DII TV coverage: National Championship on ESPN network DI-AA TV coverage: First round of the playoffs on ESPN network, playoff quarterfinals on ESPN network, playoff semifinals on ESPN network, National Championship on ESPN network, weekly game on CSTV, multiple weekly games on FOX College Sports Networks, Bayou Classic on national NBC. This isn't even touching on the "regional" networks.

Isn't the Mid-Continent Conference a little closer than the Mid-American?

...and the spin campaign is on! Maybe O'Keefe's positition/opinion is being used to garner support amongst the UND alumni and fans that has been in stark oppostion to NDSU's move and such a move to DI by UND:huh: .

That is incorrect. Breaking out the NCAA DI Manual, it clearly states in section 20.5.2.1 that the petition must be submitted by Dec. 1st of the exploratory year. 2003/2004 was NDSU's and SDSU's exploratory year. If UND were to submit the petition by Dec. 1st, the 2004/2005 season could be the exploratory year. This would mean UND would only be one year behind NDSU in the reclassification process. Sicatoka, I put the financials in italics. Strange, the NCAA seems to be concerned about $$$$$$

WYO- UND would have the ticker tocking if they send in the petition to the NCAA by Dec. 1st, along with a check . This year (2004-2005) would then be considered the "exploratory" year, the first of the five purgatory years. This would put UND only one year behind NDSU in the reclassification period. If the UND administration waits until after Dec. 1st, 2005-2006 would be the earliest for the exploratory year to begin. The smartest thing the UND administration could do (lots of self-control utilized here ) if the DI reclassification is a viable option for UND, would be to send the petition to the NCAA by Dec. 1st IMO. The DII football grant reduction vote outcome could then be realized, and if the legislation doesn't pass, don't proceed with the move to DI. There is no penalty by the NCAA if a school does not reclassify after the exploratory year, and UND could stay in DII and the NCC if that's what's best for UND.

From the WDAY news: Roger Thomas stated tonight that he has been talking to the Big Sky conference and NDSU about the transition moving to DI. UND has not applied for membership in the Big Sky. Thomas said that if the DII football grant reduction legislation passes in Jan. that UND will "strongly consider" a move to DI. If UND waits until the vote in January, and declares 2005-2006 as the "exploratory year", UND would be two years behind NDSU in the reclassification process.

Looks like there will be a report tonight on the WDAY 10:00 sports about UND talking to the Big Sky, and the DII vote UND is keeping their eye on. Not sure if it will be on WDAZ or not .