star2city

Tibesar is likely on a higher trajectory path than Lennon was: already the DC on Kansas State. Do you think he would come back as HC at UND and have to deal with a transition? If UND was several years into the transition, the chances to Tibesar coming back would be higher, IMHO. I personally don't think Bubba or Hedberg would hesitate to jump to UND. Both programs will have to drop scholarship levels to 24 - granted they didn't have 36 anyway. The drop in the prestige of their conference and opponents could hurt their personal marketability: can't imagine they would turn down a UND job. With Lennon having a record of cleaning up programs (didn't he basically sacrifice his first season at Mary when there was integrity/discipline issues among players), more and more it seems Lennon should actually be the favorite over the popular Carroll coach. If Lennon should go to MSU, an assistant coach or two moving with him would also hurt. Montana State's recruiting area may have to be expanded or redirected to meet higher academic standards (especially with all the California kids that caused problems). Lennon would give Montana State access to recruiting contacts in ND, Minnesota, and Wisc. With Montana having a huge number of scholarships opening this coming year, Van Diest's Montana connections might not be that benefical near term and Lennon's value rises. If there really are benefactors that intend to donate an indoor practice facility, now seems the time for them to step up.

So IYHO who is more of a problem, Ralston or the LtC?

Yote53: The writer of USD won't do "jack" in FCS- you heard it here first is a Bison fan, definitely not a Sioux fan. It's also seemingly a pun on what some of us (including me) said about SDSU's chances in IAA football.

Amy already coaches that team. They need to add women's basketball.

What Montana State needs more than anything is a coach proven to run a clean and academically disciplined program. Throw in the 3-4 defensive alignment factor, not liking our chances of retaining Lennon. The press release mentions "five" finalists. Did Kill at Southern Illinois withdraw at the last minute? He might have been the favorite if he stayed in contention.

First, good post. NDSU, unlike SDSU, hasn't added equestrian (yet), but that might be considered a "fake" sport in many eyes. Other examples would be bowling, rifle, archery, badminton that are more skills than athletic endeavors and are mostly mostly emerging sports to meet Title IX requirements. If NDSU does add equestrian, it would make business sense by best utilizing its existing resources and creating a niche for students predisposed to equine science. Totally agreed. DI is about high performance, winning, and generating income, not participation. A DI school that values participation must offer extensive intramural and club programs.

Swimming world shocked - decision defies logic

With today's announcement, Syracuse seems to be heading toward a football-basketball-lacrosse +hockey model, the same model (on a lesser scale for football/basketball) that would IMHO most benefit UND: While it always painful when sports are dropped, Syracuse faced huge costs if they ever hoped to get swimming competitive nationally. While there's still no word on men's hockey, Syracuse's AD has been open to it. SU would be the only DI school with a women's but not a men's hockey program. SU to cut swimming, start up hockey

By playing and promoting lacrosse, UND could actually be instrumental in helping the Sioux reclaim part of their heritage. The Iroquois nation is actually recognized as a separate country in the Box and Field World Lacrosse Championships.

Ned Harkness - Hall of Fame Lacrosse coach, too MSNBC: Jim Brown's Favorite Sport (wasn't football)

Men's Lacrosse attendance in Baltimore: Semifinals: 52,004 (2500 over last year's record) Finals: 48,334 (1400 over last year's record) For a comparison, men's soccer, which has many more teams and higher national participation rates: 2005 Championship attendance: 6922 (Maryland vs New Mexico @ Cary, NC) 2006 Championship attendance: 5948 (UC-Santa Barbara vs UCLA @ St. Louis) NBC: Lacrosse on the cusp of becoming next big NCAA sport

The Bismarck Tribune took a very professional dig at the Forum ([url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=39328

Seems UND's parking ramp lone tower bears a striking resemblance to one at Central Oklahoma:

Idaho State Journal (Pocatello) Interesting that the Big Sky may take a rather radical step to save on travel costs and go to a "lone wolf" arrangement for basketball, where one team has a "bye" week during the conference season while the other eight teams play two games apiece. That would open up a number of non-conference dates within the Big Sky in January and February. Utah Valley State, CSU-Bakersfield, Seattle U, as well as UND USD would all be potential opponents. One might question how long before a ten-team basketball league. Idaho State and Northern Colorado appear to be more than a little frustrated with Sac State and Portland State: With the four WCC softball teams allies and their autobid, Sac State and Portland State are showing preference to the California schools rather than fellow Big Sky schools and are attempting to have Big Sky rules rewritten so that they would not be forced into the Big Sky if either E Wash or Weber State add softball: Sac State and Portland State could force their softball league to accept ISU and UNC, but choose not to. Any Sac St / Portland St estrangement with the rest of the Big Sky may be growing.

With John Q. Paulsen, Chapman could just as well be on the committee: as much as those two yap with each other (and each other's lawyers ).

Does John Stewart have a close association with the athletic department?

To test if lacrosse is really now recruiting beyond the East Coast, the rosters of the Final Four teams were checked for any players from Canada or anywhere from the Central/Mountain/Pacific time zones. Cornell had a substantial number of western and Canadian recruits, including a player from Holy Angels in Richfield and one from Moose Jaw, Sask. With DI lacrosse scholarships limited to about 1/4 ride, the tuition and financial aid package is a major consideration for students from what is increasingly a middle class sport. Cornell Corbolotti, Mike San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep Corbolotti, Tom San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep Paulson, Leif Prince George, B.C./D.P. Todd Secondary Robbins, Matt Evanston, Ill./Loyola Academy Romero, Rocco Denver, Colo./Boys' Latin Webb, Drew Houston, Texas/Episcopal HS Gradinger, Nick Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Deerfield Academy Howe, Michael St. Catharines, Ont./Holy Cross Secondary School Hurley, Ryan Eagan, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels Mitchell, David Moose Jaw, Sask./Central Collegiate McCready, Joel St. Catharines, Ont./Holy Cross Secondary School Myers, Jake Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines/Syracuse Nathan, Danny Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS Olson, Todd Centennial, Colo./Eaglecrest HS/Herkimer County CC Delaware Curtis Dickson Port Coquitlan, British Columbia/Riverside Jordan Hall *** Surrey, British Columbia/Fleetwood Park Johns Hopkins Andrew Jaffe Wilmette, IL/New Trier Matt Drenan San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo Zach Tedeschi Denver, CO/Denver East Duke Zack Greer Whitby, Ontario (All Saints Catholic) Adam Langley Glenview, Il. (Glenbrook South) Max Wygod San Diego, Calif. (Francis Parker) Rob Wellington Dallas, Texas (Highland Park)

Washington Post: Lacrosse - As Good as It Gets? Washington Times: New Areas Feeding on Lacrosse

Part 3: Bond remains strong on both sides

Part 2: Transition has been one of adjustments Travel: Expectations: some exceeded, others not Recruiting: Rivalries:

A three-part series in State College's newpaper had rather interesting insights into the long drawn out process of how Penn State was admitted into the Big 10. The decision took at least six years and met considerable opposition at some Big 10 schools. Somehow, the whole process remained confidential so the public announcement was a shock to most of the media. Even after the initial announcement, Penn State was almost rejected. PSU saw opportunity in joining the Big Ten What could have been: Imagine if the proposed eastern league had joined with a few of the following, which were all independents at the time: West Virginia, Miami (FL), Boston College, Florida State, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech. Personal relationships mattered: Penn State barely gained acceptance: Opposition after the decision:

While recognizing that the probablity of varsity lacrosse happening at UND is rather remote, there continues to be a groundswell of lacrosse interest at the youth level that more universities would benefit from if tapped into: Washington Post: From Touchdowns to Shutdown Chicago Crosse-ing Over: Athletes discovering lacrosse at younger ages

Pioneer-Press: Time to jump on Bollinger bandwagon

In Minnesota, lacrosse is becoming more than a city in Wisconsin

The Florence (AL) Times-Daily has several articles today on the future of DII and the Gulf South Conference: What will the future hold? Former GSC schools made the right move Scheduling is still UNA's biggest headache