star2city

Looks like the Kohl Center is bidding too. Every one ready for the Frozen Four at Ford Field? Detroit, Tampa, and D.C. all winning Frozen Four bids had to be surprising.

UND/NDSU/SDSU being on the Big Sky agenda is not as sure as death and taxes, but at this point the odds are much much greater than any other DI possiblity. Watch and see. The next 18 months may be interesting or agonzingly boring, depending on your patience level.

A division of NDSU-UND- SDSU-UNC-UM-MSU in the BSC would contain five rather intense UND rivals. It would be difficult to imagine a better DI scenario for rivalries. Travel to the other BSC division would not be as extensive, which would keep costs down. Schools in the Mid-Con and to a lesser extent the Horizon would not be natural rivals, so it would take years to generate the level of intensity. Agree that the Horizon would be good for recruiting and for a shared hockey/midwest sports culture, but until a Minnesota school bridges the DI gap (UMD or St Thomas to DI would be schools of interest to the Horizon because of their TV markets), it can not happen.

Not sure if this was ever posted previously, as it is old news, but Doug Fullerton, Big Sky Commissioner, had an interesting quote in the Missoula paper when Northern Colorado membership was accepted. So Fullerton is leaving the door open to more than nine BSC schools, which is without historical precedent. Secondly, the BSC wouldn't publicly jilt NDSU and SDSU for a second time, unless there really was some level of sincere interest. Again, for the 2008-9 year, three new schools will be in a two-division 12 team BSC: UND, NDSU, and SDSU.

More info from the Badlands Bowl: From I-AA football forum: Eight Montana Griz recuits on team and a few (unspecified number) of MSU recruits: Billings Gazette post-game writeup Bismarck Tribune on Nick Farstveet Billings Gazette pre-game hype of Montana players

Perhaps the fertilizer runoff and risk of new biota into Lake Winnipeg would be massively reduced if the City of Winnipeg dealt with its raw sewage a little better. Not sure I would want to eat fish downstream from Winnipeg or swim at the beaches of Lake Winnipeg. Kind of ironic "justice", a sort of theater of the absurb, that these stories came out the same day Martin was accusing ND of polluting Manitoba. Massive Sewage Spill into Red Swept under the Rug CBC Manitoba reports that the lesser of two public-health evils, flooding or polluting, is polluting

It also would be helpful if Minnesota and Manitoba politicians showed some concern for the residents and farmers in the Devils Lake area. Their community is threatened, and yet the out-of-state politicians are all upset about an "environmental threat" that has not been defined. Merely stating something is an "environmental threat" does not make it one. The fish in Devils Lake seem to be thriving.

From GF Herald From Maclean's From Winnipeg Sun - MP Says Sorry, Sort of It would be helpful to the discussion if the governments of Manitoba or Minnesota could name one species that exists in Devils Lake that doesn’t already exist in the Red River basin. All those zebra mussels, sea lamphreys, Loch Ness monsters, and walleye-consuming bacteria are already creating such havoc within Devils Lake. As far as pollution, if Lake Winnipeg’s ecology could survive 1997, when floodwaters brought in everything, including the kitchen sink, tons of pesticides, fertilizer, fuel oil, and rotting carcasses, it conceivably could withstand a non-measurable increase in salinity.

The Bronson property was supposedly reserved for intramural fields. Some alum's actually made a pretty big issue about the conversion of Bronson into a University Village (they might have even filed suit, can't remember.) With the soccer field reserved for future medical school development and the rest of Bronson propery earmarked for private development, the lack of land reserved for the athletic department/intramurals seems like a rather glaring deficiency in planning. All the more reason for UNDEERC to build higher, toward the north, and toward the east. Curious that Groenewold was actively campaigning his plans with both local radio and the Herald, and not giving an accurate picture of the athletic department's predicament (the practice facility can not be built anyway, contrary to Groenewold's stand). Could it be that an internal UND decision has been made, and Groenewold was just attempting to subvert it in the public media? After all, Groenewold's influence with EERC clients is now seen as indispensable, so he really doesn't have to worry about job security from his UND 'bosses'.

With Phil Jackson back as Lakers coach, wonder if the REA can get a Laker exhibition match scheduled again. Last year both the Alerus with the Twolves and the REA with the Lakers scheduled games, but the NBA forced the REA to drop their game as they didn't want two exhibition games in GF. Since Jackson departed as Lakers coach after the original exhibition was scheduled, it really probably turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If they did get a game, a Shack vs Kobe matchup would probably sell out the place. (Too bad Jerome is not still with the Heat. ) Otherwise, a Lakers vs Twolves game would probably draw very well, especially during Homecoming week.

Groenwold is very good at getting what he wants, which is always in the best interest for EERC. But in this case, it is not in UND’s interest and certainly not for the athletic department. Groenewold’s statements about “the indoor track facility can be built anywhere” are very misguided. For football, the indoor facility needs to be right next to Memorial Stadium and the grass practice field, otherwise a new grass field and outdoor artificial turf field need to built next to the indoor facility. Same for track. Except for the Bronson Field area, there is no UND land available east of I-29, unless the housing that is being torn down west of the Chester Fritz gets converted into practice fields. The Bronson/New Engelstad area is too valuble for future Med School / apartments / commerical development to be considered. If Groenewold has a million available to tear down Old Engelstad and a few million more to build a parking ramp on it, certainly that money could be used for land acquisition toward the east: on Dyke Avenue and First Avenue North. Understand they had already been acquring property in that direction. Dyke avenue is mostly rundown and industrial already and could use redevelopment. If they really needed a parking ramp, they could build it right on 2nd Avenue, so it could be shared with the Nutrition Lab, and then buildings could be built on their existing parking area. Groenewold’s just making a power play for free (to EERC) land. If Groenewold’s arguments hold, it becomes inevitable that Memorial Stadium will see the wrecking ball.

Notice I didn't include UND in the conference. But if GVSU moved up into that situation, it would get rid UND of a main challenger for DII trophies and bleed all your $'s and fan enthusiasm out of your program at the same time. Your leadership is too smart to fall into that DI ego trap.

In its former golden days (before Idaho, Boise St, and Nevada left), the Big Sky was immeasurably happy with nine. With their current nine arrangement, I don’t think anyone is all that pleased as there is too much travel and too few real rivalries. That is why 12 teams with two divisions would satisfy almost all the current schools, as Montana schools get “real” rivalries with state schools and the travel would not increase much for West Coast schools. Even though a 12 school conference hurts the odds of getting a basketball bid, with its current membership, it adds stability. With its current nine members(or even if Sac St leaves for the WAC), going to 10, 11, or more than 12 would not be acceptable. IMO, UNO is probably the consensus choice and is already in informal discussions with the Gateway Conference. The problem is they really would need a basketball conference, and the MidCon likely has some really good alternatives, with decent media markets, as their next choice: Northern Kentucky, IPFW, UNO, and maybe even Grand Valley State. In the next major conference shakeup, UNO could be in a decent position to get into a higher level conference (the Horizon or MO Valley, if Creighton left, which may be possible after a Big East split), so it would be doubtful that the Big Sky would be of any interest to them. Moreover, the only natural rivalry in the Big Sky would be with UNC. They have much more natural ties to schools in places like Des Moines, Kansas City, and St. Louis, which are not of particular interest to UND or NDSU (but are of interest to SDSU). U of South Dakota is not in a strong position, needing money, facilities, and having the misfortune of being in the far corner of South Dakota without any townspeople to speak of. If the Big Sky did move to 12 (adding UND, NDSU, and SDSU), and then a west coast school left, USD would probably get some consideration. But that would be at least 5-7 years out. The major caveat in all this Big Sky talk is for Montana to stay DIAA. If they move up to the DI WAC, the whole dynamics of the Big Sky changes and the possibility of UND or NDSU in an DI autobid conference likely couldn’t happen until the middle of next decade.

Monster: What are you guys waiting for? You need to campaign your Laker troops to get Grand Valley State in this DI conference before its too late. You can be a Founding Father! Monster Travel Conference Grand Valley State Utah Valley State Texas-Pan American New Jersey Institute of Technology Longwood (Va) IPFW South Dakota St North Dakota St

The Southland Conference has made their expansion picks known: Central Arkansas (a DII team for this year) and TexasA&M-Corpus Christi (an independent DI). The repercussions of these choices are that (a) the Mid-Continent conference is now in no rush to expand (if the Southland had taken Centenary, the Mid-Con would have been forced to add at least one team, maybe two, this summer), (b) precedent has been set for a DII school (Tarleton State), to apply for a DI conference, be turned down, and then stay DII, and (c ) schools in geographically remote areas (i.e. U Texas-Pan American in the Rio Grande Valley) are at a major disadvantage for conference affiliation (few conference options, travel issues - without a travel partner, UTPA has no other options now but wait for the Southland, again), and (d) an independent conference will now be even more difficult to form (Corpus Christi no longer available, so UT-Pan American no longer has a travel partner). Now an independent conference would be composed of just one true travel partner set, but otherwise horrendous and expensive travel: Utah Valley State Texas-Pan American New Jersey Institute of Technology Longwood (Va) IPFW South Dakota St North Dakota St Of the above, Longwood will likely get in the Big South this summer or next, IPFW within a few years to the MIdCon, NJIT to the Northeast Conference, and, with UND, SDSU and NDSU to the Big Sky late this decade.

Another DII power, Cal State-Bakersfield, is likely to move to DI and the Big West Conference, after its students approved an increased activity fee. Bakersfield was one of the few DII schools left in the California or the west that actually has strong fan support. http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/bulldogs/s...-11392287c.html By my count, there are now ten schools that have moved to DI since the moratorium was lifted: UC-Davis N Colorado NDSU SDSU Kennesaw St N Florida Longwood Utah Valley St N Carolina Central Winston-Salem St Seven more DII schools have had their Presidents speaking to the press about potential DI interest or are publicly seeking DI conference membership: Indiana U PA Northern Kentucky Tarleton St Central Arkansas Cal St-Bakersfield Florida Gulf Coast U West Georgia If the above move up, the number of DII schools with more than a 10,000 student enrollment and a competitive athletic department is getting rather limited: 5 NCC schools (UNO, UND, SCSU, MSU-M, UMD) 3 GLIAC (Wayne St (Mich), Grand Valley St, Ferris St) Central Oklahoma Valdosta St C Missouri W Washington West Chester St 4 western nonfootball schools (UAA, Chico St., UC-San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona)

Last season, UND was 0-12 in the NCC. Granted, it was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but the highs are not that high and the lows are very low. http://www.fightingsioux.com/sports/wvball...04/schedule.asp As UND prepares to go DI, the coaching situation for each sport will likely get additional scrutiny. Obviously, some coaches could probably be at DI now, if they so chose. Others, like volleyball or men’s basketball, would definitely not have a DI opportunity elsewhere, due to credentials and performance, even if they wanted it. Those two sports, being potential revenue generators, need an upgrade, IMO.

Understand that Roger Thomas has been very upfront in conversations that if the Big Sky expands east, UND will be included. Any Big Sky expansion will likely happen sooner (within this decade), rather than later. The likelihood of UND moving to DI “soon” is one of the reasons that UND/Alerus Center pulled out of bidding on the DII football championship games later this decade. Lacking DI experience and financial expertise and having a passion for the DII game, RT’s move to the NCC and overseeing its restructuring was a natural move in all parties best interest. It really seems to be an open secret that UND and UNO will be moving on sometime (not sure about USD). If/when the NCC expands, it will be multiple teams en-masse when it is clear that UND and UNO are on their way out. The NSIC will move to 12 teams to protect itself. Predictions: August-05 - UND announces fundraising efforts for new indoor track/football complex. Fundraising for schlolarship trust fund also is announced. Winter-06 - New volleyball coach announced at UND. Spring-06 - New Men’s basketball coach announced at UND. Spring-06- Big Sky Conference announces it will again consider expansion. Spring-06- NSIC adds Minot St and Dakota St. Dac-8 disbands. Dickinson St applies for Frontier Conference membership. Jamestown joins GPAC. Mayville and Valley City are accepted into DIII Upper Midwest Conference. Black Hills St and SD Tech join RMAC. Summer06- Nebraska-Omaha announces it will enter exploratory year for DI. Summer 06- UND announces construction of new track/football complex. Summer-06- UND announces it will enter exploratory year for DI. (Still eligible for DII championships for 06-07) Fall-06 - NCC adds Winona St, Northern St., Concordia-St Paul, and St. Thomas for 07-08 seasons, moving to nine members (losing two). Spring-07 - Gateway Conference accepts UNO as football member, replacing Western Kentucky, beginning in 08-09. Spring-07- Big Sky Conference accepts UND, NDSU, and SDSU as full members, beginning with 08-09 school year. BSC will split into two six-team (High Plains/Intermountain) divisions. Spring-07- MidContinent Conference accepts UNO as full-time member for 08-09 season. Summer-07- UND announces addition of men’s tennis as a sport to fulfill Big Sky requirement. Announces refurbishment of Hyslop Fieldhouse as an Indoor Tennis Center. Summer 07- UND elects to move Volleyball and Men’s Swimming to DI status with two-year probation periods rather than five year probation. (Since DII does not sponsor men’s or women’s hockey, UND is allowed to designate two additional sports for the DI level.) 07-08 - UND and UNO play single seasons without a conference. Fall-07 - UND swimming teams accepted as associate members into the Missouri Valley Conference. (Valley only has three men’s teams, five women’s teams.) Winter-07- Unless fundraising specific to new baseball/softball facilities is successful (and a conference affiliation found), UND is forced to drop baseball and softball as sponsored sports. Fall 08- UND begins play in Big Sky conference. Not eligible for playoffs until ‘11-’12 seaons except in Volleyball.

Official NASA release: NASA and University of North Dakota Sign DC-8 Agreement

Kupchella in Huntington

Hmm, didn't Dean Blais resign about this time last year? Sure, it was a blow to the team, but it is not like they didn't recover from the shock. As far as finding a coach now, there would be any number of highly qualified DII coaches at lesser programs or assistant coaches that would jump at the chance. Not saying this is going to happen, but it would seem as an ideal situation and in the best interest for everyone. Bollinger's slot at the UND FOundation needs to be soon filled by someone, preferably with football/basketball connections. Don't think Buning when he gets here will be as satisfied with mediocre success of UND men's basketball.

Any chance that the UND Foundation will announce a new fundraising officer named Rich Glas, soon? If this announcement doesn’t come in the next week or so, it won’t happen this year, IMO. For what its worth, Rich might want his November and December weekends free for Jeff’s final year.

Aff: Your comments imply that NDSU and SDSU have no financial issues. But yet, you both saw major decreases in basketball revenue from DII times and both will require major annual inflow of alumni donations to keep your departments afloat. If either had secured a conference affiliation by now, both of you would likely have dropped a program or two to save dollars. No UND president, present or future, will take the DI plunge like Chapman and Miller did. Either UND will be asked to join a DI conference, or will be forced out of DII by a disintegration of the NCC or by a mandatory football scholarship reduction. With most of the UND ticket sales being collected by the non-profit REA, it is a mistake to conclude UND athletics is in poor financial condition without also reviewing the REA’s books. Since the REA is known to be paying for the Betty and was retaining money for a capital reserve fund, the true capacity for the REA to deliver funds to the athletic department is likely to increase as the Betty and reserve funds are paid off. The real question that should be asked is: does UND’s (or NDSUs or SDSUs for that matter) alumni have deep enough pockets to be capable of supporting a DI program. The answer will be self-evident by observing which school starts construction first on their highest priority athletic project: (A) UND and their indoor football/track , (B) NDSU and their BSA refurbishment, © SDSU and their football improvements. The smart money is on (A).

Hmm, seems like the Forum is aggressively serving as a PR firm for NDSU in this morning’s editorial. Still want to fire them as your PR firm? [url="http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=93206