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After Ed’s on-air lambasting of Dean Blais last hockey season, is this Ed’s curtain call season as a Sioux announcer? Looks like Ed may be getting nationwide air-time soon. It’s hard to believe that Ed is so highly thought of nationally. At least he won’t be broadcasting from GF or running for ND governor!

For a couple of reasons: So Sioux fans get better understand why a reasonably firm Div I conference commitment is a necessity (which the Carr reports said was needed for success) and how little strategy has gone into NDSU/SDSU's plan for conference affiliation. Secondly, to give NDSU / SDSU lurkers get a reality view of their true challenge and likely independent future, with the spin of Taylor/Chapman and Oien/Miller removed. If they get into a conference in the next several years, it will be because of shear luck in spite of their own bungling.

Message boards were chattering about Miami's move to the ACC well before it happened. This is no different. The Mid-Con would take those three schools in a heartbeat, but UNO, USA, and UALR would be very reluctant unless they had lesser options. The Mid-Con will do what is best for itself, and it really has no concern whether NDSU or SDSU are without a conference. Tonight's news, probably eliminates the possibility of a SunBelt/WAC merger, as Utah St and N Mex State are moving from the SunBelt to the WAC. It also means that Idaho will be stranded an average of 2000 miles away from its Sunbelt rivals. To make matters even worse for Idaho, their athletic director jumped ship this month to San Diego State. So Idaho's options appear to be: pretend to be excited about their rivalries with Troy State and Middle Tennessee, or swallow their pride and drop back to I-AA football and accept the standing invitation from the Big Sky. If nothing else, the Mid-Con's and Big Sky's actions have got to make NDSU and SDSU feel valued and highly desirable.

As the conference realignment shuffle moves down the college ranks, the changes affect any hope NDSU or SDSU will soon have a conference affiliation. Right now, there are rumblings that the Mid-Continent will add New Orleans, Arkansas-Little Rock, and South Alabama from the Sunbelt. These three schools, which do not have football, will be the odd schools out if the Sunbelt and remaining WAC schools merge to protect their IA football. The Mid-Continent would gain three strong basketball and baseball schools and then split into northern and southern divisions. The Sunbelt/WAC would be a mega-conference split into southeast and western divisions that would easily meet the 8-team IA football conference requirement, protect against schools defecting to the Mountain West, and protect against losing teams to the attendance standards. If this happens, NDSU and SDSU would really have no existing conference options. The Horizon and Missouri Valley Conferences, two long-shot hopes, at present look to be unaffected and they don’t normally even consider ‘new’ Div I teams. If the Mid-Continent does pick up these three schools, NDSU and SDSU’s options are to be independent for what looks like 4-5 years minimum or piece together a scalawag conference of other Div I independents (N Colo, Utah Valley, IPFW, TxAM-Corpus Christi, and Tx-PanAm).

In the last couple of days, Forum columnist MeFeely proves that he is capable of rational thought, unlike the delusions of grandeur running through the minds of most NDSU and SDSU posters and lurkers. The first article, D-I aims aside, matchup spicy includes the following quote: The second column, Expect oddities in Bison slate, is about the 2004-5 BBall schedule. The chances of the Bison scheduling a home game against a 'name' opponent are almost nil. I will admit that obtaining a conference affiliation would change the scheduling outlook, but it has been 'awfully quiet' on that front as well. Here's a snippet of McFeely's view:

The Alerus is an underutilized GF asset representing $80 million in investment. Grand Forks either needs to help create a critical mass around the Alerus to spur additional development and business for the Alerus, or bite the bullet and accept heavy subsidies for the Alerus for eons. I think everyone agrees that property tax levels in GF, especially after the dike assessments, are much too high. Mayor Brown wants property taxes reduced, and a stretch goal of 50% reduction by say 2020 should be made. One way to reduce property taxes is increase the taxable base. Encouraging higher-density private development ‘infill’ around the REA, the Alerus, as well as downtown would help, rather than encourage more urban sprawl south of 32nd which requires new investment by GF. As someone who grew up in the Riverside Park neighborhood, the loss of a neighborhood pool is a big hangup. What is not mentioned are the deficits that Riverside and Elks pools operate with. Considering existing operating deficits, no year-round publicly available indoor pool in GF, and building a pool in any other neighborhood location would raise neighborhood infighting to new levels, building a waterpark at the Alerus, IMO, is prudent and fiscally responsible.

In my recollection, three emotionally charged referendums have gripped Grand Forks in the last 25 years: yes or no on the Alerus Center, yes or no on the Columbia Road overpass, and yes or no on Dayton-Hudson building Columbia Mall. In retrospect, almost any reasonable person would conclude the significant opposition to these changes greatly overstated any negative effects on Grand Forks. In fact, all of them have been significant positives to GF. If the King's Walk Arnold Palmer golf course had been put up for a vote, would there have been opposition? Absolutely. And the arguments would have been the exact same ones now being used against the water park: too expensive, for the rich, somebody else will benefit, too much for North Dakota tastes. There is something strangely wrong and downright vicious with a fraction of the GF populace when they start threatening economic boycotts of water park supporters. It's as if they don't want anyone to rise above their own mediocrity. I am not a GF resident, but from my view, the major impediment to progress and economic development in GF is residents lacking any vision and faith in what is possible. As much as Grand Forks has been blessed in the last six years, you would think it's citizens, more than anyone, would have confidence in its future and be willing to give the vision of its elected leadership a chance.

Maybe we need to cut NDSU student government some slack as the coverup was with good intentions: President Swanson and his entourage only wanted to investigate tailgating Alerus-style, without the Fargo police sniffing their drinks. Oh, but wait, its not President Swanson, its President Mostad, courtesy of just one more alcohol scandal in NDSU land. Perhaps Mostad better stay away from the Alerus!

After last week's win over UNO, a check of the national rankings seems warranted. The women have moved to #6, up from #19 last week. The Sioux are also ranked first in the Central Region and have now collectively outscored their opponents 47-4. Here's the national top 12: Rank School W-L-T Prev. 1 Metro State (Colo.) 10-0-1 2 2 Merrimack (Mass.) 12-0-0 10 2 Kennesaw State (Ga.) 9-1-0 5 4 Grand Valley State University (Mich.) 10-1-0 7 5 Adelphi University (N.Y.) 7-1-1 6 6 University of North Dakota 11-0-0 19 7 UC San Diego 10-1-0 11 8 University of West Florida 10-1-1 18 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce 10-0-2 9 10 Franklin Pierce College (N.H.) 9-2-0 4 11 University of Nebraska, Omaha 10-1-1 1 12 Christian Brothers University (Tenn.) 8-1-1 3 What was especially impressive about the Sioux win over UNO was the two goals they scored. Until the Sioux game, last year’s national runner-up UNO had outscored its opponents 35-1. The tie in UNO’s record is due to a 0-0 game with currently #1 ranked Metro State. After the Sioux game, UNO demolished previously undefeated NDSU 4-0. Because the team had a relatively weak non-conference schedule, this power rating system lists the Sioux only at #30 (but with UNO at #3).

TheSiouxFan, That's impressive. A seven million expansion already paid for by the the REA. That would certainly seem to put to rest rumors, most from non-GF sources, that the REA is not as profitable as hoped. For example, see this letter to this editor in the Fargo Forum. Much of that speculation has to be grossly inaccurate.

UNC has issued their men’s 2003-4 basketball schedule, which includes nine home and twenty away. Surprisingly, they were able to get 8 current DivI teams to schedule them, all away of course. But their home schedule is limited to DII RMAC teams as well as low level NAIA schools, including a home/home with Johnson&Wales, which is a Denver culinary /business school. Utah Valley State College, another Div I transition school, announced a schedule that's even worse. It will be very interesting this time next year when NDSU and SDSU announce their BB schedules. They, especially SDSU, may not be looked upon by Div I schools as much of a cupcake as UNC is. Their home schedules will probably most resemble a DAK-10 or Northern Sun schedule and are bound to be especially weak in January and February. If SDSU announces a home schedule like this (similar to UNC or UVSC), there probably would be riots breaking out in front of Pres. Miller’s home in Brookings. For either school, basketball will not be creating a lot of revenue. Away games in Ames or Omaha will only create extra cash for Iowa State or Creighton. For UND, the new REA SportsCenter needs to be paid off before a Div I move could even remotely be financially feasible.

Certainly not a new conference, but travel partners would be a future possibility. Much as NDSU and SDSU are finding in their frustrating conference odyssey, I have to believe UND's administration have a rather keen insight into the long odds of UND obtaining DivI affiliation today. Kupchella's experience at Southeast Missouri State, which moved from the Div II MIAA to Div I Ohio Valley, certainly gave him an insider's view of what it takes to get conference affiliation. SEMO had 'natural' conference options, so did Akron, Miller's old school. With no mid-major Div I school in Minnesota, UND does not have a 'natural' conference affiliation. Schools such as St. Thomas or UMD, if they have Div I goals, could improve the Div I geographical landscape for UND. What would be a huge Div I gamble today may be a compelling slam dunk move in 2010. I have yet to hear any conference state that NDSU or SDSU would make good geographical fits for their conference. As an 'investor' in UND, I much prefer management with a patient approach that move quickly when the timing is appropriate, even if it takes a decade or more.

Good info, ScottM. For UND to seriously consider a Div I move, it has to have a realistic chance of being invited to a Midwestern Conference (a western conference bid is remote, just ask Miller and Chapman ). In order for a midwestern conference bid, a Minnesota school must exist that would be of interest to the conference and, for UND, serve as a geographic bridge to points east. St. Thomas definitely meets that criteria, as well as possibly UMD. If St. Thomas truly had a 6-8 year goal of going Div I, there may be a school in Grand Forks that would mutually benefit from St. Thomas' goal. A St. Thomas move to the NCC, sponsored by UND, would be a logical first step in a long-term symbiotic relationship.

The Argus-Leader recently had this article on the NCC meseeking mbers. Last Saturday, the GFHerald included this blurb on NCC expansion:

This story, Headline in Colorado campus paper angers American Indians, has been in the national wire services today. The issue does not seem to be negativity toward the Sioux name, but rather how is was used (Mavs scalp Sioux 31 -24). Hopefully, the focus will stay that way, as I believe the headline was inappropriate. But notice in the article whom a Mesa State professor believes can and cannot be sensitive to minority concerns. Miami Herald The Denver Channel

There was this small blurb yesterday on Newberry in the Columbia, SC, paper yesterday:

From Mesa State coaches comments after the game, the Sioux offense sounds entirely too predictable:

What UNC official gave the following answer to this question: "So why would UNC ever want to move up to I-AA?" Answer: Kay Dalton, UNC Head Football Coach Source: N. Colorado coach laments move to I-AA football Of all UNC sports, I would have thought football would have been the driver to Div I.

At the risk belaboring this topic, a couple of more points to add: 1. Apparently, the Forum/WDAY were not satisfied with the marked increase in their radio audience after the Bison

UND game ticket pricing is gouging The Forum, which is fast losing any credibility other than a rag, ran this Sunday editorial trashing UND. No mention is made of no change is season ticket prices, nor is NDSU's 2004 DivI ticket prices mentioned, nor are free-market principles (which the Forum normally vehemently defend) considered. Anyone think the game still won't sell out? Next year, when NDSU athletics have their cups out begging for alms, you can bet the Forum will be asking the citizens to support the great quest for Div I status. Furthermore, if the Forum editorial board had any ethics, they would include a disclaimer that WDAY/WDAZ are owned by the same company that owns the Forum, and their TV ratings would benefit from a boycott. Absolutely appalling.

Let me preface this by saying I am in favor of the series continuing, but I believe there are other reasons why the Roger Thomas is wavering on any negotiation: Why do NDSU any financial favors? An NDSU/UND game at the FargoDome adds 10-15% to NDSU

This year