star2city

It appears SDSU

Figured this old thread needed to be resurrected to declare the UM-Crookson win over UND in the 2002-2003 men's basketball season as the season's most stunning, ridiculous, preposterous upset of any college basketball team at any level. The Massey Basketball Power Ratings declare it so: The Massey Ratings for the year's top Div II teams (with overall ratings including Div I teams) are as follows: 80 KY Wesleyan 33 4 1.437 98 St Cloud 25 5 1.364 108 NE Oklahoma 32 3 1.329 111 NE Kearney 30 3 1.319 112 Michigan Tech 29 3 1.317 129 South Dakota St 24 7 1.263 131 Metropolitan St 28 5 1.256 138 S Indiana 25 7 1.240 153 N Kentucky 25 6 1.192 161 Tarleton St 29 4 1.169 170 Washburn 26 6 1.136 177 CS San Bern. 23 7 1.110 183 Lewis 23 8 1.086 193 NE Omaha 20 10 1.063 194 North Dakota 20 9 1.060 198 BYU Hawaii 19 4 1.036 203 Henderson St 30 5 1.017 204 North Dakota St 19 11 1.013 205 Rollins 26 5 1.006 207 South Dakota 19 9 1.002

A tidbit of info that I've actually found enlightening from a Bison site is the Massey Ratings. The Massey power ratings include all schools, from BCS to the NAIA level. The Massey system seems to properly weigh the NCC, so it's got to be a good system. Here are the top D-II schools by Massey Overall Wkly Rank Change School WLT Rating 86 + 6 Grand Valley St 1 0 1.319 111 +43 North Dakota St 2 0 1.069 116 + 9 Valdosta St 2 0 1.056 136 + 2 North Dakota 1 0 0.941 137 +35 South Dakota St 1 0 0.935 143 +27 St Cloud 2 0 0.885 148 + 9 Saginaw Val 1 0 0.856 150 - 1 Carson Newman 2 0 0.843 153 - 2 Pittsburg St 1 0 0.828 157 + 8 Indiana PA 1 0 0.819 160 -44 NW Missouri 0 1 0.805 The Div-III school, Mt. Union, that is the primary target for Div III reforms which hurt CC, Clarkson, RPI, is rated above a number of Div IA schools.

Actually, I had anticipated a much more significant announcement then there was. There has been a recent GFH editorial on the University Village, as well as articles on the Wellness Center, retail development, and private higher-end student housing. There seems to be a reluctance by UND officials to allow higher-rise condos on the property. If getting high pedestrian traffic in the area is a goal, and if the condos would add to the architecture and layout, why not? The commerical developer denies that a hotel is in the works, but the REA could really use an upscale hotel (with a sports bar!) for its own business development. I have to believe that an REA hotel would only be developed after the Canad Inn/Waterpark at the Alerus are signed, sealed and delivered. Too many GF voters want the Canad Inn, but not the waterpark. But the reality is that the Alerus, especially, and probably the REA need adjoining hotels for their business plans, which are in many ways complimentary to the other.

This recent column from (non-conservative) Clarence Page on the contributions of recently deceased John Ogbu addresses the mentality perpetrated by 'well-meaning' liberals:

Commercial development of the Bronson Property around Engelstad seems one step closer to reality, as last Friday, 'Now Leasing' signs were placed on the property as well as an artist's rendering of the proposed new 'University Station'. The architectural firm is the same as the the Engelstad Sports Center: Icon. It seems there is no official announcement yet from UND, ICON, or Dakota Commerical, but the UND campus map includes the development footprint. This is just speculation on my part, but I do expect further announcements on condominium/housing development during Homecoming week.

By itself, UND Hockey attendance actually leads 9 of the 31 DI Conferences in their total men's basketball attendance: DI Conference - Teams - Sessions - Total Attendance -Average 17. Big Sky 8 102 319,317 3,131 18. Big West 10 133 368,876 2,774 19. Southern 12 166 419,318 2,526 20. Metro Atlantic 10 134 336,347 2,510 21. Mid-Continent 8 104 259,329 2,494 22. Ivy 8 90 216,328 2,404 23. West Coast 8 110 247,462 2,250 24. Mid-Eastern 11 135 *263,070 1,949 25. Southwestern 10 123 222,640 1,810 26. Southland 11 145 247,668 1,708 27. Patriot 8 106 180,893 1,707 28. Big South 8 102 161,358 1,582 29. Atlantic Sun # 12 143 209,136 1,462 30. America East 9 116 151,149 1,303 31. Northeast 12 140 173,726 1,241 Independent # 6 63 83,839 1,331 If Division I was really serious about keeping its membership roles down, it should implement minimum attendance rules for basketball, just as they have done for Div IA football. Most of the schools in the lower tier of DivI have no business being there, especially the ones that don't even have football teams. A significant number of schools don't even have 20,000 in attendance for all their athletic events. If a school can't average 2000 for men's basketball, they should be forced to a lower level. If a school wanted to move into Div II, it would need to average at least 2000 for basketball. This criteria would be much fairer than the 13 year probation period to keep Div II schools out. It would also make Div II more interesting. Most of the NCC (except UNC and UNO) would have met the criteria: DII Conference, Teams, Sessions, Total, Average 1. North Central 9 133 328,903 2,473 2. Mid-America 10 135 235,682 1,746 3. CIAA 12 144 224,249 1,557 These Div II schools compare particularly well in men's BB: Teams G/S Attendance Avg. 1. Neb.-Kearney 19 72,950 3,839 2. South Dakota St. 17 59,357 3,491 3. North Dakota 14 47,924 3,423 4. Ky. Wesleyan 17 55,800 3,282 5. Northern St. 16 50,451 3,153

It seems as if Mick Garry of the Argus Leader could have been reading SiouxSports.com:

So I guess Cal-Davis does not count? Why should anything that Miller or Oien have to say on this subject be credible? It is ironic that one week ago, the Indianapolis Star came out with this story after the new Mid-Con commissioner visited IUPUI: New Mid-Continent boss wants more exposure A key quote is: This morning there was a quote in an article by Kolpack that conflicts with the Indianpolis Star's article:

Bisonguy: I guess the comments presented at the Mat Forums must have threatened you, like: or Otherwise why would you attack the messenger? BTW, the writer in the Aberdeen paper was an SDSU grad.

Here are two reactions to the SDSU announcement, one from the Aberdeen News and one from another forum

From the SDSU announcement, this quote may be the most revealing about SDSU's future and the whole conference search issue: Translation: no conference has been even remotely interested. The conferences might consider us after we make a commitment, but only on the conference

Suffice it to say, the NCC is definitely not helped by SDSU

Two recent Sioux football articles: One from the Bismarck Tribune and one from the AP (unsure of the originating newspaper) The AP article implies Riza Mahmoud was suspended for one year, and not dismissed. Is this correct?

From the SDSU board, this article, More Change Expected in NCC, was in Saturday's Omaha World-Herald. UN-Kearney has often been considered a prime target for NCC expansion, but this quote from its AD would seem to minimize that possibility near-term: Based on this quote from the UN-Omaha AD, it would also seem unlikely that UNO would move to the Mid-America conference, and that UNO would not be prohibited by its state education board if it wanted to move to Div I.

In the Sioux news release on the new point guard recruit, Caro Nobles, this quote by Rich Glas was especially of interest:

Even after the Board of Regents meeting Saturday, there is still no official word from SDSU. I could have appreciated Miller and Oien showing some conviction and just announcing they were moving up a year ago. But their earlier 'certainty' that a conference would be available does not reflect well on their sense of reality of Div I conference hardball politics. Backtracking on their previous commitment to not move without a conference 'affiliation' will also not reflect well on their leadership. Miller and Oien are really painting themselves in a corner.

Schmidtdoggydog: Your forthrightness and information, however troubling, is appreciated. Do you believe the off-ice issues affected the on-ice performance the last two seasons? Has the lack of publicity been a disservice to the team, UND, and the fans? As a general question: which player can step up and provide on- and off-ice leadership, like Lee Goren did?

This article from the GF Herald is somewhat off-topic, but it helps further explain the rationale behind the SportsCenter addition to the Engelstad Arena and the probable Wellness Center building directly west of the REA: In today's editorial, there was this bit of information: What is most surprising about the Engelstad development, considering the CANAD INN that will be built near the Alerus, is this: It would be hard to imagine those developments even being considered without the existence of Ralph's gift. It would have been even more difficult to imagine this transformation before 1997's events, which inspired Ralph to act boldly. It's truly a new era in GF.

Would DI hockey help NDSU find a conference sooner? IMHO, almost certainly not. But it depends on if was revenue positive, what hockey conference NDSU played in, how well NDSU was performing at Div I, and how hockey fit in with the longer-term goals of members of the conference of the conference it hoped to join. For conferences like the Big Sky or Mid-Con, having hockey would be a negative. (But for the Mid-Con, having a football program is not necessarily a positive.) Will DI hockey help UND find a conference sooner if it pursued DI in all sports? IMHO, probably not. But in a few special scenarios it could be used as a bargaining chip (see earlier thread on leverage). In most cases, mid-level conferences want a school that emphasizes basketball, not hockey or even football. As Sicatoka mentioned, it certainly wouldn't hurt in non-conference scheduling (although UND does not at all appear to be using its contacts with other ADs at hockey schools to schedule BB or FB).

How about this: If a DII tradition in football meant anything, people on the other boards would bring it up. Something along the lines of "Didn't UND win eight DII titles in football?" Instead, they say "Who cares about DII football". It all depends on your audience. The boards seem to cut both ways, such as this survey on the UM-Kansas City board. I think even you would admit, bisonguy, that a January trip to South Padre Island (with TAMUCC and UTPA) would be tempting for many coaches recruiting efforts. Just as UND and NDSU women's BB went to Florida last year and UND's will go to Hawaii-Hilo this year. Another quote from the Oral Roberts board goes like this: Regrettably, having to overcome the Fargo movie mystique can be a tough sell in non-regional territory.

Actually, h5322rsh, I'm trying to let your ego down gently after the Big Sky debacle. Expecting anything but a rejection slip will only lead to further disappointment. Typical behavior of you to lash out at the messenger and not at your leadership. There is nothing wrong with keeping on trying, just as Centenary did and IPFW and TAMUCC are doing, as in four or five years maybe you'll be at the top of the list. You being a space cadet, I'll accept your expert opinion. Just keep your opinion and your space suit clean, please.