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Adding new conference members all comes down to economics. Adding an ineligible member adds expenses to the conference and adds minimal revenue. Adding an eligible member should on average increases revenue more from the conference tournament. This might be an illustration: Conferences are very relunctant to add an ineligible member, but will do so if it makes economic sense (Big West adding Cal-Davis to lower travel costs) or if an expansion is needed to ensure the long-term viability of the conference. Again, if a conference declares that its tournament champion gets its auto-bid, the conference forfeits its autobid if an ineligible team wins the tournament. (I'm attempting to find a reference.)

There is long-term strategy for a North Dakota school to gain entry to either the Horizon or Missouri Valley mid-major conferences: partner with a Minnesota school. Both of the Missouri Valley and Horizon conferences crave media attention in the Minneapolis market, as no Div-I mid-major conference has any footprint here. A school like St. Thomas would actually have a good shot at joining a very respectable conference if it so chose. However, a school in Minnesota that I believe very much has its vision set on Division I is Minnesota-Duluth. The campus is going through a major expansion with enrollment expected to be 15,000 later in the decade and it

Even a time frame of one year would be unacceptable to me if the conference that UND joined was unacceptable. Examples of scenarios in which UND should declare its intention to move up would be: -The NCAA formally announcing I-AA as a completely separate Division where the NCC moves up together (as discussed by Sicatoka) -The Missouri Valley Conference offering an invitation to UND (chance: <0.1% today) -The Horizon League offfering an invitation to UND (chance: <0.01% today) -The Big Sky dropping West Coast teams and offering invites to UND, NDSU, UNC, SDSU, USD, and one Minnesota school. (chance: <0.1% today) or forming this eight-team conference: UND, NDSU, USD, SDSU, Montana State, Montana, Idaho, and either Idaho State or E. Washington (chance: <0.1% today) Membership in the Missouri Valley, Horizon, or a reconstituted Big Sky are goals worthy of pursuit, but the odds are badly stacked against admission to any ND school even after the transition. Membership in a Division I conference like the Mid-Continent is definitely not a goal worth pursuing and is actually a step down from the NCC. Even after a transition period, an invitation from the Big Sky will be difficult. Unless Portland State, N. Arizona, and Sac. State leave the Big Sky, any move by the Montana schools to add former NCC schools will get blocked. The next school they add will probably be Southern Utah (which is why the Mid-Con added Centenary to protect itself). If they do expand east of the Rockies, Northern Colorado would be the first pick because it would offer some Denver media coverage and easier travel. To obtain membership in the Missouri Valley or Horizon, the following criteria would have to be met. - Major media market access (> 1 million people) or media attention in a new major media market - Located within at least an adjoining state of conference's current geography - Good basketball facilities - Not infringe on an existing member

Point 1: Please show a reference for eight years to gain the men's basketball autobid eligibility. Based on references (Carr report at SDSU website), this is 'eight more ' years after the five years. The playoff eligibility schedule would be as follows: Transition Year- - - - -Men

If a conference has a post-season tourney (all do except the Ivy), only the winner is guaranteed an NCAA auto-bid. I don't have specific teams or the year, but in the 1990's I believe the SWAC conference (Grambling, Jackson St, Southern, etc.) almost lost their auto bid for the year because they allowed an ineligible team into the tourney. It made the championship game of their tourney but lost. Before tournaments were the normal auto-bid route and regular season champions were chosen, a post-season ineligible team would actually play conference teams as per normal, but the games with the ineligible team were considered 'non-conference' in determining the conference regular season champion. I believe thirteen years to a men's basketball conference auto-bid is a much larger hurdle to conference affiliation than the consultants and certain leadership has led it constituents to believe.

In many respects, I believe the consultants (Carr /CSL) are disingenuous as far as the conference issue. They state a conference is needed before jumping, but yet the consultants know that in almost all cases (UC-Davis an exception), there is a low likelihood that an existing conference will accept a newly declared Div I school because of the NCAA transition rules. This is an unfortunate and dirty little issue that you won

JBB, For someone associated with a future big-time Division I University, you seem to have an unnatural fascination with a Division II conference, the NCC. If you check the NCC

This year, the existing Division I teams enacted new rules to prevent additional teams from moving up to Division I. These rules are intended to prevent further expansion of Division I, which would dilute the money received from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Previously, a school moving up would be eligible in three or four years after the move up. As a conference champion, a big money payoff in March Madness could await. The new rules make for an excruciating wait:

The NCC men's basketball preseason media poll was issued today, with the Fighting Sioux picked to finish 2nd. Has the NCC ever been stronger? Several teams have potential to be national champs, if they can only get through the North Central Region!

It seems that there are key reference points that have not been used in educating the public or in dealing with BRIDGES with respect to the Sioux nickname. There is moral and intellectual high ground to be occupied, and no one at UND seems to take that ground (we need our own David Yeagly!). From 1931 and current perspectives, the choice of the Fighting Sioux as a nickname for UND was significant in that it was and remains a form of identification repentance. The choice of Sioux as a nickname continues to show that UND faculty and students have an understanding of the betrayal and pain the government caused the Sioux Nation, are sorrowful because of it, admire the character and spirit of the Sioux through those sufferings, and desire to obtain those characteristics ourselves. Identification repentance, though a fully Christian concept, is used in liberal circles frequently and irresponsibly. As an example, liberals believe that Western Governments need to apply identification repentance to Third World poverty, because that poverty could only have been caused by sins of the rich. Just using the term 'identification repentance' sends shivers up the spine of BRIDGES members. From a psychological standpoint, BRIDGES supporters almost unanimously reject the notion that human beings are part warrior and have a need, preferably through sports, to assert that warrior spirit. But yet they are acting as warriors by joining BRIDGES. BRIDGES supporters, by fundamentally denying the warrior part of themselves, dehumanize themselves. David Yeagly

NI: You're really showing your true colors! If you really want to attract some interest around here, throw your weight around and get UND an invitation to the Missouri Valley Conference by 2005. No one should have to endure 12 years of being a Div I independent just to join the Mid-Continent. Things Looking Up in the Valley

In light of the racial incidents during the NDSU/Mankato game, perhaps NDSU leadership needs to be especially thankful that they were not Division I this year. One can only imagine the firestorm of publicity NDSU and the state of North Dakota would have had if those incidents been picked up by the national press. From a media attention standpoint, Division I can cut both ways. Below is a national story on Chuck Archambault, originally from Bismarck/Fort Yates and formerly with the Minnesota Gophers, and events during a basketball game in Nashville. Handling Racism with Grace The author attempts to make a connection between Indian mascots and racism, condemning stereotypical names such as Redskins, Indians, and Chief Wahoo. The author makes no mention of names such as Seminoles, Utes, and Aztecs. The story also does not include the apologies and repentance asked by David Lipscomb University: From the Caller-Times of Corpus Christi: Did anyone from NDSU that has posted here even think of apologizing on behalf of NDSU fans, no matter how poorly you thought Clarence Holley reacted? Incidentally, Chuck Archambault is planning to play somewhere in the Dakota

This year, UNC fans have also been reported to the NCC commissioner about racist and violent language. The following is a story from the Greeley Tribune. UNC Fan Behavior A New Haven fan commented on this newspaper story as follows:

In I-AA football, I agree that NDSU can be successful as an independent. In four years you will be playoff eligible, and scheduling shouldn

JBB: You have a great sense of humor!! First you say the issues are contrived and argumentative about why NDSU will have difficulty in being accepted into an established conference. Now you say NDSU is looking at forming a new conference. Apparently the established conferences don't consider the issues contrived. Until the Mid-Continent Commissioner spoke, I believed that, at best, NDSU had a Mid-Continent commitment in hand. Now your information further confirms that even the lowest available conference, the Mid-Continent, is not interested until the basketball probation period is over. Why else would a mini-conference even be considered? Would the following lineup be correct for your new mini-conference? NDSU Northern Colorado Utah Valley State University (moving from a JC to Div I - no football) SDSU (?) Wyoming - only in your dreams! In the remote event that they are dropped from I-A football, the Big Sky commissioner would be on his knees at their doorstep. Has NDSU talked with Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne (IUPUFW - not to be confused with IUPUI)? They are looking for a Div I Conference. NDSU

Tony: Your honesty is appreciated. I agree with Jim Dahl that 'failure' is very unlikely but the struggles Division I will be more difficult than people suspect. The NCAA rules are a problem at every division level: especially the new rules for transitioning Division II to Division I. Although the rule has been discussed numerous time here, its impact on obtaining a conference affiliation has not. Dozens of schools have made a successful transition to Division I over the last thirty years. But those schools did not have to deal with waiting 12 years in basketball and 4 years in other sports for postseason eligibility. In the past, lower level Division I conferences might accept a school with one year left before post-season eligibility. With the new rules, unless a conference is absolutely desperate for new members, why would a conference add a school that, for eleven years, has (a) no chance of adding to the its finances with NCAA men's postseason basketball $$$'s, (b) could not be included in the conference post-season tournament,

The following story by Hod Nielsen from the Yankton Press and Dakotan was published shortly after NDSU's Division I announcement. Defection Of NDSU From D-II To D-I No Surprise To NCC Followers The following quotes were especially inciteful. If it had stated the 'Fargo' rather than 'North Dakota' Chamber of Commerce, Nielsen would have hit a bullseye. However, Mr. Nielsen does not mention how UND's Engelstad Arena, its hockey program, and its recent football (a sport which was supposed to be owned by NDSU) and overall athletic success have forced the NDSU athletic program to attempt to significantly differentiate itself from UND's from a marketing standpoint. UND has been too successful and too blessed. NDSU had to move out of the 'NCC neighborhood', as NDSU leadership was being overwhelmed with envy toward it northen neighbor. Knowing that UND President Kupchella would maintain his word and not follow NDSU only emboldened NDSU to make the break. Even with a high known risk that no Division I conference would offer an invitation, NDSU leadership made the change so they would be at a 'higher' level and avoid the comparisons to UND. Isn't there a Proverbs that goes something like "Pride goeth before destruction"? I'm certain that some NDSU supporters would describe the above as 'cynical', but these views have been expressed by NDSU graduates. If a conference agreement is not reached by next September for the 2004-5 season, the cynics will need to be given another name. I do wish NDSU well, both in its athletic department and in key research areas such as its nanotechnology initiatives, and that concern is why these issues need to be exposed.

Bisonguy: Last we looked, where can Kayla major in pharmacy? Could the rest of the article be FORUM Fluff? Of course not! Seriously, for Kayla's and Katie's sake, I do hope they find road trips to Centenary, Chicago State, and Oakland University fulfilling.

From Tuesday's Sioux Falls Argus-Leader: SDSU leans toward moving to Division I SDSU continues to state that they will not move without a conference. But even the commissioner of the Mid-Continent Conference, which has very low hurdles for admission, has reservations about adding any school that could not compete in national tournaments for five years.

The SDSU Div. I decision may be delayed. An article in the October 14th, (2002) Brookings Register quoted Fred Oien as follows: That would seem to imply that a conference deal with the Mid-Continent and NDSU is still possible for 2004-2005, leaving them both as football independents. SDSU's CSL market analysis makes heavy mention of the Mid-Continent. The NDSU athletic department must be pulling out whatever hair they have left over this situation. SDSU is their last hope of any reasonable travel partner within the Mid-Continent (or much less likely, the Big Sky). Full article: SDSU Officials Field Questions

On the SDSU website, a Division I market survey for SDSU by Convention, Sports, and Leisure (CSL) International has been posted. Within this report, the following table was included. Is it possible that SDSU only brings in $0.5M in ticket sales when they normally are within the top five in Division II basketball attendance and their football team is normally a good draw? Either their ticket prices will have to double or their attendance will have to double, even during the Division I transition period, to make budget (assuming they have a conference). No wonder the AD at SDSU has been on the road attempting to drum up alumni support for more $'s.

It is interesting that the next rumored NCC candidate, Nebraska-Kearney, is hosting the CHA post-season tournament, even though it does not have a hockey team. CHA Tournament You have to wonder if this is not some sort of trial run for UNK to determine if they sponsor Division I hockey in the CHA. The Tri-Cities of Kearney/Grand Island/Hastings have a USHL team that draws well. If this is the thinking, the NCC would be a natural for them, and not just because of Nebraska-Omaha.

Apparently, SDSU's Division I indecision has not deterred Minnesota-Duluth from joining the NCC. With UMD's geography and existing hockey rivalry, they may become our most intense conference rival. Minnesota-Duluth Accepts NCC Invitation For Membership Posted: 10/15/02 9:59 Sioux Falls, S.D.