star2city

It partly depends on how they structure the payouts. With a 65 team field: there are 128 "shares" that are distributed by wins (63 - the championship game win doesn't count) and by participants (65). With 96 teams, and all teams were considered equal for appearances (seeds #33-96 gets same $'s as seed #1-32) , there would be 190 "shares": 96 based on appearance and 94 based on wins (without the championship game). If the total contractual payout increases by more than 50% (and the new contract might end up being 100% increase and possibly even more with another weekend), the payout/share effectively increases. The power conferences and the upper mid-majors would likely vote for it (more appearances and more wins). Some smaller conference could also, as the #14, #15, #16 seed would now become #22, 23, and 24, but their chances in the first round game would grow from none to slim (they'd face #9, #10, #11 seeds in the first round) and they'd wouldn't have to face certain losses against the #1, #2, and #3 seeds in the next round (instead they'd face the #6, #7, #8 seeds if they won). It's complicated, but there are actually some incentives for all conferences, even the weakest ones, to expand the field. In addition, the NCAA would get to spread the love around to four more host cites (assuming 16 teams play one game the first weekend in each of the first round host cities). If the men's went to 96, the women's would too.

Each share likely will increase, but the % of money going to the larger conferences would almost assuredly increase. Certain mid-level conferences like the Colonial, A-10, MVC, Horizon, WAC, MWC, Sunbelt, CUSA will likely vote for it too, as it would add to their overall share. The bottom feeder conferences are the ones that will see a lower %.

Up until now, people had believed that this team might be competitive in two years. That is looking suspect now. I agree that the student-athletes on this team need more support than ever, but it would be unhealthy for the program if fans didn't begin to question the direction the program is moving. Running a Princeton offense requires a point quard with abilities that perhaps only the recruit from Osseo comes close to possessing. It's four or five years before he's a junior with decent experience.

By March, that shouldn't be an issue. Four years ago, the UND coaching position was much less attractive because whoever coached had to face a horrible transition. Now, 2012 isn't that far away. Moreover, a high number of very capable DI assistants would jump at a chance with UND if the position and assistants were paid decently (six figures plus). Jones is paid less than the volleyball and women's hockey coach.

At the time, he didn't have the NCAA DI coaching credentials that were expected. He does now: Craig Smith As far as a coaching change, can't see how that would impact a conference decision like a bison poster implied. It's not like we're going to get in the MVC. Right now, UND men's BB can't go much lower. Mayville State was 4-5 going into the game. Jones seems like a nice guy, but with the interest in the program at almost an all-time low, sometimes changes have to be made just to get the public's respect again.

This is a horrible and embarrassing loss and totally unacceptable. Not only would we finish near the bottom of the NSIC, but apparently near the bottom of the DAC. But, if nothing else, this will at least show Kelley the plight of this program, so it gets the attention it needs. Attendance will be absolutely miserable for the rest of the season. I would hope Faison would know how to turn this around: the one sport that N Mex St fans demanded success in was men's BB (albeit at the Sun Belt or Big West level).

RealtimeRPI shows UND at #335, ahead of Houston Baptist, Chicago St and UT-Arlington, one of the teams we lost to at the Drake tournament. 335 North Dakota 0-8 0.3219 296 0.4292 Indp 0-0 Down 1 From Last Week 336 St. Francis (NY) 2-5 0.3178 344 0.3336 Neast 0-1 337 Houston Baptist 1-7 0.3174 318 0.3938 Indp 0-0 338 Tenn-Martin 0-5 0.3131 306 0.4174 Ovc 0-2 Up 1 From Last Week 339 Fla Gulf Coast 0-6 0.3078 314 0.4105 Atsun 0-0 Down 1 From Last Week 340 Marist 0-6 0.2932 321 0.3909 Maac 0-2 341 Winston-Salem 0-5 0.2868 325 0.3824 Indp 0-0 Up 3 From Last Week 342 Delaware St. 1-3 0.2839 345 0.3161 Meac 0-1 Down 1 From Last Week 343 McNeese St. 1-5 0.2838 343 0.3400 Sland 0-0 344 MD Baltimore Cty. 0-7 0.2830 327 0.3774 Aeast 0-0 Down 2 From Last Week 345 TX Arlington 2-3 0.2826 346 0.2477 Sland 0-0 346 Chicago St. 0-3 0.2769 334 0.3692 Indp 0-0 347 Wagner 0-6 0.2698 337 0.3598 Neast 0-2

The last two, NJIT has been the worst DI men's BB, as they lost 51 straight games. But this year, they actually have won three games (including 2 DIII wins: Vermont 88, NJIT 49 NJIT 78, SUNY Cobleskill 40 Seton Hall 93, NJIT 53 Stony Brook 60, NJIT 46 NJIT 56, Wagner 51 Lafayette 69, NJIT 52 NJIT 96, St. Joseph's (NY) 54 Manhattan 70, NJIT 58 Unless the Sioux improve, we could have the worst DI team.

For UND, please correct me if I'm mistaken: Academics: check (@ Ralph, Betty, Hyslop) Nutrition: Training: Check (@ Ralph, Betty, Hyslop, and Memorial?) Strength: Check (@ Ralph, Betty, Hyslop, Memorial) Would agree with some of your comments with regards to UND as it seems physically structured like this: M&W hockey, M&W BB + VB + Soccer, FB, Baseball/Softball/T&F/CC/Golf and Swimming, with Tennis elsewhere. With a wider range of sports and venues relative to NDSU, it can't be avoided. However, doesn't NDSU FB have substantilly better strenght, meeting, and study areas relative to all other teams?

Thanks. Forgot about the BB practice facility. I assumed that the floor on the BSA would be lowered, so construction would take more than one year. Besides the FargoDome, there's probably also the option of the Urban Plains Center. It would be off-campus, but for one year it would possibly be doable.

A rumor has the benefactor being T Denny Sanford, not Sanford-Meritcare itself. Chapman pissed off the last couple million-dollar donors with poor stewardship of donations that muddied up their philanthropic legacies, so the Foundation chose to remove the problem?

So is Sanford Health really going to fork out the sponsorship money for a FargoDome addition? That would really get NDSU athletics out of a big time financial and facility bind. I still don't understand the logistics of how NDSU would remodel the BSA for basketball, and yet still have a practice and game facility when the year-long remodeling actually occurs. Which is gonna happen first: a UND indoor football/track facility or an NDSU basketball facility? If the football facility came first, how much more would bison fans be sweating, even outside the BSA?

The Big 10/Pac 10/Rose Bowl are holding up a playoff system: the Big 10 especially as it knows it would lose out 80% of matchups to the SEC and Big 12. The Big 10 hardly wins the Rose Bowl now, even without USC as an opponent. If a playoff was installed, ratings would be huge. Fans would check out every game, just to see how possible matchups are progressing. A true national tournament championship game could end up rivaling the Super Bowl in ratings, as it would have weeks of buildup and hype. As far as there being too many bowls: so what. Every bowl is in it to make money for a charitable organization: if they don't they go bust. Even the lowest rated bowls have higher ratings than the FCS championship game, so by going FBS, schools get more exposure. For example, the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise gets more hype, higher attendance, and more importantly, higher ratings, than the FCS championship in Chattanooga. (Even the DII game in Florence gets higher ratings than the FCS game.) The problem with the FCS tournament is that visiting fans can't travel on six days notice: a longer time is needed for travel and media hype. With the FCS moving it's championship game after New Years for next season, the FCS championship game ratings and attendance may finally increase.

The #16 seeds are really like #150 to #250 in RPI. There are a slew of 40-70 RPI teams that would now get in. So, the Big East, instead of getting eight teams in, would get 13 or 14. With this system, the current #16 seeds, would become #24 seeds, and would face the #9 seed in the preliminary round. NIT level teams would get seeds #16 and #17, with the right to face a regional #1. The likelihood of #1 teams being knocked out goes way up with the system, as the tournament becomes much more of a crapshoot.

Most don't see a problem.

There is no rule as such. FCS and DII have historically been at 16. Lacrosse is 16. Basketball used to be a 24 bid field (in the early 70's). The bowls could bid on hosting, based on the teams in the grid. (i.e. Cotton Bowl bids to host winner of Texas/ECU and Iowa/Oregon). The first round of the playoffs would be this week at campus locations. The next round (first bowls) follows the weekend before Christmas. The semifinals could be New Years - weekend after. The finals would be the weekend before the Super Bowl. With that type schedule, travel arrangements can be made. The potential amount of money that the NCAA and FBS would make off this would be much more than the BCS gives out now. All the bowls could still exist: only six or seven would participate in the playoffs.

Sports Business Journal: NCAA tourney to 96? Seattle PI blog

DII and FCS already know how. For FBS, on campus locations for the first eight games, bowl locations thereafter: With the CAA losing two of it's weakest teams, it might actually be stronger than MAC and even CUSA. (The CAA is already > Sunbelt). Maybe they could throw in the FCS champ as one of the 16.

One wonders how many national championships UND would have had if Kelly hadn't been at Grand Valley. What Kelly continues to do at Cincinnati is nothing short of amazing (two BCS games in a row). For that matter, how many national championships should UND have had? With the Camelia Bowl wins before there was a playoff and certain chokes in the playoffs - like to Livingston St (now W Alabama).

Agree that Twin Cities-area school will not necessarily produce better women BB players: but the point remains that the recruiting area is just too local. NW Minnesota has produced a lot of talent over the past decade, but it's seems as if that has basically dried up. S Minnesota and Mnpls-St Paul area haven't. As far as volleyball to basketball, the point was that Hardee was able to make a major step up in the program inheriting what he had (there was probably more talent there than given credit for). Whereas Roebuck, who has captained the ship during the transition, has basicially run the program into the ground. The buck stops with Roebuck: he's made the decisions and the near term outlook is not at all encouraging.

The BCS conferences did not want any of their teams facing off against Boise St or TCU. An unbeaten BSU and once-beaten TCU played last year in the Liberty low payout Poinsetta Bowl - they couldn't get BCS bowl opponents then either. The Fiesta Bowl matched up those two as a favor to the BCS powers. If both TCU and Boise St had won, the system would have demanded changes. That said, Boise St and TCU will travel well to Phoenix, but both would have been horrible for Orange Bowl attendance (UND probably has more living graduates than either of those two schools). Nobody wanted Cincinnati because they don't travel well at all, but the Sugar was more than happy with Florida fans that will pay dearly to see Tebow play his last game. The GT-Iowa game is basically a joke, but Iowans travel very well and the Orange Bowl wanted to ensure their game was sold out (unlike last year for Cincinnati-Va Tech).

Nine turnovers pretty much explains everything: one turnover is essentially -5 points for SFA. Nebraska lost to Iowa State because nine turnovers. Plus/minus in turnovers is usually the most important statistic in a game.

Lincoln Star-Journal: Marsh, Longacre wreaked havoc

Devils Lake Journal: Indiana Looking at Big Ten Hockey? Bit skeptical, but could Indiana somehow put together a DI team in the next five years?

Can't believe Drake lost to SIU-E, which is one of the weakest teams around. Thought UND would have been a big favorite against SIU-E, but an "L" to Drake is highly likely. I may be guilty of it too, but I wish you wouldn't call out individual players in such critical tones. The coaches are the ones who are making the playing time decisions: criticize Jones if you choose.