star2city

Norway's version of Limited Intelligence AV's

Mega-Conferences causing Travel budget headaches. For everyone's info, Terry Holland is actually a UND plant, attempting to force NDSU to play UND; the only DI school within 100 miles of Fargo. Hey, Terry, no one is forcing ECU to be in CUSA and travel to El Paso, Dallas, Tulsa and Houston. Utah Valley's complaining, and the Great West doesn't start until next year: From the "How can Grand Valley be good in everything" department?

Used to amaze me when NDSU fans routinely became irate about Ryan Bakken's articles because they couldn't discern that the Ryan was actually writing a humor / satire column, and was no longer was a sports columnist. Virg has never been a sports columnist and has always been writing humor / satire columns, he just never realized it.

UBC has been having difficulty getting students and faculty behind an NCAA move, so until they actually apply to the NCAA, they certainly haven't applied for the WCHA. But UBC has been talking to at least one WCHA member. UBC - Alaska schools getting to know one another With the DI moratorium on single-sport move-ups, even if UBC decides to go the NCAA route, UBC wouldn't be playing DI hockey until 2011-12. Interesting that McLeod mentioned 2011-12 as the likely season to add teams. Also, all the CHA teams may be applying for the WCHA (UAH, Niagara, RMU), if for no other reasons, to show other conferences they are serious about the future of their hockey programs. On Moose's radio show, it was actually mentioned that the WCHA might consider becoming a super-conference (14 or more teams).

IMHO, UAA would be a sure vote for UBC, as UAA needs more regional rivalries to energize fans and decrease travel. Energized fans help recruiting and decreased travel lowers budgets. UBC isn't UWashington, which would be Alaska's ideal big-brother rival (like Minny and Bucky are to former NCC schools), but more West Coast presence helps UAF and UAA (if only to keep their own in-state players).

For the specific person mentioned, His Horse is Thunder became his name when he legally changed it as an adult. Perhaps it is a family name, but, nevertheless, it also potentially speaks of psychological grandiosity of a politician. IMHO, that was the context in which the name was brought in, not because of the (possible) ethnicity of it. FYI, do you know the ethnicity of the person you just accused of mocking an ethnic group? As for assuming everyone on this board is a WASP - "we - the white people" shows an amazing amount of arrogance and ethnic insensitivity on your part.

Brand himself want's to increase the visibility of NCAA hockey. Why? $$$'s How can he accomplish that? Canada. Imagine a Frozen Four TV rating in Canada with UBC in it? $$$'s What's best for the NCAA and Brand isn't necessarily best for UND.

First off, it's about $'s. Vancouver offers like 2 million potential TV viewers for a Final Five, an 8000 seat Olympic arena (fresh from the 2010 Winter Olympics), while Marquette, MI has like 1/100th the population and is just a shell of its former self economically. It's about new markets: the WCHA already has a team in the U.P. (with its 200,000 people), but nothing in Canada (with it's 30 million). With NMU (and BSU), the $'s taken in by the WCHA stay the same (or decrease, because most schools won't be playing Minnesota and Wisco as much at home, so they have less opportunity to charge premium prices and would have fewer sell outs - Colorado Springs residents aren't going to flock to the World Arena to see BSU or NMU). With UBC, revenues have a chance to increase (not just TV rights, or seats sold, but Canadians paying for FSSN game feeds, or Sioux merchandise selling in Canada as examples). For UBC, the WCHA is really it's single best option for hockey. UBC could hurt UND recruiting in BC and likely Alberta. What UND would gain is more exposure throughout Canada (if UBC obtained a Canadian cable contract, for instance), and UBC's NCAA presence further erodes the number of Canadian teenagers choosing Major Juniors over the NCAA route. In addition, if a BTHC ever happens and UND isn't included, UBC's presence would help keep the WCHA a very powerful conference.

A: Academic snobbishness. The Big Ten academic types only tolerate the WCHA's membership because of history (and maybe not much longer). U of Wisconsin academic leaders (and Minnesota, if they didn't have to deal with in-state politics surrounding Bemidji) would prefer to associate with research extensive institutions: like UBC. which is listed as #28 among the Top 100 Universities in the America's For example, for membership in the Big Ten, the university must first be a member of the invitation-only American Association of Universities AAU). UBC, by most definitions, meets those requirements. The Big Ten and Pac Ten have such a close relationship largely because, among major athletic conferences, those two conferences have the highest % membership in the AAU (11 of 11 for the Big Ten, 7 of 10 for the Pac-10, with only the Big 12 coming close at 7 of 12). If UBC remained on the NCAA track (going DI in all sports), it is one of the few West Coast schools that the Pac-10 would give serious consideration for membership (UC-Davis, if its medical research and athletics increase, and UC-San Diego, if it went DI, being other examples).

Bemidji, needing 8 of 10 WCHA votes, really only has sure votes from the Minnesota schools. Adding a 40,000 student research university like UBC would be like adding a PAC-10 school academically and geographically (assuring Wisco's, Denver's, CC's and Alaska's vote). Practically all the schools opposed to Bemidji would be thrilled with UBC (MTU possibly excepted), so both get in. A UBC/BSU combo passes near unanimously. A BSU/NMU combo really offers nothing to strengthen the conference. UNO likes it Notre Dame/Ohio State/Michigan/Mich St affiliation too much to dump them for Minn/Wisco/ND/Denver. AFA has no interest. NCAA Magazine - Winter 2009 - Top Story - The Canadians are Coming Simon Fraser has made it know that intends to apply for NCAA membership. UBC will declare it's intention by March. Both would join at the DII level, but UBC's hockey and volleyball programs can play at the DI level.

Wasn't there a hope that a Marriott Suites would be built just north of Suite 49, and the Marriott would have utilized Suite 49 for it's kitchen, room service, etc?

Do you really think either Taylor or Chapman are friendly to the idea of UND obtaining Summit membership? The rest of the MidCon Presidents, if their really looking for comprehensive university profiles, would they really chose USD and not UND? Taylor's statements during the past week (and Douple changes in stance as a result of Taylor's statement) definitely imply that they have close relationships. Maybe that's why, based on hearsay, that Bisonville posters are reporting a UND affiliated legislator is going to introduce a bill forcing UND and NDSU to play (even when their both in the Summit?!). Bisonville posters would never post anything based on hearsay, it always unimpeachable information. Must be a difficult adjustment to Bisonville posters, who have long held that the Summit would never add more Dakota schools: one more conventional wisdom bubble popped in Bisonville. BTW, have you alerted the Bisonville network that's there's an objectionable post on Siouxsports that needs to be mocked.

So effectively, for a business case to work, the building has to sell or be leased at a rate at a value of around $1 million?

If Douple is just being proactive in gathering information, he would discretely visit USD with a crew of people. With the Summit issuing a press release to announce a visit publicly proclaims a high level of seriousness. Now, if UDS is rejected, USD's Division I aspirations would take a very serious blow because of the press releases already issued: no way hasn't this been thought out and agreed to by Douple, Summit Presidents, and USD well before the press releases. If this was an informal trip with no press releases, then your hopes for a UXD-free Summit might have some legitimacy. Once the Summit Presidents convene at the Sioux Falls tournament, USD is voted in, and USD gets an invitation. At this point, that's practically written in stone. The only question is the year USD gets in: 2010-2011 or 2011-2012. For UND, next week the Board will announce the nickname is being dropped, some time thereafter, before summer, UND gets a site visit.

Post must have woke you up. Taylor saying he never would schedule UND while he's at NDSU is hearsay, but the Fargo media knows the truth on that. The rest is documented or the damage can be deduced from his actions. The point is, Roger Thomas was man enough to say what he believed and didn't interfere with NDSU's pursuit of DI with third parties (like other schools, conference commissioners).

The unraveling of Western Washington's schedule will create open dates all throughout the West, creating a real mess and opportunity. Wonder if the contract for USF has been signed?

Because Roger Thomas was not supportive of a DI move up (by anyone), he's upfront enough to call a press conference proclaim that and announce NDSU desire of scheduling (would which have been dropped by NDSU after the transition) would not be accepted. There's no intent to deceive anyone about UND's intentions. Takes cahoons: but NDSU nation goes absolutely bonkers. "To think that UND won't do what we demand of them." But Gene Taylor: - privately proclaims he'll never schedule UND while he's at NDSU, but the media doesn't report this, because it's not a press conference. - attempts to deceive the public about why he won't schedule UND. the media reports it, knowing it's total bull$%!# - attempts to get his conference commissioner to have a policy to not schedule UND, eliminating nine schools as possible opponents - by his actions appears to harm UND chances of getting into a conference - by his actions, any small chance of UND getting Tribal nickname approval are down the drain - acts in direct conflict with NDUS policy, yet isn't reprimanded. Moral equivalence: only to a criminal mind.

With the new Board make-up, I wonder if it will tolerate continued insubordination of Board policy? Media: maybe you can ask the Board members why Taylor, an NDUS employee, can initiate new Summit policy (using Douple) on the Sioux name that directly conflicts with both Board policy and the NCAA agreement.

This is like some kind of pathetic comedy. Douple is having to make up policy on the fly to cover for Taylor's lies / misstatements. Kolpack conveniently provides the "journalistic" cover.

Face facts. With the MOValley schools having more members, they need fewer games. Ditto the Big Sky. Ditto the Southland. With Lamar adding football in the Southland, it's only getting worse. Compared to five years ago, combined, those three conference need 27 less non-conference games annually. In the mean-time, DIA payoffs are going up. D2 conference like the MIAA and the Northern Sun with former NCC schools have like 45 less non-conference dates available. It's a different world than even four years ago. UCDavis and Cal Poly aren't exactly having picnics making their schedules either. BTW, if USF was a DII in 2011, does it then make it acceptable???

If UND agrees to play a DII school, it won't be an away game, for PR and scheduling reasons. A neutral site game might be possible (MetroDome), but even that's unlikely, as, from a public relations standpoint, a DI school doesn't want to be perceived as an equal of a DII.

Does no one remember the NDSU - Montana Tech game? That was a bigger joke than this game will be. USD, SDSU, and NDSU (at least during their transitions), all made a practice of not playing lower-lever in state schools. They all have played lower level out-of-state schools, as fans are less insulted (see the schools noted in your post), and the potential of an embarrassing loss isn't as consequential in the media.

USF likely has plans for D2 - this game wratchets up those plans - and a DIAA game can only help them with regional recruiting. By announcing the games now, USF gets to advertise to recruits about the 2011 game. For UND, with no playoffs, a 2011 game doesn't harm it like 2012 would. Because of the circumstances, USF was probably a cheaper game than a D2, and USF actually has a fan base that would buy some Alerus tickets. Better than an Upper Iowa option.

Argus Leader: UND to play USF twice With the difficulty in getting home games, this was perhaps the best choice of an inevitable NAIA school.

Making their free throws in the last minute, A&M wins by 14, 76-62