star2city

The people and media in Bismarck and Minot will be turned off by the Sioux Falls crap. The prism that UND needs to be concerned about is Bismarck, Minot, Williston, and Dickinson as well as Billings, not Sioux Falls. Billings - the media capital of Montana - is what matters, not Sioux Falls. The Billings media is pumped that UND is in the Big Sky. It's difficult to imagine the latest projections out of western ND: 1.2 million barrels / day (triple durrent rate, which has already tripled in two years) A Williston with 50,000 to 75,000 people in 15 years. Dickinson almost as big as Williston. Minot almost doubling. Bismarck growing 50%. 50,000 transplants from Montana in North Dakota. 25,000 transplants from Idaho A huge number of native ND's returning to ND A ND economy more than double what it is now, and actually dominated by the West. A western part of the state that would be energized by the Big Sky and geography.. Billings' growth will be taking off - as well as the smaller Eastern Montana towns. Let NDSU have the Summit, Sioux Falls, and SD to itself. Let NDSU be viewed as Fargo State. Let Terry Vandrovec think he knows something and wax his poetical bull, when he doesn't know squat about economics or TV media or anything UND. USD and SDSU have absolutely no relevance in western ND, where population and wealth will only continue to grow. IF UND goes back to the Summit, the chance for UND athletics to become "the" collegiate team in western ND will be wasted.

Adding Idaho (all sports), Seattle, Boise St, Air Force, and Denver would really make the Big Sky a special conference.

San Jose State football in mega-conference? http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19185660 The Big West is sitting at 10 schools, but would like to add two more, San Jose St and UC-San Diego, to add schools in the two major California metro areas that it currently doesn't have a school in. San Jose St wants the Big West (and would hope to park its football team elsewhere) or the MWC, not the WAC. If San Jose St gets in the MWC, then the Big West would become serious about adding Sac State and UC-San Diego, and Sac State would ask the Big Sky to be an affiliate in football (the same deal that the Big Sky gave UC Davis and Cal Poly.) So there's a possibility that the BIg Sky will be down to 10 team next year in all-sports (but 13 in football).

UNC's been to the Big Dance more recently than NDSU - last spring actually - so I quess they really are awful year-in and year-out. The BIg Sky always had an intention of gaining a foothold (albeit small) Denver media - especially cable - before adding a Dakota school. If NDSU and SDSU had waited until UNC finished its transition, the Big Sky would have been much more interested in those two after UNC had become an NCAA eligible member.

Cratter. I normally respect what you write, but not this time. UND hockey didn't need NDSU, SDSU, or USD hockey to get where it got. The vision of UND aviation didn't come from those schools. When UND really shines, it is when UND differentiates itself from those institutions. DI is supposed to be about reaching beyond the Tri-state region. The Big Sky does that. The Summit doesn't offer any meaningful media beyond the two Dakota states. I'm all for UND playing the other schools out-of-conference, but, in the long run, UND is far better off in a different conference than those three. Alumni outside the tri-state region are hugely in favor of the Big Sky. Fans within the region are more influenced by Fargo and Sioux Falls media, so they are not as overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

The Summit League will be down to five teams plus Omaha in baseball: IPFW, Oakland, NDSU, SDSU, and WIU. Since Omaha is in transition, it won't count toward the six teams until mid-decade. The Summit has to add teams in order to keep its autobid. So will the Summit add No Colo and UND as affiliates? Or will the Summit add an affiliate like UTPA so it can have early season games in a warm location? The Summit is in position to kill the Great West baseball conference. If the Summit doesn't include UND baseball, that sport may be endangered at UND.

Having played on a HS team with three blue-chip recruits, Gentry was on the the court as an assist and defensive specialist. But his ability to shoot out the lights was shown in Indiana HS All Star games, so he definitely has a lot of offensive potential that were never really exposed in his H.S. stats. Gentry could be a real sleeper talent-wise. With so many Big Sky games at elevation, it will be important to have a lot of depth, especially for the transition game to work.

Vandrovec is a Kolpack mini-me (or is it the other way around). Both demanded UND be NDSU's biotch during NDSU's transition, but then also thought NDSU had no future obligation to play UND after NDSU's transition or during a (then) possible UND transition.

Kelley and Douple are now arch enemies: as both have accused the other of being a liar in the media. Douple has a lot of dirt on the SBoHE, Chapman, Kelley, and the nickname situation. Douple would unleash a major scandal in ND if NDSU ever tried to leave the Summit for the Big Sky. Therefore, NDSU knows it can't leave the Summit while Douple is still commissioner.

Not only Creighton won't allow it, but the other schools won't want it either. Adding another Omaha school would do nothing for the MVC TV contracts, would potentially weaken Creighton basketball (which the other schools don't want to see), and doesn't expand the conference footprint, and does nothing to expand recruiting. If Creighton left (for Big East basketball), then the MVC view on Omaha changes entirely. There's a reason that Villanova is fighting tooth-and-nail to prevent Temple's admission to the Big East: why give another school in the same market all the advantages of being top dog in that market?

Exactly. Because WIU/NDSU/SDSU refuse to consider a Summit football league, they are the very schools forever consigning the Summit to mediocrity. By not sponsoring football, NDSU and the Summit are effectively rejecting schools like Grand Valley St, Saginaw Valley St, Wayne St (MI), as well as Mn-Duluth, and MIAA schools. If the Summit could get two schools like GVSU and UMD, it could really stabilize its footprint, but the politics of the Summit League and of NDSU/SDSU/WIU prevent that from ever happening. A MVFC with six remaining members would have to have a cross-scheduling agreement with a Summit football league. Each league would have an autobid. Win-win-win, except for NDSU / SDSU that think they can get in the MVC for basketball. On Bisonville, fans are coming out of the woodwork that somehow think that NDSU will get in the MVC or that the MVC will agree to a Summit scheduling arrangement. Not sure if a fan base can be more delusional than that. Membership in the MVC when they have a basketball shed with amenities comparable to a hog farrowing operation? Unreal. Even the new remodeled BSA -and who knows when that will ever have funds - won't be of the caliber that the MVC demands.

Northern Colorado has actually given the Big Sky major dividends: Altitude Network broadcasts and some games on Fox regional. The inclusion of Northern Colorado brought the Big Sky into the 21st Century as far as media interests. NDSU is still stuck in the 20th Century as far as media. Northern Colorado is also the school that allowed UND to be part of the Big Sky: as Northern Colorado is the school that bridges into the plains region. If Big Sky Presidents had to do it all over, there is no question that they would have brought in Northern Colorado again.

UNO isn't getting into the MVC as long as Creighton is there. The Big Sky will be waiting on Idaho for at least another year. If Idaho says "no", NDSU might be asked.

With West Virginia joining the Big 12, the Big East schools keep getting picked off. There's talk the Big 12 may add Louisville and Cincinnati to get back to 12. If that happens, the Big East may effectively split just by the football teams pealing off. If the Big East has to start adding basketball schools from the Horizon and/or Atlantic 10, the Summit membership could really be pummeled. With some Great West schools available in an emergency, the Summit probably invites one more DII school. If it needs more numbers because of the Big East dominoes, then it adds Great West schools. It looks like Houston Baptist will be the next invite to the Southland, so that would leave UVU, UTPA, Chicago St, and NJIT as emergency backups. http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/ncaa_football/111025-southland-conference-to-visit-houston-baptist-university Sounds like the Oakland and IUPUI Presidents are in charge of the search. Bellarmine (Louisville) supposedly wants a DI invite, and hasn't been able to get one from the OVC or Atlantic Sun.

All the Summit schools have lukewarm commitment: all want into a better basketball conference. The one exception may be WIU, but only because it is a basket case in basketball. The Summit will forever be a DII move-up league, where new move-ups replace those gone on to greener pastures. The problem is if the schools move on too fast, there won't be seven full-NCAA members to go with all the DII schools transitioning. Since no Horizon or OVC or Sunbelt school would ever move to the Summit, Douple's emergency plan almost has to be what's left of the Great West (Chicago St, UTPA, HBU, NJIT, UVU) plus maybe Longwood. Get to 12 members fast, hold on tight and pray the Horizon doesn't rob you blind@! Douple will want to add another DII transition school, but it would almost have to come from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, not from the GLIAC, MIAA, or NSIC. The GLIAC and MIAA would have some very capable schools, but none would consider the Summit unless the Summit added football. NDSU, SDSU, and WIU will prevent the Summit from adding football (they value the MVFC too much). When the Summit is that dysfunctional that its own members would demand it sponsor football for its own future, that league has major problems.

When all is said and done, UND's option for the Big Sky just keeps looking better and better. The Summit totally screwed the pooch by rejecting us on the nickname. Guess where that has got them. Been saying ORU has been gone for a while: Bison fans just wanted to stick their heads in the sands and be in denial. As long as the Big East doesn't split, the Summit should still be O.K. If the Big East does split: watch out, as the dominos may take out Oakland, IUPUI, and IPFW, and then the Summit may have to absorb what's left of the Great West. Since UNO will be in transition for a few more years, the Summit will be down to 8 full members. Seven full members is needed to keep the conference together. What the Summit really needs know is a team in St Louis to bridge the plains schools to the eastern Midwest. Lindenwood wants to move up eventually, but they are still only in their NAIA to DII transition. Maybe UMSL can be talked into it. Bellarmine, Southern Indiana, Grand Valley (big if especially with no place to park football), Wayne St (Oakland probably blocks them), St Cloud, Mankato, Duluth might be other possibilities. The $1.3 million NCAA payment for permission to move to DI is a killer for most of those schools in this economic climate.

Northern Colorado simply doesn't have a natural travel partner either. UNC is actually a much better travel partner than USD ever would have been. Until SUU came into the league, NAU was more isolated than UND from a travel perspective (teams had to fly into Phoenix or Las Vegas and then drive - as Flagstaff has very poor air service). The Big Sky does not have a NCC-like schedule, where teams play on two consecutive nights. Typically they play Thursday and Saturday, with a travel day starting Friday morning.

The intent of that post was that college hockey is a small community, not Huntsville. Perhaps if the Huntsville community and newspaper really rally around, UAH hockey can be saved. There are reports that the WCHA would be open to UAH's membership, but that that the UAT chancellor wouldn't even listen to any proposal. It was really dirty pool that a UA-Tuscaloosa chancellor pulled the plug on hockey the week before the new chancellor will be installed. When UAH chose it's new AD from West Alabama rather than UND, that really indicated that UAH's leadership (from UAT) wanted nothing to do with hockey. They probably start football in the decimated DII Gulf South Conference.

Looks like Wahp-Breck got tired of losing and is moving to Minnesota Section 6A as Breck-Wahp. When does the new high school in West Fargo open? Would the new West Fargo school co-op hockey with West Fargo? Saw a report that even Minot is considering going to two high schools (rather than the current two campuses), as the aftermath of the flood is creating building issues that may necessitate a split. Looks like all four options Minot is looking at would involve a High School split: http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/559517/Flooded-with-options--Minot-school-district-faces-big-decisions-on-shaping-its-future.html?nav=5010

Before the Twins and Vikings arrived, there must have been a lot more passion for the Gophers than there is now. Not only is Columbus absolutely nuts about Ohio State, but the rest of the state is too (much like Madison and Wisconsin). In Minnesota, the rural areas don't have much passion for the Gophers either, as the Gophers almost seemed viewed as a Metro school rather than a state school. In Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska, the whole state cares about their school's sports - in just about everything.

New York and Giuliani didn't get rid of its huge crime problem by ignoring it, but by acting on all perpetrators, minor and major.

How many season ticket holders at TCF or Williams Arena also hold tickets at Mariucci or vice versa? Would bet that it is very very few. Unlike Badger fans, who seem passionate about everything red, Gopher fans just seem to choose one sport as the pain is just too intense if they followed two.

UNC and UND practically have to be travel partners for sports that need that type arrangement: therefore UND and UNC have to be in the same division. It's possible that for basketball the Big Sky won't even have divisions even with 12 teams: just go double round robin. NAU has to be matched with SUU (NAU has been matched with Sac St and that was a travel nightmare) Weber and Idaho St go together Montana and Montana St E Wash and Idaho (if it comes back) or Portland St (if it doesn't) Portland St is the best travel partner for Sac St As long as Utah State and/or San Jose St are still in a conference with the Vandals, Idaho will stay FBS. But if both are gone, Idaho's football program would become a financial and performance disaster. Idaho was stuck playing in the Sunbelt as an affiliate for a couple of years, and that killed recruiting (California and Washington kids had no interest in playing in the Sunbelt) and their budget. Idaho isn't a very big school (smaller than Idaho State and Boise as well as UND). Idaho doesn't have the option to raise student fees to pay FBS bills (like some new FBS schools - UTSA, Texas State) or improve facilities. Idaho's facilities are the FCS level are really no different than USD's, as both play almost all their sports in a 1970's dome that needs refurbishment.

NDSU's money scandals affect UND's appropriations. Just as oil in western ND affects UND enrollment and appropriations. It's really that simple. Bison fans are guests on this board, and should be welcome to stay as long as they behave well. Too many bison fans simply don't behave on this board. But when a Bison fan gets all pissy about what is written here, his choices are simple: disregard it, don't read this forum, or write something substantive about why he disagrees. That Bison fan did none of the above. Most boards would ban that kind of crap.

http://fs.ncaa.org/D.../Attendance.pdf Last year, Wisconsin led women's hockey in attendance with 2768 / game. But keep in mind that their average was helped by a single crowd of more than 10,000. UND was the only other school to average more than 1000, with 1280/ game. This year, UND is almost on Wisconsin's pace from last year. With the big series still coming up, UND should easily be able to blow past Wisconsin's record number last year. The question is how well the Badgers will draw this year. Wisconsin is averaging 1800 so far this year and is advertising for high attendance for their weekend's series with BU. Totally agree on attendance helping recruiting. By average 3 or even 4000, UND and UW would really be the only schools with significant attendance in the sport.