Teeder11

On a related note, I was talking to a Forum Communication reporter recently, and the reporter relayed an interesting story that I had always had a hunch was true but it was verfied by the reporter's account of things. Seems that a few weeks back the bosses at Forum Comm in Fargo wanted to do a comparison piece about UND hockey vs. NDSU football for king of popularity in the state. It was a joint project headed up by Herald and Forum sports guys. One of the big metrics that they were going to use to measure popularity was the annual hits to Schlossman's hockey blog and hits to Izzo/Kolpack's Bison Media Blog (or whatever it is called). Seems that the direction of the story took a decidedly different tone and was deliberatley downplayed a bit once the Fargo big wigs took a gander at the respective blog stats. The reporter was not privvy to the exact number of hits-per-blog, but, in round numbers, it was something like 600,000 to 2.4 million -- as in 600,000 for NDSU's Media Blog and 2.4 million for Schloss. What the reporter was definitley sure about was that whatever the actual numbers were it was a 4 to 1 ratio favoring Schloss' blog. Interesting.

Thanks, geaux_sioux!

I'm told that they will be in green today at media day. The suspense thickens.

Thoughts and happenings from the weekend practices: Saturday: Zach Oliver showed amazing hands and feet on a one-handed snag on an out pattern. Baylee Carr was back on the field practicing after sitting out on Friday opening day practice. This is not a dig on Hendrickson as much as it is a comment on Mollberg's abilties: But there appears to be less of a drop-off in skill between Hanson and Mollberg than between Hanson and Hendrickson. Still Hendrickson is improving his play each practice. He's a better runnner than Hanson, so it should not surprise that he has a tendency to get happier feet, tuck the ball in and head north. Hanson and Hardin are developing good chemistry, but Hanson and Tyree seem to have an even better comfort level in the making. That connection could be one to watch this year. For the future: "Mollberg to Golladay" is something you could be hearing a lot of. One gig on Mollberg is that, at this point, he tends to telegraph his passes. He'll learn. Jake Miller is fast as ever. Mitch Sutton looks leaner than I remember from past years. Still a bruiser. The middle linebacker play has been exceptional so far, highlighted by Garrison Goodman with an INT and batted down pass on Saturday. Big Ben Peters had an INT as well. McGill will be ready for first game. Despite a bum hammy, he was doing conditioning drills like running up and down the stadium steps and sprinting in place and pivoting. The offense has not done much for deep passing plays so far, sticking with a lot of screen stuff to receivers and full backs. Saturday was capped off by a 35-yard connection from Hanson to J. Jackson for a TD. Don't know if you'll be seeing this one too much on Saturdays, or who knows, but there was a double-hook-and lateral sighting involving Hanson-Harden-Tyree-Jake Miller on Saturday. It went for 6. Sunday: Teams donned shells for the first time this year. It's looking more and more like #1 passing offense is Hanson, Hardin, Jameer Jackson and Tyree. #2 is Hendrickson, Casey Young, Jon Heimler, Pat Brown. #3/4 is Mollberg, Z. Oliver, Golladay, Fletcher. McGill will have to fit in there somewhere eventually. Holy Cow! I forgot about Blair Townsend... he fits in there somwhere in the #1 or #2 offense. Can you say embarrassment of riches at receiver? Hanson's ball is straight, crisp with not much arc. Sometimes it appears too low for the receiver, like it's going to hit their feet, but it gets to them with such velocity that it hits them in a spot where only they can catch it. He has, however, shown the ability to put it in the air on rare deep routes. Mollberg's ball is more finesse, though equally crisp, with a tight spiral and a little more arc. Offensive star: Jameer Jackson had a great receiving day.. he has good hands, he's strong and racks up the YAC. Defensive star: Daryl Brown showed flashes of why the CBs could be much improved this year. His break on the ball is the quickest I've ever seen at UND. He had a pick 6 on Sunday that was so fast he was half way to the end zone before the receiver knew what was going on. Spencer Cummings fell to the turf on one of the the final plays of practice on Sunday after some heavy contact along the sidelines on a pass play. Don't know if it was cramps or something a little more serious. Coach Muss was aubibly irate at some of the un-smart overly physical contact that was happening toward the end of Sunday practice. The Cummings ordeal was a product of some of this kind of play. That's it. I am excited for Media Day!

A handful tops.... 5 or 6 people. Most were on the sidelines --about a dozen there, not counting AD staff.

I wish I would have. Could have been more accurate then, as far as who did what and to whom. I forgot my pen and paper. But then they would have probably mistaken me for one of the media guys! Wayne Nelson, Tom Miller, a Fargo TV station camera guy and Sweeney were all there. Even Jim Bollman and Coach Berg made an appearance.

You can walz right in sit in the stands, stand on the track, walk the sideline. I suppose if it got to be too much, the AD guys might say something. But the stands are definitley open to the public to watch.

Practice is set for Saturday and Sunday at 9:15 a.m. both days.

I am note sure. It looked like he had a soft cast on it. No good info on it as this point. All our best experienced OL need to be healthy now more than ever to protect the QBs with the lack of depth there. That goes without saying.

It's a pleasure to give my perspective. Be interesting to know if anyone else had a different take on things.

Congrats to true feshman Kodee Varner, running back from Baker, Mont., for winning the 2012-13 "Sioux Run." Don't have any more specifics other than he won it. Ok. First practice in the books. Some great. some ok. some not so good. QBs: Hanson was solid and really picked the DBs apart for the most part toward the last of the light contact drills with the defense. It wasn't the DBs' fault either. The #1 offense looked good. Hendrickson was shakey at the beginning, picked it up in the middle of practice, but then fell apart by the end of practice. The secondary had him baffled, forcing him to keep the ball too long so all he could do was tuck it in and run or take a sack (what would have been a sack on game day). He was inconsistent on throws, many way wide of target. Only first practice, though. Mollberg looks like the real deal. For a true freshman, he looks confident, poised in the pocket and can run an offense. His throws were good and he got the ball off in under three seconds of snap. Bartles looked like a true freshman should -- at first. He was off and seemed overwhelmed. But by the middle of practice he found his legs and his arm and was hitting recievers with much better consistency. Of note: he has got a booming distinctive voice under center -- unmistakable -- I can see him drawing many a DL offsides in the future. Jake Hanson -- got limited snaps which surprised me. He looked like someone who went from North Dakota Class B to NCAA Division I. Not a criticism. Just an observation. He will get a baptism by fire this fall. WR: The Good: Hardin, Jameer Jackson, Tyre Ivery and Townsend. The Bad: None The rookies: Golladay, though long, thin and a bit stringy, has excellent hands and runs good routes. He impressed. Needs to bulk up a bit. Fletcher and Oliver also were noticable and had very few, if any drops, that were their fault. Of Note: R.J. McGill did not practice (didn't appear injured, but may be nursing something minor) Hamstring injury per Tom Miller's excellent sideline reporting. DBs: All looked ok. new Juco transfers at safety were good and but did nothing spectacular to stand out -- maybe that's a good thing. Messaureau had the lick of the day ( as much contact as you can dish out without pads on) when he broke up a pass by leveling, I think it was Ivery, to the ground on a crossing pattern toward the end of the day. This group is still a work in progess. Still too early to give a real good assessment. RB: Nothing earth shattering. Jer Garman has bulked up noticeably but appears to have not lost speed. Shaugabay had some nice runs and looks to pick it up with the experience he got late in games last year. LBs: Miles Jablonski looks like he's in tip-top shape and ready to tear it up on Saturday. OL: Kleason was still on crutches at practice. Could miss first month of the season, according to Herald's Tom Miller. DL: Mike Edwards, E.J. Welch, Kyle Woodsmall are massive beasts on the line, especially Welch and Edwards. They will be players to keep an eye on, I think. It won't be hard to spot them. That's all for now.

Not sure about that one. I can check on that. I think I heard their first practice in full pads is Aug. 8 (Wednesday).

Maybe he thought he had a shot at a Montana Griz tansfer. No dice.

Anyone going to be out at Memorial this morning at 9:15 a.m. ish to watch the first practice? I think I am going take long morning break and check out some drills. #hardup-for-somefootball

Tom likes to get the masses buzzing with provocative opinions. I'd be surprised if he actually personally thought that it would be better to stay D II. That's typical of most opinion writers: write stuff that will get reactions; not stuff that the majority already believes.

An official link: http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=205564147

NCAA officially approves UND’s full Division I active membership Five-year transition complete, UND now eligible for postseason competition in 2012-13 The University of North Dakota is proud to announce that it has been elected to full Division I active membership status from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), officially completing UND’s transition from Division II status. UND President Dr. Robert Kelley received a letter from the NCAA today confirming the University’s active membership in Division I athletics. With the five-year reclassification process to Division I (Football Championship Subdivision) now complete, UND is eligible to participate in Division I postseason competition beginning this fall. “The University has been waiting for formal notification of its successful completion of the NCAA D-1 transition process. That notification arrived today,” said UND President Robert O. Kelley. “This completes a significant milestone in the long tradition of UND athletics. The announcement signals a great deal of coming excitement as UND’s teams compete in Big Sky Conference D-1 competition. UND extends a grateful note of thanks to the NCAA and to everyone who has been engaged in the transition process. Their hard work has built a solid foundation for continued success for our student athletes and the UND program for intercollegiate athletics.” In Thursday’s letter to Kelley, Stephen Mallonee, the NCAA’s Managing Director of Academic and Membership Affairs/Division I Governance Liaison, wrote, “It is my pleasure to inform you that the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved the recommendation from the NCAA Division I Administration Cabinet to elect the University of North Dakota to Division I active membership effective September 1 (or the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year if earlier than September 1).” Mallonee went on to write, “I congratulate you on your successful transition to Division I status and urge your institution to continue strengthening its commitment to meet all applicable Division I members requirements during the course of the 2012-13 academic year and thereafter.” “This marks a historic moment for UND Athletics,” said UND Athletics Director Brian Faison. “This has been a long and involved process. It has clearly been a tremendous team effort involving hundreds of staff, student-athletes and administrators in the process. I want to thank our alumni and fans for their patience and support throughout these five years.” UND’s transition to Division I has been highlighted by numerous successes in competition, in the classroom and in the community. Following its exploratory year of NCAA Division I members in 2007-08, UND captured 10 conference tournament championships and seven conference regular season championships at the Division I level while competing in the Great West Conference (GWC), Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), Western Athletic Conference (WAC), Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and the America Sky Conference. In the classroom, UND’s 377 student-athletes emerged from the transition in 2011-12 with a grade point average of 3.173 that was the highest in UND Athletics history. Twelve student-athletes garnered Academic All-America honors during the five-year transition, while five earned prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarships. In addition to balancing the demands of athletics and academics, UND’s student-athletes logged between 6,000 and 7,000 hours of community service in each of the last two years. UND’s 2012-13 Conference Affiliations America Sky Conference: Men’s golf Big Sky Conference (BSC): Baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s golf, soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball Great West Conference (GWC): Baseball Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF): Men’s swimming and diving Western Athletic Conference (WAC): Women’s swimming and diving (affiliate member) Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA): Men’s and women’s hockey --30-- Peter B. Johnson Executive Associate Vice President for University Relations Media Relations Coordinator Office of University Relations 264 Centennial Drive Stop 7144 Grand Forks, ND 58202-7144 701.777.4317 | 701.777.4616 fax Peter.johnson@email.und.edu UND.edu North Dakota Spirit | The Campaign for UND Raising $300 million. | Share your Spirit @ www.spirit.und.edu

The NCAA just sent UND the gift it's been waiting for. Stay tuned.

Sic is right. Never is a long time. I will support UND no matter what the name will be.

It is funny, though, that UND (even after the UND-NDSU confusion was presumably ironed out among voters ) was being ranked in the low 20s in the poll. And now, with a stronger team -- at least on paper-- UND has fallen off the radar. Lends credence to the theory that these poll mean nothing in the pre-season.

It might be more plausible to expect an announcement in late April/early May -- before graduation-- and after the 2013 legislative session has adjourned.

Oh, I truly believe the IPF money is there. What's holding things up is that UND and the donor(s) have a dilemma on their hands as far as how to give the University the money and ensure that it goes to its intended purpose and not be forced to use it for other academic and infrastructure needs that UND is asking the Legislature to fund. The dilemma, in short, is: how do you ask the state to pony up for important things like a new medical school, etc., when you are getting big donations from donors for recreational needs like athletics? The short-sighted, anti-higher ed lawmakers, especially the ones out west in Tioga, Watford City, Hazen and the like, will have a hard time loosening up their purse strings if there is an appearance that UND is getting millions in donations for "mere athletics." They would say "Why not use the donations for athletics to move other money around (legally) to fund some of these other projects internally instead of asking the state for more money? It's a PR perception thing that will be hard to overcome. I am sure there are other technical matters holding things up, but that's my slightly educated read on things.

I love our local guys in the media -- don't get me wrong -- but they sure don't seem to have the same fire or desire to get on top of recruiting committments like Izzo and Kolpack do. Those two seemingly are always abuzz on Twitter with new info on recruits. Maybe it's not a priority for the local media guys, but there sure seems to be a thirst for it.

Pretty good analysis here on the current situation in the Big Sky/WAC/MWC. A little on the longish side, but the writer is obviously knowledgable and passionate about the subject. I especially like the part in bold below!

Don't disagree. However, I think it's natural to have feelings of hope and enthusiasm going into each new season -- that's what makes it fun. That combined with last year's flashes of stellar play in the Southern Utah game, or taking FBS Fresno St. to the wire, or the dog fight against Cal Poly or the come-back against USD, as well as our returning strengths at DL, OL, K and RB, and new talent and improved prospects at QB, TE, WR and the secondary -- give fans reasons to believe. Hope springs eternal! Now let's just get it done on the field.