Hammersmith

Reading through the NCAA rules for football as well as the DI and DII championship rule books, this is what I've found: There is no rule forcing UND to move the band for non-playoff games, nor are there any rule changes recently enacted that would do the same. Also, DII championship rules would force the band outside the 25, not the 20, and only if the band is on the visitor's side. Additionally, that rule only applies to DII playoffs; DI playoffs do not have that rule. Finally, DI playoffs do not allow a student section(which a band might be considered part of) to be situated within the 25's unless there is track or a 10 row buffer between the visiting team's bench and the students. That rule does not apply to regular season games. My guess is that someone within the UND athletic department or the Alerus does not want to deal with moving season ticket holders around for playoff games, so they're going to do it now and blame the NCAA(since Sioux fans hate them already anyway). Either that, or there was a miscommunication between the decision-makers and the person you talked to. The NCAA should not be to blame for this one. It could also be a business decision to free up the better seats in preparation for a FSC fee level increase.

Yeah, I agree that a couple of Bison fans have gone overboard here trying to get everyone to use the FCS label. I know I brought it up last year just after it took effect, but that was more of a "just in case you didn't know yet" situation. I personally think it shows a little disrespect to the FCS schools to call them I-AA, but not enough for me to lose sleep over. I also realize that there are other factors involved in this particular case. I doubt many of you think too kindly of the NCAA at the moment, and that might be some part of the problem. I know some of the rabidness shown by some Bison fans on this issue has probably been influenced by AGS. The people that run that board(Ralph in particular) are very critical of nomenclature mistakes in the media and among sports fans. I think some of that has rubbed off on the Bison fans who have only recently been exposed to DI athletics. Since I never want to post in this thread again(it's made my head hurt), I'll give my $0.02 worth and then scurry away. It seems most people in this thread(both sides) think the name change was because of football. It wasn't. It was about everything BUT football. It also wasn't about BCS vs. I-AA. The core issue was that lower level I-A programs were using the I-A/I-AA labels in a deliberately incorrect way when competing for non-football recruits against I-AA schools. A MAC or Sunbelt basketball or volleyball or soccer coach would come into a recruit's home and say, "Yeah, we're a I-A school just like USC, Duke, Florida or Notre Dame. That Mid-Con/Big Sky/Horizon school that's also talking to you is a I-AA school. They don't play the same types of teams or compete for the same championship that we do." The problem is, that statement was false. But a recruit would look up the Big Sky(etc) school and see that they were, indeed, listed as a I-AA program. Many of them would then believe the rest of the statement. Yes, you would think that the recruits should be smarter than that, but... Now, with 'football' in the title of the subdivision, there's a hope that unscrupulous recruiters will have a harder time misleading their recruits and that lazy reporters won't make the same mistake of thinking I-A(FBS) and I-AA(FCS) are two seperate divisions. (They are two seperate subdivisions - and, yes, there is a difference.) The schools that should've been really pissed about the old names were schools like Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Drake and Missouri State. Those schools have better basketball teams than 60% of I-A schools(90% in the case of SIU), yet reporters and I-A coaches were claiming that, because they played I-AA football, they were in another division. Something there just wasn't right. I agree that the new names are unwieldy and may change again in the near future, but I don't have a better name and, if any of you do, I'd love to hear them. So in closing, Sioux fans: Please try to seperate your feelings about the NCAA from this issue. The FBS/FCS name change came from the university presidents, the "hostile and abusive" mandate came from the executive board. Also, you're about to enter someone else's home, it might be nice to treat them as you would wish to be treated. Do you like it when Bison fans call you Flickertails or Firetrucks? Our schools have a history that makes things like that common and expected. Is that the same mentality you want to have toward FCS? Bison fans: Chill out. Do you actually think you're ever going to change DaveK's mind about anything? Assuming the FCS label lasts for more than a few years, the vast majority of Sioux fans will start to use the new labels once they join DI. The more you try to beat them over the head with it, the further you'll drive in their desire to use I-A/I-AA just to spite us. (Of course, if you want to make them look like backwards fools when they join FCS, that might be the way.(I'm kidding, Sioux fans.)). Anyway, just back off the issue and let this thread go to the place where the NDUS Engineering thread went, and let us please see neither of them ever again. Please?

The "Slow Down" (ex. "talking orange") campaigns were forced into the federal transportation funding bill by the lobby that represents road construction workers. If a state wants federal help to fix roads, they are required to air commercials like that. (The statistics the lobby used to force the issue are a joke, but that's a whole seperate discussion.) I suspect, but am not sure, that the seat belt commercials are also mandated by federal transportation funding. This time, I would suspect the medical insurance lobby to be behind it. That being said, I dislike the law on principle but I don't dislike seatbelts. I'd like insurance companies to offer a choice: lower premiums to drivers who agree to wear their seatbelts at all times, with the stipulation that if you're in an accident and you aren't wearing one, you get no medical coverage. If you're stupid and lie, you pay for it.

I'm not advocating one side or the other with this, but the bolded statement might be untrue. From the same article:

Yes, it will be interesting. The new owner of KKAG is a NDSU booster and NDSU is moving media productions in-house, which makes the current ForumComm contract less restrictive. Still, I wonder whose contract expires first. UND signed a two-year deal with CC last summer, while NDSU and ForumComm still hadn't inked as of mid-March. I also haven't seen any reports on the length of the proposed or signed NDSU/ForumComm contract. Yes, it most definitely will be interesting.

I think I've posted this before, but here's the bylaw:

To bin: I also figured that S/D would be the way for UND to go for a different reason. S/D is much more an individual sport than anything except T/F/CC. Since everyone is competing for individual championships, it can be very difficult to recruit if you are not playoff/tourney eligible. Shortening that from five years to two can make a big difference. Look at what happened to NDSU's wrestling program. Mass defections to Mankato that first year, but now things have turned around. We would still be waiting to turn things around if NDSU had not chosen wrestling as one of its two year move-ups. As for the volleyball question, GeauxSioux posted an article from the Saux Centre Herald in another thread about a UND volleyball recruit. There's a line in it that says she will be part of a program that will transition to DI in two years. Now, the most likely interpretation is that it simply means UND will be playing a DI schedule during the second year of the transition. But it's also possible that she was told during her recruiting process that a decision had been made to accelerate the VB program's transition. Still, the first scenario is more likely until something official is heard from the athletic department. To darell: The Summit League is the new name of the former Mid-Continent Conference(Mid-Con). It's a multisport conference that does not include football or hockey, but sponsors every other sport UND offers. It also admininstrates the Great West Football Conference that UND will be joining in 2008 or 2009. The Summit League consists of Centenary College(Shreveport, LA), Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Oakland University(Rochester, MI), Oral Roberts University(Tulsa, OK), Southern Utah University(Cedar City, UT), Western Illinois University(Macomb, IL), and, starting in 17 days, NDSU, SDSU, and Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne. Currently, Southern Utah, NDSU, and SDSU are the only schools that play in both the Summit and the GWFC and both NDSU and SDSU will be leaving the GWFC in 2008 to join the Gateway Football Conference. The only other Summit school to have a football team is WIU, and they also play in the Gateway. As for baseball, I think it's down quite a ways on UND's priority list, but there's a thread in the "Other Sports" section discussing the topic.

1. UND will become fully DI(playoff eligible) during the 2012-13 academic year. 2. Unknown at this point and outside of UND's control. 3. No, and unknown when it will happen. Buning has made some noises about resuming the football games, but Taylor has stopped them pretty cold. NDSU getting accepted into the Gateway has reduced the odds somewhat because, with eight conference games per season, it really only leaves two dates open(assuming one FBS money game each year). There is a real possibility that, when/if the rivaly resumes, it will not be an every year occurence until both schools are in the same conference. Basketball used to be an eight year wait, but that was changed about the time that the xDSU's began their transition. It is now five years, just like the other sports. Of course, a school moving from DII to DI can select one men's and one women's sport to be playoff eligible in two years(excluding football and basketball). There are some indications that UND has selected volleyball for the women's sport. I haven't heard anything about the men's choice or any official confirmation on the volleyball decision.

I don't mean any diservice to the unmanned missions, but both bases have a long, proud history of manned missions, and it's sad to see them end even for a short while. I have no doubts that the USAF will eventually transition to almost complete unmanned missions, but that will take several decades. I hope GFAFB will get some of the new KC-X tankers, but UNDintheNHL is right: even if they do, it will be many years from now. (Though technically, isn't the KC-10 the most advanced tanker the USAF currently operates? I suppose some of the new KC-X's could replace KC-10's, and those -10's could be sent to GF. Of course, that's about as likely as F-15's coming to Fargo after being replaced by F-22's and F-35's.)

Is Lindy's very accurate when it comes to DII? I know their FCS(which they still call I-AA) ranking is something of a joke. The discussion on AGS is that their FBS/BCS stuff is pretty good, but they don't spend much time fact-checking the lower divisions. Does that hold true for DII as well?

I know this isn't a suprise, but still... Grand Forks base refueling squadron to become inactive this week We've lost our Falcons and you're losing your Stratotankers. I hope both bases can return to manned missions someday.

Correct. The Carr Report lists this as one of its points. They recommended that NDSU switch to propotionality because it's more easily defended in lawsuits. For now, NDSU is keeping things reasonably close by underfunding baseball, men's track/field/x-country and golf. If they ever want to fully fund those sports, they'll have to add a women's sport or two. The "interests and abilities" measurement allows a little more leeway than proportionality does, but there are limits.

I understand that he was talking about equestrian, I was just pointing out that he was being imprecise in a matter-of-fact. Yes, SDSU has added W equstrian, but NDSU has not. Jim's comment flat-out said that both SU's had added "fake" sports. If you've read any of my earlier posts, you've seen that I'm a bit of a stickler for correct facts. I give far more leeway to opinions, but I call people out if facts are wrong, even if it's me(remember the athletic fee thread). All that being said, I was mainly yanking Jim's chain a bit because he's normally more accurate and I hold him to higher standard. In the interests of full disclosure: I actually support NDSU adding equestrian. I think it would complement our equine studies program while allowing us to move our non-revenue men's sports closer to fully funded without sacrificing Title IX compliance. There's also a chance it might improve relations between NDSU and the western part of the state. A small chance, true, but better than none. It also wouldn't cost us much in additional facilities. Adding tennis, S&D, hockey, or any of the other "real" women's sports would all require a major investment in facilities. With the BSA renovation hanging over our heads and the FD Arena in question, now is not the time for another major athletic construction project.

I have to ask, exactly what "fake" sport has NDSU added to meet Title IX? Beyond that, I think what we're seeing here is a difference in collegiate athletic models. Mburtonk seems to favor a DIII-style "participation" model where the athletic department is almost an arm of student services. In this model, the focus is normally on the student-athlete. On the other hand, in DI, you usually find a "business" model where the athletic department fuctions as a public relations/fundraising arm of the university and its administration. Here, the focus is on the university as a whole rather than the individual student. DII sees both models or, more often, a hybrid of the two. Both models have pros and cons, and most are rather obvious. In the DI model, some students get to participate is something larger than themselves. They're part of a history, a tradition of excellence. Of course, that means many students are excluded from participating. The DIII model allows general participation, but misses out on the remarkable potential the athletic department has to improve the university's status on many levels. The wonderful thing is that there is ample room for both models in the overall university system. Other than the general philisophical debate of sports in college, the only time this becomes a major issue is when a school begins to transition from one model to another. I would argue that UND has been using a largely DI model for quite some time ,and will soon be making a transition to a fully DI model. This will invariably cause some hard feelings for students, alumni, and supporters who favor a more DIII-style model. Just my opinion.

fixed link & university

I was just checking out local blood drive times and I noticed that United Blood Services in Fargo is having a drive next week at Biolife Plasma Services. Does anyone else find that mildly amusing? Conflict of interest? Unwelcome competition? Two for one?

... because it sounds like they'll be announcing a name change to the "Summit League" on May 15th. Like it? Hate it? Don't care?

Actually, a minimum of $41MM of the original $75MM goal is going towards endowments. How much of the $17MM that's been raised above and beyond the original goal will go towards endowments, I'm not sure. Since endowment funds accounted for over 50% of the original goals, I'd bet at least $7-10MM of the extra funds will be used for that purpose.

Your numbers were a year old. I think the endowment figure is even a bit higher than that, but I'm not sure by how much. Also, some of the $92MM that has been raised during Momentum has not benn added to that total.

Nobody has access to it yet; they plan to start it up this fall. If you get, or plan to get, TV through your telephone company, you've got a good chance of receiving the channel. They claim to have reached agreements with 90% of the telcos. The only firm agreement appears to be with RCN in the markets of NY, DC, Boston, Chicago, and Lehigh Valley, PA, though they list AT&T and Verizon as distribution partners. For the other 99% of you who want to receive the channel, contact your TV provider and wish really, really hard. The America Channel - Midwest Region will include: Illinois State University Indiana State University Missouri State University University of Northern Iowa Southern Illinois University Western Illinois University Youngstown State University Butler University University of Dayton Drake University Morehead State University Valparaiso University Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis (IUPUI) Indiana University - Purdue University - Fort Wayne (IUPUFW) University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) North Dakota State University Oakland University Oral Roberts University South Dakota State University

I was beginning to wonder why the search hadn't started, but holding off until the legislative session was over was probably a good idea. Not only does it allow them to concentrate on the two positions(UND & DSU), it should also keep things from getting too political. While there's no guarantee it would've gone bad had the search started during the session, the worst case scenario could've been pretty ugly. Seven months is a bit tight to hire a president but, as long as the process is smoothly run, it should be doable.

psstt... http://www.bisonville.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9570 To partially answer your last question, endowments are generally used for two purposes: funding student scholarships and funding professorships and the like. UND, like most universities, has a general scholarship endowment that is used to fund non-specific scholarships like the Presidentials. There are also smaller endowments created by donors for specific types of students. A donor might specify that only a third-year business student from Logan county with a 2.0-3.0 GPA is eligible for a scholarship funded by his or her endowment. Of course, most requirements aren't as silly as that example, but some can be(look into the scholie David Letterman funded at his alma mater). For a list of UND endowments, check out this link.(Sorry, that's supposed to lead you to the UND Foundation Annual Report, but the link's broken. If it wasn't, you'd find a list of all the endowments (there are a lot) but not any specific dollar values. I don't know if those are publicly available.)

UND should be able to move up one men's and one women's sport in addition to hockey after two years if they so choose. Now I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so don't take my word as gospel. As for the USCHO poster star talked to, I think he's wrong. Here's why:

Off the top of my head, NDSU's current budget(FY 2007) is somewhere around $8.5-9.0M. The final goal(FY 2009) is between $9.5-$10.0M, up from $5.1M in FY 2002. edit: Just to be a jerk... The NDSU athletic department currently receives $910,000 from student fees. Carr is suggesting you double what NDSU students are paying on top of what your students are already paying to athletics. Ouch. Sorry ... the $900K to $1.8M comparison was just to tempting to pass up. 2x edit: On the original topic, it looks like everyone has to wait a bit longer(and then some):