UND92,96

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I don't really expect to see a population slide in Grand Forks anytime soon. There has been a huge amount of single-family home construction since the flood (far more than what was lost), and a lot of those homes have been purchased by younger people. I just think families have fewer kids now than they used to. I fully expect to see the Grand Forks population continue its slow rise, but school enrollment may take a long time to get back to where it was during its peak.

A few years ago, I'd have been more interested in the Big Sky than the Summit/Midcontinent. But now, even without including football, I'm actually a bit more attracted to the Summit, particularly if Centenary drops out and Denver is added. I'm somewhat skeptical of the long-term viability of the Big Sky right now. Too many schools seem to have real problems financially, and there is always the possibility of the Montana schools looking at moving to FBS football.

The only ones I've heard of are Ryan Smith from Wahpeton, and Kyle Costigan and Matt Eggen out of Wisconsin. Eggen would have to be considered an extreme longshot though, since he's already got a number of FBS offers.

I echo your congratulations. Now I'm sure BD will congratulate us for having the following all-time records vs. NDSU: 62-45-3--football 158-128--men's basketball 40-33--women's basketball

I have an extensive list of "ignored" posters. I find that it's easier to ignore stupidity, regardless of the allegiance of the poster, rather than be bothered by it. I believe the moderators here are very responsive to objectionable posts if they're reported. And plenty of posters have been banned.

It's not like people were defending the post. It was stupid. So why bother antagonize? Do you want to be lumped in with lakes and JBB?

This may be one of the single dumbest things I've ever heard. Question--what has caused more of a "disruption" on the SCSU campus--the dozen or so professional activists who show up to "protest" before hockey and football games when UND was in town; or the whole anti-semitic controversy from a few years ago? Or was that somehow the fault of the Fighting Sioux nickname, too? Did Douple consult with JBB, too?

While I'm pleased that the door is now open for UND to gain membership into an autobid conference, I have to say that the manner in which the Board of Higher Ed. has chosen to handle this issue over the past several months has been quite poor. The "committee" chaired by Grant Shaft was a complete sham. And the fact that the decision was made in Dickinson, with little indication that such a major decision was forthcoming, was fairly gutless IMO.

Here's the latest from the Herald.

I pretty much feel this way too, but I also think that a reasonable compromise between those who want the name dropped now, and those who want to fight this until the bitter end, is to change the deadline for gaining tribal approval to December 31, 2009. I've felt for some time that we'd know shortly after the Standing Rock election this fall whether there's any hope there or not. If we haven't gotten Standing Rock approval by the end of this year, it's probably never going to happen. IMO, giving assurances to the Summit that the issue will be resolved by the end of this calendar year should be enough to get the ball rolling and reserve, for lack of a better word, UND's spot in the conference.

There are no scholarships left for women's bball (and even if somebody leaves early and a scholarship opens up, presumably it would go to Brittany Peterson), so either i) she won't play basketball, even as a walk-on; or ii) she's not getting any soccer scholarship money either, so it wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps she's just getting academic scholarship(s)?

I didn't see this linked above, so here's a Schlossman blog from yesterday on Omaha and the WCHA: link

I really think UNO should desperately want into the WCHA. The reason that never seems to get talked about but which could be a big issue for them is Title IX. UNO doesn't have a women's hockey program, and according to the OPE site, women make up 52% of the students, but only receive 37% of the athletic scholarships. And clearly women's hockey is a sport that makes sense for them to sponsor, and would greatly help them in terms of Title IX compliance. I don't pretend to know how much money they would save by bussing to all the WCHA schools but Anchorage and Tech, but however much it is it would help offset the costs of starting and operating a women's hockey program, which presumably they're going to have to do eventually whether they want to or not.

I believe they will get into the ever-expanding NSIC. I wonder whether Morningside will follow? Or possibly this will open the door for Minot State?

Wayne Nelson blog, including end-of-spring depth chart, along with some other football info.

One other interesting factoid that I picked up from listening to Mussman's comments during the internet broadcast of the spring game--the fastest player on the team is freshman db Erik Mersereau. It sounds like he has a real chance to contribute this year.

Interesting that among the three finalists for the Mary coaching job are Randall Herbst and Pete Stewart: link

I think Mussman's point was that it's a little easier for a defensive player than an offensive lineman to quickly learn the system. Of course, as an old o-line coach, he may be a little biased. McKendry must be doing fine though, because he's likely going to start at tackle along with Bondy. It should be pointed out that he's still very young, as I believe he's a 2008 high school grad. I think McGurran is the backup at center right now.

I didn't see Moody (the juco transfer LB) out there, but I did watch the replay on fightingsioux.com and Mussman, who was in the booth with Hammer and Mike Berg during the first half, talked briefly about the two jucos and said something to the effect that Moody is a little ahead of McKendry in terms of adjusting to this level of football, so he's evidently still on the team.

If anyone's interested, you can see a replay of the spring game on fightingsioux.com: link

I believe Anderson did play. It looked to me like the second group of receivers was Bamba, Anderson and Daggett, with Heimler also rotating in some. I can't remember if Dressler was playing or not. If I'm not mistaken, I think there are nine receivers on the roster, and five came to UND as walk-ons. It seems that since the incredible class of 2004 that included Dressler, Trenbeath, Nicholas and Caufield, we haven't had much luck finding receivers.

I have no problem with rewarding seniors who have stuck around despite not playing much. But it's hard not to be somewhat concerned when our likely top three receivers combined for something like 13 catches and 100 yards last year. If Bamba hasn't earned p.t., so be it. But somebody else with speed needs to step up and provide a deep threat/be a playmaker, or else teams are going to just put eight in the box and dare us to throw. Maybe a transfer gets brought in this summer?

I thought the defense looked pretty good today. The d-line and secondary in particular should be much improved. As for the offense, it was pretty vanilla and kind of hard to judge. I thought Sutton looked quite good at running back. My biggest concern may be the talent level at receiver. Bamba isn't starting, and he's the only receiver on the roster who has done anything in a game or who has really shown the ability to be a playmaker.