UND92,96

That was my recollection, as well. I just wasn't sure after reading iramurphy's post whether perhaps something had changed and she was now planning on staying. I'm not interested from the standpoint of their personal lives--merely from the standpoint of whether or not a new SWA will soon be needed. Also, from the standpoint of whether or not it's worth it to dwell too much on her alleged missteps if she's soon going to be gone, anyway. There certainly doesn't appear to be any shortage of lame ducks and/or those actively seeking other employment amongst those who have been involved in this process, does there?

If it's true that Phil is now more or less in Rob's corner (if Rob is the mystery proposed candidate), it seems to me that he could do something here that would more than undo all the negative p.r. he got from many Sioux fans due to the Buning hire, and the whole leave of absence fiasco (whether it was actually any fault of Phil's or not). Unless I'm completely missing something here, the committee's work is now done, and Kelley, along with Harmeson and Kupchella, can now do whatever they want. I see no reason why that can't include interviewing someone else if they deem that to be in the best interests of the UND athletic department. Without this seeming like too much of a personal question--and I have no interest in their personal lives--I had thought that Ralston's departure was imminent once her husband Don Kojich took the job in Illinois. Is she on the way out at UND...or not?

I don't think this has been brought up yet, but if the vote was 7-5, and even excluding chairperson Weisenstein (who probably didn't have a vote), that leaves a total committee membership of 16, so that means four people were absent/didn't vote. Were they not even available by phone?

Very good points. And lest we forget, Tom Buning applied very late in the process the last time around. A little consistency would be nice (I realize the committees have/had different makeups, but still...).

Exactly. I really don't care for North Dakota law as it pertains to the hiring of public employees. It really discourages a lot of very qualified people from applying. I believe there's such a thing as too much openness, and North Dakota law is a perfect example of it. Thank you, Jack McDonald.

link

I suppose as a practical matter, whether "officially" or not, the decision will probably be Kelley's. I just can't imagine Kupchella cares enough about it to become overly involved, and unless Harmeson thinks he's getting the Valley City presidency, he probably isn't going to want to do anything to irritate his soon-to-be-new boss.

How exactly is this going to work? link Who ultimately makes the final decision? IMO, the decision should be Kelley's, and Kelley's alone.

If this was simply a matter of one person-one vote, I suspect it was a very close vote with regard to whether to allow another applicant. It would be very interesting to know exactly how close. I would venture a guess that at least seven people on the above list voted "yes".

You remember correctly.

Langen is overrated and not athletic at all? Are you serious? She's only a four-time all-NCC player, the co-mvp of the league, the second all-time leading scorer and rebounder in UND history, and an all american. But I guess that doesn't mean anything, huh? And please cut the "we" talk. Clearly you are a USD fan, so why not just admit it?

While he's not a new coach, Greg Breitbach has been promoted to offensive coordinator per today's Herald.

*Gasp*, some actual recruiting news in the recruiting thread! UND has received a commitment from 6'10" Mitch Wilmer from Warroad. Not surprisingly, it sounds like he's going to be a project, but he apparently does have some nice potential. No link for now, as the Herald site is not working.

Herald article on the start of spring ball.

I agree that it really isn't fair to blame Roger Thomas for things that were beyond his control. I honestly think that regardless of who was in charge during that time period, a balanced budget simply wasn't going to happen. It was a far more complex situation than many people seem to realize.

I don't know Rob well at all, but I do know he loves UND; he's paid his dues over the years; he is a good fundraiser (and Brooks could be a big help in that regard, as well); and the football and apparently most of the hockey alums/influential boosters seemingly are in his corner. For whatever reason, Kupchella and Harmeson didn't feel like he was the right fit the last time around. Hopefully Rob will apply, and Dr. Kelley sees things a bit differently from his predecessor.

Strictly rumors, but while there may have been some legitimate interest by Purpur at one time, it appears he chose not to seriously pursue the job.

Here's the UND press release on the Kotelnicki hire.

I believe we can now safely count out Mr. Purpur. Rob Bollinger, however, may yet apply? link

It's been a long time since I've been to the Bismarck Civic Center, but as I recall it's nice enough, but nothing too special. I guess I'm still of the opinion that the attraction of Bismarck as host has much more to do with location than the actual facility, but I guess that's open to debate. As an aside, I've always found it interesting that despite Bismarck's reputation as a basketball town, nobody seems to go to Mary games.

If healthy, I suspect he'll see time as the third running back, and probably on some special teams.

Further proof of this sentiment: link

He was evidently under contract through the 2009-10 season. The extension is reportedly for three years--through the 2012-13 season. So he's now guaranteed seven years (the two that he's already completed, plus five more).

Whether this was or was not a wise move, I can't say. But I can't help but wonder--are all the other current coaches also going to have their contracts extended for such a long period of time before the new a.d. starts?

Rod Carey