UND92,96

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

This is more of an observation rather than a criticism of Roebuck and staff, but it's interesting that most people feel that in order to be competitive as a mid-major division I program, UND will need to expand its recruiting territory. And yet, over the past three or four years, it almost seems like our recruiting area is contracting, rather than expanding. Besides Mallory Youngblut, all the signed or committed recruits over this time period have been from either North Dakota or northwest Minnesota, and most are within an hour or two of Grand Forks. Obviously those areas have been very good to UND over the years, but so have the twin cities (Britz, Leighton, LeCuyer via transfer, etc.) and southern Minnesota (Pudenzes, Arndtson, Boese, etc.). The state of Minnesota produces a lot of talent year in and year out. I think we need to get back to getting some of the outstanding players from areas besides just the northwestern part of the state. I like watching local kids as much as anyone, but if there aren't more Langen's or Kimbrough's on the horizon, we need to find difference-makers somewhere else. Just a thought.

UND's loss certainly doesn't look any better now, as Mankato defeated Wayne St. yesterday. Mankato was just 6-6 in the NCC this year.

For whatever reason, I'm nowhere near as disappointed about this loss as I was after the last games of the 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons. I guess those losses rendered me immune to women's basketball disappointment. Still, the last game as a dII program is certainly not the ideal time for probably the biggest choke in UND women's basketball history.

UND is down 12 at the half to unranked Wayne State.

The A tournament in Grand Forks a couple of years ago wasn't particularly well-attended, but there were some extenuating circumstances. For one thing, UND was also hosting the women's basketball regional the same weekend. Also, 4 or 5 inches of snow fell on that Saturday, which didn't exactly encourage travel, even from Fargo (North was in the boy's championship game). I guess what irritates me somewhat is that it seems many people from the west want EVERY state tournament, in seemingly every sport, in Bismarck for travel reasons. That's presumably not the prevailing view, but it is out there. Yes, it's fairly centrally located, but that's not a good enough reason to eliminate eastern sites from hosting state championships. On another note, I'm also somewhat puzzled by talk of rotating the state hockey tournament with Fargo once the new arena is built. If Bismarck gets state track every year because the Community Bowl is so much better than every other track facility in the state, shouldn't Grand Forks continue to host hockey every year because the Ralph is one of the premiere arenas in the country?

Just my opinion, but my understanding is that NDSU has just one available scholarship for next year, and they have a glaring need for a low-post scorer. So while true that Mertens' position probably precludes NDSU from offering him, I don't agree that he wouldn't play much there. NDSU simply didn't have an abundance of offense after their "big three", and Mertens could provide that--at least as much as Tveidt, and likely more than Coleman. I didn't see Carlson play in high school, so I can't comment on him. For "Bison Dan", keep in mind that Brett Winkelman's final three were NDSU, UND and St. Cloud. By your logic, he may have been "just a dII player."

I'd certainly like to think that considering how much time he's spent in GF this past season, he'd choose a scholarship at UND over a walk-on offer at NDSU (even with the promise of a scholarship in 2009-10), but I guess we'll see. Rumor also has it that UND has something--or perhaps more accurately someone--that could help to steer him here.