UND92,96

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To the extent this has been a problem at UND--and I have no idea whether or not it has been--is now really the time you'd want to take the chance of alienating many of the very same people you're counting on to fund the division I move?

Pretty cool that UND recruits were the leading rusher (Solum--19 for 67 yards) and receiver (VanZee--5 for 99 yards) in the game. I was actually a little surprised that team North Dakota won, given the fact that there were only two UND recruits and two NDSU recruits on the team (three for NDSU counting a walk-on). That seems like a pretty low number compared to most years. Plus, considering how Montana has dominated this series for the most part, you'd kind of expect it would take a team loaded with I-AA (whoops--FCS )/high-level dII signees for North Dakota to be competitive, let alone win.

The Badlands Bowl is tonight in Dickinson. UND recruits Solum and Kudrna will be playing for North Dakota, and VanZee and Quesenberry will be playing for Montana. [url="http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/articles/index.cfm?id=10894

In the McIntosh/Erskine/Fosston area, it's been $2.89 since at least this past weekend.

That was quite a performance by Daggett, particularly in the 300 hurdles. With his combination of size and speed, I'm really excited to watch him develop into a potentially great receiver for the Sioux.

O.K., maybe "completely stunned" was a bit of an overstatement, but I am certainly very pleasantly surprised! Thank you, Coach Lennon!

He may very well be interested IMO. And with our impending period of playoff ineligibility, his biggest drawback--playoff futility--wouldn't even be a big concern since he'd probably be ready to retire by the time UND would be playoff eligible, anyway. Behrns actually is a pretty good coach, despite the fact that he simply can't win the playoffs, but hiring him certainly wouldn't go over well with a lot of fans who remember that mid-90's UND-UNO game in Grand Forks.

Drew Daggett had a very good first day of the Minnesota A state track meet, qualifying for the finals with the second-best time in the 300 hurdles, the third-best time in the 110 hurdles, and running on Frazee's 800m relay team that had the second-best time in the prelims.

UND recruit Chris Anderson from Duluth has qualified for the finals in the both the 100 and 200 at the Minnesota AA state track meet. What makes this especially impressive is that Anderson is 6'3", which is very tall for a sprinter.

I guess I can't say that this surprises me, but it's disappointing nevertheless. I really need some GOOD news today.

At this point, I'd be completely stunned if Lennon is coaching the Sioux in the 2007 season.

Purely from a professional standpoint, yes, it would make much more sense for him to stay at his present job. But there's also something to be said for getting head coaching experience, as well as a "quality of life" issue of being closer to home. UND is of course his alma mater, and his brother is currently on the team. Basically, it's probably just wishful thinking on my and others' parts, but I heard some rumor/speculation awhile back that there may be some interest there should the job open up, so you never know.

I've always thought UNO was on the verge of a big Title IX problem, due in part to the fact that they don't have a women's hockey program, but they actually got a B+ grade.

I have no idea what the LTC would do, but if he didn't contact Tibesar immediately, it would be a huge mistake. He's got everything UND could possibly want in a coach, PLUS he's got division I experience, which I'm going to assume would be listed as a preference on the job announcement. Whether he'd be interested or not is another question, but he should be number one on the wishlist IMO.

While many of us have known this to be true for some time, this is the first time that I'm aware of that a media member has said it publicly.

Apparently Van Diest does have a lot of dI assistant experience.

As do I. However, if Lennon has now decided that he's far more willing than he's been in the past to entertain other possibilities, I can't really see him staying at UND all that much longer even if he's not offered the Montana State job. I hope I'm wrong, but that's the feeling I have right now.

Kolpack blog questioning why Lennon would be interested in the Montana State job.

One other obvious potential candidate I forgot to mention--Jeff Tesch. Winning at Bemidji State with very few scholarships is quite an accomplishment. Also a former UND assistant under Roger Thomas.

It sure seems like it would have made sense for there to have been a UND-BSU football game this year. I know a few years ago Tesch made no bones about the fact that he didn't feel his program was ready to compete with an upper echelon NCC team, but it seems like a game against a team like UND would be more beneficial to his program at this point than their yearly meeting with Minot State.

Lennon will interview in Bozeman on Wednesday. link.

I happened to be at the Can Ad on Friday, May 25, when either this was going on, or at least when many of the participants were at the hotel. I can only imagine that there were some rather interesting conversations going on there... From the above link:

I just didn't think there was a compelling reason to change it. Obviously, in time it will probably catch on, but I still think of MSU-Moorhead as Moorhead State, too.

Lots of good points here, Bob. For several of the reasons you mention, I don't really expect Lennon to take this job if offered. However, unless Buning is either forced out, or else dramatically changes the way he deals with the coaches, I'd expect Lennon to leave for a different job within the next year or two. With regard to the part of your post I highlighted, I agree 100%. Don't underestimate the political clout of the football alums.