UND92,96

The question is, will Minnesota offer? According to Hallstrom's blog today, they haven't yet.

Ryan Bakken weighs in on the subject.

Schaan was second team all-state in Arizona's largest class (5A). link.

Again, taken directly from the NDSU release:

It seems to me that Northern Iowa came closer to making the playoffs than did Cal-Poly. link. This argument is really getting old.

I'm not sure how seriously UND ever recruited him, but Andrew Blacklance from Thief River Falls is apparently going to Northern Iowa, per this blog.

Whatever. I stand by what I posted, which was not insulting in the least towards NDSU. NDSU did not defeat a single team that made the playoffs. With that in mind, any claim that NDSU was the best team in I-AA is highly dubious. Heck, judging by the computer rankings, the best single win by either NDSU or UND was actually UND's win over Northern Iowa. In the end-of-season rankings, they were ranked higher than Ball State or any of NDSU's I-AA opponents.

This is unconfirmed, but according to a poster on the wisconsinpreps.com message board, linebacker Mitch Goertz from D.C. Everest High School has committed to UND.

Undefeated against I-AA competition? Yes. Very good season? Yes. Played any teams that actually made the I-AA playoffs? No.

Mike Ebanks article.

Not that they're a particularly appealing opponent these days, but I wonder why Northern Colorado hasn't been playing the SU's of late in either football or basketball?

I was thinking more along the lines of basketball. I realize football scheduling is far more difficult.

With Tim Tibesar's rapid ascent to defensive coordinator at Kansas State, I would think that once UND is a counter for I-A teams, K-State (or wherever Tibesar is a head coach by then) would be a strong possibility for an opponent. Also, it will be interesting to see whether Buning has any pull in terms of scheduling Army. As an aside, considering Gene Taylor came to NDSU from Navy, isn't it somewhat surprising that the Bison haven't played Navy in any sport?

Didn't he tear his acl during his red-shirt year? I don't remember for sure.

Brian Jones was an assistant there for several years, so it would seem to be a strong possibility for men's basketball games against the Hawkeyes if it weren't for their policy of not playing non-conference games against schools with Native American nicknames. UND has pretty strong connections with all three of the primary Iowa dI schools with Jones and Alford having coached together, Ben Jacobson and Rich Glas being at Northern Iowa (and Jones being an alum), and Mac now at Iowa State.

I happened to catch a little bit of a radio show yesterday on WDAY, hosted by the Kolpack brothers. The issue of Sioux hockey came up, and there were the obligatory few callers dissing the significance of college hockey, which is typical. However, one of the Kolpack boys made a statement that struck me as particularly bizarre. This is not a direct quote, but close to it: "NDSU will never have hockey under the current administration, because hockey is seen as a regional sport." So NDSU not having hockey isn't due to lack of facility, Title IX, already stretched resources due to the dI transition, etc. It's because hockey is a regional sport. Maybe geography isn't my strongest suit, but isn't Fargo-Moorhead in the region where hockey is rather popular?

Sioux down 30-22 at the half at Augie.

Sioux win 81-62! Kimbrough, Jahner, Langen and Guinn all score in double figures for UND. I don't think there's any question who the best team in the NCC is right now. UND is now 23-1, with an 18-game winning streak, and an incredible 24-game road winning streak.

UND has 14 turnovers at the half.

Sioux lead Augie 29-17 with about 8:30 left in the first half.

I ran across this press release from when Smith was hired as dean of the school of aviation. He has an impressive background.

Wow. I've been following UND recruiting closely for several years, and I can't recall anything like this happening before. I agree with the decision, though.

I have no knowledge of UND's open dates, but it's been no secret of Buning's desire to play NDSU again, in all sports. If the open dates can match up, it could create an interesting scenario as to whether Taylor's desire to "punish" UND for not playing NDSU in 2004 and 2005 takes priority over the need of NDSU for another home game in 2007.

In looking for recruiting information, I happened to run across this article on Mikal Smith, who is Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith's son. As some may remember, he was a very good player at Arizona in the late 90's, ran into some off-the-field trouble, briefly transferred to NDSU, and then transferred to UND. I know he practiced with the UND team in 2000, although wasn't officially on the roster, and wasn't part of the team at all in 2001. Apparently, it was due to a brain tumor that was discovered in 2000. In any event, the article indicates he graduated from UND, and is now coaching at a small college in Illinois. There are UND ties to both Super Bowl coaches, as of course Tony Dungy's nephew Branden is a reserve running back for the Sioux.

I'm not sure exactly how many scholies are available, although the departing senior class was large so it's probably more than usual. I've heard that this recruiting class will probably be somewhere around 21. In terms of uncommitted North Dakotans, there's Mitch Kudrna from Dickinson, Doug Varty from Williston, Tyson Schatz from Minot and perhaps Nick Bylin from Adams-Edmore, among others. I know Kudrna has visited UND, but may choose to stay close to home and attend Dickinson State.