UND92,96

This was in the May 19, 1997 "NCAA Record":

I do like the fact that aside from Dressler and Grossman, there will be a lot of receivers in the 6'1" to 6'4" range, similar to 2003. Obviously, simply being tall doesn't guarantee that they will be successful, but it doesn't hurt either.

Here is a Herald article on the start of spring ball. link It's interesting that Groeschl is going back to quarterback. That would seem to make playing time for him much less likely than at receiver.

I guess this can put the Roysland-to-transfer rumor to rest.

I see where Miles Webb has left the Minnesota basketball program and will be transferring. Any chance he might end up in the NCC?

I posted this idea on d2football.com and it was received positively by most NCC fans, so I figured I'd share it here, as well. Assuming for the sake of argument that Central Washington and Western Washington are added as football-only members, how about adding a school like Montana State-Billings as a member for all other sports? They don't have football, but they are generally very solid in men's and women's basketball. Being located in the eastern part of Montana, they're closer than Northern Colorado was, at least for everybody except perhaps UNO. They don't really have a true conference at present, as they play in a quasi-conference with three Hawaii schools and one from New Mexico. For basketball in particular, that would put the NCC back at an even number of teams with 8. I know it's not an ideal solution, but I really don't think there are going to be any good alternatives for all-sports members unless a school like Winona St. does the unexpected and wants to move, or perhaps Carroll College from Montana if they decided to move from NAIA to dII. Thoughts?

It looks like UND is looking for a soccer coach. Again. link What is the deal here? This will be the 5th different coach for a program that started in 1999. The program has actually done exceptionally well on the field, but why is it that this is the one program at UND that can't keep a coach for more than a year or two?

According to the Denver press release, it was Gwozdecky's decision.

It's still a modest number, but the paid attendance for last night's late game between Metro St. and Virginia Union exceeded 1100. I think that's a small victory considering it's more than the attendance for the women's north central region title game at the Betty between two relatively local teams in St. Cloud St. and Concordia-St. Paul. Family obligations kept me from yesterday's games, and will unfortunately keep me from the championship game, but I will be there tonight for what should be some very good basketball.

The thing to keep in mind is that obviously with the first two games being played on a Wednesday afternoon, attendance was going to be very low. That was inevitable and probably a surprise to nobody. The real barometers of the success or failure of the tournament will the semi's and championship games. So long as the numbers don't come in too far below what most of the past year's tournaments have drawn, particularly considering the complete lack of any regional teams, the tournament should not be considered a disapointment IMO.

Purpur is no longer a candidate according to the Herald: full article

I really don't undertand all this animosity towards basketball. Yes, it's unfortunate that the Sioux can't practice in the Ralph prior to the start of the NCAA's, but it's not like the REA people couldn't have foreseen that this might be a problem back at the time they were bidding on hosting the dII elite 8 a couple of years ago. And as for the UND basketball programs, don't fault them for playing conference games at the Ralph this year. That was REA's idea, too. I'm not as sure about Glas, but Roebuck has been telling anyone who'll listen that he wants to play ALL games in the Betty.

Here is an article with some information about possible UND recruit Kori Vernon: link. EDIT: It appears the link expired last night. Sorry.

What bashing? The consensus among UND men's basketball fans is that Rich is a good guy and should stay with the university in some capacity, but not as basketball coach. Rob Bollinger's current job would be perfect for Rich, IMO. Ten years without so much as an NCC title tends to make a UND basketball fan like myself a bit irritated, but I really don't think what I posted can reasonably be construed as bashing anyone.

I will say this, if Bollinger got the job it would great for UND basketball. Why? Because Rich Glas would be a good replacement for him as a fundraiser for the FSC, and somebody younger and hungrier could be hired as the men's bball coach.

It's a fair question, but the thing is that the majority of the applicants are either going to be assistant a.d.'s somewhere, which generally means that their focus is limited to one or two specific areas, or else they're a.d.'s at a smaller school without hockey and with a much smaller budget than UND. This is the most relevant part of Purpur's bio with regard to his experience at Stanford:

According to the WDAZ sports tonight, Purpur has finally applied.