Yote 53

If Augie does this then they are going to have to drop football or go non-scholarship as I don't ever see the Valley side of the MVFC allowing Augie football in. The Dakota schools don't have to apply the mercy killing as YSU, ISUb, ISUr, etc. will do it for us. Faced with that, I think they will lose a lot of support to move up from the football side of the fan base. In a nutshell, Augie has a football problem.

You know it might just be easier and cheaper for USD and other schools to add men's soccer and/or baseball programs. Nobody says they have to be very good or funded very well, just that they exist and can "count" towards the requirement to keep the autobid.

You do this and you are giving an NCAA tournament auto bid back to the NCAA. It would be better for all involved for some Big Sky teams to join the Summit and we set up a very nice scheduling alliance in all sports between the two conferences that would address the travel concerns for all involved. We all play a lot of BSC teams OOC the way it is right now, and BSC teams travel over here as well. I've never really bought the "travel" issue for that reason, because our OOC games are out West, down South, and in the case of basketball all over the country. Look at softball and baseball, those sports spend the early part of the season touring the South, USD volleyball just spent a bunch of time out in California and traveling for an OOC schedule, but you're going to tell me that "travel" is an issue. We'd just be substituting OOC travel for in-conference travel. A Summit league with the Montanas, UNC, and Idahos with a very tight scheduling alliance with the far west Big Sky makes the most sense when viewed in that prism.

This is actually the reason why the non-MVC schools should oppose an addition of a school like Murray State to the MVFC if they are offered MVC status. Other than the fact they are a weak football school, it would also give the MVC 6 football playing schools allowing them to break off and form their own MVC football conference which would cement their auto bid status with the NCAA. Actually, we can't do anything about it. The MVC schools could just break on their own, add Murray State, and start MVC football. I wouldn't be shocked if that happened to be honest. It's no secret those schools put basketball first and complain about having to travel to the Dakotas. They could easily form their own 7 team conference with YSU. I'm starting to think Summit Football needs to happen once UND joins the Summit. Do it with a friendly scheduling alliance with the MVC + Murray State for some built in OOC games. Coax UNC over to an all-sport Summit FCS conference with Denver as their basketball travel partner. Solves all our problems and everybody gets what they want. Solidifies the auto bid and we don't have to talk about Augustana or UMKC ever again.

So the MVC is in the same predicament as the Summit as far as being on the verge of losing its auto bid since they only have the minimum of 6 for soccer.

I read the article and what it says is the community is building an arena because they need it for events, and, oh, the Georgia club hockey team can use it too. It's not the University building it, it's not the community building it with a D1 program in mind like at Illinois, it's simply the community needs an arena and the hockey team could use it. Kind of similar situation to what is going on in Iowa City/Coralville, though I do believe that will eventually lead to an Iowa D1 program given Illinois is on the verge of starting a program and that the Big Ten sponsors the sport which is motivation for Iowa to start one too when they see how well Illini hockey does (translation: another way to bring in revenue).

Lakes was going at it with some Gopher fans, but we wouldn't shut the board down over him white knighting for us. I think it was as simple as the board creator moved out of state and just didn't have the time or inclination to keep the board going. The timing might make you think it was Lakes fault, but I don't remember it that way.

No. Don't recall that ever happening. It shut down the week we beat Minnesota, the owner of the board just up and disappeared. We've had our own issues with one of our own, Coyote Fan, but he has since left and created his own board.

We don't have a problem with Lakes over on GoYotes. He posts some over the top stuff from time to time but he's not over-bearing and we usually just laugh and move on.

Part of my motivation to see this happen is because the Dakota schools should have gone D1AA in the 70's when the original split happened. We didn't and it took decades to get to the right level. So it's about being proactive this time and positioning ourselves to be at the second level of football rather than reacting decades later. We can either push for, prepare for, and challenge our schools to aspire for better things, or we can talk about Augustana moving up to join the Summit. Do you all want to hang and bang with Augie again? Should we settle for that or aspire to something more?

The reasons would be to: #1 - Play at the clear second level of D1 football. That would also elevate the profile of the entire athletic department. We won't be on the same level as Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, but would put the Dakota schools on the same level as Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado State, etc. #2 - A G5 Summit conference would be involved in the evolving CFP as one of the G5 participants. When, not if, the CFP expands there will be an at-large spot for the highest ranked/undefeated G5 champion. It would be the lowest seed and the odds of being the one G5 school to have that magical season would be very long, but it's still access to the CFP, no matter how remote. #3 - The G5 conferences are going to end up getting a shared cut of the CFP. Sure, it won't be a Big Ten or SEC level cut, but there will be money and it could be a couple million per school. #4 - As a G5 school you can command a larger payday for P5 games. There may just come a day where the FCS is shut out of scheduling P5 schools. Maybe that happens, maybe not, but I can guarantee that Northern Illinois is getting paid more to play Iowa this year than USD is playing Kansas State. The more money coming from points #2, #3, and #4 would aid in offsetting the costs of increased scholarships. Being a G5 school would aid in #1. Just to be clear, the proposed dream conference we are talking about here with the Dakotas, Montanas, etc. would have way more credibility than conferences like the Sun Belt. It would probably slot in right behind the Mountain West out west, nipping right on their heels given enough time to grow in stature, and would be on the same level as the MAC in the east. This would be the long term vision.

I'm not sure I agree with the FBS part of all these theories, though that could be plausible I guess. From what I understand, the FBS stadium requirement is 15,000. USD is about to undergo a renovation of the Dakota Dome and with a few modifications will get over 15,000. SDSU is already there with their new stadium. NDSU is at 19,000. UND? I have no idea what the Alerus is but I don't think it is 15k. So some work to do there. As far as the question of 15,000 being big enough, would you rather play in a Dome packed with 15k, or a cavernous open air MAC stadium that holds 25,000 but only has 5,000 in attendance? What I like about SV's plans, crazy as they might sound, is that the Dakotas join forces with the Montanas and Idaho. SV may throw out a lot of whacky scenarios that will probably not come to pass but the overall outlook is correct. I firmly believe that prospective conference offers the best opportunity for the future for all the schools involved, whether it be as an FBS conference or an FCS conference. Honestly, I can see the allure of going FBS and being a G-level conference that gets a slice of the CFP playoff money. That G-level of Division 1 will soon be seen as the 2nd level of football as the P5 separates themselves. That 2nd level of football is the level the Dakotas have openly talked about where they want to be at, whatever the label is, FCS or G-level, so from that perspective, yeah NDSU officials and other Dakota school officials are on record as being for a "move". Right now the FCS is the second level, but if that changes then we all need to be prepared for it. His crazy plans are the type of stuff that hopefully our schools presidents and AD's are working towards. The Summit has been great, but it is always teetering, dealing with one membership issue after another. It's time we set a course for permanent stability. A good, solid foundation is necessary in order to truly grow.

I love how back in the old days hockey was a rough and tumble sport. The sport did not care about appearance. Case in point, look at that goal net. Holy crap, they took his school picture and used the rusted, beat-up, back up net. If you watch any old games from the 70's and 80's you see the same thing, beat up nets with chipped posts and practically black netting hanging off the goal. Today the goal is a perfectly painted red and the net is a crisp white, probably goes through the washer after every game. Even the boards back then looked all beat up compared to today's pristine rinks.

You skipped over the part where I said they applied for and were granted a waiver from the NCAA to go D1 scholarship hockey while remaining D3 in other sports. I think you will see more of this. College Hockey, Inc. and the NHL are lobbying the NCAA hard and there will be more D3 schools that will be allowed to field D1 scholarship hockey programs while remaining D3 in everything else.

I picked up a tidbit of information while over in Wisconsin this past weekend. Rumor is that one of the UW D3 schools is studying moving their hockey program to D1 status. Applied for and were recently granted a waiver from the NCAA to have D1 hockey while remaining D3 in all other sports (I believe the other D1/D3 schools with this structure have grandfathered status), and the D1 study is being funded by the Minnesota Wild, so there is that NHL & College Hockey Inc. connection. I cannot remember the name of which UW school it was, I want to say Eau Claire, but don't quote me on that. Word is this is just the first UW school looking at this and there may be more. Thought was that if Minnesota could support 5 D1 hockey programs that Wisconsin could support about 3, so there are a few schools looking into D1 hockey.

"After football is discontinued, HSU’s athletics program will include 11 sports: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s track & field, crew, softball, and volleyball." I smell a Title 9 lawsuit coming on behalf of the men. Men's sports will be underrepresented at HSU, 7 women's sports & 4 men's sports. I hope they plan on adding some men's sports to offset the loss of football.

USD has been the Coyotes from the very beginning: The Coyote is a myth of unknown origin. It is impossible to assign an exact date for the association of "Coyote" with the school's athletic teams or other features. The earliest use of the word "Coyote" as the state animal of South Dakota, came from a horse race at a military fort in 1863. The Sioux Indians called themselves "The Dacotah" from which the Dakota Territory was derived. When a Dakota cavalry horse outran a larger horse entered by the Iowa Sixth Cavalry, the Iowans shouted, "Look at the kiote run." The name stuck. South Dakota, the Coyote State, is also known as the Sunshine State for its larger number of cloudless days. The "Coyote" was customarily assumed to be the mascot of the University of South Dakota without any official action by the USD student body. Dr. Cedric Cummings, in his book, "The University of South Dakota," wrote: "First Of the University annuals was published in the spring on 1902 when William Williamson Jr., is editor in chief, fixing the name "Coyote" upon its progency. The use of the term by the yearbook helped to popularize it. Another symbol originating in this period was the University seals, first imprinted on the "Coyote" published in the spring of 1903.

I just call it as I see it. I actually do want you guys to get past this nickname thing so when you come into the conference this subject is still not tearing you guys apart. I just don't ever see it happening with the generic Hawks name. It is going to take a generation to literally die off for the Hawk name to be accepted, even then it will be "meh", and you guys can't spend another 20+ years fighting over this. That's why I said sacrifice the Hawk and start over. Nobody is a die-hard Hawk supporter, they would convert easy, and it would also appease the Sioux crowd who has to realize by now that nickname is never coming back. It would be an offering of peace as a generic nickname like a Hawk variation is what was feared most by the Fighting Sioux crowd. The nickname should be relevant to North Dakota, have some historical significance, be an animal or plant, something that is uniquely North Dakotan. All of the other Dakota schools have nicknames like that. UND broke their own rules they set up when determining a nickname by going with something generic. You want my personal opinion, I would have gone with Roughriders and not looked back. North Dakota is the Roughrider State. It's unique & identifiable and has some excellent potential for logos and branding. Drawback is there is a local high school and a USHL team with that name, but the vast majority of NCAA fans knows nothing about either of those entities. That is a drawback that could have easily been overcome. These are just my opinions. You all have to figure this out on your own though.

Wow, I pop on over here and see a 63 page thread, what must this be about? Same old, same old. Old wounds that will not heal. Outsiders perspective, you can't put lipstick on a pig. The pig, in this case, is the Fighting Hawks name, it's terrible. The lipstick is the logo. Good luck devising a logo to go with a generic bird nickname. I've said this before and I'll say it again, sacrifice the Hawk. Blow the whole dang thing up and start over. It is the only way you guys are going to be able to move on. The Fighting Hawk name will simply never be embraced by a large portion of your fan base. If it were, you wouldn't see 60 page threads and entire sections of your message board dedicated to the subject.

The Summit has been bought and paid for by Sanford. If your school has taken Sanford money you are 100% tied to this conference. USD, SDSU, and NDSU will be going nowhere else anytime soon. Same can be said for UND once you all join us. The Dakota 4 are joined at the hip in the Summit. The best thing we can do is work from within to improve the conference and try to attract better schools to come on over because none of us are going anywhere.

Yeah, I've looked and looked and it's a good hotel for a fair price. Sometimes you can find these hidden gems like an EconoLodge or something that is lower budget but is nice, clean, well-maintained, etc. I just wanted to find out of there was a hidden gem like that in GF. I have until May 2 to cancel my reservations, I'll continue to check daily to see if anything pops up. Thanks for all your input guys.

I've got the Spring Hill Suites locked in at $98/night already, so I am not in the market for the Ramada. I am trying to downgrade in price without sacrificing too much quality. I will probably just stick with what I have got but thank you all for your input. Budget Inn? As in Budget Inn Express off Gateway Drive? Holy Christ! That place looks like a haven for portable meth labs. No thank you. Now I just looked up Ideal Inn. You are clearly joking. It might almost be worth it just for the people watching then. My kid is now old enough to figure it out enough to where he would look at me and say "Dad, this place is kind of sketch."

I have stayed at the Ramada. Over priced at almost $100 per night for being old and worn down. I'm booked at Spring Hill for that price. Knights Inn. I will look into that one. Thanks.

I will be up in GF next weekend for 3 days because my kid has a hockey camp going on there. Currently have rooms reserved at Spring Hill Suites but, because I am cheap and hockey is expensive enough as is, I am seriously looking to stay at a cheaper hotel. EconoLodge has some pretty low rates and we could stay there for almost half the cost. Would anyone recommend it? Is it clean and halfway up-to-date or am I going to have to worry about bed bugs and hookers turning tricks with truckers who are passing through? (You think I am kidding but our team stayed at a hotel in Fremont, NE for a tournament when we were in Omaha and there was a hooker who was making on-line appointments with truckers who were stopping at the near-by truck stop. Kids never noticed what was going on but us parents sure did!)

That's for you guys to determine, you are NoDaks, after all. What is something that is culturally identifiable with your state, an animal, a plant, an occupation, a place, a historical figure, whatever, that would make for a good nickname? NoDak has some history to it, use it.