Yote 53

It would be a good idea for Augie. For colleges of that size it is all about making a niche. They are not going to make their niche in D1 basketball with the 4 Dakota schools already there. Hockey would provide the niche and a great facility is sitting right there for them to use. Hockey fan base is already built too thanks to the Stampede.

If USD started a hockey program it would play out of The Denny in Sioux Falls. Pretty much every hockey person I have talked to around here believes it would be a hit, including our AD. That said, it isn't going to happen as USD is too focused on upgrading the sports it currently has at D1. Football and basketball are the priorities with huge money already dumped into facility upgrades with more huge money to come when the Dome is upgraded and capacity increased. All that said, if somebody came in with PSU type money and said they would build the arena in Vermillion and endow the program (both men and a corresponding women's program, not necessarily hockey, thinking lacrosse here) then it would happen. What President & AD is not going to accept the free gift of new programs and assets that won't cost the university anything? The same applies for SDSU, if somebody came up with massive amounts of cash for the program it would happen. It isn't going to happen organically though as both schools are focused on basketball in the winter. Kind of a shame as South Dakota hockey is growing at the youth and high school level and more and more kids are playing.

Ugh. I hope this doesn't have any legs. Augustana...puke. USF has already said no way. These schools were barely D2. D1, no way. http://kwsn.com/news/articles/2017/jun/29/augustana-usf-ads-no-contact-with-summit-but-augie-to-have-discussions-about-future/

If the choice is restarting baseball (for both USD and UND), starting a men's soccer program, or effectively losing D1 status (if you aren't in a MBB autobid conference you aren't D1, sorry) then these schools will bite the bullet and find a way to make it happen. Don't say it is a non-starter.

The baseball and soccer problems could be solved very easily by schools like USD starting up programs. We have a brand new soccer complex so the infrastructure is there to start a men's program. Now, this program would be a bare bones program, but it is one that would fill the requirement. Same can be said for baseball. Prentis Park could use a facelift, though I would prefer USD built a new baseball park if we were to jump back into that sport. Maybe we collaborate on this and UND restarts baseball while USD starts men's soccer. Either way, these schools are not going to risk losing the MBB autobid. If we have to all get together to figure out who needs to offer certain sports than that is what we have to do. I'd rather some of the current Summit schools start up programs to fill the gaps then adding crappy schools like UMKC. I mean, think about it, you only need 6 schools for a conference. We could have the Dak 4, WIU, and Omaha and all still survive if we all offered a very similar set of sports. That and we'd only split up that March Madness money 6 ways instead of 8,9,10, or 12. I know, not practical for scheduling, I'm talking pure survival mode here.

It's natural. Because having a collection of schools like that together means stability.

Quit punching holes in my narrative. If we keep talking about the Great North Conference then eventually, maybe, somebody will listen and it will become a reality.

I type all of that and it sounds crazy. I really think the Dakotas are in lockstep now and are thinking big. USD has had a ton of relationships with administrators from Montana, etc. These people talk and things don't happen in a vacuum. University presidents are people, as are our congressmen and women. They don't just sit there and go, "ahh, too bad, sorry about your misfortune. I hope your State University doesn't go belly up over this." No, they talk, and they come up with solutions. The Big North is the grand solution and it elevates all of our schools above all in the FCS.

The Great North Conference. The destiny for the Dakota 4 has always been to hook up with the Montanas. What should have happened was for USD to go with UND to the BSC. Then when all the Summit defections happened the XDSU's would have been brought in and the Dakotas, Montanas, and a couple of other schools would have made up the BSC North division. After a while we would have all become cozy and realized we didn't need some of those other schools and a split would have happened forming the The Great Northern Conference, or Big North Conference, whatever you want to call it. The split would have been amicable with the BSC South as both sides would see the benefit of both conferences having autobids yet still having the ability to have a cross conference scheduling alliance. The problem with that is that I don't believe you can just create a new autobid conference out of thin air. Well, you can if you are the AAC or some other FBS level conference, but that won't fly for us little FCS types. No, we'd have to wait over a decade for an autobid. So we need a shell to take over and make our own and rebrand, enter the Midcontinent Conference. Ever notice how they changed the name to the Summit League (mountains) yet there are no mountains in the conference footprint, except DU, who was added later? Anyway, the Summit provides the shell for the Dakotas, Montanas, etc. to move into to make their own. It just takes time to shed off a few of the schools in the conference, add a few in, and mold it into what you want. The core of the conference will be the Dakotas and Montanas, and now Idaho. We'll fill in the rest around the edges. A conference like that is a conference that will provide 100 years of stability no matter what happens in the P5, G5, FCS. We'd be positioned to move and flow with those changes with the right membership of like minded, peer institutions that share common bonds.

SV has said some crazy stuff over the years, and what he is saying may still be crazy, but nobody believed Idaho, Boise State, etc, etc would ever leave...until they were gone. Now people don't think the Montanas will ever leave... It's kind of like the old NCC, people didn't actually believe schools would leave and go D1...until they did.

Is the issue maybe that the contract still counts against the cap and it hamstrings the GM when building a roster? It can't be financial if the contract is insured against injury. It has to be issues with managing the cap.

Bring Sitting Bull with you when you come. He'll be staying in Vermillion after the game for some time.

FYI, it was yours truly that first coined that conference name, "The Big North Conference" and its variations, Big Northern, Great North, Great Northern. I will forego any royalties if it ever happens, I'll just be do happy. I've also got dibs on "The Great Midwest Conference". Big North Conference - all sports USD SDSU NDSU UND Montana Montana State Idaho Idaho State ( or Portland St or UNC) Eastern Washington Denver (non-football) Great Midwest Conference - all sports USD SDSU NDSU UND UNI WIU SIU ISUr ISUb MSU

You know, if you are going to successfully pitch something you need to brand it. By branding it you make it real and it gives it traction. Our hypothetical western conference needs a name. A great name. Can't be: WAC - Western Athletic Conference Western Conference - Old Big Ten Great West Conference - Ugh! Bad memories. Defunct...maybe we could resurrect it. American West Conference - defunct Big West - Taken Can't have mountains because we don't have mountains over here. Can't be plains because our western mates have mountains. Hmmm...let me think...

That proposed conference would be permanent. Nobody is leaving that setup.

Oh yeah. I realize that.

Every time you reference the Summit League you refer to it as the "Slummit". Doing so lessens your credibility, if you even have any. UND will soon be a part of the "Slummit" so I don't know why you disparage the conference. Also, confuses me why you refer to it as the "Slummit" when it has recently been a superior conference to the Big Sky and will be a jump up, and difficult transition for UND, just like the MVFC conference will be.

In a couple of years when the MVC is a solid one bid league, the Shocker basketball credits run out, and that bisects with the P5/FBS split I predict there will be some upheaval for the Valley and the Summit. Honestly, the Summit is going to be in the driver seat when that happens because that is where the more powerful football programs in the MVFC reside. It will be schools like UNI having to make a decision to move to that second level of football with us or hanging around the Tier 3 level with Indiana State and the Valley East programs. Who knows, maybe some BSC schools like the Montanas become a player in this saga. The Dakotas need to stick together. There will be a time for us to make our move. We are stronger together than we are apart.

You sure about that? The other Dakota schools might hold a little resentment.

Get rid of the names of the conferences. When you look at each of them and where UND fits in it could go either way. UND has a long history with schools in both conferences. As far as the most deeply heated rivalries, that would go to Minnesota and Wisconsin. So if the money lines up and the deal looks good you go to the BIG. Unfortunately, UND moving to the BIG would not be good for the whole of college hockey. More instability.

At Iowa or Nebraska? Probably somewhere between OSU and PSU attendance-wise would be my guess. So not that bad, and better than most in college hockey.

Hence, sweeten the pot.

I would agree. USD has pulled the conference rabbit out of that hat before, as you all know.

The school only gets the $3-4 million grant from the league office if they start a hockey team, and the funds are a direct grant and can be used for no other purpose. If a school doesn't start up a team they don't receive a grant, so don't see how they could spend it on other things. Actually, I believe this idea has already been floated by the league and the number was $2 million of seed money to start a program.

Ehh. A huge chunk of that money was used to build a new arena for PSU hockey. Nebraska has Pinnacle Bank Arena. Iowa has a potential arena in Coralville. Northwestern has access to several arenas in the Chicagoland area they could rent. The arena is the biggest hurdle to fielding a team. $3-4 million dollars per year would go along way to fund the program initially until donations can be built up or maybe even the program becomes a big enough revenue generator to self-fund.