Matt

Ok, then that raises the next question of why accept UND in the first place if going to GF were such a burden all along?

i'm not necessarily disagreeing about this, but i'm wondering what does the BSC get out of letting UND leave in everything but FB? The exit fee?

They, and the rest of the mvfc, also receive the benefit of taking the field nearly every year against the top team in the country. If you hung in there against ndsu, i gotta think that sticks in a voter's mind.

Looks like it will not be a UND game at Target Field http://www.inforum.com/news/4122131-mcfeely-ndsu-looks-possible-football-game-target-field

Disappointing we are still talking about this after how last season ended, but to me it comes down to whether or not the offense decides to show up in the first half. I think this week they do and the team wins by two scores.

Your comment regarding expectations is spot on, and not simply from a fan perspective. To have that performance when the offseason mantra is #LeaveNoDoubt, it continues to foster more doubt. But, there's a chance to erase that this week.

You assume incorrectly. I refer to the 1M+ deficit remaining after being asked to cut programs. Seemed like a general description of "can't afford current costs" was reasonably accurate...but I'm no accountant. As for your ndsu reference, I suppose if Larson is unable to deliver the requested cuts (as Faison could not) then the same description would be true there as well.

Ha! You brought the concept of "education" into this thread of nonsense. That's good stuff. I may be eating my words as these prophecies come true, but I feel good about my chances.

The athletic department can't afford current costs, but here we have an internet debate over the plausibility of an FBS move that would (we are being told) fix the current situation while at the same time INCREASING costs. Alrighty then...it's bed time.

Yeah...there again I think I'm gonna go with Occam's Razor on this one rather than the yarns you are spinning.

Ummmm...boy...just gonna have to agree to disagree with pretty much everything you've got there. In fact, your closing conclusion about the story really being about how Kennedy and Faison are working together should garner you a #1 seed in the preposterous statement tournament. In fact I thing you must be talking about a different Kennedy and Faison. I wish I could screw the pooch on my budget that badly and have my boss make a pronouncement that he's looking at cutting some of my departments but really that's "working together".

how many hockey jerseys is $1.4M in profit? #limitededitionblackhawklogo

When the president suggests re-examining current conference affiliations I have a hard time believing that means he thinks a move to FBS which would increase expenses, is the right move? If I'm him i would want to see exactly what how BSC travel costs compare to that of ndsu, usd, sdsu. If he can't get that data by simply asking for it from ndsu, I would think there would be helpful legislators which could force that data from them. What's the point of leaving the BSC if there isn't a significant cost savings? As if recruiting isn't difficult enough they need this to explain away to recruits?

I'll stick with a reasoned argument every time.

I have zero respect for the quality of "work" Port has done over the course of his career (I'm not fond of the role of a professional critic-they create nothing, only tear down), but the number of otherwise thoughtful people calling him fat is astonishing. That is not ok.

I've listened to 30min of the Jack Michaels show on 740 and there's been about 10 seconds of Bison talk, on the first day of practice. Seems the battle lines have been drawn. edit: they are now talking goaltending with Coach Berry...on Aug 1st...still no bison talk...amazing. I wonder how long they can keep this up.

Totally agree with you. The resources are out there. I wish the will from above to go after it was there as well.

I would feel better about this conference if they felt like putting the team on TV once http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2016/3/31/FB_0331161414.aspx

If hockey fans can co-opt part of the Minnnesota rouser for use in a UND cheer, using a hockey goal horn at a football game certainly isn't treading on sacred ground.

All these are good ideas and should be implemented to improve the atmosphere, but wins are what will keep people coming. I overheard a 5th grade girl in Minot this weekend talking to her friend about how much she loves going to UND hockey games, but she's a bison fan because the UND football team sucks. We may have lost a generation for a while, and it will take some time but Bubba is making progress...he now needs the PR machine to work as hard as he does.

Pretty sure its very relevant to discuss playoff implications from teams in other conferences in a 2016 Season thread...particularly after how the playoff field went down in the 2015 season.

i need glasses so badly

Interesting call with USD...If you see USD as a playoff team, does that mean you see the MVFC with 4 teams? If not, who are they passing up for that spot? I see them improving but not enough for 3rd in that conference.

I don't know what the '19 game will look like, but I also thought it delusional to think '15 would look like '11. Between regionalization and teams moving up, all bets are off.

I'm not sure i ever saw him play a single down on defense in his high school career.