Matt

I can't imagine someone going to an award ceremony of that magnitude and freaking booing the recipient. Why is this even a question? I guess I haven't actually followed the ceremony itself before, has someone actually been booed as he received the award?

There's a lot of Bison fans upset that an NDSU grad, that actually played a sport at NDSU, is now the voice of the Sioux. Frankly, I'm surprised there isn't more folks here upset. What's next, Glen Sonmoor in the booth with Tim, followed by Erv Inniger and Swyg? It's the bizaro world.

Unless we really know the facts of the situation? Should gopher fans just trust Maturi and not rip him because they don't know all the facts while the program goes down the toilet? What about the USC athletic director prior to the NCAA sanctions? Fans should trust the AD and hand over their money like good zombies right up until he's gone along with the BB and FB coach? Not being an employee of the athletic department doesn't preclude valid criticism of it.

I think fans would leave the Alerus center having received value for their money. The teams you listed are not within a bus trip. They would need to be flown in. The quality of the opponent matters, and in this instance, as star2city has pointed out out, Mayville is a higher caliber opponent. There are a lot better options than Mines. The athletic department is shopping at the dollar store. Actually a second hand store may be a better metaphor.

Some fans have short memories. As fans of the D-2 NCC, we all knew that the top of the NCC could compete with any FCS school on a one game basis. There are plenty of D-2 teams within a bus trip of GF that will provide a matchup which isn't an utter embarassment.

I meant the same thing. There's too many degrees of separation in that scenario to say by attending a dreadful mines game we may be shaping a better opponent the next year. I would argue that reinforces a get by on the cheap philosophy. This isn't an argument about scheduling D-1 vs non-D1. That's a straw man argument-it's well documented that many programs do that. This is about schduling Mines or a reputable D-2 school, neither of which will break the bank. I'll shop at WalMart, but let's steer clear of the dollar store.

Let's not delude ourselves into thinking the athletic department is somehow collaborating with us on scheduling. It appears to me they want to pay as little as possible with the expectation the fans will show. Sorry, but entertainment dollars are a finite resource. If there is an absolute dog on the schedule, Faison should not be surprised there are people like Darell making the determination as to whether the athletic department is offering a product that is worth his money. I have absolutely no problem scheduling a D-2 team. None. This region has top tier D-2 (and D-3 for that matter) football. SD Mines is not one of them. It's a cheap solution, and if the athletic department is going to bring in a cheap product, they shouldn't be surprised when there are those in the fan base that respond in kind.

I think that has happened...see the FB and BB programs.

It's interesting you think the team will win at Idaho, but not at SUU or Davis. How do you compare Idaho to those teams?

While anything is possible, I wouldn't necessarily expect something to change at this point.

IALTO

We aren't operating in a vacuum here. People aren't here pissing and moaning because all things considered are bad. From what I have read in this thread, and I agree with them, is that things are COMPARATIVELY bad. The general consensus is that compared to our peers in this region, the UND football schedule in the transition has been inferior to our peers. Many fans won't tolerate the excuses when our peers are finding ways to do off the field, what the fans, and the athletic administration, asks of Sioux athletes on the field-to get it done! Some of you don't agree. That's fine. If this isn't the most convenient forum to debate such things amongst fans then what is?

Dogs on the bottom end are much easier to stomach when your high end is soooo freeaaking high. As a season ticket holder, sitting through Lamar and Lindenwood is fine when you travel to Air Force and Wisconsin (must have leveraged those long standing club hockey relationships) . Sandwich in EWU, and it's go time. Well done 'Yotes.

I don't blame kolpack for writing this story at all. Imagine for a moment the source is the same and the info differs slightly. Imagine Douple told Kolpack that Chapman asked, pressured, insinuated, etc., Douple to discourage anyone from scheduling UND and smeared UND to the Summit presidents. Should Kolpack sit on that story? Even if he can't verify Douple's statement with another source? I think by virtue of Douple's position, his statement is in and of itself, newsworthy.

At minimum, Douple's quotes in the story answer questions bandied about around here as to why the conference commish was getting involved in the nickname situation at all. I don't necessarily like those answers, but answers nonetheless. Being asked to weigh in makes more sense. The quotes also indicate for the first time there may be internal pressure from the Summit for losing UND to the Sky. Douple got involved in the nickname, then didn't land UND? Foolish. Reveals the conference to be the second rate outfit that it is.

Is it common for non-conference opponenets to play home-home in the same season?

Welcome to sports talk radio....or any monday after a viking game.

Well put.

What rubs some fans like me the wrong way about scheduling a a weak FCS school vs an NAIA or a D2 is that NDSU is finding a way to just freaking get it done. It's expensive? Get it done. It's hard to find someone to play? Get it done. Spare me the excuses and JUST GET IT DONE. Coach used to put it the same way. Missed a tackle? He was holding you? JUST GET IT DONE. I will abide the difficulties in transition, but not after. After that, either the athletic department makes enough from the gate of the home conference games, or you fundraise more money, or whatever needs to be done, JUST GET IT DONE. Yes, it's a cold attitude, but athletics is a bottom line business. You step up, make a play, and GET IT DONE! Hold the front office to the same standard we hold the athletes.

Innovis wasn't in a position to compete and everyone knew it, no matter what phone calls would have been made. Given I listen to Sioux games on WDAY, I'm surprised changing "partnership"s (if you want to describe exchanging $ for a service is a partnership) matters all that much.

I wish I was in a position to place a 10M offer on hold.

All hockey playing schools. Thanks for nothing fellas.

I've brought this up before, and this seems like a good time to do so again. Where the hell are all those long standing hockey relationships that the department has had over the years? Not one of those schools could throw another school in the hockey community a bone during the transition. What bulls**t.

I couldn't agree more. When a posts starts out "Personally, I don't get too excited about UND sports except for hockey." It's as though the poster is a fan from an opponents' board that is posting smack on here. It is not incongruent to be a UND hockey fan, and actually get excited about some other aspect of this institution but for hockey. And even if you do not, stop using that caveat. It furthers the perception that there's the Sioux mens hockey program, and the rest of the athletic department. Not helpful.

What I'm looking for out of this program is progress. Are they getting better each game? Each year? Can we see a trend upward that we can confident about winning a Big Sky championship by the time they are eligible for the tournament?