Matt

The Gridiron Power Index (GPI), the index ranking for the NCAA Division I FCS and a top indicator of at-large playoff selection debuts for the 2008 season with James Madison in the top spot. The Colonial Athletic Association, the largest league in the FCS has seven teams in the top 25, the Missouri Valley Football and the Southern Conferences have five each, the Big Sky and the Southland Conferences have three each, and the Big South, Great West Football and the Ohio Valley Conferences placed one each. 10/6/2008 GPI Top 25 Rank, Team, Total 1. James Madison (1.00) 2. New Hampshire (4.13) 3. Appalachian St (4.50) 4. McNeese St (4.88) 5. Richmond (5.25) 6. Cal Poly (6.75) 7. Villanova (7.13) 8. Montana (9.13) 9T. Massachusetts (10.50) 9T. Wofford (10.50) 11. Elon (10.88) 12. Northern Iowa (12.75) 13. Jacksonville St (13.63) 14. Weber St (14.25) 15. Furman (15.75) 16. N Arizona (16.13) 17. Cent Arkansas (17.75) 18. W Illinois (20.00) 19. S Illinois (20.38) 20. Delaware (20.50) 21. N Dakota St (20.88) 22. Liberty (21.63) 23. S Dakota St (23.38) 24T. Northeastern (24.88) 24T. Sam Houston St (24.88) 24T. Ga Southern (24.88) Full GPI Detail Conference Ranking: Rank, League, Total Average 1. Colonial Athletic Association (22.78) 2. Southern Conference (27.97) 3. Great West Football Conference (32.38) 4. Big Sky Conference (32.59) 5. Missouri Valley Football Conference (34.41) 6. Southland Conference (34.46) 7. Ivy League (45.77) 8. Ohio Valley Conference (49.79) 9. Patriot League (51.91) 10. Big South Conference (51.93) 11. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (61.94) 12. Northeast Conference (65.00) 13. Southwestern Athletic Conference (70.50) 14. Pioneer Football League (75.28) 15. Independents (80.15) Conference Ranking Detail: 1. Colonial Athletic Association (22.78) 1. James Madison (1.00) 2. New Hampshire (4.13) 5. Richmond (5.25) 7. Villanova (7.13) 9T. Massachusetts (10.50) 20. Delaware (20.50) 24T. Northeastern (24.88) 29T. William & Mary (28.50) 37T. Maine (34.75) 40. Hofstra (34.88) 56. Rhode Island (44.25) 75T. Towson (57.63) 2. Southern Conference (27.97) 3. Appalachian St (4.50) 9T. Wofford (10.50) 11. Elon (10.88) 15. Furman (15.75) 24T. Ga Southern (24.88) 29T. The Citadel (28.50) 47T. Samford (40.25) 77. Chattanooga (57.75) 81. W Carolina (58.75) 3. Great West Football Conference (32.38) 6. Cal Poly (6.75) 33T. UC Davis (32.13) 41. North Dakota (35.13) 43. Southern Utah (35.75) 68. South Dakota (52.13) 4. Big Sky Conference (32.59) 8. Montana (9.13) 14. Weber St (14.25) 16. N Arizona (16.13) 27. Montana St (25.38) 28. E Washington (27.25) 42. Sacramento St (35.63) 60. Portland St (46.00) 75T. N Colorado (57.63) 83. Idaho St (61.88) 5. Missouri Valley Football Conference (34.41) 12. Northern Iowa (12.75) 18. W Illinois (20.00) 19. S Illinois (20.38) 21. N Dakota St (20.88) 23. S Dakota St (23.38) 46. Illinois St (39.38) 54T. Youngstown St (44.00) 63. Missouri St (48.38) 112. Indiana St (80.50) 6. Southland Conference (34.46) 4. McNeese St (4.88) 17. Cent Arkansas (17.75) 24T. Sam Houston St (24.88) 45. Northwestern St (39.13) 51. SF Austin (42.00) 52. SE Louisiana (42.25) 65. Nicholls St (51.63) 70. Texas St (53.13) 7. Ivy League (45.77) 31. Cornell (29.13) 32. Harvard (30.38) 35. Yale (32.38) 49. Brown (41.00) 58T. Princeton (44.88) 62. Penn (47.88) 96. Dartmouth (69.38) 97. Columbia (71.13) 8. Ohio Valley Conference (49.79) 13. Jacksonville St (13.63) 33T. E Illinois (32.13) 36. Tennessee St (34.25) 54T. TN Martin (44.00) 69. E Kentucky (52.88) 78. Tennessee Tech (58.00) 93. SE Missouri St (66.75) 95. Murray St (68.38) 109. Austin Peay (78.13) 9. Patriot League (51.91) 47T. Holy Cross (40.25) 50. Colgate (41.75) 53. Lafayette (43.25) 64. Fordham (50.13) 73. Bucknell (56.75) 74. Lehigh (56.88) 103T. Georgetown (74.38) 10. Big South Conference (51.93) 22. Liberty (21.63) 44. Coastal Carolina (37.88) 67. Charleston So (51.88) 82. Stony Brook (59.25) 85. Gardner Webb (62.50) 87. VMI (64.25) 91T. Presbyterian (66.13) 11. Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (61.94) 37T. S Carolina St (34.75) 58T. Hampton (44.88) 61. Bethune-Cookman (46.63) 72. Florida A&M (54.25) 86. Morgan St (62.88) 90. Delaware St (66.00) 94. Norfolk St (67.00) 111. NC A&T (78.75) 116. Howard (82.00) 117. W Salem St (82.25) 12. Northeast Conference (65.00) 37T. Albany (34.75) 66. Central Conn (51.75) 84. Monmouth (62.25) 88. Duquesne (64.38) 89. Sacred Heart (65.38) 102. Robert Morris (74.25) 113. Wagner (81.00) 123T. St Francis (86.25) 13. Southwestern Athletic Conference (70.50) 57. Grambling (44.75) 71. Southern (53.88) 91T. Prairie View (66.13) 98. Alabama St (71.38) 99. Alabama A&M (71.63) 101. Jackson St (72.13) 103T. Alcorn St (74.38) 114. TX Southern (81.50) 118. Ark Pine Bluff (83.25) 122. MS Valley St (86.00) 14. Pioneer Football League (75.28) 79. Dayton (58.13) 80. San Diego (58.50) 103T. Morehead St (74.88) 106. Butler (75.25) 107. Jacksonville (76.50) 110. Davidson (78.63) 115. Drake (81.63) 123T. Valparaiso (86.25) 125. Campbell (87.75) 15. Independents (80.15) 100. Bryant (71.75) 108. NC Central (77.75) 119. Iona (83.38) 120. Marist (83.75) 121. Savannah St (84.13

Division I Championship

just you

Don't be so testy. After the compare/contrast questions the staff has fielded all week to the old rivalry, it's clear no one's asking about how SIU compares to the Duluth job. While I'd agree the SIU job stands on it's own merits, I disagree the administrative upheaval had ZERO (as the poster put it) to do with Dale taking the job. Of course, we can only speculate, but without speculation on a message board, there's not much left.

As Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend". This quote in Wayne Nelson's coverage raised my eyebrows this morning. In the quietness of the Fargodome, Bubba Schweigert

Any predictions after seeing Dale's team play? A loss to the Sioux may keep them out of the playoffs.

What would you think if your new coach blew a 20pt lead? From the SIU message board: saluki70 wrote: cleek wrote: Tough crowd...the grass is always greener.

FCS Coaches Poll 1 James Madison (23) 4 - 1 671 1 2 Montana (4) 4 - 0 638 3 3 Appalachian State 2 - 2 621 4 4 McNeese State 2 - 1 572 6 5 New Hampshire 4 - 0 517 8 6 North Dakota State 2 - 2 493 7 7 Richmond 3 - 2 477 2 8 Cal Poly 2 - 1 470 9 9 Wofford 3 - 1 421 11 10 Northern Iowa 2 - 2 397 5 11 Southern Illinois 2 - 1 390 13 12 Massachusetts 2 - 2 376 10 13 Eastern Washington 2 - 2 347 16 14 Delaware 2 - 2 344 12 15 Elon 4 - 1 305 14 16 Villanova 3 - 1 303 19 17 Furman 4 - 1 268 17 18 South Dakota State 3 - 2 218 18 19 Central Arkansas 4 - 1 197 15 20 Citadel 3 - 1 152 24 21 Liberty 4 - 0 131 26 22 Western Illinois 2 - 2 129 21 23 Jacksonville State 3 - 1 78 27 24 Northern Arizona 3 - 1 44 28 25 Eastern Illinois 2 - 3 40 20 Other Teams Receiving Votes: Georgia Southern 33, Montana State 25, Youngstown State 20, Tennessee State 19, Hampton 16, Sam Houston State 14, William & Mary 12, Florida A&M 6, South Carolina State 6, Holy Cross 5, Lafayette 5, Jackson State 3, Prairie View A&M 3, Colgate 2, San Diego 2, Hofstra 2, Harvard 1, Tennessee-Martin 1, Southeastern Louisiana 1 Updated: 9/29/2008

I thought this team is eligible to be ranked in the top 10 or 15?

update: The North Dakota NBC Network will carry the Southern Illinois game Oct. 4 ... Valley News Live (KVLY-TV, NBC, Channel 11/KXJB-TV, CBS, Channel 4, Fargo) sports director Scott Peters; KFYR-TV (Channel 5, Bismarck) sports director Lee Timmerman, and former Bison standout quarterback and current Fargo South head coach Kevin Feeney are in the booth, while Valley News Live weekend anchor Brian Shawn is on the sidelines ... The other network stations include KMOT-TV (Channel 10, Minot), KQCD-TV (Channel 7, Dickinson) and KUMV-TV (Channel 8, Williston).

That's outdated thinking. The more people that get exposed to the product, the more will want to be a part of it. In the long run that means more season tickets sold, and more giving. Of course, this is only true if your product is good, but that isn't an issue here. More people state and region wide should see the quality of the product. The television airwaves should no longer be allowed to be conceded to NDSU.

SDSU is playing well to start off this season. I don't take more out of it than that. If SDSU wins a national title or loses the rest of their games, UND will still be a good FCS team. I do think the move up has landed SDSU some better players than their d-2 days though.

The change I've noticed on 740 in Fargo is that Hammer's show is gone, replaced by Bison Rewind on Monday, and Common Tues-Friday. Chad Hartman is back in his old spot from 2-4:30. Man, I'm on the road too much.

"Bison Rewind" carries the weekly press conference live and Hammer interviews Bohl.

Maybe he didn't vote, but I'd like to think that Dale would throw a vote at his old school for old times' sake. FCS Coaches Top 25 Poll (Sept. 8, 2008) Team (1st Votes) Record Points Previous Ranking 1. North Dakota State (20) 2-0 668 1 2. Appalachian State (7) 1-1 648 2 3. Montana 1-0 582 6 4. Richmond 1-1 572 3 5. Massachusetts 2-0 567 4 6. Delaware 0-1 493 7 7. James Madison 1-1 484 8 8. Northern Iowa 1-1 477 5 9. McNeese State 1-1 432 9 10. New Hampshire 1-0 382 15 11. Wofford 2-0 369 13 12. Cal Poly 1-1 365 11 13. Southern Illinois 1-0 361 12 14. Eastern Washington 0-2 352 10 15. Georgia Southern 1-1 260 16 16. Western Illinois 1-1 254 17 17. South Dakota State 1-1 243 20t. 18. Elon 1-1 183 19 19. Central Arkansas 2-0 178 24 20. Eastern Illinois 0-2 152 18 21. Villanova 0-1 130 20t. 22. The Citadel 1-1 75 23 23. Furman 1-1 72 NR 24. Youngstown State 0-2 66 14 25. Delaware State 1-0 54 NR Other receiving votes: Northern Arizona (40), Liberty (37), Harvard (35), Jacksonville State (24), Eastern Kentucky (23), Sam Houston State (22), Prairie View A&M (21), South Carolina State (19), Fordham (19), Holy Cross (17), Tennessee State (16), Montana State (15), Hampton (11), San Diego (9), Hofstra (9), Grambling State (8), Texas State (8), North Carolina A&T (5), Sacramento State (3), Weber State (3), UC Davis (3), Yale (3), William & Mary (2), Florida A&M (1), Dayton (1), Coastal Carolina (1), Lehigh (1).

As my very first law prof told the class when we argued the validity of a test question, "I'll take that under advisement".

2008 FCS Coaches Poll

I'm wondering why this is even a question. I've seen Bison yard signs around the FM area for years, and they are on the shelf at Scheels when you walk in the door. With no shortage of UND alum in Fargo, there should be UND signs there as well. Has there been some turnover in the marketing dept?

As much as I wanted them to move up together, I'm starting to think even if all four dakota schools moved at the same time, they probably wouldn't be together today anyway. None of the individual schools would want to wait for a newly formed conference to get their own autobid. As soon as one or two were offered a spot in the summit/gateway/big sky/etc any comraderie would have fallen away.

According to Hallstrom at WDAY, the difficulty with away games is they have to rely on some or all of the availability of that local market's production facility.

There is a portion of fans who will stay home, true enough. But again, as the excitement builds in year 2...3...4, the base of season ticket holders increases and my experiece with that group is that they don't pay for season tickets to stay home and watch it on TV. Don't forget too that the walk up gate number would tend to increase in the long run as well. This region has more than enough people to sell out the Alerus, and still have plenty of butts on the couch making the advertisers money. Now, whether or not the administration will profit directly from the broadcast is up for debate. But, that kind of exposure can bring bigger profits with more foundation giving. The HD idea would be the icing on the cake.

I didn't always, but now I disagree with you on that point. As long as the program doesn't suck (in which case there would be many problems to fix before marketing) I would televise every home game if I could. It's like marketing any product (again, this doesn't apply to a crappy product)-in the long run, the more people are exposed to your product, the more people will want to be associated with it. That not only means more tickets sold, but more giving as well.

One home game is nowhere near acceptable. Expectations should be higher than that.

There was a discrepancy between the number of televised games last year as well. I would think remedying that would be part of the overall marketing plan, but I've heard nothing specific either.

There was a quad-fold flier in Sunday's edition of The Forum. I found it interesting that there isn't any direct reference to division 1. There is only the superimposed '1' on the 'we are North Dakota". Now, keeping in mind this isn't an ad in the sports section, or a commercial during a sporting event, I would question omitting some type of reference to the fact that the track, cross country, volleyball, football, etc. are now division 1 competitors. I think the reader may simply think this is just the new tag line and this year is business as usual. Again, the sports section reader will already know all about the move up, but I wonder if someone who isn't as into the sports scene will have those details.