There will be more Alumni that become involved in UND athletics because of the DI move. The money will be a factor though as you have stated.
There are a few Sioux jackets and sweatshirts in the crowd at Bison football games.
There have been a lot of kids from North Dakota in the past that were good enough to play I-AA football and even DI football. They just decided to play DII football for NDSU or UND. There is nothing wrong with playing DII instead of DI. It's just an individuals preference that could be partially due to course of study, family or whatever.
So, anyone could come on the messageboard, state a rumor, have a couple other people back it up, and leave it to the reader to believer?
If it's true about Amy, then I'll back off, until then I still have reasonable doubt.
So, what exactly did she say, the other 20 posts are all word-of-mouth.
I have seen nothing that is a quote. No proof that it was even Amy Ruley.
The renegade Gophers did keep recruiting Rick Richert after he verbally committed to Arizona.
The top I-AA teams could beat the top DII teams 9 out of 10 usually. There are exceptions to the rule. I don't know the exact number of schools, about 120. The non-scholarship teams like Valpo (Ivy's not included) would have a tough time winning against the top DII teams. The biggest difference is overall team speed and depth. The top DII teams have several guys with speed and I-AA talent, but there is a drop-off most of the time, with the second string players. Playing a full season in I-AA, you need the depth to compete every week. That's just my observation via the Bison games.
The new conference members NDSU, UC Davis, Cal Poly and UNC were not exactly patsie's in DII. Most I-AA schools came from DII. Add 27 scholarships to UND and how do you think they would compete in I-AA. Probably at a high level. Several NCC teams are closer to I-AA quality than most of the current DII.
How many people from Winnipeg travel to Fargo or elsewhere without stopping in Grand Forks? Red Wing is over an hour from the Twin Cities. Duluth is also a ways from the cities.
There are some condo's right now, but there are two large complexes being build as we type. The old Prison site, Cole Youngers old home, at the end of Main, and a block on old mainstreet are the current projects. Stillwater also has busloads of people dropped off during the week as part of a tour. Just need to advertise "Historic" downtown Grand Forks and put some shops in some old buildings, to go along with the bars.