siouxnanigans

Hasn't this been discussed before? Why again DaveK??? Yawn.

Does anyone have any idea how good/bad the facilities are at SIU-Edwardsville? I think that we have great facilities but would they accept us over SIU-E becuse of our facilities (besides the Alerus and Ralph - which won't have any impact on the Mid-Con). Anyone know anything about USD's facilities?

Also, what constitutes us being considered a "counter" game?

Question: When we are accepted into the GWFC, when would we start play? 2009? I've been somewhat confused by our "transitional" year. Does it start next year?

how did you come up with the 200k number for the SDSU game?

There is no charade. I'm just more objective than most. Unlike many posters on this board, I don't think that UND can do no wrong. I think that we've made many bad decisions over the past few years. I feel that in a sea of green and white, that i'm the voice of reason.

A few thoughts... 1. As a Sioux fan, I hate when people throw around the terms 'business decision'. When we decided not to play NDSU in football (it was not a business decision) I believe that most NDSU fans understood the playoff implications. What really pissed them off was us not playing NDSU in any other sports. 2. NDSU did not break a 'business relationship'. Our relationship (besides our instate rivalry) should have been no different then any other NCC team. That point sucks and IMHO makes us look pretty foolish and petty. While it may seem funny, NDSU was no more in "business" with us than Northern Colorado. 3. I still don't think that by having NDSU play us at the Fargodome makes them any more money. Last year vs. Concordia St. Paul they were able to draw 15609. Considering this was before they were so highly ranked (and it was a lowly d2 team) that was a very healthy number. Now that they finished ranked #5 in FCS, they should (no matter who they play) draw HUGE number. In comparison, the last year that NDSU played us at home the attendance was 19042. While it is certainly true that the game would be a sellout, the argument that it's bad business not to play us doesn't hold that much water. NDSU will be close to a sellout regardless of who they play. The current buzz about their team will be enough to put butts in the seats.

Found this one the internet: "On the plains of North Dakota, out for all the world to see, stands an old abondoned outhouse, and they call it UND. Hail the Bison, Hail the Bison, with our tails up in the air. University, University, Sioux can kiss what's under there. Bison once, Bison twice, Bison thrice, Jesus jumpin' jehosaphat, cock sucker mother f*cker spit tobacco chew. We're the mighty Bison, who the f*ck are you?"" Not sure why calling UND an outhouse is derogitory??? Yea, I heard that some of the Bison fans were chanting about UND at the Metrodome... I also have witnessed students chanting F*ck the Bison at a game at the Winona game this fall.... I don't think that most of the NDSU or UND fans hate. I do think however that there are people from both sides who take it too far.

I think that most of you (including Eddie) missed Taylors point. The point is that NDSU would NOT play us in 2008 (due to playoff ramifications and us not being a counter). So, to just have the game for the sake of playing then skip a year or more would be silly. NDSU doesn't seem scared to play us nor should they be. While we have a good football team, they do too. Regarding the comments of Taylor and the other sports. It's a little late in the game for UND and NDSU to start scheduling for all other sports. Usually schedulesd come out much in advance and to have our AD say something to the fact that we'd play them in all sports really isn't fair since it's not possible in several sports. While we often accuse NDSU fans of having their green and gold glasses on we must also realize that most of us are doing the same thing. Pot, kettle, kettle, pot. And as a side note... Let's not shove down their throat our Womens basketball success... After all we know that the real sports that matters in mens bball and football. IMHO, the Bison men would wipe the floor with our mens team. So all of these comparisons between sports. Drop it. Just as we might beat their girls, they would kick our asses in other sports.

As a die-hard Bison hater, I would love to start the rivalry again. On the other hand, I'm not surprised by Taylor's comments (especially about ticket sales if someone else was scheduled for Sept 1). A few reasons why a game against us would not necessarily sell better than a game against other schools. 1. It's the first game of the year. Historically, NDSU has one of their biggest ticket sales games during the first week. Everyone wants to check out the team and they get a huge draw from students. 2. If NDSU can bring in a big name opponent (High FCS or mid-FBS) that would draw many fans due to the fact that the team is a perceived challenge. NDSU fans would be the "underdog" and they would show up hoping that they would win. When it all comes down to it, "buzz" doesn't guarantee tickets. While a game with us would create tons of "buzz", I don't think that from a revenue standpoint, scheduling us would do a whole lot more for them financially.

What do you mean when you say that racism is "much more prevalent" on the UMN campus than at UND? While I think that the letter is a great way to try to get the Goophers to schedule us, I think that claims that might have no basis (you might be basing it on something that I am unaware of, if so I retract this statement) makes us look a little foolish. Surely a campus that is much more liberal than that of UND would be more open to people of other races, colors, sexual preference and creed. In writing a letter I would push the opportunity for student athletes to compete. I would mention the UND athletes from Minnesota who want to play in front of their friends and family. I would bash Maturi by calling him a weenie and stating that the decision has no "backbone". After all, there are other schools in the Big 10 who have the same lack of "backbone" so Maturi is certainly not alone in his rational behind doing this.

This one hurts.... Any other thoughts of big schools that we might be able to schedule? In my opinion it will be crucial for us to get one of these big games each year.

Yes, that is true but the Bison played 3 teams that were ranked in that same group.

Let's get a few things straight. 1. I am not a Bison fan. I attend the University of North Dakota during the mid-90s. 2. I am trying to be objective. 3. The Massey ratings are mostly objective. The problem is that they are somewhat flawed. Why are they flawed? If you look at the link that you submitted you will notice that our record is 11-2. We only played 10 regular season games. The other three games that they are listed are the playoff games against Winona, UNO and Grand Valley. While the strength of schedule was good during the regular season our ratings are very inflated due to us going to the playoffs. So if we are to compare strength of schedule to the Bison we really should do it on an even playing field. A fair example of strength of schedule would be to compare ours to the other FCS playoff teams.

Bottom line is this: The Great West Football conference was the highest ranking conference in the FCS. That ranking was based on strength of schedule, record versus ranked/unranked teams. So all the talk about who beat who doesn't really matter. The season ending GPI goes as follows (in a perfect world these teams would make the playoffs): 1 Appalachian St 2 Massachusetts 3 N Dakota St 4 Montana 5 Youngstown St 6 James Madison 7 New Hampshire 8 Illinois St 9 S Illinois 10 Portland St 11 Northern Iowa 12 Cal Poly 13 Montana St 14 UC Davis 15 Princeton 16 S Dakota St You will see that NDSU played three teams that were ranked in the top 16. This years playoffs included the following teams (7) that were not included in the 16 highest rated teams: Coastal Carolina (#21) Furman (#20) Eastern Illinois (#29) Lafayette (#53) Hampton (#23) Tennessee-Martin (#26) McNeese St. (#34) So I guess my point is that it's not really a good indicator of "who made the playoffs" to determine the worth (or schedule) of a team. I love that we beat Northern Iowa but we certainly can not discredit NDSU for their schedule because after all it was MUCH harder than ours.

Regarding NDSU not playing any playoff teams last year.... Saying that is kind of misleading. While it is true that NDSU did not play any teams that made the playoffs it is not true that NDSU didn't play teams that were some of the best in the country. After all, the playoffs are not always a good indicator of the best of the FCS. If their season happened 2 years from now, both NDSU and SDSU would have made the playoffs (likely) with an at-large bid. Couple the fact that the other two teams that have historically made the playoffs (Cal Poly and UC Davis) were required to play each other, NDSU and SDSU I am not surprised that neither of those California schools did not make the playoffs. After all, this season the Great West was considered the best conference in the FCS. All i'm saying is that while it's true that NDSU didn't play anyone who made the playoffs it is also true that their competition was MUCH stiffer than MOST of the teams that actually did make the playoffs. So in essance that statement is not totally accurate. I for one am looking forward to the Great West competition. I think that it will be good for the Sioux. Hopefully once eligible we can prove our worth on the field.

Very valid point.

My two cents.... while I don't like seeing stories like this, it's really hard to argue against their wanting the Illini to stop using their uniform and them as a mascot. It might not be right. It might not be fair. It might not make sense but we really can't sit back and tell them that their feelings are wrong.

One additional point about the time zone... While it is true that people get their news less and less from television and the morning news paper we shouldn't forget what the people want reported (and what television and newspapers have to offer). While all of the scores would be available fairly soon after the game is over, any articles and or television highlights would have to wait til the next day. I want to see the highlights and read the local angle and I don't want to wait til day 2..... The score is really a secondary thing.

I was talking the other day with someone in the NDSU athletic office (not by choice... a friend of a friend sort of thing). We were talking d1 sports. We talked about the Gateway football thing and then I asked him why NDSU hasn't made any moves towards starting a hockey program. He said the following, and I quote: "We need a new arena. Our facilities just aren't up to par." then I said... "are there any options out there for a new arena?" he said... "yea, we have a few things going on. We're not there yet but if all goes well the wheels we'll start looking into a conference." Basically if NDSU gets a stadium they will start a program (men's and womens).

I'm new to the board and i'm guessing that it's been discussed before....but what happens to the Great West if NDSU and SDSU get admitted into the Gateway. I read on the Forum website tonight that Chapman and Taylor (along with the SDSU President/AD) have been invited to attend the Gateway meeting in St. Louis on February 19th. In the article it said that there have NEVER been presidents/AD's invited to a meeting such as this before. I am taking that to mean that they must be VERY interested in finding out more about those two schools. So if/when NDSU and SDSU are admitted into the Gateway, the Great West will drop down to 3 schools (5 if you count UND and USD). What does this do to UND and it's chances of getting into the playoffs? Who else would the Great West pick up to even become eligible to get an auto bid.... Would it even be likely for the Great West to get one of these ever??? All pretty interesting thoughts. Does UND have anywhere else (besides the Great West) to turn. I'm not one of those who believes that the BSC will expand to the Dakotas. If they don't are there other options?