PCM

I just came up with a cheer for the Marquette Go. Let's go Go, let's go! (clap, clap) Let's go Go, let's go! (clap, clap) Kinda catchy, doncha think?

How do you know? Did you read the letter to which Kupchella was respondining? As I recall, at the time Kupchella wrote his letter, there were four factors influencing UND's decision about moving to DI-AA. 1. The NCAA's consideration of a proposal to reduce DII scholarships from 36 to 24. 2. The possibility of NDSU joining the Big Sky Conference. 3. The possibility of UND being invited to join the Big Sky Conference. 4. The strong desire of UND alumni and others to maintain the football rivalry with NDSU. Just because Kupchella didn't specifically mention the scholarship issue in his letter doesn't mean that it didn't play a role in his statement that UND "may have to make this move," even if it didn't possess the financial resources and facilities to do so. Kupchella refered to "pride and emotion" as a factor in UND's DI-AA decision, but added "there is obviously a little more to the issue than pride and emotion as you well know." He also said in his letter: In other words, Kupchella knew that the person he was addressing fully understood the issues involved and didn't feel the need to rehash all of them. You can continue to claim that the NCAA vote on the scholarship issue (which came in January 2005) had no influence on how Kupchella viewed the DI-AA issue last December, but having conducted live radio interviews with both Phil Harmeson and Roger Thomas on that very subject, I know for a fact that it was a consideration of UND's administration at that time. Again, the only point to all of this is that the Kupchella quote you continue to dredge up and repeat ad naseum is no longer relevant because: 1. The NCAA didn't cut DII football scholarships. 2. NDSU wasn't invited to join the BSC. 3. UND wasn't invited to join the BSC. And because none of those three things happened, my perception is that the "pride and emotion" factor isn't quite as strong now as it was then.

Note the statement below from this Herald article: To me, this implies that there will be some connection between the Fargo and Grand Forks bases and units that doesn't currently exist.

I'm considering the possibility that the Fargo ANG unit might be realigned (i.e. relocated) to GFAFB.

The unit might not need F-16s, but I'm thinking that it should probably have some helicopters and guys with M-16s and SAWs riding in them to check out any suspicious activity spotted by a UAV.

I had the same reaction. Just picturing a bunch of artist-types wandering around an abandoned Air Force base in the middle of nowhere made me laugh. I suppose they could do some nice sidewalk art on the runway.

You mean that John Hoff might not be able to open his art community out there?

I was thinking the same thing.

I assumed that "next season" meant the fall of 2005. But maybe I'm reading it wrong, too.

I don't know. Was Kupchella the president of UND during those prior reductions? If not, what happened back then is no more relevant to the discussion today than Kupchella's quote from last December when the situation facing UND was much different.

Next year or next season?

Here's an idea: Because the Golden Eagles nickname wasn't PC enough, and the Gold nickname wasn't PC enough, they should next try becoming the Marquette Go.

So I'm the only person who remembers when the NCAA was considering a proposal to drop DII football scholarships from 36 to 24? That's what Kupchella was referring to when he made the statement.

That quote, of which you're so fond, is out of context. Kupchella made it at a time when NCAA changes might have forced UND to move to DI-AA, regardless of whether it made sense to do so. Those changes never occurred. Thus, the quote is no longer relevant.

The 1970s or the 1870s?

James Lileks, one of my favorite columnists, grew up in Fargo and has a cool Web site dedicated to his hometown.

Vaht?

The head hockey coach position was never advertised externally. Therefore, Bowen couldn't apply for it. I know for a fact that alumni association employees are not UND employees. Their payroll and benefits are totally separate from UND.

You're a flippin' idiot! Good thing I used smiley faces. Otherwise, someone might think I made a personal attack.

Yeah, but I I'm the only one who really is.

I have a premonition that you're my long-lost brother.

Actually, there were a lot of complaints about that, too.