Herd

If all your sports are DI, I'd say that the little pond is gone. Some DI FCS football teams try to stay in the shallow end, but the pond is big when you jump in against the FBS teams on a regular basis.

Dave, if I had an inferiority complex, I wouldn't want anything to do with playing FBS teams. I'd stay away from them, I'd be afraid of them, I wouldn't want anything to do with them. In fact, I'd sound an awful lot like you who doesn't want FCS team to even get a shot at playing FBS. I'd stay in DII as long as I could to be a big fish in a little pond. I do not have an feriority complex. I look forward to playing Wyoming, and I expect to complete and win. I expect my team to be at the FBS level in the next 10 years and complete at the highest level. That's what being in DI is all about. I expect my basketball team to win 23 games and goto the dance in 2008 and get a 13 seed and win in the first round. Do I sound like someone who has an inferiority complex. All you want to do is tear down the FCS football and be-little DI. You my friend feel inferior. Thankfully the adminstration at UND does not share your DI inferiority complex. They are not afraid.

And I suppose if you had a chance to double your income, you'd just stay in your old job, right?

Wrong . . . there is just one DI Classification. Within DI, for football only, there are two sub-divisions, but both are within the DI Classification. Read your handbook, and get your facts straight man.

I like to watch DI FCS teams beat FBS conference champions, Big Ten teams, and grab national media attention. Don't you? The more DI vs DI games, the better! You, errrrr, not so much! You'd rather watch them play DII's and wallow in anonimity? That sound about right? Yep, you are entitled, but you're not in the majority.

Man, that post is sour grapes if I've ever seen them. MN has 1 win in 2007, but 7 of 12 games were decided by 7 points or less and 3 games in OT. They played within 7 of Wisconsin and 5 of Iowa. If your school ever beats a Big 10 team, which I doubt will happen, It will be a big deal, and I will give them credit. When MN wins 7 games this year and goes to bowl with mostly the same players as NDSU beat last year, what excuse will you have then?

For App St's team and coaches, the championship was in Chatty. The win is Michigan would have been pretty empty without the NC.

Let's see now: Your school is spending Millions of dollars annually to . . . meet DI academic standards, upgrade existing academic programs, hire new faculty, improve facilities, appeal to students nationally, ungrade athletics to DI standards, recruit athletes nationally, complete on a national scale in all sports, complete for DI championships in all sports, gain acceptance in a DI conference, upgrade its Marketing profile, etc, etc, etc . . . And all some people are concerned about is the fact that your football stadium is not as large as Ohio State's, and your name recognition is not as good as USC's? You would prefer to refer to your schools as DII? Nice, Your President and AD must love the support! Hopefully it is a small percentage that have this small mindedness syndrome.

I am just providing factual information. There is nothing to argue about, there are just . . . 1) Facts 2) Opinions. DI schools are DI regardless of their pocketbook, enrollment, football stadium, public perception, or small minded fans. It's not a matter of opinion. Many on this board would rather refer to their sports programs as Division II, that's OK with me.

Wow, you are clueless. There are not Sub-Sub-Division of FBS, and there are not Sub-Sub-Divisions of FCS. The FBS is the 85 scholarship level, and the FCS 0-63 scholarship level for DI schools only. A DI school with 85 scholarships for football plays in the FBS sub-division A DI school with 63 scholarships for football plays in the FCS sub-division A DI school with 0 scholarships for football plays in the FCS sub-division A DI school without football is just DI. Without football, it doesn't matter, just DI. For 63 or 0, they are both FCS, they are not referred to any differently.

There are not multiple divisions of DI, there is only DI. When NDSU plays Wisconsin in any sport (including football), it is two DI schools playing. What part of this don't you understand? You should maybe rethink your above post, you kinda missed it as far as the actual facts are concerned. NCAA Divisions: (That's all folks, just 3 divisions) This is just a cold hard fact, not an opinion to vote on. DI DII DIII

There are 11 DI FBS football conferences that play for the DI FBS championship called the "BCS Championship". There are 6 FBS conferences that have auto-bids to BCS Bowls. BCS is a Championship, not a conference. The conferences are FBS, but the top 6 have elite status with their BCS auto-bids. Using the incorrect nomenclature (IA/IAA) to incorrectly label schools big and small is so technically wrong and misleading that I don't know where to start. To assume that DI is all about football is crazy talk. Thankfully the ncaa is wiser than U.

Same Divisoin Dave, different sub-divisions. They play in the same Division, DI. FBS/FCS games are good for college football, and even better when the games are competitive. This will be a good game and a good test for UND. Thankfully it's next year, so there is a year to grow the program.

When you are not playoff eligible for 4 years though, does it really matter? They can start worrying about their reputation in years 3 and 4. For now this game serves to up the profile of sioux athletics in the minds of their fans, and provides a decent payday. That's all. If in years 3 and 4 they are playing games that could be potential body bag games, then I'd start to worry a little more. When FBS games are only 1-2 games a year, its not that big of a deal, even if you get blown out once. Idaho is different, they're FBS. They usually have multiple body bag games a year, some in conference. Multiple beat downs do nothing for your program.

Good scheduling move by the Sioux. Its TT Raiders, not the Aggies or Longhorms, so I'm not convinced it will be a blowout. TT sometimes steps up to the top group, but not consistently like the Aggies and Horms. Good scheduling move.

Loyal DI FCS fans who support the best interests of DI FCS do not use the wrong nomenclature.

By the way, what do your favorite sports have to do with NCAA nomenclature? Does the NCAA check with you and inquire about your favorite sports before they make nomenclature decisions? I'm glad to you shared your favorites with the board, but it's not relevant to the discussion, and technically academics is very relavant to the discussion.

If you are talking DI, all DI schools are DI. If you are talking football only, then technically you classify DI teams by sub-division based on the championship they play for: (remembering all schools are DI) FBS: Ohio State, Ball State, Louisiana Monroe, USC, Alabama, Tulane, Akron, Minnesota, Duke, Buffalo, etc FCS: UND, NDSU, Valpo, UMass, Delaware, App St, Bulter, Drake, San Diego, UNI, S.IL, MT, etc In all other sports in DI, everyone is just DI with no subdivisions, all competing for the same championship. Being DI and competing for the FCS championship isn't too bad of company. There are a lot of DI FBS schools that could not win the DI FCS championship, and a lot of DI FBS schools that have nothing on their DI FCS bretheren. Every year the talent pool increases and the DI FBS/FCS gap closes a little further.

Who is on par with ND and USC in football? MN certainly isn't, should we call MN less than DI? This isn't about football, it's about academics and athletics, all athletics. It's about the standards that are set for your school, the level that you are certified at, and the championships that you complete for. DI is DI, there are not different levels of DI. Yes, everthing that I said is technically correct. Your arguements are not technically correct.

Schools like Southern Illinois with a top flight basketball team understand the change and its importance for Basketball and the fact that it has nothing to do with trying to act big. For NCAA Divisions, there are only 3 . . . DI, DII, DIII. As a school, you are either DI, DII, or DIII. All DI schools compete for the same championships in all sports accept football where there are "Sub"-Divisions of DI. Again, there are not different divisions in DI, there are only football Sub-divisions. If you are a DI school with football, there are two Sub-Divisions of DI. FBS (85 schollies) and FCS (63/0 schollies). Both are Sub-Divisions of DI. The old Division labels DI-A & DI-AA are incorrect references, and do not create a fair playing field for recruiting in non-football sports. When Southern Illinois recruits in baseball and basketball against Louisiana Monroe, should Southern Illinois be referred to as being at a different level? Is Southern Illinois DI-AA or FCS in Basketball, of course not. Southern Illinois may play football at the DI FCS level, but you'd have a much better chance to win a basketball championship at Soutern Illinois than at Louisiana Monroe. DI FCS should only be used when referring to football, a DI school is a DI school, not something less than DI.

You are right, no it doesn't meet my definition, and I'd get out of the GWFC too if other auto-bid options were available. But the GWFC isn't too bad if your objective is to make the post-season. (most people's #1 objective, including mine) That is at least possible in the GWFC. I'd be in no hurry to leave the GWFC, as it has a good reputation. It was ranked the #1&2 FCS conference the past 2 years using the Sagarin. Please don't call people who actually know what they are talking about inconsistent, assuming that your primary objective is to make the post season someday.

You have to understand the difference between the GWFC and the GWC. In FCS DI football, half ot the conferences do not have auto-bids, and with the GWFC reputation, the conference winner will have post season chances (if elligible). Being in the GWFC isn't a bad situation . . . the GWC on the other hand, not so much.

NDSU fans are not worked up at UND's administration for joining the GWC (not to be confused with the GWFC). If UND wants to join to together with a group of independents, that is no problem for any ndsu fan, and a good idea for und. But let's not throw our brain out the door and confuse the GWC alliance with a DI conference. Conference are recognized by the NCAA, conferences have auto-berths to post season, recognized conferences take a great deal of selling and effort to join. Personally, I do no like the fact that the UND admin (it appears) is trying to dupe the people of the state into thinking that UND has amazingly reached DI conference heaven, when in fact, UND has joined a suedo-conference. In reading the Forum/Herald articles on the move, nowhere did I read that this conference did not have auto-berths and would not be recognized for 10-13 years. Did I miss this statement? Was it in the fine print somewhere? Doesn't the university have to right to clarify this very important point for their readers, or it is just a little easier for UND to let this important point slide so maybe the people of ND will think that UND has grabbed the brass conference ring. If my AD was trying to sell me on the fact that the GWC was a conference, I'd punch him in the nose and tell him to get to work on finding a real conference. Over the last 5 years I've read many boards that talked about the whole NCC moving up to DI, But it always ended with, "No, it would take 13 years to be recongized by the NCAA, there is no way we'd want to do that, that's a stupid idea". Well, you've essentially just done it with the GWC. The whole purpose for joining a DI conference is so you have direct access to an auto-berth for NCAA playoffs, not just so you can make out a schedule for your sports. There is still time to join a recognized conference by 2013, so hopefully this is just an initial step. But, don't try to tell me that there's no difference between the GWC and a recognized DI conference, I'm not as nieve as most reader of the forum/herald.

The we are 1 phrase has classic overall meaning. Its suggests . . . We are together We are Division I We are #1 in ND Whatever other ideas you have . . . MPLS, it is correct for its intended purpose. Good marketing poster!

Name a DI all-sport conference that doesn't have an auto-bid to march madness, ncaa baseball, volleyball, etc, etc, etc. That's right, there isn't one. Only the GWC, if you call it a conference. Duping your the fans with "conference" talk . . . yes, I have a problem with that.