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Sorry, but I think you are missing the point as to why most people on this forum think this way about Rob. The other candidates will not have the exact qualifications that put Rob ahead of his competition. His UND ties and knowledge of the inner-workings are the difference. None of the other candidates have that. Relationships and people skills will be paramount. The others will no doubt be more qualified fiscally because of their experience with budgets. That is not disputed. I think that's where Rob has to find a number-crunching guy to surround himself with. Team-building again will be huge like in the past when Rob was the OC for the football team, which I think is under-estimated in the big scheme of things. I also think if a vote were to happen that the people who vote would do their homework on the other candidates. No uninformed decisions would be made. If people were going to vote, I would think they would be knowledgeable about the situation and the candidates involved. Blindfolds with guns in the small of the back wouldn't be the case. I just happen to think that after the homework is done, Rob would be the guy. I just hope that Rob gets a fair chance. If he doesn't get the job now, he will never be an administrator at UND. To me, that would be a huge loss for UND. All of this of course, is just my opinion.

The next AD will be required to do much more than just balance the books. I agree with Walrus' sentiments in that the next AD - along with President-elect Kelley - will have to be a team-building diplomats who unite the campus as a whole, not just athletic department entities. Building relationships and repairing burnt bridges from past administrative mistakes will be priority number one. People skills will go a lot further than number crunching skills will at this juncture. Rob's past success at UND has been his biggest detractor in terms of his chances at getting his job in the past. Oddly enough, those same successes will be what makes him a successful athletic director. Fund raising campaigns, "Siouxper-Swings", and endowment funds of many varieties at UND have been creations of Rob Bollinger. Besides balance the budget, which I agree was a good thing, what else did Tom Buning do that is considered a positive on his legacy as UND AD? Tom Buning got a fair chance to succeed at UND. Nobody was pushing him out the door before he even started. He just failed at a very important task - people skills. He couldn't even unite his own department, much less REA, Memorial Stadium, and the alumni community. I think Rob Bollinger is capable of doing all of these things and more. I'll admit that I was upset at how the whole presidential process went down. In hindsight, I still believe the committee should have forwarded 3 names to the SBoHE like they were charged to do. If protocol had been followed and the SBoHE determined Robert Kelley was the right hire, so be it. Having said that, I think 'outsider' Robert Kelley will be a fine President for this institution. I think having an 'insider' in the athletic department would be a good balance of old and new. Opinions have always and will always vary on these topics and I respect that. One thing that is not disputed, is that the vast majority think that Rob Bollinger is the most qualified candidate. The people and community support the school. If it doesn't work, then we will have nobody to blame but the people of the community, who in my opinion have the best interest of UND in mind. They also happen to be the same people who understand the cultures and traditions that have made UND the success it is, both academically and athletically. If this went to a public election tomorrow, Rob Bollinger would win in a landslide. What would be wrong with that? Why not execute the people's will? Fundamentally, it is the right thing to do.

Ok, I must admit I was wrong. My 'gut' is in some serious pain right now Kudos to those who were 'in the know'. It would be really cool however if Bollinger put his name in the ring. I think he would be great.

Spinach & Wheaties.

I will reiterate what I stated earlier in this thread. Don't count out RP yet. I still have a 'gut' feeling about it.

Are you a gopher grad by any chance?

That's because football home playoff games were old-hat for UND fans. The luster and novelty of playing WSU in the first round or two every year got old. For ndsu D2 home playoff games in the fargodome, I'm sure it was about........ Gee this is stupid, just go away.

Ok, this is bothering me. I'll take my verbal abuse from all the hockey "die-hards" on this one. The Fighting Sioux nickname is not special because of UND hockey. That is so simple-minded. I realize that St. Peter said he is a passionate UND hockey fan, as well as other athletics, but specifically hockey. That is beside the point. I really despise some of the 'holier than thou' hockey attitudes on this forum. Anybody who thinks that it is all about hockey is fanatical, disenchanted and delusional. What about the other sports on campus, both men and women? What about the academic departments on campus that set UND apart from other college campuses across the nation? Undergrad, masters and doctoral programs? Research programs? What about the hard-working "midwesterner" core values that UND graduates learn while on campus that employers find extremely valuable when searching for future employees for their respective companies? What about the successful leaders of the past administrations that have made UND what it is today? How about the UND graduates of the business world, both locally and nationwide (St. Peter being one of them)? What would Grand Forks be today without UND? It's the pride of Grand Forks, and the pride of the state of North Dakota - the flagship institution of the state. It's about all those things and more that make the Fighting Sioux name so important and special to most people. How about the SIOUX-bison rivalry in all sports, with the exception of hockey? It's the history and the pride of the University of North Dakota from many years past that make the name what it is today. I also agree that there are indeed two sides to the argument, and that people should respect that. I think the name is held in a respectable manner. Others see it differently. Do I agree with them? No. But that's their view on a very controversial topic. The name is special because of so many different reasons. There is no doubt in my mind that hockey is one of those important reasons as well. I love watching hockey at the REA and I am a fan myself. To think that the passion related to the Fighting Sioux nickname is mostly because of hockey is ludicrous. The name is much bigger than hockey itself. Sorry, everyone. Rip away.

my "gut" tells me this isn't over yet. ray purpur is not out of the question, IMO. i guess we will see in the coming days.

I think they are alluding to the fact that one of Schepp's responsibilities was to be involved in scheduling in the athletic department during Buning's tenure as AD. I believe Memorial Stadium and Eric Schmidt ended up taking over that task.

I have to admit, I do not know how to set up the quotes format like you have done. *embarrassed* Instead, I have listed my responses in order by number. You will have to forgive me. 1. Again, while I do have questions as to who would have more interest in UND's well-being, the problem is that the committee was supposed to forward THREE candidates. That didn't happen. Your reasoning for the criteria used by the committee leads me to the problem in the first place. 2. It happens in academia and business all the time. Some people are looking to move up to their dream job, which was the case for Bruce Smith and Dean Elbert. When they don't get the opportunity they have applied for, they sometimes feel compelled to look elsewhere because they feel they have reached their ceiling within ther current organization. Others are just happy where they are at professionally and never apply for positions like this. More power to them. Maybe "egg on their face" was a bad choice of words, but you get the point. By the way, I could only wish Harmeson was cleaning out his office. I'm not really sure I would quit my job if I were him either. What exactly does he do? I know in the past he was always listed as an instructor for Business Law classes at UND and never actually taught it. 3. Again, if the process was handled properly, I don't think this option would be as available to Smith and Elbert. Apparently I would hate to see these two go more than you would. I don't share the same "oh well" view that you have. 4. Stated poorly again. You are right, there are other things that need addressing besides athletics. However, you are kidding yourself if those things aren't directly related to the success of the athletic department during the transition. I think research, academics, enrollment and athletics are all tied together in terms of relative success during this period.

As much as either or both of you might suspect, I have never just pondered and come up with a random thought, and then decided to try force it as fact on the general public on this message board, especially when it regards the integrity of administration of this fine institution's many different entities and factions. I really don't think Walrus has ever done that either. Those thoughts are strictly based on the opinions of individual posters who choose to come here and opine in regards to the University of North Dakota, right or wrong, which is the basis and foundation of this site, or so I thought. I have no problem admitting that I have been wrong in the past, and have no doubt that I will be wrong in the future. However, I do not feel like I am in the wrong at this juncture for stating my opinion on this matter in a way that apparently have some accusing me of being a "conspiracy theorist". An opinion that is based on conversations that I have had with people close to the situation. Relating the comment about Tony buying the KGB to my thoughts is insulting to me, but again you are free to choose your words as you deem necessary on this forum with the obvious exception of violation of certain standards that have been discussed at length in the past. It is my opinion that the committee botched this process. I also think that a vast majority of the general public feel slighted by how this committee handled the selection process. As an earlier poster stated, I think a lot of the backlash could have been prevented by simply forwarding the 3 candidates for the SBoHE to decide on. If and when they had ultimately decided that Kelley was their choice, then I think acceptance would have come much easier by everyone involved, including the opinions of the general public. I believe that personal politics and agendas played out and were the reason that this unfortunate instance occurred. In addition to that, we have two Deans of two major colleges on campus who are both alums of UND that have egg on their face. What will they do next? I really hope that we don't lose both of these men because of how the committee handled the procedure. A committee that was handpicked and selected based on the notion that they have UND's best interests in mind. That would be tragic for UND in the present and in the future. Having said that, if Kelley is named the next president I will have no doubt that he is qualified and I will wish him nothing but the best of luck leading UND into the realm of D1 athletics. He has some very tough decisions to make in the very near future.

There is no doubt in my mind that Tim O'Keefe has the best interests of UND Hockey in mind, and would go to the umpteenth degree to ensure its well-being. That, I do not doubt.

I respectfully disagree. I hope I'm wrong, but my gut tells me otherwise.

Hmmmm.....that's interesting. I think Walrus is on to something in regards to the 4-5 theory, which is all it would take. Tim O'Keefe pushing for something like that makes you wonder. What type of personal politics and agendas were really involved in this process here? IMO, O'Keefe, Paulsen, Goetz = . Something about this whole deal has stunk from the beginning. Since there are open records laws for virtually everything involving the university system of North Dakota, I wonder why the committee is immune to it. I would be very interested to see who did not vote for Smith and Elbert. If nothing else, I would like to see justifications from those people on why they felt these two internal candidates were not "qualified". I think the public in general would like to see this. Maybe it would help make everyone really "understand" the situation.

You are correct Sic, my bad. I guess I will just put my tail between my legs and go back to my hole.

While I agree with some of your points, I have to respectfully disagree with the majority of them. We are in this position because we are replacing two administrators who really didn't get the job done, both of whom weren't "UND guys". Kupchella and Buning were both outsiders. We could have had Rob Bollinger in Buning's place. Why didn't he get the job? Because he was a UND guy with football ties. Sticks his neck out, and then feels compelled to leave because of an apparent ceiling within his current employment environment. See ya, Rob. How about Bruce Smith? The guy is the dean of one of the most, if not THE most visible academic departments on campus that brings in students from all over the country. I think it's safe to say that the aviation program is doing quite well at UND. Why won't he be considered? Because he's a UND guy and dare I say, *whispers*.......football alum? Well now, academia can't be having that now can they? It's sad to say, but I really think there are some hidden agendas all over campus with certain entities of the University. I honestly think Dennis Elbert would have been great as well. Wait, nevermind.....another internal candidate. No chance. Enter Mr. Kelley, who I must say does have a nice looking resume. Time will tell I guess. Perhaps Mr. Kelley will turn out to indeed be the best man for the job and for UND given its current position. In my eyes, UND recently has gone out of its way to NOT hire internally. While I don't believe every hire should be a "UND guy", I do believe it is irresponsible to overlook internal candidates because they are exactly that - internal. It is my opinion that a few of the recent hires have had the best candidates right in-house. This trend is alarming. People stick their necks out for a job at the place they love, only to be turned down. I just hope UND doesn't lose guys like Bruce Smith and Dennis Elbert for the same reasons we have lost Rob Bollinger.

I'll take D2 and Kingsville over NAIA and Montana Tech in our first year of transition.

Perhaps?

Sounds like the Bruce Smith I have met in the past. The man is as "down to earth" as they come. He is going to be an outstanding president for academics and athletics. He understands the UND culture and can take this university to places it hasn't seen before. Plus he had a great career playing defensive end for the Buffalo Bills.

I thought Chappy would be in the mix with that crew.

1. No 2. No 3. No 4. No

Probably not the thing that the boosters and administration want to be hearing at a press conference for the hiring of their new football coach. What if the Sioux end up playing the Salukis in the playoffs in 5 years? However, when he says he bleeds green, I think he means: 1. He will do everything in his power to assure that ndsu does not win conference titles in the Gateway, or win national championships in the playoffs. 2. Off the field, he can severely hamper ndsu's recruiting tactics in the state of Illinois, which self-admittedly, has been a big target for ndsu recently. 3. He could help UND in terms of scheduling during the transition, even if it's only one game against SIU. Also, if he ended up moving on to a FBS school in a few years, he could help in scheduling as well. 4. If Lennon has aspirations of being the AD at UND eventually, which I'm not even sure if he does, then this would be a good way of "leaving to come back" after our next AD moves on. Of course these are just my personal theories and hopes for reasoning of this whole deal.

Maybe this was just an erroneous omission in the article, but wasn't UNO recruiting this kid? I have a hard time believing they weren't recruiting him when he's in their back yard. Especially since NWMSU, now UNO's biggest rival, was after him. This class is really close to being considered "great" already and we haven't even hit January yet. I have heard of a few other offers that we still have on the table right now out there to top level kids. If even a handful of those kids commit, this class will be unbelievable. Merry Christmas