JackJD

I would think the same if I was a UND fan. The final three or four weeks of the football season in Grand Forks compared to Brookings have the potential to be very different. When UND enters the MVFC, I am sure I will make the trip to Grand Forks and there will be days when I appreciate an indoor game.

With apologies to those who think that facts about SDSU's stadium don't merit much attention on UND's fan message board (and they really don't but I wanted to respond to Superfan since he seems to be such a friendly fellow). I want to confirm one point in particular: Highest attended home game in SDSU's 2016 season was Youngstown State as I had earlier written. 17,730 on 10/.22/16. It was SDSU's annual "Hobo Day" homecoming. The USD game that season was played in Brookings 11/22/16 before 15,345. Source: gojacks.com, football, 2016 season record. There's no question that as the weather gets colder, the crowds get smaller. I'm in the camp of those optimists who believe that if we continue to have good success and bring in good opponents, the crowds will show up. Look, I attended December Vikings games at the old Met Stadium when it looked like the crowd was more prepared to go ice fishing than watch football. Those were fun times. I haven't been to a Packers home game but my friends who are Packers fans seem to talk mostly about the coldest game days as being the best. Clarification on one other statement: The $65 million for the stadium was not all donated money. About half was donated and the other approx. half was funded through the sale of bonds. The indoor facility, the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, had a cost of about $32 million -- all donations. Playoff game attendance has been a mystery to me. No question in my mind the weather along with sometimes unfamiliar foes, and conflicts with Thanksgiving etc. combine to cause poor attendance. Some may also guess that SDSU's football "traditions" prior to moving to Division I were not strong and so the fan support was lacking. I think there's a learning curve. I've been to all football playoff games in Brookings (I live in Watertown) and I'm convinced that if the Jacks can continue to be successful, the crowds will show up. We have fans living in Watertown and Sioux Falls, both less than an hour away, who have climbed on the bandwagon since the transition to Div 1 and are now season ticket holders. That's where I expect a lot of the growth and consistent program support to come from. UNDBiz is right: any indoor stadium would have been significantly more expensive than the stadium just completed. It's an easy trip from Grand Forks to Brookings...looking forward to seeing the UND fans when UND joins the MVFC in 20-21.

I attended one game at UND's Memorial Stadium...1975. UND beat the Jackrabbits 35-14 (revenge for the SDSU 55, UND 6 win in Brookings in 1974 (I had to look at the media guide to be reminded of those results). In those years, the UND v SDSU game usually fell mid-season. I recall the weather in Grand Forks for the 1975 game was cold and a little windy but there was no snow. I have not been in the Alerus Center. Some info on SDSU's stadium, opened in 2016: SDSU built its new stadium (completed by 2016 season) to facilitate a growing fan base. The weather in Brookings in November usually is very tolerable for outdoor football. I think SDSU fans overwhelmingly wanted to continue playing outdoor football. The combined season home-game attendance trend line since SDSU moved to D-1 justified building the 19,340-capacity stadium, a $65 million facility. To build an indoor facility that can accommodate the crowds we're getting would have been cost prohibitive. To build an indoor stadium now for under $100 million would have resulted in a seating capacity that could not handle some of the crowds we've had. (When we built the new stadium, SDSU spent more than $100 million in athletic facilities that year including the indoor practice facility and track.) The revenue stream from the new stadium is easily meeting (and exceeding) projections . If the growth in the fan base continues, the place will rock no matter the temperature like so many other outdoor stadiums in the country (I'd like to see us do what U of Montana does). I've missed one home football game in the past 10 year and that was an early-season game and not weather related (somebody was dumb enough to set a wedding on a Saturday in the Fall so I gave my tickets to a good friend). The two largest crowds in the first two years of the stadium's life, were both late-season games: 17,730 for Youngstown State on 10/22/16 (of which only a few hundred were YSU fans and the rest were SDSU fans); and 18,130, the stadium record set last season, 11/4/17, for the NDSU game (NDSU had a nice crowd, I'd estimate 1500 to 1800 Bison fans...they'll claim more). We had six regular-season home games and hosted one playoff game in 2016 and six regular-season home games and two playoff games in 2017. Six of the regular-season games in the past two years had crowds in excess of 15,000. In addition to the YSU and NDSU games mentioned, the third greatest crowd at the stadium was 16,887 against Cal Poly 9/17/16. SDSU's stadium was designed for easy expansion on the east side (foundation; footings, in the ground). If we somehow get to the point where we routinely sell out then the capacity will be increased. The SDSU stadium facility is available for year-round use. There are meeting rooms including one particularly large room (the "71 Club" during football games) which is condusive to large events like wedding receptions. The stadium was opened in August of 2016 with a Luke Bryan, Little Big Town concert with about 24,000 in attendance.

Other conference news: SDSU's Mike Daum confirms he'll be in a Jackrabbit uniform for final season: https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/college/south-dakota-state-university/2018/05/02/mike-daum-excited-back-south-dakota-state-big-senior-season/573147002/

The discussion on the merits of going to Sioux Falls brings to mind a true story: I ran on SDSU's track team a long time ago in the NCC days. In that particular time, SDSU and UNI were the dominant track teams in the conference. During the spring of about my junior year, four guys from UND's track team showed up at the SDSU track practice. I knew one of the guys - competed against him -- good guy. He came up to me and inquired about whether our coach would approve of the four UND guys training with us that week. The coach said that was fine with him. I asked the UND guy I knew what they were doing in Brookings. He said they were on Spring Break. I couldn't believe it: "You came to Brookings for spring break?" The guy laughed and admitted they went "south" for a spring break trip,. He told me about the snow and weather when they had left Grand Forks a day or two before. Ouch. True story. The weather in Sioux Falls during the Summit League Tourney is usually -- but not always -- better by a long shot than the weather in Grand Forks. I've been to every Summit League Tourney since SDSU joined and will continue to go even if SDSU doesn't have a team in the tourney. I hope a lot of UND fans can make the annual trip. If you can get a room in the Sheraton Hotel attached to the convention center and the Premier Center, you can stay indoors the entire weekend and watch a lot of great basketball. I live about 90 minutes from Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls is a growing city with a lot of good restaurants etc. I'm looking forward to UND joining the Summit League.

While much of the attendance is local, the hotels fill up anyway. I live 80 minutes away from Sioux Falls and have attended every Summit League Tourney held in Sioux Falls (10). The fans I know who live in Brookings (easy 40-minute drive) stay in Sioux Falls for the tourney. I book my hotel room at the Sheraton for the next year when I'm checking out at the completion of the current tourney. The Sheraton is attached by indoor walkways to the Premier Center and the Sheraton sells out for the tourney. Other hotels near the venue fill up too. UND basketball fans may want to consider booking rooms now for next year's tourney (stay as close to the venue as possible -- beer is sold in the Premier Center . Even if a fan's team doesn't make the championship, it's still great basketball and the start of March Madness, the best time of the year for BB fans.

Game stats here: http://www.gojacks.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=8775

BarnWinterSports: I do not know the answer. I do not know if there is a conference rule or if the amount is negotiated for each game or between two schools. I was told SDSU and NDSU guarantee each other 500 tickets for the visiting team.

That's close but not entirely accurate. SDSU has made a concerted effort to increase attendance. (We had 15,806 this past weekend and that was a little disappointing - likely the wet and cool weather early in the day scared off a few. The game was the annual Beef Bowl and that is always one of the better crowds at SDSU. We count attendance by actual bodies going through the turnstiles. There were several seats near my seats that were empty -- those are season tickets so the school has the revenue but it counts nothing for our attendance unless those people show up.) Part of the effort has been to give some fans priority for purchasing additional tickets. For example, I have four season tickets so I had a very early opportunity (weeks ago) to purchase four additional tickets and did so. There were other incentives offered as September 18 approached. Sept 18 was the announced date for tickets being offered to the general public. There were relatively few tickets available in the past week to 10 days and they were essentially bought by the end of the week. I think anything a school can do to encourage its fans to support its teams is great. That will lead to more season ticket sales and more casual fans becoming regular ticket buyers. NDSU serves as a model: its season ticket sales are excellent. Consequently, as we all know, its hard to get a lot of opposing fans into the seats for a game in Fargo. I've been there when there were quite a few empty seats but those seats were sold. All schools need to maximize their revenue. A couple years ago when NDSU played at SDSU, Sanford Health bought tickets to the game to hand out to Sanford employees in Fargo. Hmmm....oh well, best is to have all the seats (except the minimum guaranteed to a visiting team) sold to SDSU fans for a game in Brookings but second best is to have all of the seats sold to someone so that those seats are producing revenue. On UND's ticket office making a call: I'm confident SDSU's ticket office would tell UND's ticket office what it is doing to maximize attendance by SDSU fans. Those policies were laid out in emails to SDSU season tickets holders and those who had purchased tickets (not just season tickets) in the past. It is to the advantage of both the MVFC and the Summit League that all of their member schools make a lot of money at home events and that includes SDSU and will include UND. A relatively few NDSU fans are upset with SDSU but that isn't a concern. The Benjamins are in the bank.

USD Coach Nielsen in his second year at the helm. I'm real concerned about what he'll be doing in his third and fourth season at USD.

I stand corrected: FSSD and jdub27 are correct in pointing out in posts responding to a post I made, USD agreed to join the Summit League for the 2011-12 school year. I had written "USD was not in the Summit at the time (it was certainly being pursued by the Summit but the lack of a home for USD football was a big sticking point)...." I suppose I could have claimed that technically, in 2010, USD was not in the Summit but the fact is, which I had forgotten, sometime in 2010 USD had agreed to join the Summing starting in 2011-12. It was in the fall of 2010 that USD gave serious consideration to moving to the Big Sky which would provide a home for USD's football team. FSSD and jdub27 both correctly stated USD had been admitted into the Summit League for the 2011-12 season. The MVFC invited USD in 2010 just before USD announced it was going to the Big Sky (the Big Sky Conference head office had announced days earlier that USD was "on the verge" of announcing it was joining the Big Sky). As a result, USD followed through with joining the Summit League effective 2011-12 and entered the MVFC in 2012. I did a little digging on this topic. The following are interesting reading: First, a press release from UND dated 10/5/10 ":Summit League to conduct site visit to UND" which can still be found on the UND site: http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=205006602 From the UND release (confirms FSSD's and jdub27's comment that USD had agreed to join the Summit starting 2011-12): "Now in its 29th year, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 125,000 at 10 member institutions: Centenary College of Louisiana, IPFW (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), UMKC (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Oral Roberts University, South Dakota State University, Southern Utah University and Western Illinois University. The Summit League has two associate members in the University of South Dakota, who will begin full Summit League membership in 2011-12 and currently serves as an associate member for swimming and diving, and Eastern Illinois University, which currently competes in swimming and diving and will join in men's soccer in 2011." Here's a story (I'm pasting the entire story with apologies -- I don't know if this board's rules proscribe pasting an entire published story) from the Bozeman, MT, Daily Chronicle, published a month later, 11/4/10, having the headline "South Dakota Will Not Join Big Sky Conference" http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sports/bobcats/south-dakota-will-not-join-big-sky-conference/article_a76f88ac-e871-11df-b0ea-001cc4c002e0.html The Big Sky Conference is no longer “on the verge” of adding the University of South Dakota. But so far, that hasn’t affected the thinking of the University of North Dakota or Montana State. According to a press release issued Thursday, the University of South Dakota has joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference and Summit League just three days after the Big Sky was counting on the school to bring it to 14 teams for football and 12 for all other sports. Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton, whose conference had said it was “on the verge” of announcing the addition of South Dakota Monday, said he found out about USD’s change in plans at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. This was after Missouri Valley commissioner Patty Viverito called South Dakota athletic director David Sayler on Tuesday morning asking if it was too late to offer his school an invitation to her conference. “He just kind of sighed and told me he’d have to get back to me,” Viverito said. Viverito admitted that the nine-team MVFC only became interested in South Dakota after realizing the school could be added by itself to bring the conference to 10 teams. “As early as August, we had some serious conversations about expansion looking at a 12-team format,” Viverito said. “The thought was that North Dakota, South Dakota and Southern Utah would all be looking for homes.” But when it became clear that Southern Utah was more interested in the Big Sky, Viverito said the MVFC’s university presidents soured on the idea of expansion. (On Monday, Southern Utah and North Dakota announced they were joining in the Big Sky). “There was no support about abandoning an optimum nine-team league in favor of an 11-team model, which has challenges,” Viverito said. “The 10-team model, on the other hand, was one we were willing to consider.” Two of the schools currently on board with the MVFC are South Dakota State and North Dakota State, which compete in the conference for football and the Summit League for all other sports. South Dakota, which has not played tradition rival SDSU since 2004, will now have the same arrangement with both conferences. At this point, Viverito said her league is not interested in adding North Dakota. It means UND will become one of 11 full Big Sky members and 13 teams for football in 2012, which would mean, Fullerton said, that the league would not split up into divisions. Instead, Fullerton said, the Big Sky will use a football scheduling model similar to the one that had previously been used by the Big Ten when the league had 11 members. “They play rivals every year, plus they rotate the rest of the league through,” he said. This odd number of teams in the league also affects basketball scheduling. While having more teams allows the conference to schedule more Division I basketball games, something that Fullerton said has become difficult in the West, having 11 teams will make scheduling difficult. With an odd number of teams, the easier travel partner scheduling model will still be impossible. “Anytime you have an odd number in basketball, it’s more awkward,” Fullerton said. “I will absolutely agree with that.” In the immediate future, Fullerton said the conference is not planning on adding any more schools. “I think the presidents want to take a breath,” he said. “There is a lot of talk going on in the big conferences about expanding. I believe we’re about to enter in to another round.” Some of that talk is coming from the Big East Conference. On Tuesday, the Football Bowl Subdivision league’s presidents agreed, according to ESPN, that it would be “in their best interest” to add two football schools. The possible addition of TCU or Central Florida to the Big East, which has been mentioned, could send ripple affects through the WAC, which could also be felt by the Big Sky. Regardless, this question has been raised: What will happen with North Dakota? Now the lone Dakota school left out of the Missouri Valley and Summit League, UND athletic director Brian Faison said things have changed since the school agreed to join the Big Sky Monday, but not enough to sap the excitement level in Grand Forks. “We knew all along that South Dakota had some issues they needed to get cleared up internally,” Faison said. “Our interest was never paired with theirs.” While Faison said “it would have certainly been nice” to have South Dakota in the Big Sky and that “it’s really too early to quantify” what UND fans think, he reaffirmed that “the Big Sky is still where North Dakota wants to be.” “We went from Monday to Thursday with a lot of ying and yang in the middle, but this is a big deal to step into a whole different level of competitiveness,” Faison said. “You look at this conference’s brand, it’s so strong. We’re rock solid on the Big Sky.” If UND decides it isn’t rock solid with the agreement it signed Monday, which doesn’t require the school to be a Big Sky member for a minimum number of years, Fullerton said there could be a financial penalty. But only if UND goes about it “the wrong way.” Fullerton didn’t explain what that way would be, but said if North Dakota was up front about all its dealings before an exit from the conference there would be no buyout fee. If the school chose to seek a new conference home behind the Big Sky’s back, Fullerton said, it would be charged a buyout fee of $1 million. Okay, I'll let myself out of the room and assign myself to message-board detention after submitting the longest post on a minor point barely connected to the topic of this thread. JackJD

I think the above post is not entirely correct. USD was not in the Summit at the time (it was certainly being pursued by the Summit but the lack of a home for USD football was a big sticking point). USD was preparing to announce it was joining the Big Sky (the Big Sky even let it out that USD would be joining) because, same for UND, it was the desirable "one home" for all its sports. That was certainly a sound reason for joining the Big Sky. But, behind the curtains, working rapidly over a day or two, several MVFC coaches (including SDSU's and NDSU's) were lobbying to convince the MVFC conference schools that inviting USD to the MVFC would be a smart thing. With a home for football, the Summit was now more attractive (travel; rivalries etc.). At that point, UND had already announced it was going to the Big Sky. The case was made that adding one more school to the MVFC would be a good move and the MVFC schools' Presidents' approval was obtained. USD President Abbott wanted it in writing and got that by facsimile and then USD announced it was joining the Summit and the MVFC. Favors weren't called in. It was more a matter of those having some say concluding that getting USD in the MVFC was a good move (MVFC travel, conference scheduling etc.). I hope UND can find a quick solution to the new budget issue. If I had a close connection to UND, I would feel the same frustration noted by Geaux Sioux in a post in this thread -- you've had enough distractions in recent times that tend to draw the focus away from the fact that UND is a very good university and has a solid athletics program overall that looks to be getting stronger each year. I have a nephew now enrolled at UND and I think he's getting a great education and the school will have a very loyal alum in a few years.

I did some editing on my prior post and then went back to the board to read the comments of Southpaw and Siouxperfan. I think I have the picture now. I think SiouxValley's view that there are still a lot of changes possible in FCS and FBS is a solid point. Speculating on where the heck it may all end up may be entertaining to some. I have a very hard time believing there is any measurable support at SDSU or USD for the version of the future predicted by SiouxVolley. I know it may not be a popular opinion with many posters on this board but I would not be opposed to UND being in the Summit and MVFC with SDSU. There was a time when I would have questioned that due to the nastiness of having UND and NDSU in the same conference once again but it just makes sense to me to have a close DI school in the same conference. When I was in undergrad at SDSU, UND was a perennial leader in many sports in the NCC as well as being recognized as a top -- perhaps THE top -- NCC school in academics.

I have read the questions about why would some of the NDSU fans be so interested in what SiouxVolley has written. I also note that SiouxValley tends to lump SDSU and NDSU together ( If my Jackrabbits could get a national title, being associated with the Bison might not be too bad??) I want to make a distinction that when I questioned SiouxVolley prediction made May 7, I did so because (1) it was presented as fact, supported by actual facts (compared to just idle message board speculation).; and (2) it made references to both USD and SDSU, two schools I attended. I am a relatively infrequent visitor to this board so I admit I do not have the benefit of watching the day-to-day goings on by reading every post. When I signed on May 7 and saw the statement of fact "This coming week, Idaho's Staben will make a statement and a plea...." I wondered what SiouxVolley knew about USD and SDSU etc. I see now that SiouxVolley was engaging in message board speculation -- he presented his speculation as though it was fact based. I get it: Discount what SiouxValley writes. )

I am not offering any opinions on behalf of SDSU. And I have no opinion on what is good for UND. I was prompted to quote Siouxvolley more out of amazement on yet another prediction -- running through my head is the question "How does a guy make that stuff up?" Since the prediction starts to unfold "this coming week" with an announcement from Idaho, I guess we'll soon know whether some sort of apology should be offered to Siouxvolley.

You won't get an argument from me on NDSU or SDSU getting a full MVC invite. I, too, don't see that happening.

Shouldn't you add to the 'guts and brain' combination, a strong dose of blinding hatred for certain other schools? If your prediction turns out to be wrong, what will be your explanation? I may be wrong but I have a hunch you have your cover story already worked out.

As one would expect, when the SDSU men went into the tank in the early transition years, some fans started the customary "fire the coach" talk. I always thought Nagy's job was very secure as far as the administration was concerned. He had an excellent record in DII. When SDSU left DII, Nagy was snake-bit: we lost an outstanding guard who transferred to DII, we lost the NCC freshman player of the year to serious illness, a top recruit from Illinois had a season-ending injury (he then transferred out and played at U of Illinois); one player was accused of sexual assault and a second player was implicated as an accessory so they were both dismissed from the team (the guy charged took it to a trial and was acquitted, then played for a junior college in California followed by a couple good seasons as Kansas State). In the 05-06 season, Nagy had eight players so he begged four athletes from the football team to join the basketball roster...good idea but didn't amount to a lot. I was impressed that Nagy didn't fire SDSU by moving on. I think SDSU's transition was "unique" and probably cannot be used to shed any light on the experience of any other school. Man, it was tough going to Frost in those years. On Mike Daum: Daum had an offer from Wyoming and from several DII schools but he clicked with Coach Nagy's staff. His parents were college athletes -- I have been told his mother still holds scoring records as a basketball player for Wyoming. He spent his redshirt year in the weight room and it really paid off. We've watched him improve each game this season. He is still working on his defense but if he can keep on anything close to the current trajectory, I won't be surprised if as a senior, he'll be called the best ever at SDSU. I really like Daum's press interviews. He is very articulate and doesn't talk in the usual cliches that most athletes seem to use in interviews. Added: I understand Coach Nagy thinks highly of your coach Jones. (Yeah, there's a reason for that: UND gives SDSU fits on the hardcourt.) I've heard him in conversations be very complimentary of Jones. Nagy doesn't say stuff like that unless he is sincere about it.

I thought SDSU's facility has A/C but I did a little searching to see if my recollection is accurate -- can't substantiate it. So, I don't know if the SDSU facility has A/C.

The "field" in SDSU's facility is shorter than UND'S. SDSU's has an 80 yard field with an end zone on each end for a total of 100 yards. SDSU has jump- and field events areas outside the turf but inside the track (much like many 400-meter outdoor tracks). I understand UND'S facility has a total of 120 yards--100 yard field with an end zone on each end; and UND'S facility is so large that all field events areas are outside the track. That's a unique and very nice feature for an indoor facility. The endzone corners at each facility are rounded because of the track. The corners are clipped just a little at the SDSU facility (but, again, it has a total 100 yard field surface compared to UND'S 120 yard surface). I haven't figured out how the tracks are configured but there may be some slight differences on turn radii etc to fit the UND track around 120 yards while the SDSU track is wrapped around 100 yards. I think one would need a photo from the ceiling of each facility to see how they each fit. If I am recalling correctly, the UND facility is considerably larger than the SDSU facility -- maybe as much as like 30,000 square feet? I think SDSU's is about 150,000 sq ft while UND'S is 180,000. Those are big buildings! (Our old west-side grandstands at the football stadium, including the press box on top, would easily fit within the SDSU building. Another poster asked when the SDSU facility would be finished. I detected a little snark in the question but I'll respond as though the question was serious. The facility is essentially finished and was opened for use a year ago. The facility has a lot of natural lighting because of the ribbon of structural light-permitting panels that can be seen in the pictures. If you are inside the facility during daylight hours you will appreciate the natural lighting. We have a nice Daktonics board installed which gives near-instant results for the track and field events.

Congrats to UND! Very nice facility. I like the two-toned track surface. I will make a point of driving up to Grand Forks some day to see the facility. To give some who have not viewed a 300-meter track a little perspective: lane 8 on the 300-meter track is about the same as lane 1 of a 400 meter track. A 300-meter track has corners that are closer to a 400-meter track. You can run a 100-meter dash on one of the straightaways of that track! I ran track and I have long legs. I resented the way some real short tracks (while 200-meters is the common indoor track length, there are lots of oddball sizes like 11- and 12-laps to the mile tracks; many 180-meter tracks etc) gave an advantage to short guys who could hang on those corners better. Many of those guys faded in the outdoor season. Served them right. Damn runts. A 300-meter track is a great length. Your facility is larger than SDSU's. SDSU's facility is configured a little differently -- maybe wider and shorter. SDSU's facility has seating for something like 1500 to close to 2000 on the start/finish stretch of the SDSU track (I think it'll seat between 1500 and 2000). For those who want to take a look, here's a link to SDSU's site with pictures of its SJAC: http://www.gojacks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209449532&DB_OEM_ID=15000&DB_OEM_ID=15000 I'm very impressed by UND's ability to get that facility in place for $18 mm (I know there's a phase two coming). SDSU's facility cost $32 million (like UND's HPC, all donated). We badly needed to upgrade weight rooms, athletic training facilities etc. so that was included in our price tag. Looks great...from this former college runner (SDSU) and the dad of two college runners (also Jackrabbits): thanks for investing in track and field.

I admit not paying a lot of attention to hockey...until the Frozen Four. I admire those who are the best at what they do and once again, UND has proved they're one of the best. Congrats and I hope the national championship trophy comes to Grand Forks!

(I screwed up the quote...here's my response): I think you're right, UND 92,96. Austin Hansen was a great guard for the Jackrabbits under Coach Nagy (and Asst' Margenthaler -- now the Mankato head coach). Austin was the top assistant at SDSU and then went to Northern Colorado for a couple years followed by USD this season as the top assistant for Craig Smith. (THAT didn't sit well with some SDSU fans who haven't lost any love for USD!!) Hansen is credited for landing Nate Wolters at SDSU. Hansen is a good coach and a good guy. He'll be ready to take over his own program and will be a good hire.

Any consideration to "Thunder?" (I haven't read the entire thread...sorry if this has been suggested). Good name...representative of when a big thunderstorm rolls across the ND prairie. (And, some may recognize a side benefit -- a jab at NDSU and its mascot by stealing a little of Thundar's thunder. ) is there some deadline for having a mascot? I was in Scheel's in Rapid City, SD over the weekend and some some UND gear...the ND logo looks fine all by itself.

Dave Letterman had a humorous bit this evening about the Washington Redskins. He figured out a way the team could preserve its name: he had a picture of a Washington helmet with a picture of a redskin potato in place of the actual Redskin logo.