SooToo

Refreshing and encouraging to see an acknowledgement of the poor job of outreach and marketing for UND sports. I hope that translates into more aggressive advertising and improved radio/tv coverage next year. We've been standing on the sidelines too long. Who knows where this kind of thinking could lead: Maybe we'll even start recruiting students for a change.

Per today's Herald, it appears Peterson will not be seeking the job full-time. Her choice? UND looking for more D1 experience? Any insight?

Congrats to Dale Lennon, 2008 MVFC coach of the year.

Interesting info, but a few questions: -- Is it me, or does Mussman sound unneccessarily pessimistic going into the off season? Shouldn't we at least hope to be competitive with "the Northern Iowa's" in recruiting? UND has solid academics, excellent sports facilities, financial commitment and a tradition of D2 success to sell. New recruits will be playoff-eligible, I believe, by their junior year. Granted, UNI is a perennial FSC power and a member of strong conference with fine facilities of their own, but last I checked, we're 1-0 vs the panthers on the field in modern times. -- This is at least the second off-season I've read about the potential of Chris Anderson at WR. To my knowledge he's yet to see the field. He was injured his senior year in high school two years ago. I think I saw him in street clothes on the sideline all of this year as well. Will he be healthy enough to play? (Also curious about the progress of Drew Daggett, who played at least on special teams.) -- Mitch Goertz and Brad Kelley were highly regarded recruits, I believe, at LB. Mussman has spoken highly of walk-on Jay Nelson from Wheaton. Kasowski and Cochran return. No "impact" linebackers among them?

No love for Danny Freund (72% completion rate) or Noah Sheppard?

Always nice to see those resources used effectively to promote the move to D1. I sincerely hope we do a better job with this next year. Does anyone know if Saturday's football game will be available on FSSN outside of Grand Forks or is that still a secret?

I have no info on that directly, but I remember hearing Mussman -- either on the Wednesday coaches show or the Sunday TV show -- say a few weeks ago he was trying to match up schedules with Chappell to talk about the possibility of his return. I presume that would indicate he's in school at the very least.

FWIW, I see Mark Kubacki, LB from Stillwater, has re-appeared on the Sioux roster.

WDAY reported tonight that UND -- and another school somewhere to the south -- have offered a scholly to Joe Hanstad (sp?), a sophomore guard from Dickinson, I believe at Trinity HS.

I'm truly humbled to have been able to contribute so much -- both in quality and quantity -- to the UND-NDSU discourse.

(worthy of at least 3 'Bison Dan "smiley faces"')

Doesn't Kingsville have something like 3-5 new transfers from BCS/1-A schools? That kind of "wild card" in the equation always makes me a little anxious about predictions of an easy win.

Thanks for the update. And how about Justin Belotti, the d-back from Wisconsin transferring from Mankato? I don't see him on the roster. Is he around? Nothing official until school starts?

Anyone have any info on Chris Anderson. He was supposed to be somewhat of a sleeper in his recruiting class, as I recall, because he was injured much of his senior season in HS. I think Mussman referred to him last spring as potentially "that speed guy" (pre-Bamba) in the receiving corps and said last week that they were counting on him and Dressler to contribute. Is he still injured? Anybody know how he's looked when healthy?

Jeez, Dan, which is it? Will we get into a conference or won't we? Make up your mind and let us know. We're all anxiously awaiting your further insight.

I don't think things are "getting out of hand" when SS contributors conclude there's malicious intent on the part of trolls posting gossip and innuendo about individual student athletes and decide to jump on them for it. Of course, as a rational and civil participant here, you're certainly entitled to your own opinion. Yes, lets look at what SirHinn actually said in his post -- and his point wasn't that ND newspapers get their stories from message boards. He contended news outlets cover up negative stories about UND athletes but, of course, offers no evidence. He singles out an 18-year-old college freshman-to-be and claims it's old "news" that he's academically ineligible. Again, nothing to back up his assertion. Perhaps it's more galling because this was gleefully posted earlier at Bisonville. Even there, where the burden of proof seems exceedingly low when it comes to post on UND, this was branded as gossip and the thread was locked, but SirHinn posts it as fact here anyway. Not too difficult to conclude -- justifiably, I would add -- that the intent was malicious. Go back to Bisonville, where one poster routinely and without rebuke compares UND to Nazi Germany, and read the multiple threads filled with irrational bitterness. Unfortunately, it spills into this board, too. And when a young student is exploited to take shots at the institution, the comments have gone way out of bounds. In retrospect, you may be right in this instance about Bison Dan's contribution, but I guess he just gets extra credit based on past performance. Rant over.

Tell what, Dan? Whether you are bitter and obsessed? The jury came in on that one a long time ago. The point isn't whether a player has academic issues; hell, that happens everywhere. (See Bisonville for hourly updates - but, of course, the NCAA is to blame). The issue is with trolls so consumed by a (former?) rivalry that they gleefully go after individual student athletes. Criticize coaches if you feel you must; they at least get paid. Ridicule fans like me -- I'm all for taking a shot at the AC and I'm stupid enough to post on a board, too. Athletes are 18- and 19-year-old kids. When they are the focus of your hate, it's obvious you've lost all perspective. Amazingly common among Bison trolls and Bisonville posters. It's pathetic. It should stop.

Don't you get embarassed posting this kind of stuff? I mean I recognize the terminal bitterness and endless obsession on the part of some Bison fans when it comes to UND (See Bison Dan, others), but do you not feel even a little bit petty or small-minded when you come here and attempt to smear or embarass young athletes simply based on their choice of schools? Even when you have NO facts? Awhile back we had a Bison troll trying to smear another athlete (again from Fargo -- or does that make it worse for you?) because apparently she wouldn't give him a date. Where does it end? Where are your limits? Are you really an adult or still a 15-year-old? Get some perspective. Get some respect. Get a life. Move on.

Well that makes things easy. Disagreeable fans and, now, lousy seats -- skip the AC and head straight for the Alerus. Better viewing, better tailgaiting and a more congenial brand of people all around.

Thank you for steering this trainwreck back onto the main line.

Oh Lord. Is it football season yet? LaCrosse? Anything?

If I recall correctly, the AD said he expected the league's administrative staff would be a valuable resource to UND's coaching/administrative types on a variety of transition-related topics from compliance to rules clinics, etc., so that may be among the benefits of a league structure that wouldn't be realized by a cheaper "scheduling alliance." In regards to the three-year commitment, I can't imagine even the most incurable optimist woud expect UND to be ready to begin play in another league in anything under 3 years, what with the current moratorium on division changes and the usual lead time for scheduling, etc. FWII, I've always appreciated your calm, rational input here, despite suffering the occasional slings and arrows.

Amen

Your missing the point. The object during this transition should be to grow the base of Sioux fans, not just to excite the current supporters; Sioux football has remained "a winner" in recent years, competing for championships with established rivals, going what ? 20-5 the last two seasons? The result: Regular-season attendance was up about 5 percent last year. Bison football has done OK, too. Their record the last 2 years was 20-2. The result: Attendance has risen roughly 50% over the last 4-5 years. If you think that increase is all about "winning," give 'em a call down at the AC because they seem bent on wasting a ton of money on advertising.