SooToo

Even a Bison troll, like a blind squirrel, stumbles on to an acorn once in a while. As BD infers, sometimes your schedule is not your strongest asset when transioning to FCS/Div. 1. But the inconvenience of an opponent with no scholarship players didn't deter the AC from packing in the local rubes for its "first division one game" in football, a predictable pasting of Valparaiso (sp?). Marketing was the key. Love 'em or hate 'em, there's no denying the Bision have done it the right way through the transition, and aggressive marketing has played no small part in their success. In the Fargo area, billboards are everywhere and radio and TV advertising runs nearly year-round. They've purchased airtime and taken over their own production to get coverage to as many areas as possible. Some here have said its all about winning; put a successful team on the floor/field and the fans will keep coming. Winning is a given; nobody thrives without winning except maybe the Chicago Cubs -- and Fighting Irish football. But as UND moves into the transition, aggressive marketing is crucial to sell our teams to an expanding potential audience. We need an aggressive advertising campaign for football now. We need STATEWIDE radio coverage for multiple teams. We need expanded TV coverage for football and basketball on FSSN, as well as a campaign -- again with advertising -- to let fans know when and where those games are available. The cost may be considerable, but this is an investment in long-term success, not just a short-term expense. I'm with you. UND'er; it's time to get rolling.

Amen. Marketing for football and basketball has been practically nonexistent, especially last year and especially outside of Grand Forks. A beefed-up advertising campaign -- and better utilization of FSSN -- will be crucial to success in the transition, IMO. And we need STATEWIDE coverage!

Help me out on this one ... Where in gjw's response do find the declaration that Joe C. is "supposed to cooperate with UND..."? Unless my English is failing me, it seems he clearly states that "Chapman should be outspoken for NDSU." (And I'll pass on the pettiness and give the AC all caps.) I think everyone would hope and expect the president of a university to be a strong advocate for that institution. It's not the campus advocacy but the extra-curricular stuff -- the well-documented, duplicitous effort to torpedo the former chancellor, for example -- that rubs UND (and apparently many neutral parties from elsewhere in the state) the wrong way. You seem to be turning the situation on its head; I don't hear anyone at UND complaining about the lack of support from NDSU. But NDSU fanatics continue in a five-year snit because UND "didn't support" NDSU when it bolted the NCC for Division 1.

Sadly, John Q. Paulsen has been passed over by a nominating committee for a second term on the ND Board of Higher Education. Apparently, the word "fiasco" came up in the discussion of his bid for a second term. Now who's going to spoon with Joe Chapman when the board overnights out of town? More importantly, who takes his place? Options include Michael Haugen, Fargo, former adjutant general of the ND Guard; Robert Harms, former Hoeven legal counsel; or Duane Pool, Bismarck, Nature Conservancy scientist. Most favorable choice?

Perhaps, as has been pointed out, we should keep our eyes on the big picture; this is a young man -- a young man -- who now faces some serious legal problems and some very difficult life issues. Hopefully, he can pull out of what appears to be a downward spiral. All the Sioux-Bison and who's-your-daddy crap pales in comparison. As to why these incidents weren't public knowledge previously, it's hard to say. The '05 issue appears to have become a non-issue. Can't tell where the '07 issue occurred, based on the info here, but it may have been out of the area given that it was summer. Beyond that, it looks like a good question for the Grand Forks media, where ambition and enterprise often appear to be in short supply.

Not that it matters, but if you consider regular season only -- drop the lousy play off -- we averaged something like 10,700. Not that anybody's counting ...

No knock on Dragosavich (sp?), Dan. No dishonor in not getting a call from the NFL. Just the musings of one of the thousands of Sioux fans stuck with sports coverage from Bisonville.

I believe, at least with the television folks, it was a time thing; only a few, precious minutes for a sports broadcast and just not enough time remaining after the exhaustive coverage of Bison football seniors who didn't get drafted or obtain a free-agent contract. Stay tuned; series could go on all week.

Thanks for the insight

I assumed Travis Mertens would be another addition for next year. I'm no longer clear where we are in regards to scholarships, given some of the discussion that has developed around the May signing. Anyone?

Now THAT is the kind of commitment to sports communication I was expecting!

What? No one's been to practice and can give a first-person update on who's looking good (and maybe who's not)?

OK, hockey's done. Any spring football updates out there? Anything? Anyone?

I don't think anyone would argue this was a good year in the annals of UND men's basketball (although they showed some ability in the league tournament). Personally, I don't know if we can expect to be competitive with D1 teams next year, either. (But we can dream). I think the point was that da Bison weren't particularly good your last year in the NCC but showed dramatic improvement within a couple of seasons. Apparently you were able to attract some talent despite your transitional status and mediocre (at best) basketball facilities. Nothing's guaranteed, but perhaps we can, too.

No, I think we all hope it's a site for adults of different points of view -- including reasonable people like Hammersmith, NDSUgrad and Fargo Bison -- to have a rational discussion that's not constantly polluted with spite.

Please, take the sorry trash-talking back to Bisonville, where they seem to specialize in that sort of thing. Or go to the Gophers board and spew venom there.

Mussman was on Dan Hammer's radio show today; he confirmed Kotelnicki has been added to the staff (started yesterday, I believe). He will coach special teams and outside linebackers, and help with recruiting.

Whatever his past record, best wishes to a coach of principle and class who, even while being questioned about his new job, continues to express his "great love" for UND.

WDAY in Fargo reported tonight that Rich Glas is expected to be next head BB coach at Concordia.

No, your original "response" was to rip on Travis Mertens, a pretty good ND player, just because he's mentioned as a potential UND recruit. Weren't you breathlessly hoping he'd select NDSU when he finished high school or was it just all your brethren at Bisonville? Bait and hate, pal, bait and hate; everyone sees it coming. Have you ever notice how many threads here just dry up after you drop by with your daily dose of sunshine?

I think there's a flaw in your argument '92,'96, assuming "logic" plays a role in BD's post. It's obviously all about spite while he's lurking here on SiouxSports, 24/7.

I usually let BD's responses pass because it appears he just makes **it up as he goes along, but this is a great question; How much does FSSN cost? Zero TV background, but I would assume this would be a less expensive avenue to deliver TV games than traditional broadcast outlets and should be an excellent vehicle to provide more extensive broadcast coverage. I would assume you'd have the same production costs as traditional TV but wouldn't be buying time from cable outlets (who I suspect are happy to get free programming.) I presume FSSN gets the ad revenue, or at least a portion of it. I hope there are plans to utilize it much more for other sports as we start the Division 1 process. As I recall, the potential distribution area is huge. Some additional football and basketball exposure certainly wouldn't hurt. Some advertising wouldn't hurt, either; outside of Grand Forks, game broadcast plans seem almost like a state secret.

Damn! Missed it by that much.