jdub27

Even if he doesn't fill up the stat sheet, he's a big body and gives Guga some rest, who seems to struggle when he has to play extended minutes. I think his return makes a difference though tough to say if it will be enough.

Prices were pretty much the same last weekend between the two. Not always the case but I was surprised. Not that long ago, GF was regularly cheaper than Fargo for a few months. One of the stations in Harwood pretty much drove down the whole areas prices for a few weeks earlier this winter. Not sure where they are sitting this week in comparison.

Can't imagine ISU would be in a hurry to trade the MVC for MAC basketball.

Illinois State is going to struggle to come up with $5 million for an NCAA, let alone whatever the MAC charges (though I could see them getting a healthy discount on what is being floated for Sac St.).

I think it is a possibility. I think that the top Big Sky/Summit(MVFC) teams are already in conversations on future landscape (see the new scheduling alliance for MBB that just came out). I don't know that what you're proposing would be well received under the current landscape (though I think it makes sense). The P4 needs everyone else to finish paying the share of the $2.8 billion NCAA lawsuit payments that they stuck them with before they are going to make their next move. However, once that happens, I think that is when you finally see the seismic shift that has been tossed around for quite a while and the P4 (or what's left of it) finally separate themselves. Can't remember exactly how that timeline would fit with the Grant of Rights for the MWC that would allow for the changes you mentioned. At that point, I could realistically see a separate second division and the top portion of the FCS combining with the G6. But that window is probably 6-8 years out. The P4 isn't dumb, they stuck all the lower level schools with a huge chunk of the settlement bill and are going to keep them around at least long enough to get that paid off.

Don't forget the PPP with the steam plant! Was a pretty big deal modernizing energy efficiency on campus. Not to mention Aerospace growth...

Love the grit this team has. Could do without falling behind and having a giant hole to have to dig out of....

Oil prices coming back up a bit helps out a little bit. Continental Resources saying they are stopping drilling (still TBD what that actually means) is a bad sign. As it relates to the funding model, I fully trust Armacost and his team have a good handle on having input in any changes to ensure UND remains in a strong spot.

And somehow UND can manage their budget and NDSU has to ask for 8 figure line-item relief from the state legislature. The next budget cycle is going to be interesting to watch...

The UND students voted to increase their fees to support it and have continued to support that decision. NDSU has tried to do the same thing twice and the athletic department fell on their face and showed up unprepared for their presentation to the Student Government because they thought they were going to get a rubber stamp. So don't frame it beyond what it is.

And the first head to head recruiting battle victory post Ndsu announcement goes to:

The language means nothing. They would be invited to apply for full membership with no promises of being accepted. UC-Davis has the exact same language when they joined for all sports outside of football. Their contract said if the league expanded football membership, they would be the first time invited to apply but had no guarantees. So either they weren't ready, the MWC didn't want them for football or they weren't willing to pay the ransom that NDST was. This doesn't mean that they wouldn't be accepted, however the language in the contract guarantees nothing.

Pretty sure UM and MSU are tied together unless they change something at the state legislative level to allow them to separate. More likely, Hauck got a big raise and a smaller headache (more coaching, less roster management/NIL).

UND is choosing to invest in the entire University instead of put all of it's eggs in one basket (non-P4 football). If you look at the continuing transformation on campus with facilities and buildings, student experience and what that has done with enrollment trends, UND is continuing to position itself correctly. Ndsu has went the route of showing that they are serious about non-P4 football and they can raise money for that. Obviously it got them to FBS faster but their academic side is still trending negatively, their budget has never totally been fixed and that's before likely upcoming budget cuts again this cycle. Their enrollment trended negatively during an unprecedented football run. Is joining a shell of the MWC really going to be the thing that fixes all that?

I don't, but my point was that he was absolutely dragging Sac St for what they were willing to do to get into a conference and then Ndsu turns around and pays an even higher price.