jdub27

Considering Jorgenson has had input in the football scheduling for quite a while now, I wouldn't discount what he says. Yes, a new AD will be there but there is no guarantee that it will result in a better relationship between the schools. And he'll have plenty of people/donors in his ear about scheduling.

Interesting read, was not aware of it. But I think "rivalry" is the more accurate description in this. And while there are some similarities, there are some pretty significant differences: Marshall played at a lower level until 1997 Marshall has never actually beaten WVU The meeting in 2006 was only the 6th meeting between the teams and only the second game between the two in the last 83 years. The agreement also guarantees two home games for Marshall (basically two 2-1's) and gave them a chance to host 3 out of the 7. It also took outside intervention and pressure for the legislature to get the games scheduled. If the teams agree to a two for one, I don't think there's much hand wringing from UND fans. But the arrogance from GT telling alumni and Jorgenson at the press conference that a game at UND was not an option, especially after how the open records requests showed how GT "negotiated", rubs me the wrong way. In the end, I'm not real excited about Bubba getting Faison to accept it, but understand his reasoning behind it. I'll be at both games, hoping that UND can continue their outstanding record in the loaf.

Honestly curious, do you have any examples of FCS teams signing a 2 game contract with both played in the same place? Or even 2 FBS teams doing? For a price below what other teams have got? None of the ones you're citing are the same as what UND signed. It is what it is and Bubba is the one who decided it was worth it to sign the deal. Just saying, I don't know of any others that are similar off the top of my head.

That wasn't uploaded today, it has been on there for a while. Keep trying though.

GT made it very clear to a large group of FU alumni at an event in MSP that he personally would not sign a contract that required NDSU to play in Grand Forks. From what I was told, he didn't seem like he had any intention of signing any contract to play UND, regardless of location. The way he kept changing his offers made that pretty clear but had he not kept "negotiating", I wouldn't have been surprised to see the legislature step in at some point. Guessing he thought he was safe and that Faison would never agree to the deal he left on the table before he left. Would also explain the attitude displayed at the press conference held in Fargo where no one wanted anything to do with being part of the deal being signed. If NDSU would have again turned down another deal they offered, one that was quite one-sided in their favor, they would have raised a lot of eyebrows and brought a lot of unwanted scrutiny for the athletic department and the soon to be named AD that may have taken the negotiations out of their hands. Bubba was the driving force behind UND accepting this deal. He is taking a calculated risk and has a lot to gain next year in changing perceptions that he is running into on the recruiting trail. Still don't agree with the deal that was taken but I understand why it was done and am trusting the coaching staff on this one.

From what I understand, Faison was not going to accept this offer but Bubba gave him the go ahead because he wanted NDSU on the schedule. Calculated risk by Bubba. Can very quickly remove a lot of things that can currently only be proven on paper very quickly. Guessing he's running into that hurdle more than he though. Hopefully it pays off. What would have been interesting to see is if GT was still in Fargo, if he would have actually allowed this to be accepted or would have once again changed his offer. Not sure he thought UND would accept this one, guess his final bluff got called even though it ends up pretty favorably for NDSU. Hearing there are a lot of FU donors that are not pleased despite the favorable terms. And the comments that UND somehow leaked this when it was Jamal Spencer (Valley News Live in Fargo, NDSU sideline reporter) and Lee Timmerman (KFYR in Bismarck, NDSU color commentator) who were the first two to put anything out there is just laughable.

Well aware which is exactly why I said that in the same sentence but thanks for verifying.

Wouldn't be surprised, I believe 3 of them were on FCS last year. Pretty sure those aren't announced until close to game week though.

Just making sure people don't get any bright ideas!

Pink is only used for academics at UND. Kelly green, white and black are the official athletic colors.

Don't think its a huge surprise but glad its been announced. Want the starter to take the majority of the reps with the first team for game week. Hopefully he embraces it and runs with it. Guessing there will be less musical quarterbacks this year, hopefully it gives whoever is in there some confidence and erases the though of constantly looking over their shoulder.

Wonder what numbers they are using. The USA Today report shows UND had a profit of $83K with Revenues of $22.2 million and expenses of $22.1 million. The Office of Postsecondary Education says that UND broke dead even with $20.4 million in expenses and revenues. No clue why the numbers are off by so much or what they actually measure. Again, accounting for college athletics is nowhere near an exact science and I'd be curious how many of those FBS teams made money because they are able to count institutional support and student fees as "revenues".

What do taxes have to do with it? You don't think your taxes have been impacted from the maintenance needed due to the wear and tear on Demers Ave and the Sorlie Bridge due to the high traffic volume and regular use by large trucks? A south end bridge connecting GF/EGF is something that is needed, no question about it. No one enjoys paying more in taxes but certain things are a necessity. Also, the fed and state government typically pick up a large portion of the tab when it comes to bridge work (which is obviously still tax money, but spread out among a much larger base). For example, the City of GF will be responsible for about 10% of the tab for the renovations and repairs that need to be done downtown.

My take is only from the scrimmage 2 weekends ago, but would agree on the part that he isn't ready right now. He did make some nice throws but looked like he struggled all around for the most part. Thought Mollberg looked better than Bartels but didn't get to see all of their reps. Also agree that if neither of the two step up, something will have to be done.

Considering he had been the OC for 7 years and an assistant head coach for 4 on some pretty successful teams, I thought he was a good choice at the time. Not sure what kind of talent an outside search would have brought with the first year of transition coming up either.

One of the big things that will continue to hamper downtown is the heavy truck and other traffic that uses Demers to get into EGF. A bridge on the south end is needed desperately.

Did he know that he wasn't going to qualify academically? Had he qualified and then backed out, I can see the criticism being warranted. But if he was hoping to qualify academically and keeping Niagara as a back-up in case he didn't, tough to fault him for that. Sounds like the coaching staff had known for a while that he wasn't coming even though it wasn't official until recently so not sold on the face that he was stringing everyone along.

Will FU fans come up with new ones or stick to the same ones that continue to constantly pop up at games even when UND isn't the opponent?

Wasn't the main issue that he wasn't going to qualify based on his academics? Even if he was committed to playing at UND (unknown) it wouldn't have mattered?

Or it is tough to market "North Dakota". There's a reason teams choose nicknames, it helps in getting your "brand" out there. Have you seen the new merchandise that is out there right now? It wouldn't be bad for a secondary logo, but not acceptable for the primary. Working on marketing for the athletic department is not an enviable position right now. Again, the majority aren't happy where we are right now but understand the reasons why. Stewing over isn't going to do any good, that ship sailed already. I'll continue to wear my Sioux clothing and leave up the multiple signs, flags, banners, etc. I have, but putting a new nickname in place is the next step that needs to be taken and sooner than later.

It opened at -4.5. Regardless, I wouldn't put a whole lot of weight on an offshore FCS line that has a -120 line.

Any clue how high up their RB board Oliveira was? Looks like a good get for UND.

Apparently most people don't since the offshore lines have already moved a couple points towards Iowa St.

Grand Forks has a pretty good grid set up, though the lack of right turn lanes can be an issue if you feel the need to drive in the right lane on some of the main roads. When their is no construction, if you've driven in Grand Forks before, it is pretty easy to get around town. There are 3 major roads that run N/S that are roughly a mile apart (Washington, Columbia, 42nd, though only 2 lanes from 6th Ave to Gateway) plus the interstate. There are a handful of 2 lane direct routes that cross the south end of town going N/S as well (Belmont, Cherry, 20th and 34th). Similar for the roads that run E/W. Gateway, University, Demers and 32nd will all get you from one end of town to the other, including going under/over the interstate and even though University is only two lanes, it is a pretty quick route if campus isn't too busy. The big issue is that there is no 4 lane roads between Demers and 32nd, which are 2 miles apart. Again, there are multiple 2 lane direct routes that go from near the river to 42nd. 47th and eventually 62nd will need to be expanded as will Columbia and 42nd on the south side of 32nd. Actually surprised they aren't widening 47th a little bit more between Washington and Columbia since they already have it dug up. And at some point a bridge crossing into EGF somewhere on the south side, though not sure exactly what location makes the most sense.

If you think the pace that multi-family units in town are being constructed at is considered reasonable growth, you're delusional or just uninformed. As 82Sioux said, vacancy rates are running around 2-3% which is way too low. There will end up being a slight overbuild and vacancy rates will fall, probably to near 10%, which is a bit higher than any developer, lender or the city would like to see but is to be expected in a market situation like that one Grand Forks is currently in. Prices on the new units will end up adjusting down slightly as they are significantly higher than existing rates and in the end, the market will end up stabilizing in the 5-7% vacancy rate over the next few years once the population catches up with the new units being built and a balance is found. And turns out it takes a while to recover from a natural disaster that wipes out a good chunk of a city.