siouxfan512

Haha, no doubt. Though if I was one of those filthy rich alumni, I would gladly put some of my money forward, like what Ralph did. Pretty cool to be able to impact that many people (fans, students, players, etc). As this topic has turned into more of a defensive discussion about the Alerus center, I would like to re-direct it. I am NOT saying the Alerus Center is a terrible building. By most school standards its a top notch facility. I'm just saying their are things that I don't like about it as well. 1. Concourses need a major upgrade. 2. I hate that there are no end zone seating. I think it looks really tacky. I would have rather they cut out a few of the back rows and extended the stadium out to have seating room behind the end zones. Just a personal preference. 3. Game day effects. As it has been mentioned the production quality is lacking. The fact that they can't even turn the lights out before the game, and amp up the crowd as the team comes out is poor. If their currently lighting system can't handle that, then it was poor planning to put it in. Look at the difference in the game day effects between hockey and football. 4. Sitting in their feel like you are in a tin can or a pole barn. The big metal walls behind the bleachers are hideous. I know it gets loud in their but its just not the most appealing. 5. Location. I always have though that it would be way cooler to have an on campus stadium. I just do. I get that this isn't the Alerus Center's fault, but I think it would do a lot for the student involvement and the tailgating. It would be nice to have tailgating on campus instead of right next to the interstate. I will reiterate, I DO NOT think the Alerus is a BAD football stadium. I DO think it needs some upgrades, and if an alumni ever wanted to come to campus and build a Ralph like football stadium, I would gladly accept.

Better, but not perfect. The building still needs some improvements. I do think seats should be at the end of the end zones, not a giant wall. The concourses could really be upgraded too. The building is not bad, but it could be better. It doesn't have a very warm or inviting feeling to it.

It has been a while since I have been up to GF, but I was just going off of what I remember and what others have posted on here. I certainly don't think it is a bad building. I've just always been a fan of the idea of having a stadium on campus.

I'm not denying the atmosphere was great back in those day. I was at the games. I was in the band for a few years in the early 2000's, then just as a student for a while. Great noise and great atmosphere. BUT as has been noted in these forums, the Alerus needs to actually make some big improvements. You really do feel like you are in a pole barn. I'm also not a fan of giant walkways behind the endzone, instead of seats. No natural light. Narrow concourse, with nothing relating to UND football. Its just not an impressive building. The building itself isn't was was great in to 2000s, the people made it great. The people will come back if we win, but I hope, at some point, they can build a nice (most likely enclosed) stadium on campus. And as much as you may like the Alerus, you can't tell me you wouldn't like to see a brand new, state of the art, stadium on campus, if someone was going to donate the money to make it happen.

Can we expect some recruiting updates and some offers to be made over the weekend?

Go Nodaks!

Agreed. As I mentioned, that list is purely to give us something to pay attention to this weekend since UND is off. While I also believe 2 wins will get us in, I don't think it is an automatic guarantee. There is always that possibility to be the team that is snubbed for another 7 win team. Ultimately, UND needs to win, but I would take a little help on the side to secure our position.

Exactly. I might not have been clear on that, but that's why I'm pulling for them. especially against SUU.

Thats too bad, because after playing Montana, ISU plays Weber and MT St, both of which are relevant. If ISU is going to get another win, I hope they find a way to grind it out this weekend.

Agreed, in fact most of my post was for selfish UND reasons. ISU beating MT would make our loss to ISU look a little better, but more importantly would take the Grizz out of the playoff picture.

With UND sitting behind 5 teams in the standing, there is plenty of football to follow on Saturday, with UND having the weekend off. These games could all factor into UND's playoff picture. Bottom line is that UND needs to take care of its own business, BUT since they can't do anything this weekend, here are some things to watch. E Washington vs. N Arizona: As N.Arizona is 3-2 in the conference and 5-3 overall, it would really help UND to have them get another loss or two on their record. That starts this weekend as they travel to Cheney. E. Washington has had several close games (5pt win over Mt St, 8pt win over Sac State, 1pt win over Cal Poly, 2pt win over N Colorado, and 1 pt win over Weber St.) That being said, the eagles have not lost at home. Go Eagles! Southern Utah @ Mt St: This could get interesting with the Bobcats out of the playoff picture. I'd imagine Prukop will want to bounce back, and while SUU has the leagues top Pass defense, they need to be able to containg Prukops run game. This could be another high scoring shootout. SUU has put up big points on everyone since losing to SDSU (and almost knocking off Utah St before that), but they finish the season with Mt St, PSU, and NAU. Big weekend for them, because if they lose to the bobcats then their playoff picture gets a little fuzzier. Go Bobcats! Portland St @ N Colorado: PSU should take care of business, and this is only interesting since we play a similar style to them, and we play N. Colorado next week. PSU will make the playoff, so we might as well see N Colorado get knocked around a bit before they come to GF. Go Vikings! Montana @ Idaho St: Which Grizz team shows up? The one that smoked us, or the one that lost to Liberty? And Idaho St win would put Montana at 5 losses and out of the playoffs. Montana needs to run the table against Idaho St, E. Washington and Mt St. to make the playoffs. Go Bengals!

You are a terrible person ... j/k

That picture is pretty impressive, though I'm not sure I see an outdoor stadium being extremely successful in Grand Forks, but maybe I'm wrong. I just think about those late november, early december temp, and even worse, that wind. Regardless, there is no question that this would be an incredible facility, and while I don't see this happening is the near future, I am confident that whenever this does happen (hopefully soon), it will be done right, and be a top tier facility.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately, I'm a really impatient fan, and would just love to see a new on campus stadium, sooner than later, even though I don't make it up to Grand Forks very often. I just think it would be a great addition for the school and the program. I am absolutely a hockey nut, but I would really like to see these other programs take some big steps to become relevant. Winning is the number 1 way to do that, but facilities are huge as well. I think the Betty is a great facility, though could use a few improvement. What I would really like to see, is a new football stadium. I think it would also be really cool to add a small locker room/changing room/storage room for the band, cheerleaders, and dance team. Having played in the band, I really think that would be a pretty cool move. Rather than lugging instruments, uniforms, hats, music, etc. every Saturday. Still, I'm sure these types of improvements are a ways down the road, but hopefully one, or a few, of our big time alumni could step up and make this happen.

I'm not sure what I will do as far as purchasing new gear yet. I still have quite a bit of my Sioux gear, and will probably wear it because I just really like it. I don't think I would ever buy a new hockey jersey, but I would consider buying a t-shirt or maybe a hat. As for the interlocking ND logo, I hope they continue to sell merchandise with just that, in addition to whatever the new name or logo is. Though I think they need to do a better job of designing their products. Like you said, a lot of the merchandise has been rather uninspiring. People may confuse it with Notre Dame, but honestly that doesn't bother me all that much. Like I said, they could improve how they use the logo on their merchandise. Notre Dame is able to use it well, and I actually thought UND used it well back in the early 2000's, but recently our merchandise has been rather bland; which I think comes down to more of a design issue than and actual name or logo issue.

Go Nodaks! Anyone know when we will hear the results? I believe it was on a Sunday after the last vote. Safe to assume it will be the same this time?

Seemed pretty borderline to me. It looks like he hit high on the guys shoulder, but maybe he clipped the front of the mask. I usually try to look at these objectively, as though it was a CC guy hitting a Sioux guy. I don't think I would be upset about that hit if it had been on a Sioux player. Oh well, Drake better watch himself for the rest of the year. Which can also be dangerous because you don't want a guy playing with hesitation either.

I don't suppose the University lists potential projects online anywhere, do they? It would be interesting to see what types of projects were in their pipeline. Or at least, what they are trying to fund raise for.

Back to stadiums. Does anyone know what kinds of talks there have been with some of these alumni? if any?

I wouldn't use the Big Sky as an example, considering what happened during the Idaho St game, and the Weber St game that was never broadcast.

While this is fantastic, I hope the athletic department is working for this same type of deal with football and hockey. Yes, football has Eversports (not impressed), but it would be nice to see most games on Fox College Sports or even Fox Sports North or Fox Sports North Plus (when available). Same with hockey having NCHC.tv, which works ok, but still isn't as reliable as the tv feed they had with Fox College Sports a few years ago. Bottom line is while webcasts are great, these tv deals are even better. I'll definitely be watching more Sioux/Nodak/Roughrider basketball this year.

I know its easy to talk when its not your money, but I have to think if I had hundreds of millions of dollars I would make a donation like that. Not just for a sweet new stadium, but also for a new business school. It would be pretty cool to make a big investment that could impact so many people.

Facilities are great, and I think a new on campus stadium would due huge things for the program. But winning is key. Keep winning, and get back the the annual contender we were in the D2 days and the fans will come.

Would be pretty cool to see a nice, "Ralph" caliber, football stadium on campus.

I read the chat, and I must have overlooked something? Who is Peter Nygard and why is he relevant?