SiouxDude12

I've been fairly vocal about how I've felt about this year's bball team from the beginning of the season after I went to my first game this year and saw the product on the court. My feelings haven't changed, and have actually been amplified. Personally, I'm a huge basketball fan. I love the sport, but watching what our men's team did to basketball this past year was just painful. You're right, it's not the players fault that they were brought together and given the same color jerseys to play basketball together this year. That lies strictly on the coaching staff. Jones needs to go, and if Faison decides that the altercation at the end of the GWC tourney is a good scapegoat to can him I wouldn't blame him. I do not know coach Jones personally but from what I have heard he is a fairly good guy and I do think that it's fair to ridicule him strictly from a professional stance and not make any comments about him as a human being. His body of work at UND has been awful. The current team shows no promise for the future. I hate to say it but unless we get either amazing freshmen coming in or some solid JUCO transfers we are going to be horrible for a long long time. The players on the court for UND are not even the best basketball players walking around the UND campus........do a little research on Dominique Bennett from the football team and you will see what I mean, we have the Texas 5A state tournament MVP walking around our campus and not playing basketball for us.......I'm not saying that's anyone's fault but the point is that our other sports have shown the ability to bring in some decent athletes and well.........I didn't see a single ATHLETE on the court for UND this year for basketball. The lowpoint of the season for me was when I was watching one of the games on TV and Mertens got a dunk and Jody Norstadt made a comment that we had 2 dunks in 1 game. If that accomplishment is noteworthy for a men's college basketball team then not much else needs to be said about the current state of your team. We need a fresh start and fresh faces if there is any hope of retaining any type of fan base. I don't blame the people who don't want to renew their season tickets, something does need to be done and it needs to be done now before this gets much worse if that's even possible. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something will be fixed soon. I mean Faison did come from NMSU and they have a very respectable program down there so he has to know something about having a successful bball program.

Well, at least we scored over 60.........

I don't think it's getting homered as much as it is that our guys aren't quick or athletic enough to play good defense without fouling. On the flip side we have nobody who can take it to the rack and beat someone to draw a foul which is where a lot of fouls occur. I'm not saying that playing on the road is always a fair game but there is a lot more to it than just free throws. Good teams get to the line, bad teams foul a lot because they play sloppy defense. We are the latter, and HBU probably wouldn't fair that well in the DAC-10 based on what they have done so far this year. This is a team we should beat on a consistant basis. I mean the win against UTPA was a nice sign, but we need to be able to string more than 1 win together. Remember HBU went from NAIA to D1 when they made the jump. We definitely have an advantage over them.

Last year we had Daniel Harkins running the point. He was a great decision maker and could create for himself as well as others. We also had Darius Joseph who was at least an athlete and could move with the guys he lined up against. There isn't a single player on this years' team who can match either of their athletic abilities. The biggest reason we aren't competitive this year is because we don't have anyone on the floor who can handle the defensive intensity that teams play at this level. Last year we had Hark who could handle it. I don't think that finding guys of their skill set should be impossible for a DI school......but right now we don't have anyone even close.

What is happening on the court this year is just unfair. It's unfair to the students who have fees built into their tuition which include ticket fees so they can go to games for "free", it's unfair to the long time ticket holders, it's unfair to the alumni, it's unfair to the players who have worn a UND basketball jersey in the past, and it's unfair to the entire state of North Dakota. When the decision was made to go division 1 we immediately committed to being a nationally recognized program. Our scores show up on the bottom line of the ESPN ticker every night and quite frankly it's horribly embarassing to think that some potential recruit in North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, or Texas is watching a Tar Heels game and sees North Dakota 61 MAYVILLE 73 or North Dakota 41 Texas A&M 82. I know when I see scores like that on the bottom line I usually just assume that it's some D2 school getting wrecked by a large state school because that's the only time that should ever happen. Oh wait LeMoyne BEAT SYRACUSE this year in an exhibition. If we are going to commit to becomming D1 I don't think it's acceptable for any of us to be satisified with what is happening this year. Division 1 programs don't just sit back and say "ahhh shucks, give it some time." I mean we could do that, but I typically think that programs who do that never figure it out and play D1 for all of the wrong reasons. So what I'm trying to say is if you're pissed off about how this year is going, you have every right to be, and don't feel bad about it because as a stakeholder in the program you are entitled to see a respectable product on the floor. That being said, I don't think that we should be beating the Texas A&M's of the world yet, but we should be competing. Maybe score 60 points against an above average team every now and then. Maybe not get doubled up? The worst part of all of this is that I'm fairly convinced that there are at least 10 guys walking around the campus that could beat the varsity this year. So how can this be fixed? When I found out we were going D1 I thought that all of our sports would be okay, and our toughest time would be men's basketball just based on the fact that there aren't division 1 basketball players in the region and our recruiting base will have to change drastically if we ever want to find players who can compete at that level. D1 players are athletes, we don't have any athletes. The easy fix is to at least recruit athletes who can match up against the guy across from them at least physically. Give them a chance, I really don't blame the players on this years team for what is happening this year. It's not their fault that recruited them to play D1 basketball when they have the skill set of a mediocre D2 basketball player. I mean that's like having some coach come up to you when you're in high school averaging 20 ppg at some horrible Class B school and telling you that they think you're a D1 basketball player. I don't blame them for thinking "holy crap, I can play D1 ball" when someone who should know what a D1 player looks like is telling them that. That's obviously easier said that done, but it can be done. We were able to recruit guys who could compete before (a certain center who outplayed Drew Gooden comes to mind) and now we have more incentive to get players like that to show up. If Bryan Jones isn't out looking at some JUCO players to fix this problem by next year something is wrong. Because there are athletes in those JUCO programs who are of D1 ability and who will be servicable until we can get our own guys coming through here from the start. It worked for NDSU (Andre Smith from NDSCS) and people around here aren't going to wait around for 4 years, and quite frankly they shouldn't have to. Look at the Betty, just a beauitful basketball facility. Look at our alumni base, way way way way way bigger than a lot of D1 schools. Look at our exposure, FCS, FSSN, and one of only 2 D1 schools in the entire state. Look at our status, we are a state school not a tiny private school that has 1500 students like many of the inner city D1's are, in addition we have a medical and law school, that should mean that we should have an alumni base which is capable of pumping money back into the program. So is there an excuse to be one of the worst men's basketball programs in the country? NO absolutely not. This can work, but it starts at the top. We need to find the right coach who can recruit guys to come to this school who can play at the D1 level.

This may be one of the weirdest things that I've ever seen, but I feel as though it deserves some mentionning. I know that a lot of us up in ND think that people from the coasts are typically a little stuck up and look down upon us and our programs in the Midwest. I must say that I've heard nothing but great things about the 2 Cal schools from the experiences my friends have had playing against them and the fans I've encountered. After the Poly game one of my friends made the comment that "that was the most polite team I've ever played against since I started playing college football." I'm also impressed by the UCD fans who have come to visit our board, as well as the ones who have been on the GWFC board. Especially for shutting up "Quarterback U / ND's penetentary best feeder system " to the south for some comments they made when they were an impressive 2-7. It's rare that opposing teams go on to someone's message board and give out compliments or actually look at a game with some type of objectivity. I'm sure that it helps when you have gone through many of the same growing pains that we are currently experiencing. But needless to say it looks good for you and your university, I'm impressed. One side note about our Athletic Depts. great scheduling. Our women's basketball team plays a perrenial Horizon League power Wisc. GB on Friday at 4:00 pm. Has anyone seen anything promoting this game? I live 500 feet from the Betty and haven't seen or heard anything about it. In addition when you get a school with a basketball reputation to come in, why are they playing second fiddle to hockey? Would have it been a disaster to schedule the game on a Thursday night? I don't know all the logistics behind it, but it seemed like a good opportunity to sell out the Betty for an outta conference game. I know this is the wrong board to say that on, but I just had to get that off my chest in regard to how things have gone this year with everything else in general as well. Oh and if it would be possible to drop the temp down another 25 degrees on Saturday.....say mid 30s or so we really wouldn't mind playing in front of an empty stadium. In fact it might keep some of our guys from getting a sunburn.

There are obviously a lot of factors that played into the lack of attendence this year. Some things may not necessarly be under UND's control, such as the no games in September. I do think that it is important to focus on the things that UND can influence. We are in a transition right now, there are a lot of fixed sacrafices: not a true conference, lack of rivals, confused fans, recruiting difficulty, opponents....etc. The security issue is something that can be fixed, the tailgating atmosphere can be fixed, marketing can be fixed. You're not wrong at all by saying that the attendence at the Alerus for a football games does lead to more money for the Alerus. I guess the story that really did alarm me is the one about the long time season ticket holder. As a member of this university I felt embarassed reading that story, about how is wife was told how to sit at a football game. It wouldn't be unrealistic to assume that at every game at least 1 person has an expereince that makes them not want to come back based on the security guards and their attitudes. That 1 person has a lifetime value to the univeristy. I mean there does need to be security don't get me wrong. But they should be there to help and protect people rather than to monitor every person's actions throughout the game. I also know and understand that the REA had the same stigma a few years back. Here is the difference though, our hockey team can play anyone and sell out because there is a huge amount of loyalty and there are many "UND hockey fans." I think it would be interesting to see how many of the people who attend a UND football game are "UND football fans" as opposed to just "UND fans." I have a feeling there would be a vast difference. That is why when people show up at the Alerus that they needed to be treated as guests. I just hope that the University can realize that an investment in customer service now can lead to a much larger payoff in the long run (alumni donations, attendence, and "Sioux households"). We are a state institution, and a DI institution now, it's time that we take the necessary actions to get out of the D2 mindset. I'm not saying that we are ever going to be a Florida, Ohio State, Texas.....ect type of school, but we could easily have the football loyalty of a Montana who draws very well and has good loyalty. Just a few thoughts, take them or leave them. At least people are talking and sharing their opinions in a thoughtful manner. That could at least lead to someone reading this who may matter and realizing that there might be some issues occuring that could enhance the experience for fans if action is taken.

Hey this is great, we are finally hearing some input that could maybe lead to some answers. I'm only one pair of eyes, but it seems like a lot of other people recognize the same things as I did. The only alarming thing I saw on here was the "oh it will get better next year" post because of the schedule. Look at this year, we played Cal Poly(nationally ranked, in our conference, lost to Wisconsin in OT last year because of 3 missed XPs and a missed FG) and we had the worst turn out of the season. That game should have been a sell out without a doubt be it on Halloween or not. There are 5 home games a year. By the way, when you have a holiday which is meant for fun, DON'T SCHEDULE THE GAME AT 4 SO YOU LOSE TRICK OR TREATERS and maybe run a promotion with it. Use the holiday, don't fight it. Volleyball had a game that afternoon and drew very well for a volleyball game. I don't think people realize how elastic students are in respect to attending events. If something isn't perceived as "cool" they will not go and that stigma can follow something for a long time. When I started college here, football games were an event, people wanted to go. I'm now a graduate student with a slightly different perspective on things, and well going to football games has taken a backseat to the following things which I've observed: watching other football games on TV, drinking at home because it costs too much to do it at the game, hunting, purely lack of interest, and my favorite excuse of all "football games are a buzzkill." This is a problem, I know I'm not doing the books for the athletic dept, but I do know that alumni are a large source of income for the athletic dept. If you don't hook alumni while they are still students, you're going to lose them forever. It may seem as though putting up with the student body can be more of a hassle than anything, but catering to this demographic is more of an investment than anything for the athletic department. That being said, there is a huge conflict of interest between our football program and it's venue. The goal of the football program is to put a good quality product on the field and attract fans, gain loyalty, sell shirts, make money. The goal of the Alerus center is to make sure their facility doesn't get wrecked and to make money. These 2 may not always go hand in hand. I'm not saying that everyone should go get drunk and wreck the Alerus Center, but you have to have some leeway when dealing with the target market for a college football game. Sporting events (especially football) should be a way for people to just let off some steam, have fun, get an adrenaline rush, and create memories. Like I said in my original post, people don't go to a football game to watch 22 guys run into eachother, they go to a football game to be entertained and be a part of something bigger than themselves. If they just want to see football they can watch 80 games on TV every Saturday. College football is a business at its roots, it's a service, and the attendees are it's clients. Give people the experience they are looking for, and they will keep coming back for more. Obviously this hasn't been the case. I guarantee when people leave the REA after a hockey game they have a feeling like (that was worth my $25+ dollars) even if the team did lose they got $ 25 of enjoyment out of their ticket. I am a football fan, I enjoy watching it, I have friends on the team that play, but in all honesty, as someone who has spent 4.5 years of my life at this University I can't say that I receive the face value of entertainment out of my ticket (which as a student is free). Hearing the story of the season ticket holder leaving for a women's hockey game just saddens me. Our athletic department needs to realize that if you keep biting the hand that feeds you that before too long you're not going to have any food to eat. I see this year as being a huge feast on that hand. One other thing I found out last night which led me to create an account on here and express my concern is the following information: We were supposed to have a home game against Idaho State this year. Oklahoma bought out our contract with them so they could play them this year instead. Our home game got bought out for $25K. Is that really the value that our athletic department has on a Fighting Sioux home game? $25K? My source on this information is fairly reliable, I didn't just make it up. But if this is indeed the case then we have a lot of work ahead of us as a university and as an athletic department. I realize that this may have occured (and most likely did occur, during the Bunning era, so Faison probably isn't to blame) It starts at the top, and if Faison can't see it, and attempt to fix it, maybe it's time to move in a different direction. I'm not calling for his job, but I'm calling for some action.

I don't think it would be a stretch to say that the attendence this year at home football games has been alarming, especially the lack of student support. Let's face it, yesterday they just completely threw away the one student section for elementary school band kids to sit in. So obviously there is a problem about the student attendence and the overall attendence as well, but to be able to fix it I think someone has to point out what the real issues are. I've noticed a few things this year, and maybe if I point them out someone will read this and take some of it to heart. 1. HEY ALERUS CENTER, TREAT FANS LIKE YOUR GUESTS INSTEAD OF YOUR PROBLEM! Yesterday when I was coming through the turnstiles for the game I saw 3 different students get told that they can't come in to the Alerus Center because they didn't have their Student ID to go with their ticket. REALLY! I mean REALLY? We can't get students to come to games, and now we are turning away the ones we do get because they dont have their ID? WHO CARES? They have a ticket, they might cheer, they might spend money, they definitely weren't taking someone's seat away who did bring their ID. Oh by the way I got in with a student ticket and no ID yesterday, maybe some consistentcy wouldn't hurt? Another thing I noticed was during the Cal Poly game, some people were leaning up against their seats during a dead ball period, not sitting or standing, but just leaning. Within seconds a security guard came down to tell them that they either have to sit or stand, they can't lean. I know it's a minor thing but come on, what are they hurting. One more thing on this topic, one of my friends decided he wanted to go down to the front row during the Cal Poly game, he got down there and I can only assume was heckeling some of the Cal Poly players, and a security guard apparently saw him go down there and asked him to return to his original seat. My friend asked, well if I had a coat in this empty seat right here could I stand here and do the same thing, and the guard said "sure, thats a different story, but you need to be in your seat." 2. WHAT HAPPENED TO TAILGATING This should be an "event" something that people get excited to do, even if they aren't football fans. The people who do go out and tailgate, kudos to you. You spend a lot of money to make it an enjoyable time. But this is something that if enhanced, would at least raise interest. I don't think it's a secret that people in ND love to drink, and a lot of people like sports. It's just the culture. It shouldn't be that hard to get people interested in doing both. I know all businesses are in things to make money now, but this is a great promotional opportunity for businesses in the area. Have games, events, and things to do, give out shirts, I dunno something. I know there is some of that, but it could be expanded upon. Granted there will have to be more people involved with the tailgating to make that worth it. This kinda gets back to the Alerus Center issues. Does EVERYTHING have to be about making an extra couple bucks? There are a lot of college students who will not go tailgating because it costs $5 to park in there. A little deregulation wouldn't hurt anything. Get people involved, get them in the seats, and get some atmosphere back in the Alerus. 3. MARKET BETTER Right now it seems to me that the only reason to come to a UND football game is because you like watching football. Well we have a 13,000+ seat stadium and not a population that contains 13,000+ people who love football enough to take 3.5 hours out of their Saturday to go to a game. People do like being entertained though. Make football games an event. I mean it's obvious that people don't care about who we are playing. Cal Poly comes, great team, in conference team, and nobody shows up, but we get an extra 1000 people for a 2-6 NAIA opponent on the opening of deer season. We are constantly battling hunitng season up here, I understand that, but I know it wouldn't affect the hockey crowds thats a given. Football here is like basketball is to Florida. When we have a good team people care, but there is no loyalty. We have to figure out a way to build loyalty amongst the alumni, community, and what should be the easiest target, the students. This may seem very simple, but if students don't come to games now, they aren't going to donate when they are alumni, or make the trip up for games in 10 years. Make the games more student centric. Go to any large school, people do not miss football games. We are D1 now, it's time that we do the same. Make the Alerus Center an experience instead of an inconvienience. I would have to assume that Cal Poly, Southern Oregon, Stony Brook, and Sioux Falls don't think the Alerus is a tough place to play. South Dakota may beg to differ, since we actually had people show up and made their lives a living hell for 3.5 hours, and look what happened. I don't think any school wants to be known as a nice place for road teams to come into and play. The Alerus is becoming that. Just a few thoughts, take them or leave them. If you have any comments I would love to hear them, because we are faced with a huge problem, and something needs to be done about it. Without a voice nothing will ever get fixed.