dakota fairways

Thought it would be relevant to list the names of other teams... maybe as a way of eliminating some names?

Wasn't NDSU's opponent in the 2009 NCAA tournament Kansas?

will post these in this thread too: email addresses for the SBoHE Jon.Backes@ndus.edu Grant.Shaft@ndus.edu Melissa.Bonner@ndus.edu kirsten.diederich@ndus.edu Duaine.Espegard@ndus.edu Michael.Haugen@ndus.edu Claus.Lembke@ndus.edu Richard.E.Smith.2@ndus.edu John.Girard@ndus.edu

how about the email addresses for the ND State Board of Higher Education too??? Jon.Backes@ndus.edu Grant.Shaft@ndus.edu Melissa.Bonner@ndus.edu kirsten.diederich@ndus.edu Duaine.Espegard@ndus.edu Michael.Haugen@ndus.edu Claus.Lembke@ndus.edu Richard.E.Smith.2@ndus.edu John.Girard@ndus.edu maybe they will be willing to listen

Thanks dani. sent emails and then emailed some friends with a link to the page and asked them to email the NCAA & Fox too.

Can we start a legal fund to help the Spirit Lake tribe in a suit like this? If it works in Michigan and Florida, why is the Spirit Lake tribe in North Dakota discriminated against? After all the names that have been posted on the Sioux Name thread, nothing comes close to the Sioux. Yes, I admit I am white by birth, but UND Fighting Sioux by choice. I truly feel that the use of the Sioux name and logo is intended to honor the people who have lived in this state longer than the white Europeans have.

Once the Sioux have been D-I long enough to qualify for postseason, that annual game should be in the playoffs Why rush into an early season game when a postseason win over the Bison will be much more satifying

If Utah State goes MWC, Idaho is really in a tough spot. The WAC is becoming so southwestern and Idaho is being isolated even more. Maybe the MWC will help them out and bring in all the western WAC schools into a Super-MWC like the Big Sky did for (to) the Great West.

Interesting historical post from the USD goyotes.net forum. note the date: Sept 30 - a month before the announcements!

I remember being very disappointed when NDSU and SDSU were turned down for the Big Sky back in 2004. I don't think it was just me, but a general feeling across the whole region. The Big Sky was the destination conference everyone wanted for D-I and now it looked like that door was closed and would not open for the Sioux when the time came for UND to find a D-I conference home. The Big Sky is the golden ring that all four schools wanted when they moved to D-I, and UND being the only one who ultimately got the invitation makes the move even better. The perception of the Mid-Con was raised considerably when NDSU & SDSU joined them. The irony of that is that D-II upgrades raised the way the conference was looked at before they had even been D-I long enough to qualify for the post season. Cudos to the SU's for doing that for the Summit, but the fact remains that D-II schools were an upgrade for an existing D-I conference. As for the MVFC, it is a solid conference that has a very stable history as the Gateway, maybe even better than the Big Sky, since Big Sky schools tend to move up to the WAC, but IMHO the Big Sky has more recognition and esteem than the MVFC. On top of that, the Big Sky offers opportunities to develop rivalries with the same schools across football and basketball, that consistency will also help fan interest. Recruiting athletes to play in Big Sky destinations should be easier than Summit/MVFC locations. There are no Summit or MVFC schools in Minnesota or Wisconsin, so there should not be a disadvantage for the Sioux to recruit in the traditional Sioux recruiting grounds. Then add the western US to the UND recruiting footprint and things should only get better. As for the argument that families will not be able to follow their student athletes in the Big Sky, especially in the winter, would you rather go watch your son/daughter in a warm weather or ski destination; or in Detroit, Kansas City or Tulsa? The size of the conference may be an issue, but I do not think it is a disqualifier, either. The Big Sky is already too spread out to be a bus trip conference, as is the Great West. Other than the old NCC schools, the Summit/MVFC is not a bus conference for UND either. Whether you are traveling 5 hours by bus or by plane, the difference in the time on the road is probably not significant. The Sioux can still schedule out of conference games with NDSU, SDSU, USD and even Northern Iowa. This may be a blessing in disguise, since OOC games may not have to be scheduled against Stony Brook or Northeastern State. OOC games will have more fan appeal against the Dakota schools and potential rivalries in the Big Sky are very appealing. So, a long winded answer to your question, but yes, IMHO the Big Sky move for UND is indeed a really good thing and it is even better when a school like Montana chooses to remain in the Big Sky. I would rather see Montana, Montana State, Idaho State, et al on the schedule every year than South, East, West Illinois on one schedule and Oakland, IUPUI, IPFW on another. NDSU, SDSU, USD can still be scheduled as OOC games, if it works out, and it more than likely will as the athletic departments of all the schools get an opportunity to look forward and plan for upcoming seasons.

OK, I'd like to start this post with a disclaimer that I do not see this as either a possibility nor a wise move, but want to float the idea for discussion. The WAC is desperate and this might be a time for Karl Benson to approach four schools that would give the conference stability and a ready-made set of rivals to hold the WAC together. If UND, NDSU, USD & SDSU would join the WAC as a block, the WAC would be saved and the Dakota schools would have access to FBS and a conference that has been getting multiple bids to the NCAA BB tourney. If the Dakotas would go to the WAC together, the WAC could end up with northern & southern divisions: UND, NDSU, USD, SDSU, Idaho, Utah St in the North; New Mexico St, Texas St, UT San Antonio, LA Tech, San Jose & Denver in the South. The South would be 1 school short in football with Denver a a non-football member. You could add Seattle as non-football to the north and Lamar as full member in the south, bringing it to 12 football/14 all sport members. not bad... If the southern schools bolted for the SunBelt, C-USA or Southland, the core of Dakota schools would still provide the stability to a smaller WAC without divisions with 7 football and 8 other sport members. How's that for a crazy idea? Go ahead and fire away.

Yeah, Texas, especially with the year they are having this year, does not want any tough competition in the Big 12. I heard that the TCU coach said the Big East is not a good fit for TCU, not that the administrators will listen to the coach... so you are probably right. After Hawaii, who in the WAC would the MWC go after? There's really no one left since Utah State already turned them down - bet they'd like a do-over on that one. WAC is starting to look like the Great West of FBS. Feeling bad for Idaho, the WAC is going southern and Montana/Montana State/Idaho State/E Washington/Weber State/North Dakota is such a great fit for the Vandals. I would guess they are really hoping for Portland & Sacramento to join the WAC to get some teams other than Utah State (if they don't get a second chance to go MWC) in their neck of the woods. But then, what am I saying, UND is in the same boat as Idaho and happy to be there.

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/109277984.html WAC is trying to hold on to Hawai'i, but it sounds like Hawaii has made up their minds... How long until La Tech leaves the WAC too? The WAC may have to go after Portland & Sacramento in desperation just to stay afloat. TCU hopes for an invite to the Big 12 so they probably will stay put in the Mountain West until then and not go to the Big East. The MWC is getting bigger and swallowing the WAC. Since Montana turned the WAC down, it is making the Big Sky the #3 conference to the Pac 12 and the MWC in the west. The Sioux have found themselves in a very enviable position. Its very doubtful that any team will move from FBS to FCS, even cellar dwellers, if for no other reason than the loss of revenue sharing. If Portland and/or Sacramento leave for the WAC, it would be an extremely long shot for Idaho to return to the Big Sky and an even longer shot for Utah State to move to BSC. Unfortunately, for NDSU, pride will probably stop the Bison from moving from the Summit/MVFC, since the Sioux went first, but they are probably the Big Sky's next best choice for an even number of teams unless only one of the Portland State/Sacramento State teams gets an invite and moves to the WAC.

Now that the Summit League is history, can this movement be revived?

The Chuck Klosterman article on Rick Helling reminds me of an experience at the Otter Basketball camp south of Battle Lake, Minnesota about 1969. Phil Jackson was regarded as one of the best sixth men in the NBA for the Knicks and came to the camp as a guest counselor for a couple of days. I don't remember much about it (it was over 40 years ago, after all) except that he could make shots from anywhere, he seemed to be a really nice guy and he drove an MG Midget. He folded himself into that car and filled the whole interior all by himself. He did, however, make me a fan for life by being personable, approachable and taking time to come and talk to a bunch of kids in the middle of nowhere Minnesota for a couple of days.