UND-FB-FAN

I disagree. NDSU vs UND in REA (first time NDSU was in GF during DI era) was quite good. NDSU had students there and they bickered across the court with the UND students. The kids then stormed the court after UND won. Quite the game to be at.

Larger alumni base? Greater attendance? More popular nationally? You're right - it's not just about the reported finances. Let start by considering the numbers that are not conveniently located at the bottom of a spreadsheet, such as alumni donations via football's large alumni base.

The women's games weren't typically Friday and Saturday evening (as far as I know - never went just as everyone else), plus we all know the appeal and following of men's hockey and men's basketball is far greater than that of women's hockey. UND men's basketball, even when DII, has never drew a crowd under 3300 while playing at the REA. We'll just agree to disagree. I know countless folks, and I see countless folks, who are at the game with no clue what hockey or UND's current team entails nor do they care, because they are at the REA having a good time. That building itself, along with the atmoshphere the staff promotes, is unquestionably a huge factor on attendance.

My point all along has been that attendance will be instantly higher than it is now in the Betty (greater than 3,300). That's the effect of the REA. The real question is the potential degree of attendance increase. The attendance numbers you cite are partially due to the Betty itself - not the most revolutionary basketball arena by any means. The Ralph, on the other hand, draws a large crowd not only due to the product on the ice or court, BUT ALSO DUE TO the building itself (two bars with seating, 360 degree lower and upper bowl seating, atmosphere, etc.).

Pop Warner football is even more popular than college slappy puck; there is even an entire television program on it (http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/12/friday-night-tykes-season-four; don't get me started on the actual absurdity of this, but it is reality). Who would've guessed reality could be entertained here in the Great White North, independent of all "outsiders" due to its superiority? Reality: relatively speaking, no one cares about college hockey. FCS football is no better or worse than NCAA hockey.

A money pit that actually atttacts over 1000 people per contest ... Oh, and it happens to be the most popular sport in the country. And it has 4x the student-athletes and coaches. And it has a significantly larger alumni base. I do agree that basketball has the most pure potential at UND, particularly if the REA could be used somewhat regularly - could be a beautiful basketball facility that would skyrocket UND in terms of facilities.

I think the $100 M REA is the answer. Just have to work out the rather complicated logistics.

I'm on board. Think about it, UND.

But the $3 million saved by cutting women's hockey will be enough ... EDIT: What do those Champion Club members give in addition? Key question.

The aesthetics of the arena should take a backseat to the absolute increase in attendance that would result. That is, for example, 3500 people in the Ralph is still better than 2100 in the Betty. EDIT: Obviously one would like the attendance to be greater than 3500, and given the right opponent, it would be.

"That was amazing. It felt like the bigger schools." This is why the Ralph needs to be used more for basketball. It would make an impact in both recruiting and fan support.

The factor to consider though is the increase in attendance. Yes the arena will not be filled up but in terms of absolute numbers the attendance will be better than it would be in the Betty. That has to be appealing. And UND can always grow into the Ralph in terms of progression as a program.

It sounds like your pride and biases are disrupting open discussion based on numbers, such as national popularity and DI athletic finances. Of course you can theoretically advance parameters endlessly irregardless of status (e.g., increase hockey ticket prices, increase REA seating, etc. etc. etc.), but that's not responsible to the overall potential that exists for DI athletics at UND. Yes, hockey at UND is currently their number one sport based on revenue and attendance. With that said, its niche status breeds isolationism and there is plenty of caution associated with that in terms of potential growth. Aimlessly expanding a UND hockey program that just won a national championship at the expense of the most popular DI sports in the country and region is not wise in terms of potential growth and competitiveness. Additionally, those mainstream DI sports also happen to have grossly underpaid staffs at UND in relation to regional counterparts. This needs to be addressed before the maximized programs (i.e. hockey) are again over-focused on. How many DI universities have their number one attended sport as men's hockey and still manage to produce "high-profile" DI basketball and/or football programs? - yeah ... It's very, very difficult to pull that off at the DI level. In my opinion, as well as that of the country, DI universities need to be successful in at least football and/or basketball to fully utilize their potential. Perhaps a different term than "maxed out" could be used, but I don't see perpetual benefit by pushing the "hockey school" agenda. Rather, UND needs to catch up - and fast - to the contemporary competitive landscape of DI athletics. PS: this is not anti-hockey; this is pro-DI collegiate athletics.

Futile overexploitation of a niche sport. UND athletics should want to expand and become more competitive regionally. There will be several weekends where the REA will go unused, unless UND decides to utilize that facility with one of the two most popular sports in the nation.

I think they should schedule a couple weekends there, again. It would potentially draw more than the 3,000 that the Betty holds. Why? Because it's just a treat to be in that building, especially if it was a Saturday game with the bars up and running. I think UND could maximize UND basketball by playing in there - it would boost attendance in my opinion, particularity if they are playing the right opponent (NDSU, USD, SDSU, Montana, Weber State, etc.). Keep building basketball, UND. It is tremendous to have a building like the REA to potentially use; think about it.

Thank you. You get it.

You don't think the football boosters along with Team Makers benefits the other Ag school sports, such as basketball? Well, it does. The support garnered by football doesn't just go to football, just like the support garnered by hockey at UND doesn't just go to hockey. Football helps out all of the Ag school athletic department. Hockey helps out all of the UND athletic department. Being maxed out is a good thing, to a point. Oh, and way to further expand on NDSU. Let's try keep this UND as much as possible. My hope is that one day UND's football and basketball programs can help out the UND athletic department just as the hockey program currently helps out UND.

And you will always be behind the eight ball. Keeping UND in the stone age does nobody any justice, unless you want to impede UND's practical progress. EDIT: Again, hockey doesn't have to be downsized, but football and basketball need to be expanded by a ton.

I could write a book on this topic, but I'll resist lengthy dialogue on this specific issue ... for now. Higher education provides instruction that ultimately benefits all of society, which includes benefit to even those who do not or did not attend post-secondary institutions themselves. You want to know why tax dollars should go to higher education? Because UND and other forms of higher education both directly and indirectly help the community, region, state, country and world community. This should be self-explanatory, so I'm not going to waste my time on explaining this any further. UND's mission statement echoes this exact premise. https://und.edu/discover/mission-statement.cfm I will again include the same sentence I did with my prior post. Many people of North Dakota have a difficult time accepting higher education as a critical function of society.The State of North Dakota directly sponsors the University of North Dakota for the reasons mentioned above, yet folks would rather hemorrhage dollars with a sport program that draws less than 1,000 attendance per game and loses millions of dollars per year versus properly maintaining the academic, service, and creative integrity of UND's mission statement? Just today people are protesting that UND should drop administration positions in order to keep an unpopular, financially-inept women's hockey program - that is absolutely asinine. As for my University of North Dakota athletics agenda, there is a reason that 39 of the 50 states in this country have either a college football or college basketball coach as the state's highest paid public employee. Its because it directly benefits that specific university through attendance and boosters, and, thus, it also benefits that particular state. The athletic programs themselves may lose money, but how do you quantify the impact that major DI athletics has on other tangible and intangible factors, such as enrollment and longstanding alumni pride? It is quite difficult. I may not agree with the numbers that today's market has produced (multi-million dollar coaching contracts), but I agree with the premise that these programs promote pride, support, and interest for their respective universities. UND should want to compete with other universities around the country. As a DI athletic institution, they need to better emphasize football and/or basketball. NDSU has grown tremendously in support (via both enrollment and donor dollars) due to their football and basketball success. The same is true for universities around the country. UND should not fall victim to complacency. UND needs to look to invest in the mainstream sports - football and basketball - while maintaining hockey. I get tired of this pro- versus anti-hockey argument ( @Oxbow6 ). I donate $ and purchase season hockey tickets every season. I do not dislike the hockey program; however, I feel that program is beyond maxed out, and if UND wants to take the next step as a successful institution, it needs to better emphasize and expand DI football and basketball. The idea that UND should only be a "hockey school" falls right into the competition's hand. The status quo is not good enough. The prior DII status of UND was not good enough. UND athletics needs to continue to expand within the competitive environment that exists today, and I commend President Kennedy for making a logical move on Wednesday that will actually promote UND athletics forward. This is what I like: moves that confront the status quo and look to make UND more competitive within the state and within the country. The people of North Dakota may have a difficult time understanding higher education, but that shouldn't deter those who fully understand it. The consensus within North Dakota is not superior purely due to uniqueness; that is where isolationism comes into play. Continuing to resist change is not a strategy that treats those kindly in the end. I hope North Dakota, and even UND, figures this out sooner rather than later.

You may want to expand on what you're saying (i.e., do you agree with these potential biases or are you now in understanding of these potential biases). You may be trying to crank out a negative response from some, or perhaps I just misunderstood your post, but I'm a bit concerned about the potential lack of understanding of DI athletics from a national perspective. I fear the DII mindset hasn't left as many people as I would hope it had by now. A political, and subsequently educational and collegiate athletics, issue that has plagued the region and state of North Dakota for decades has been isolationism. Unfortunately, many local traditionalists are certainly terrified that progressive movements will recognize logic and disrupt the inadequate status quo, and as such, fight hard to resist said progress.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/4242753-miller-emotions-aside-unds-remaining-programs-are-better-position#.WNxlKueKl6k.twitter Any priorities within the UND football program that the UND athletic department might eventually identify to improve with the savings? I suspect reinvestment into other women's sports will be the initial focus (Title IX consideration and competitive equity), but after that I would suspect the men's basketball and football programs could use a much-needed competitive boost in coaching salaries and/or equipment, especially since they are both coming off record seasons. Discuss.

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20170328161444799632304&ref=rec&tm=&src=FCS UND is just one of three FCS opponents that Utah State has recently added to their future schedule.

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20170330183130675135504

Idaho State will remain a bottom-feeder in the Big Sky Conference. Sounds like today's presser exposed some concerns as to why that will continue to be the case.

Duration of existence is really independent of the issue. Women's basketball is just more popular than women's hockey and there are far more factors involved with that than just the duration of a program's existence.