UND-FB-FAN

Q: What's better than a national AD of the year award? A: two

Man crush is a bit much, I think. His "having done this before and currently doing this" is certainly a plus. I think Chaves' values and individual thinking is well demonstrated and impressive in that video I posted. Most importantly, though, is that he is the only standing athletic director of the finalists and he has done very well at that position. Furthermore, he's familiar and apparently good at running a department at the FCS level. He's a two-time national athletic director of the year honors recipient. The other candidates just don't compare. I think Mannausau could keep UND at the status quo, but what has he done that suggests he could elevate football and basketball? I don't think he could meet lofty expectations (nor set high expectations beyond hockey only) and Chaves could do that purely through experience. Chaves also has the outside connections that "a UND guy" wouldn't consider or consult towards.

This guy is really quite impressive. Appears to bring so many qualities to the table (if not just energy and critical thought) that the UND AD chair has been missing the past 10 years:

Something to consider: Have any of the current candidates had the media of their current university cover the possibility of that candidate leaving? I know Chaves' candidacy has been covered: https://www.google.com/amp/www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jan/04/eastern-washington-ad-bill-chaves-a-finalist-at-no/%3famp-content=amp This certainly doesn't mean everything, but it may be interpreted as EWU appreciates the work he does and his leaving would be a big deal for that school. I suppose one could also interpret it as Chaves is the only current AD of the bunch. With that said, I think he would be a very good fit for UND athletics, specifically addressing the major national sports (football, basketball) that best fit the vision of President Kennedy.

Donors

Yes, the teams with the best lines are typically very, very good. With that said, there are some above average teams with subpar line play. Not every school is going to recruit and develop a superior offensive line. In fact, UND is facing an uphill battle themselves with every in-state offensive lineman wanting to go to NDSU. Just look at all the North Dakota natives - some that even played 9-man - on NDSU's roster. UND may be forced to play contemporary college offensive football due to this shortage of quality offensive linemen. That is, focus on skill position players in space. Yet, it appears Bubba and Rudolph want to keep banging their head against a brick wall. The line just isn't going to improve overnight.

I'd blame the major issues of 2017 UND football on scheme (25%) per your point and on recruiting/depth (50%). I'll give injuries 25% of the blame. What do two of those points have in common? Coaches.

These are all thoughts I can't really argue with. All in all, I think many big-time boosters have formulated the same opinion, unfortunately.

Did those things happen because of Faison or despite of him? Be honest with yourself. Faison was in charge of the department for basically the entire DI era. Many of those accomplishments you mentioned were de facto changes based purely on the reclassification from DII to DI. Also, I think Prior and Bubba are in two different tiers of coaching. Bubba is 24-22 at UND (.52) whereas Prior is 103-40 (.72). Again, though, it seems some are merely satisfied with just winning more than you lose here at UND.

I sure hope something like that isn't in Mannasaus character, because then we shouldn't want him in charge to begin with. I highly doubt Mike would do something like that to sabotage UND athletics. I just think UND needs some new blood with some new ideas. Mannassau has also never held an athletic director assistant position before. Continually promoting from within is not always a good idea, particularly when there are complaints about the current department. Chaves has ideas from a different department that was successful under his leadership. He knows FCS football and DI basketball at the level UND plays at. He would potentially be a great addition to UND athletics that could possibly help move UND football and basketball forward. All in all, we need someone with a vision for UND to be great. In all honestly, Faison was satisfied with the status quo which was UND hockey championships and mediocre football and basketball.

Chaves needs to be the front runner. There's potential with Mannausau and Porter, but Chaves has already been running a successful DI athletic department at the top. Favorite has to be Chaves.

That's done quite a bit around these parts, especially for non-hockey sports. Lower Expectations U, Grand Forks, ND I'm quite apathetic at this point. Shame it has to come to this. Holding out slight hope due to the new AD.

Key word is seemingly. Just like last season was "seemingly" a guaranteed playoff season. UND needs to get more talented across the board and never get complacent with the ability of the current roster, especially coming off a mere 3 win season. Now, in regards to the Iowa State player, his history definitely does raise some red flags that should be considered. Moving forward, though, UND does need to consider more "select" FBS transfers for pure talent.

Execution and discipline goes a long way when running flex triple option football. The military academies are well versed in this. Unfortunately, the complete lack of a passing game does usually cost the military academies at least a couple games each and very season. It's a tough style to be successful with when you're suddenly down a few scores.

You'll get that ANYWHERE in DI football. Welcome to the big boys. Some hear less because they WIN.

Well said.

San Diego State offer appears to affirm he has a lot of potential. I certainly hope to see him sign with UND. UND has targeted (and signed) some highly respected defensive line recruits lately. Hope it pays off starting in 2018. The linebacker and defensive back spots also need major upgrading, and there's some potential in this class at those spots too.

Complete exaggeration. No one on NDSU would run straight FB lead all night. Rudolph on the other hand might have tried. Don't oversimplify NDSU's offense; they do a lot with pre-snap shifts and spreading the ball around. UND doesn't spread the ball around nearly as much which directly comes back to offensive game planning.

Spot on. All hail mediocrity!

Average Football U. I'd like leadership and us, the supporters, to eventually entertain changing that.

Wishful thinking, probably the latter.

Either way, UND's defense remains bad. Until the defense improves, UND will struggle mightily against quality opponents. The Big Sky Conference remains mediocre at best, though, so the conference slate will probably make UND look somewhat competent again.

If you're coming to this forum looking for validated reporting, then your source preferences should be questioned more than anything else. You should expect such "air it out" claims regularly here; furthermore, actually spending your time policing such claims is certainly excessive. I prefer getting my information "straight from the horse's mouth", but I have no problem "beating around the bushes" on this website as that seems most appropriate given the nature of fan forums. Good day.

Whether they were vague or not, I would expect someone to have a problem with it. I would hate to give you the benefit of the doubt and God forbid provide an actual name. Some just don't like to think there's something wrong or off. Well, in collegeiate athletics and many other disciplines, you can often explain poor performances by just that. But, it's always hunky dory at UND, right @jdub27?

I'm not going to point out individuals. However, those who are lazy and/or have personal interests directed towards the ice within the department sure appreciate the luxury of not needing to actively monitor performance reports. No consequences anticipated when one signs one of these "special" contract extensions.