UND-FB-FAN

Answer there is quite obvious, especially when it comes to defensive coaches. And it’s not purely about X’s and O’s, it’s about relatability and forming camaraderie with the student-athletes; the current coaching staff, starting with the head man, appear to be significantly deficient in these important qualities. But, when you’re up there in years relative to the student-athletes and sleeping all day, then that will happen. And this isn’t a me versus them comparison, this is a them versus the field (other top FCS coaching staffs) comparison. UND needs to be better.

All fair points, and likely true in its entirety. I’ve said this ad nauseam, but the objectives and goals (expectations) of the athletic department are so critically important. Schweigert is still head coach largely because expectations are so incredibly mediocre; not to mention I just listened to a podcast today where Chaves said they want UND football to be a top 16-24 seed team every year, with no mention of championship expectations (conference or playoffs). I think that is ridiculously low in terms of expectations, considering the FCS field as a whole and where UND fits into that budget-wise, facilities-wise, and conference-wise. The only constant deficit has been coaching …

My complaints of corruption have been nonspecific and don’t harm anything, but they do shed light on the major deficiencies within UND athletics. More to be determined I suppose …

Jeez. Listening to that crap ruined my evening. ”we’re disappointed” ”we want to be a top 16-24 seed” ”a play or two here or there and it would have been a different season” ”in FCS football things can turn around quickly” ”the new facilities will be game-changers” I’ve heard all the above for years and yet there’s no postseason success or high level success against top competition. It all comes at home vs average to poor teams. And I understand this UND-friendly and UND-produced podcast would never address coaching directly, but how can you not acknowledge the importance of coaching in recruiting, development, game planning and in-game decision making? It’s literally the one constant within UND football’s mediocrity. Given the budget, and the field of FCS teams, UND should be a top 10 team every season competing for championships, not a just a playoff berth. The body of results has been significantly underwhelming, and staffing matters, and to discount or not acknowledge the importance of coaching is ridiculous.

It costs a lot to remove him as head coach because of an incredibly questionable and suspect extension, which hasn’t been explained. There are corruption and/or lack of accountability concerns still present, undoubtedly, based on this extension and also now with there being no removal of the head coach (despite a 5-7 season, 5-game losing streak, and only 1 playoff victory over 11 seasons). The extension was completely unwarranted and it raises signifiant questions. Being afraid to ask such questions is a poor quality, in my opinion, regardless of previous track record.

No leadership as per usual. Turning from an admirable head coach considering what he did in 2014-2016 to now a downright awful head coach. Horrible leader. Selfish. Greedy. Self-unaware.

Bubba Schweigert and UND football being mentioned in similar circumstances as Jerry Jones and the current Dallas Cowboys tells you all you need to know about the current state of UND football … I will say, though, it’s a fair comparison in some aspects.

Always fair. Would go as far as saying unnamed individuals are propagating mediocrity for UND football. Choosing personal relationships over the effectiveness of the overall football program is such an example. It may be considered an example of corruption, or at the very least a conflict of interest. Oh well. Onward. Time will hopefully heal this problem.

Thank you for providing additional context and clarification. I agree with this post, and in essence, it is also what I have attempted to communicate. The expectations for UND FB are clearly being altered, and the reasoning behind that should be a focus point in qualitative process improvement efforts for UND athletics, namely football, moving forward.

My “expectations” have been high, but they adjust with reality also. I think the issues can be cleared, but as has been a major barrier in the past, the rate of clearance continues to be a problem. I don’t “somehow feel belittled”, but I do think the approach and tone - which is a product of culture - needs to be adjusted and improved for UND athletics.

The accusations are ambiguous for good reason. Concrete proof would have led to action already. But, as predicted, you yield to absolutely no possibility of corruption, and shield with belittlement. It’s ironically a microcosm of the culture that UND athletics is beginning to foster all too well, I’m afraid. There will be no success until the issues are cleared.

When asked about UND leadership (President and AD) and their opinion on athletics, you mentioned; “He understands the benefits of intercollegiate athletic as well as the challenges. He wants our programs to be successful and sees how it can bring alumni and other supporters to campus and alumni gatherings at athletic events. “ And then you mentioned facilities as the change, but the results in competition are the ultimate metric per the masses, as for attendance of games, not facilities on campus. And excellence via results has been evasive. It’s okay to be critical, as constructive criticism is far more beneficial than justifying all decisions made. Expectations matter. There’s a trickle down effect to everyone. It starts from the top. High expectations lead to better recruiting, and a standard to make the correct decisions during the game, and to put in the work during the week (as failing to prepare is preparing to fail). Right now, there are no lofty expectations and as such there is no accountability. Also, not surprisingly, no championship results. And yes that goes along with a lack of championship recruiting and development. And if Bubba’s expectations (make playoffs) don’t align with the expectations of Chaves and Armacost (supposedly per you to perhaps do more), then why did Chaves extend Schweigert? That’s essentially an endorsement of philosophy. Lastly, it’s easy to predict, @iramurphy. Use the past to predict the future. Schweigert has adequate sample size. C’mon, man, you’re trying too hard. The University let down UND football alumni, supporters, and others today, although argument could be made it was a year ago when they extended the decrepit current head coach. There’s behind closed doors endorsements going on that are blatantly senile and corrupt, but I’ll leave it at that. It’s preposterous to make such accusations, I know, I know, but where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

We’ll see if the facilities win the games. Didn’t happen in 2024, that’s for d*mn sure. Coaches and players (student-athletes) are more important in my opinion. Also, fans won’t show up to the Alerus Center or travel to the away games because there are nice facilities on campus, but rather will do so because THE TEAM is doing well and making supporters proud. My prediction for 2025 is a 6-6 season and again no playoffs. Diehard supporters will hope for the best, but expect the worst given reality of the situation. The expectations are too low. Just want to make the playoffs are the expectations I guess (per Bubba in press conference today) with no championships, and it shows. Expectations and mindset go a long way, and Bubba Schweigert has voided the program and University of potential greatness.

Talk is cheap. May have to strongly consider getting rid of my tickets and tailgating spots which I’ve had for decades. I think I’ll keep them, but just not show up. Hard to say. I’m diehard, and like tradition, so I guess come September I’ll be there, but this is a disheartening day for sure. It is for most diehard UND football supporters. Just when you thought being 3rd or 4th best football program in the Dakotas perennially for over a decade couldn’t get any worse, it now has. No expectations to be great; a very similar and sad ongoing narrative indeed.

There’s a reason UND football pales in comparison to NDSU, SDSU, and now even USD football programs. Still no plans to address this it looks like. Not surprising, but disappointing for sure. Day by day, loss by loss

Yes, it is admirable until it is, well, not. Tough reality to embrace, I get, but it’s reality.

I observed less focus and energy / enthusiasm from the team as the 5-game losing streak progressed. Hard to say the team wasn’t very good when they started 4-1 including a win vs a playoff team. Everything starting going downhill after NDSU game, and especially after Youngstown State game. Football has been and always will be a game of momentum, and I’m afraid the current ol’ ball coach ain’t got any of that mojo left

Nice guy, not a championship coach, which is okay. Have to be able to separate the two.

Yes. Right on par with the tone-deafness that has now caused him to lose his team / players. Student-athletes evidently stopped playing hard for him the past 5 plus weeks (I’d argue game in Fargo was pretty darn uninspiring as well).

If Bubba is retained for 2025, then 2025 will certainly be projected as a lame duck disaster year. Of course, when he possibly goes 7-4 and loses in the first round of the playoffs, then we’re stuck in ongoing mediocrity as he won’t be fired and half of the “supporters” will want him to have another pointless shot in 2026 (all the while NDSU, SDSU, and even USD will be further ahead). If he doesn’t have a winning season in 2025, which is most probable, then he’ll obviously be fired at that point, but that’s one more season digging the figurative hole we’re in deeper.

For several reasons, yes.

Biased? Absolutely, and that’s not changing. You know who is also biased? Matt Larsen, NDSU AD, who is on the selection committee. He’s as corrupt as the school he represents, so I’m going with that as the explanation for NDSU No. 2.

It was gifted. It terms of recency, strong arguments for USD and SDSU to be higher than NDSU. USD beat NDSU head-to-head just yesterday and SDSU is most recent back-to-back national champions. Sure, I understand those aren’t the “criteria”, but still crap that NDSU and their arrogant asshole fans are again *gifted* with more home games.

Sure … losing is fun!

Montana State with #1 seed and NDSU gets #2 seed. SDSU #3 and South Dakota with #4. could be big time semi-final games, but NDSU again gifted with home games though out playoffs is tough … Potential SDSU @ NDSU in semifinal would be a big rematch from regular season … tough to win in the dome though. Hate that NDSU is again and again gifted with home playoff games …