UND-FB-FAN

I agree with this. If UND is dancing, you have to retain Coach Jones. If UND doesn't make the NCAA tournament due to an upset in the BSC tournament, then Faison will have to carefully weigh both options (extension versus hiring a new coach). My gut tells me Faison will be locking up Jones irregardless of the Big Sky Conference tournament results, unfortunately.

If another AD decides to hire Jones, that would be very unfortunate for that particularly institution (and wonderful for UND, in my opinion).

Value hire: Half the price for twice the coach; this also exists in reality, @hoops44 It explains why low level coaches get hired by bigger institutions: salary obviously does not always represent ability. There are many factors besides salary to consider.

400k? That's over a 4-fold increase; makes little sense to quadruple the salary when one could remove the "less valued" and hire with double the salary. Also, quadrupling the salary is not plausible.

Well, in the past 5 seasons, Weber State and Rahe have done well (2 out of 5 [40%] seasons both regular season and conference tournament champions). With that said, he won the conference regular season and conference tournament his first season (2006-2007) which set the table for his tenure and salary. Jones' program did not win the BSC regular season until his fifth try.

So UND should fire Jones and hire a coach worth 150 to 200k per season? If Jones continues to win, I'm obviously fine with him continuing to lead UND men's basketball. However, to your point, if UND goes on another stretch of unaccomplishment, then UND needs to hire someone valued at the "Big Sky level".

This is the first regular season Big Sky Conference title for a Brian Jones' team (1 out of 5; 20%). A Brian Jones' team has yet to win the Big Sky Conference tournament (0 out of 4; 0%). Can Brian Jones' program maintain the success, even into next week? Just facts and logical inquiry, @hoops44 There is no reason for harsh comments; if you can't debate, leave it at that.

NDSU loses 76-57 to IUPUI in the Summit League Tournament ... wow. Better luck next year, bizons. Go Hawks! Flagship!

Go Hawks! Congratulations to coaches and players! Big Sky Conference champs! Great year for UND athletics! Let's keep it going and make 2017-2018 even better!

2017 is going to be a fun one. Thanks for the report, @Teeder11 Go Hawks! Pledge Your Loyalty!

http://www.ccenterdispatch.com/sports/nfl/article_aa2f109d-a822-5be3-ade3-6c25940914d0.html I would've loved to see him finish out his career at UND. I'll be watching for him on Sundays, along with Will Ratelle.

I didn't say I was going to. It is possible to actually identify issues without an all or nothing, doom and gloom approach. Constructive criticism is more than appropriate here, in my opinion. The issue is UND should not be losing coaches to division rivals. Now, without knowing the whole story, this particular situation may be the exception, but UND needs to be able to retain coaches against other FCS programs. I can imagine most programs would rather be focusing on other things (e.g., spring ball) than finding a new coach this time of year, but you are right in that UND is attractive in terms of its RB talent and overall 2017 prospects. The thing is, many coaching candidates (not all) are most interested in the competitive dollars UND can potentially provide their assistants and there is doubt there for UND yet. I hope for a good, positive hire.

I am not sure, but I imagine it being hard for EWU to top the responsibilities of recruiting coordinator AND position coach. Only true promotion that is possible, in my opinion, would be coordinator with play-calling duties. EDIT: Either way, my concerns remain the same. UND shouldn't lose coaches to conference rivals. A move to the FBS is understandable but a parallel move to a conference school is always troubling for the departed school (in this case, UND).

Losing coaches to a conference team for the same position, though, is an issue. Promotions or a move to the FBS is more understandable. UND apparently just couldn't match EWU which highlights UND football still has work to do in terms of funding (which most of us already knew).

The loss of Coach Maurice highlights this point more than anything else.

Great guy with great past experiences. I hope Bubba and UND do a good job in replacing him. The move to EWU is troublesome, though, as it's within the BSC; he becomes direct competition.

30% from free throw line will consistently get you beat ... a very bad night there. EDIT: Conversely, give Sac State credit as they hit the pressure free throws at the end that UND couldn't.

Agree. Missed FTs lost the game for UND and Seales being out was also certainly a factor.

That's worrisome, if true; the pressure of the BSC tournament could be tough on this team, then.

Brian Jones' team choke job special: let you down when you least expect it. Plenty of missed free throws and open looks that came back to hurt UND in the end. Well, let's hope Saturday isn't too much pressure for the squad.

Damn sharp.

After spring ball the FBS dropdown talk will pick up.

Wow. UND narrowly escapes with the win. Ugly game for UND. Need to do better to reach the dance! For now, UND is still No. 1 in conference which is certainly positive.

I'm interested in this question also. Tonight's game will help to answer this; last regular season road game so a win would be huge.

Highly doubtful due to open records law and ongoing budget issues, but Faison should be exploring possible coaching options, such as interest from the MSUM and USD coach. If there is no way a coach that would be considered an upgrade could be hired, then Jones should probably be extended. Of course, if Jones' team absolutely collapses with the remaining regular season games and/or the BSC tournament, then interest exploration post-Jones removal should probably be considered.