UND-FB-FAN

Your negative bias against NDSU appears to be clouding your judgement, in my opinion. The BSC may be somewhat comparable to the MVFC in terms of strength of teams, but there's no way the BSC is the superior conference. Furthermore, for UND, the MVFC and Summit is a superior fit based on both accessibility and regional fit. I dont understand this statement of yours: "It's not a huge drop off competetively, but it is definitely a down grade in competition ... "

That was versus Weber State. Of course many are confused because they didn't show up versus Weber State to see for themselves.

Complaining about officiating is the norm at every level of football in reality. But the Big Sky Conference crews have really been quite special from the games I've witnessed.

I understand what you're saying, but you can't blame the university for emphasizing the region where the school is actually located, can you? The I-29 connect between UND, NDSU, SDSU, and USD for conference games brings back the good ol' days and I'm all for it.

Wow, that's quite the stretch. Good for you to be able to come to that conclusion ... I didn't realize how many UND fans and alumni had quietly become Big Sky Conference employees or promotional agents over the past 5 years. I understand sticking up for UND's current conference, but this level of blind support is borderline illogical.

Scheduling is strange within the Big Sky Conference. Also, the BSC officiating crews are awful. Just two quick reasons that the BSC is less than ideal in my opinion. The MVFC is a superior conference for UND.

These aren't concerns. UND largely recruits midwest kids that are familiar with the MVFC and are supportive of it (hard not to be considering the quality of teams in that conference). As for sitting out a year of football, that is asinine thinking. UND is not sitting out a year of football -- EVER! Just not going to happen in ANY scenario. UND will also always remain eligible for the postseason. This isn't a reclassification process like UND went through from DII to DI; it's merely switching conferences.

This scenario would be tremendous. I sure hope it comes to fruition.

Couldn't agree more. It really is a bad setup. I just hope Faison bids high so UND at least has a shot at a home game if they don't receive a top 8 seed -- you have to give UND football a chance at least.

If we end up with less than 9,000, I will be very disappointed in our fans. In other words, I expect to be disappointed.

Not a good comparison for UND and its current conference situation. A&M certainly has done well with the move (although they haven't won the SEC in football or basketball), but it helps that the University of Texas hasn't been winning multiple conference titles in the Big 12 during that time, also. As a result, A&M gets its due recognition within the state. There would be a different perception if UT, Texas Tech, Baylor, etc. were doing great things within the Big 12, but they aren't. NDSU and SDSU have done big things in the MVFC and Summit, however. Also, UND has had limited success in the Big Sky Conference save for this year's football season (which is great, by the way). The SEC is also widely recognized as being superior to the Big 12 in football; that is not necessarily the case when comparing the Big Sky Conference to the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The paradoxical component to everyone's gripes about the MVFC/Summit is that the very reason we are joining the league - to play local schools - is the exact reason why UND fans are bitter about the MVFC/Summit (i.e., it's easy and popular to just hate anything associated with NDSU). If UND joined the MVFC and Summit rather than the Big Sky Conference in 2010, we would all be arguing for the strength of the MVFC right alongside NDSU people. I strongly dislike NDSU athletics, but even so, I can't ignore the fact that the MVFC and Summit leagues make way more sense for UND. Heck, Grand Forks and North Dakota are anything but big sky locations. A "valley" conference is more fitting!

My thoughts as well. Unless there's information not yet known or released, he needs to go.

With how our "fans" have been, my expectations tell me to go with 7,000 ... Should he 10,000 plus if our "fans" were even a little cognizant.

I agree with moving to the MVFC/Summit, but I also would like to see a couple sports cut for practical financial purposes. The folks at UND just couldn't embrace the fact that cutting sports is a necessary evil per the situation; it's never easy. Still, with that, we have a hypocritical community that loves all the sports teams theoretically but will never actually attend any of the events in person.

Defense is doing very nice things. Need to keep it up!

The auto bid is pretty trivial in my opinion. Just look at last year's SUU team; they won the BSC and received the auto bid and yet played on the road in the 1st round of the playoffs. On the other hand, the 2015 Portland State team didn't win the conference yet they were seeded, received a bye, and a home playoff game. Making the playoffs is more about putting together a good winning resume than it is about winning the conference. Having the preexisting conference schedule would be a very significant component of the conference realignment in that is prevents the largest hurdle of a true independent: scheduling.

That's ridiculous. Bubba likely gave this recommendation. He's a fan of the MVFC and the regional schools. If UND can't compete with MVFC teams, they'll never advance in the postseason anyways. To be the best, you have to beat the best. UND football will be better for this.

For folks like me who live in North Dakota, I like the practicality of trips to Fargo, Brookings, Vermillion, and Sioux Falls. I think this will resonate with fans and build better attendance and fan interest for local fans in Grand Forks. It's tough to get a lot of people from GF out to Missoula, Bozeman, and Cheney on a regular basis.

C'mon now, be nice.

I'm just curious; why do you believe the Big Sky Conference to be better than the MVFC for UND?

Valid points. I wouldn't say UND is following NDSU though; it just makes sense regionally to be with NDSU, SDSU, and USD. NDSU still is, without question, UND's number one rival. Getting those teams to regularly come to Gand Forks will be a very nice bonus. Making it to road football and basketball games is more of a reality now for the average fan. Sioux Falls Summit Conference tournament is very doable also. Yes, Reno for the BSC tournament is fun and unique, but how realistic? Think big for UND and get your fun trips in by going to NCAA regionals or Frisco, Texas!

Excellent! This makes so much sense on several levels. Fans can actually regularly attend road games now and this will cut costs for the athletic department. Additionally, regional opponents that fans are familiar with will make trips to Grand Forks now. The Big Sky has some no name programs that don't resonate with fans whether we like to admit it or not. Travel is obviously the big issue within the BSC for UND and that is partly why some BSC members are cold towards UND. I fully support this move.

Ha! That's a good one!

It's alright fella, it won't be that bad. In fact, it's potentially great.