UND-FB-FAN

NDSU's student section location doesn't seem to deter attendance from both the regulars and the students at NDSU (they do tremendous in terms of attendance). Yes, UND students do have prime seats, but they don't take *full* advantage of it. Thus, the student section needs to be reduced and/or relocated so that more season ticket holders can be seated on the west side.

The general public that does attend would certainly redistribute to the midfield seats on the west side, though, if given the chance over the otherwise poor seats (20 yard line to goal line seats). In theory, I agree that the students should be given a well located, good sized section; however, that is not the reality. For years now the students have shown up in less and less numbers as the season progresses and the west side seats at midfield are completely empty. It both looks horrible and is a waste of quality seating. You're right that the overall attendance won't change by redistributing seating assignments, but the utilization of quality seats will.

Needs to be done. Alerus Center was just plain wrong to do this considering it was done in years past just fine. If Bubba has indeed had a talk with them about improving the atmosphere and they're on board with it, we should then expect the lights to be off this fall for team intro. Need to inject energy into the place for homefield advantage like back in the early 2000s.

Best of luck on this! It would look great and add to the tailgating atmoshphere tremendously! I know some NDSU fellas that have done this with a large bus and it really turned out nice (minus the piss yellow and, of course, their allegiance with the school to the south). I think it adds to the tailgate atmosphere and general fan perception. Seeing such things while tailgating leaves a positive impression amongst average fans.

Very good!! I look forward to this as will most other UND fans.

Then why did they always have them off during the past years? I always liked the lights dim for the National Anthem following the intro; thought it was a nice touch. Now they could shoot off the pyrotechnics during it ("bombs bursting in air") as several other sporting venues do.

Local prospect looking for offer: http://www.scout.com/college/north-dakota-state/story/1676208-hankey-hoping-state-offer Reveals interesting perspective that may relate to this generation of local student-athletes (consider South Dakota Gibbs committing early to NDSU) : "At the NDSU spring game and junior day, they had me in the tight end / fullback group, but they said they hadn't ruled out linebacker yet. Most of the other schools I would say are looking at me as primarily a linebacker. An NDSU offer would mean a lot as I've always been a big Bison fan and to get an offer from a team who has won the last 5 FCS national championships would be a real honor. It's hard to say what I would do if that offer came as it would be very tough to not commit right away, but I'd like to keep my options open a little bit."

Very unfortunate; nevertheless, it needs to now be reassessed. The lights need to come off for the intro, and the athletic department needs to spare time on the golf course this summer and actually look into improving the atmoshphere via both video and audio.

Point is, the student section needs to be decreased until the students show a desire to be there in large numbers. In the meantime, rather than having people sit at the goal line on the east side and/or stand above the endzones, they should be populating the west side mid-field seats. This absolutely needs to be done; otherwise, both the noise and general aesthetics are very poor. No reason the 50 yard line seats on the west side should be empty; limit the student section in total seats and/or position (30 yard line rather than 50 yard line). On the other hand, UND and the Alerus Center do have to do more with the team introduction (lights off, better video and hype building audio) and in-game entertainment in order to make all fans, including students, flock to the games (and stay there throughout). Reference the REA and/or the Fargodome.

NDSU pressured him and he took the bait. Good for NDSU if you're into the whole "win by any means necessary" thing. Accepting a PWO this early makes no sense otherwise.

Its okay to dislike NDSU atheltics - I certainly do not care for them one bit. It seems they are starting to come up with some new (although they've been around forever) recruiting tactics to keep themselves on top and it is pissing off other coaches and fans. Is it fun rooting against NDSU? Well, of course not nearly as entertaining and meaningful as supporting UND, my alma mater; however, watching NDSU lose is always an added bonus. It brings the arrogant pricks and bandwagon fans of that university back down to Earth a bit, and I look forward to NDSU losing some during the 2016 football season.

Any word on getting some kelly green on those gray helmets? If I recall correctly, the gray helmets from the 80s had a green logo and green stripe. Those things definitely need to be added to the matte gray helmets now so they match the jerseys better.

Sure, but still a loss for UND. Had hoped he would end up at UND, being they offered first. Oh well, NDSU will be a damn thorn in the side for awhile (if not forever).

Now will there be a way to watch the Stony Brook game? Hope so.

Certainly, but the preseason predictive value is yet essentially null. Thankfully, there's a reason they still play the games. Go UND!

Well if you gave me until midseason to predict the final conference standings, I think I would do alright too. What an absolute BS system. No use looking at it.

The first game (or two) of the season has been a night game (5 pm or 6 pm) for some time now, even going back to last year's Potato Bowl vs Drake at 5 pm or the two non-conference games in 2014 which both kicked off at 6 pm. UND's best 2016 opportunity for a night game would be the Potato Bowl vs South Dakota on September 17; well before hockey and plenty of daylight/heat left over for tailgating would make a 6 pm start doable.

Yeah, and for a young player, I'd say he's impressed and will likely be in the top four or five corner group (even after the addition of John Walker). UND's secondary is being addressed and being addressed in a big way! Time to start realizing the vision that Bubba has for the UND football program! Go UND!

Yes, which is great. Sticky corners are a best friend to the Bubba blitz. Go UND!

True. Having a healthy #8 all season in 2016 along with Arnell, Palmborg, and hopefully capable true freshmen at safety will be much needed to combat the pass happy Big Sky Conference. Cole Reyes is an absolute must for this defense; true All American candidate.

Good news. Go UND!

Agree with this. Having grey helmets as a "throw back" appears to be the direction of UND's uniform trend. After that, though, does it stop or continue to a black and/or white helmet/uniform? Only time will tell. I'm honestly fine with just green and grey.

Gotcha. Perhaps denote you're an expert asking the average fan next time? Classic colors are the best, which is why a white helmet or black helmet/uniform combination for UND should be considered over grey (Kelly green will always be the best, obviously). Grey is nice as solely a helmet, but it doesn't match the school colors and it isn't a very nice uniform color (jerseys and pants) relative to Kelly green or even black.

Exactly, and this is the source of the hype and playoff expectations. By building depth/committed player numbers and working off of the resources and facilities here at the University of North Dakota, Bubba hopefully has constructed an annual playoff football program at UND. It appears that way at this early juncture. Go UND!

Are UND's expectations in line with starting 0-2? I'd definitely say no. 1-1 is understandable, but 0-2 would mean a loss to a middle of the road FCS team; not acceptable. I do agree, though, that UND would still be able win the conference with a 0-2 start so the game vs South Dakota would then be quite big to get things rolling. Nevertheless, Bottomline is UND needs to win road games against average teams (Stony Brook, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, Idaho State) if they are going to win the conference and ultimately make the FCS playoff field. That's why I really hope the first game for UND ends up a nice road win vs Stony Brook. get it done boys Go UND!