UND-FB-FAN

UND dropped the ball on that one back then and I'm not going to defend their actions, other than hindsight is 20/20. Even NDSU and SDSU weren't entirely sure how successful they would be when making the jump up, regardless of how much you want to gloat now. UND's timing is not so much the issue as is the fact UND's administration with Fasion was/has been hesitant in giving enough funding to football and basketball and limiting hockey. NDSU didn't have the "hockey problem" to worry about when moving up, and by that I mean they didn't have to heavily fund a sport that wasn't football or basketball. UND still needs to work on improving the budget for football and basketball. Football had a bit of a budget bump when Bubba was hired, putting them at fourth in the Big Sky Conference, but basketball is still way behind. To say hockey doesn't factor into that is negligent; hockey absorbs a huge portion of the athletic department budget, but we know that isn't going away so UND just needs to raise more funds.

A plan that never seems to fail for ol' Jonsey...

It matches the jersey color and the color won't change as much as the old ones did with the reflections of the Alerus Center lighting. Nothing wrong with it.

No, it will likely be the main helmet, as the matte finish is a change to all helmets, I believe. Also, the new Adidas jerseys won't be like the green Nike jerseys they are replacing. In other words, the green Adidas jerseys won't drastically change color with sweat like the Nike jerseys did. Both the helmet and Adidas uniform change are an upgrade!

Yes, we understand UND is a hockey school, but that is not where this argument is based. Also, this is not an argument about revenue generation, because, again, we all know UND men's hockey will forever be the king in that category. Rather, when I created this thread, I was concerned about the support and attention given to non-hockey programs at UND. I am concerned about the dedication and ingenuity that the athletic department as a whole allocates towards UND football and basketball. Basically, I believe a large portion of the department is meant to focus on only hockey, per the direction of Brian Faison. Support of multiple programs, particularly the two most popular collegiate sports in the country, football and basketball, should be conducted by any athletic administration. Examples of regional FCS programs that are above average to good in more than one sport include NDSU, UNI, Montana, and South Dakota State. UND should be in that category too; that is, having at least two men's programs that are annually above average to good. Fortunately, It does appear that UND football will be that second program to UND hockey.

There's no question about it; UND should have made the move up with NDSU. Bit that's in the past, whereas the Faison/administration support issue is yet contemporary.

Exactly! You prove my point! If Faison was committed to UND football and basketball, he would make the necessary changes rather than sit on losing seasons. The argument can be made that Mussman should have been fired a year or two earlier; that is, if Faison had not extended Mussman for no established, confident reason at all. Also, why does Brian Jones still have his job then, if he is the core reason for UND MBB's mediocrity? All of this is because Faison values the hockey program, and all the other, lesser revenue-generating programs are on cruise control with very little thought or ingenuity involved from the top. Bubba is the best thing to happen to UND football in quite some time, mainly because he will lead the program with solid expectations and hard work, which ultimately will get UND football to where it should be (like I mentioned earlier; a team that consistently wins at the FCS level, like Montana State or Northern Iowa). Faison just seems indifferent on the whole football/basketball thing, which is discouraging.

My comments were not bitter towards the hockey program; not quite sure how you came to that conclusion. My issue, although minor, is with UND's administration, which emphasizes hockey to the point where they forget about football and basketball. Have you looked at the BSC rankings and records for UND? Have you looked at the attendance of UND football and basketball recently? They are not acceptable. I couldn't agree more that Bubba is the perfect head coach for UND and that the High Performance Center will help things in recruiting and preparation; however, that does not preclude the fact that Faison tends to overlook football and that is what bothers me. Here's to a great 2015 football season! Go UND!

Oregon is an extreme example; UND won't be doing that, that's for sure. However, we can't get too caught up in OUR opinions. The players and prospective recruits are the most important factor in the uniform debate. If they want sparkles and ribbons, give them sparkles and ribbons, especially if it results in top prospects committing and UND racking up wins.

UND certainly doesn't need any fancy, shiny new unifroms like what some college football teams now wear. They should, however, have some alternate options as far as colors of pants, jersey, and helmets. The recruits - especially those not from the area and not particularly familiar with UND tradition - would appreciate uniform variability like that in terms of appearance. Green helmet along with either gray, black, and/or white alternate; green jersey along with black alternate; white pants along with green, gray, and/or black alternates. It's the uniform "option" strategy that many Big Sky Conference teams are utilizing, like Eastern Washington, Montana, and Montana State. To my knowledge, UND is going this route. Set of Green and white jerseys and set of green and white pants for 2015 from Adidas; alternate gray or black jersey/pants set in 2016.

True, I just haven't heard Mr.Faison ever say, in the press or at alumni/booster events, that he expects UND football to become one of the best in the country. I ultimately believe that Bubba has UND doing the things necessary to become one of the best programs in the Big Sky Conference, but I just want a bit more support from UND's athletic department itself.

Ha! Not too bad of expectations right there, if I do say so myself.

Your last line is all I'm focusing on. I don't expect UND football to surpass UND hockey in revenue generated anytime soon, if ever, but I want more focus and emphasis on the football program, particularly with expectations from "the top". There's no reason UND football can't be as successful as teams like Northern Iowa and Montana State every season. Lastly, I will mention that I believe Bubba has UND football going in that direction.

In this article outlining the hiring of Brad Berry as Hakstol's replacement, Faison is quoted saying "....best men's hockey program in the country..." http://www.inforum.com/sports/3747202-live-stream-1-pm-hakstol-leaves-und-coach-flyers-berry-be-named-next-head-coach So much for being politically correct. I've never once heard Faison say as much as he aspires for UND football to be "one of the top FCS programs in the country". It's quite unfortunate in my opinion; at least set expectations a bit higher for football relative to where they are now from a department standpoint.

Not high specifically on Phillip Nelson as the guy, but I do think Bubba should consider bringing in an FBS dropdown QB if he can find one. I'm not impressed with really any of the QBs on the roster right now, but I hope they prove me wrong.

It's Michigan's track program, not football. Smith has already signed his NLI.

Very little reference to the "Fighting Sioux" logo was on the uniforms of the past, so why get caught up in logo inclusion with these uniforms? Just use the the right shade of Kelly Green, the interlocking ND and label with "North Dakota" and they will look fine.

A win at Wyoming and at NDSU? Definitely top 10. Not going to happen though, in all likelihood. Just winning 2 of the first 3 would be spectacular.

UND plays two top 25 teams at home this season (#9 Montana State and #13 Idaho State). Great opportunity for Bubba's squad to make some noise and crack the top 25 this season! I think UND can win both those games. Also, upset #15 Montana or, dare I say it, #1 on the road, and UND would really set themselves up nicely for playoffs.

If he can best help at RB, then that's his spot. It's about the team, not the player. Bubba wants to run the ball, and in order to do that, you need ballcarriers. There's no such thing as "wasting" a player if he can contribute at one position more than another. Right now, UND's depth in the offensive backfield is atrocious. With that said, an FBS transfer or two at tailback could solve that, and I see Smith as more of a safety or WR than a tailback anyways.

UND MBB and Jones can't have the mindset that local players cannot play DI basketball. At times in the past, it seems they have had that mindset in recruiting by overlooking local prospects and going many states elsewhere. Look at what NDSU and SDSU have accomplished with local recruits; UND needs more players from the area on its roster. Even if those players are just role players, they bring that work ethic and home area pride necessary for a gritty, hard nosed basketball team.

I couldn't agree more! Absolutely needs to be done to create more of a DI basketball feel. Sooner or later, I would like to think this gets done. Along with video boards, of course.

In terms of actually winning the game, I think UND's best chance to knockoff UNI would be in the Betty. With that said, I am a supporter of moving a few games in the REA every season. It's just such an impressive building that it would help in recruiting. To ignore the recruiting and atmosphere it provides is foolish. Even at only 5,000 or 6,000, the REA would accommodate twice as many as UND could in the Betty. The thing is, though, that the UND MBB team needs time to practice in the REA, or else the game is just as foreign to UND as it is to the away team, like UNI or NDSU.

Smith has the potential to be a special player at UND. He's only 17, so in all honestly I hope he redshirts and gets stronger, but that kind of speed is something you can't teach. Whether he plays tailback or safety, he should be a special player on some of Bubba's top teams down the road.

I also am hoping for 7-4, but that would require going undefeated at home. That will require an active fan base that attends the games well. Winning a big early game, like Wyoming or NDSU, would do that. Of course, just always winning at home will do it also. If UND wouldve beat Montana last season, in the nail biter that it was, I think attendance would've boosted nicely. Same thing goes for the home games this season: just win and attendance will increase. Winning one of the four tough road games (Wyoming, NDSU, Montana, or Cal Poly) would go a long ways towards increasing attendance and playoff chances.