UND-FB-FAN

Another slight by McFeely, implying it doesn’t take much (1 playoff win for example) to meet UND football hall of fame criteria. Bubba’s division II accomplishments as coach would be factored in. To be honest, though, the division I era of UND football has been pretty darn average as a whole …

Wow- too much connection with your buddy Bubba to see anything objectively … again. The argument is that head coach Bubba Schweigert lacks the respect and capability needed to recruit and develop top-tier talent for a championship-caliber football program. Despite various coordinators over the past 11 seasons, the consistent lack of success points to the head coach as the primary issue. The message from Bubba is now ineffective, and yet the head coach was extended and still here, leading to the conclusion that the UND football program is not serious about competing at a high level. Schweigert's leadership and stamina is inadequate, suggesting he has not evolved as a coach and has actually regressed over time. Ultimately, need a change in leadership to revitalize the program.

Disappointing but not surprising if true. Typical scapegoat staff firings will likely occur on defensive staff I’m sure, just like they occurred offensively in the past (2018), but nothing overall will change if Bubba stays. The lack of leadership intangibles and internal expectations with Bubba will stay the same if he remains, and given the horrible track record of UND athletics, I’m sure mediocrity will remain. When the UND “brain trust” continues to not use their brain (i.e., not make competent decisions), then bad things happen, as we’ve seen time and time again of late for UND.

That’s fine, although Danny has always been good. Get the best candidate, and in all honestly, an outside candidate with minimal to no UND exposure and high potential looking to elevate eventually into FBS would be the best. Fruechte would be the only internal candidate I’d consider, but again, external candidate with bright future is ideal.

It’s about him saving face. He otherwise is going to turn his current history with UND into an ugly ending if he sticks this out. He will create internal enemies if he tries another season as head coach with UND, and I can’t imagine he nor UND wants that. It is time; this is an issue of himself vs the entire program (which includes alumni and fans). Back in late 2013 during Bubba’s introductory HC press conference, he stated it was always about the betterment of the team (program), not the individual. Let’s see if he actually meant that or not …

No question the athletics department and the individual programs are largely a mess, starting with the complete lack of competitive success, but now other complaints are mounting as well.

I appreciate the press (even if the Forum) writing on this. No way the Heraldo and their reporters (although I like them personally) would cover such a critical topic on the hometown program … an issue that comes back to UND athletics being treated more like a high school athletics program than a division I collegiate athletics program. Anyways, still a frustrating article though to say the least. Plenty of subtle jabs in there at UND, from a “hockey school not having 750k to spend on football” or the implied “UND shouldn’t expect to do better than NDSU, SDSU, Montana State, or Montana”, but nonetheless this is the reality we’re living in. As an aside, what division I university that sponsors football, basketball and hockey considers itself a “hockey school”? I’ll just say, none that are successful, but as McFeely wrote, that’s a topic for another time. And in the end, I hope the bottomline is true, and Schweigert doesn’t have the title of head coach very soon. Then we can actually discuss “who should UND hire?”. Until then, I continue to seriously question my affinity towards my alma mater’s athletics, and continue to devise my own exit strategy.

To prevent repeating yourself (which is frowned upon here) in terms of “too bad, good guy”, best just hold off on all farewell comments until the *end* of the impending mass exodus of players from this dumpster fire … But, Go Hawks!

Not mutually exclusive - they aren’t recruiting very talented players and they aren’t developing them also. Net result is what we’re seeing on an annual basis. Horrid coaching staff for UND football … but complacency, unwarranted contract extensions, and a country club attitude will do that. You know what they say about pressure … it makes diamonds. No pressure within UND athletics right now or of late … and it shows.

Thoughts that continue to hold back the potential of UND football …

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