UND-FB-FAN

Doubtful considering he's coming off an achilies injury.

Yup, I agree. It's Arrington and a bunch of freshmen. If the team doesn't add an FBS transfer, Norberg will certainly be at RB and not LB in the fall.

It has been an unfortunate fallout with the runningback situation. I think they need at least 1 RB transfer, but preferably 2. If you want to run the ball, you need talented ballcarriers. Right now, the backfield might be the weakest position group on the team, and that points to another bad offense in 2015.... Need more talent.

Thanks for that, Nostradamus.

http://millersports.areavoices.com/2015/06/03/some-und-football-recruiting-notes/

University of New Mexico linebacker Daquan Baker will be visiting UND on Thursday; very likely he will commit to the program sometime Saturday or Sunday. He will be a good, young addition at MLB. http://www.golobos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26000&ATCLID=209606616 Highlights from UNM spring practices:

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=210129288

These prospects are all top-profile prospects for UND. UND will need an on-campus visit for a commitment from any of these players, because, on paper, FBS offers always look better than FCS offers. However, UND's facilities are better than several FBS schools, particularly the MAC schools.

In Bubba's 3-4 defense, you can't have enough athleticism and talent at LB. Plus, they're great special team performers. Keep em' comin!

Absolutely. I hope UND can work a location out.

It can be justified; it maintains directionality with the center court ND logo. On to more important upgrades: video boards.

The arena name is on both sides of the court.... Hard to satisfy people these days... Enough with the floor; time and money needs to be spent on video boards now.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. If UND planned on just sitting around and waiting for NDSU to falter, UND would not have fired Mussman and replaced him with a competent coach and a staff with DI experience. UND is being proactive in this process, by going out and recruiting top notch kids, and with UND's new HPC coming online, Bubba and his staff feel very comfortable recruiting head-to-head with Midwest schools like NDSU, SDSU, and UNI, and yet winning many of those battles. Also, its not about just surpassing NDSU for Bubba and his staff, although that is a part of being at UND; rather, the big picture is to win the conference UND is in: the Big Sky Conference. That conference is up for grabs in a lot of ways; Montana and Eastern Washington aren't nearly as formidable as NDSU and some other MVFC schools, in my opinion.

Well, to be fair you did say: In other words, you yourself came up with the notion that there was no "visible" improvement during last season and that "most people" would say that UND hasn't proven a thing. Improvement is obviously relative, so what can you tell me about the 2013 season that led to Mussman's dismissal? That's the season that shows just how decimated the 2014 roster - that Bubba had to work with - was. I responded using your terms: UND did improve "visibly" by winning more games, playing in more competitive games, and producing the #1 defense in the Big Sky Conference. All of those things are quite "visible", aren't they? Also, "most people" would say Bubba has showed improvement under Bubba's presence; he proved he can coach defense, considering he took many of the same players Mussman had in 2013 and turned them into the #1 BSC defense in 2014, and he proved he can recruit, by bringing in many players in the short-term (FBS transfers and true freshmen) who played right away and played admirably. Lastly, we are talking about IMPROVEMENT here. No one is saying UND should have been a ranked team last year or is going to be a National Champion this season; however, the point being made by the rational people on this site (you're still trying to join that group, as far as I'm concerned) is that UND is improving. Bubba will continue to improve UND football given his assistants' ability to coach and the recruiting classes he has put together thus far. With that, I'll apologize to everyone else on this site for even arguing with you, and here's my logic:

Dear Sir, Please use some common-sense when you post. "Most people" who are familiar with UND football, and even honest NDSU fans, understand that UND football is improving. There is no reason UND can't be a top 3 Big Sky Conference team every season considering where its facilities and budget are at right now. Of course, this can only happen as long as UND is led by competent coaches; fortunately, Bubba and his assistants are just that. Unfortunately, before last season, UND was led by incompetent coaching. UND, in 2013, went 3-8, then, after Mussman was fired, they lost several key contributors, including a couple who will be playing/starting on FBS squads in 2015. Bubba, coaching a decimated, inexperienced roster, then went ahead and improved two games from 3-8 in 2013 to 5-7 in 2014. Now, UND has its entire defense returning (which was #1 in the Big Sky Conference in 2014) and several talent additions to the offense (including a few in progress) for the 2015 season. Also, the recruiting classes Bubba has put together so far are filled with ND/MN/Canadian talent which will better prevent defections. "Most" - as you put it - would look at that and see improvement in 2015 for UND. Mark my words, UND will have a winning season in 2015.

This "ND kids who are multi-sport athletes" focus in recruiting was completely absent under Mussman. Now, with Bubba going all in on it, UND will actually have a recruiting pool of talent that is consistent. I see this paying off big time for UND football.

Long way to go? I beg to differ. Last season, with a patched up roster and very few of his own recruits, Bubba got UND to 5-6, an upset vs NAU, and close to several more upsets (Montana and Montana State). This season, the roster is so much more improved. Sorry Bucky, the years of UND football having losing seasons are over.

Good one Johnny.... UND has had plenty of hyped up games in just the past few seasons, but they have dropped most of them. I think this season and definitely 2016 will be the years when Bubba gets UND over that hump, especially home games. Last year, UND almost/should have knocked off #7 Montana at home. This season, UND has a very real chance of going undefeated at home, meaning possible upsets vs Montana State and Idaho State (also big road opportunities vs Wyoming, NDSU, and Montana). 2013 also had big home games, such as SDSU and Montana, but Mussman had UND football in a bottomless pit. UND football is getting there with some top-notch coaching from Bubba and his assistants. Your BS is way too obvious.

That was a fun game to be at.

As has NDSU and its fans; several NDSU faithful that I know personally have wanted this game for sometime now. You just need to stop lying to yourself because it doesn't prove anything. The T-shirt represents a student interest in the game/rivalry; that is, an interest from the same students that NDSU fans like yourself said would grow away from the rivalry and not be interested in it. It's looks like that is - obviously - false. NDSU fans are interested; this is the highlight regular season game for both UND and NDSU in 2015.

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=210111998 Graduated UND CB Alex Tilman - who transferred from the University of Houston - has signed a deal with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. Congrats to Alex, as another ex-UND football player joins the CFL ranks! In regards to transfers, Alex Tillman is the perfect example as to why its OK for Bubba and his staff to go after FBS transfers. If done in careful and thorough fashion, FBS transfers can drastically affect an FCS football team for the better.

It's gonna be a huge game because of the tailgating and atmosphere. NDSU fans can bull$%!# all they want about how the dome won't fit anymore than last year, yada yada yada.... But the bottom line is that the atmosphere during the week leading up to the game and the tailgating outside the dome will be crazy. Its going to be WAY bigger than anything UNI or SDSU could produce, that's for sure. Then, all that is left is for Bubba and the boys to pull the upset.

It is a major factor, which is why I started this thread. UND needs to have more support for football and basketball, one way or another. UND's coaching salaries are mediocre at best when you look at the Big Sky Conference counterparts. In terms of football, UND thankfully got a really good coach at a home state discount, which is why the football program is moving forward. Still need to up salary for assistant coaches and potential contract extensions. Basketball, on the other hand, is nowhere where it needs to be. Low-end salaries just within the Big Sky Conference; need improved salaries which should then be given to a new coach.

Bubba's perennial expectation - which I agree with - is to win the Big Sky Conference. In doing so, UND may not win the conference, but they should at least finish second or third, which would result in a playoff bid. Basically, UND football should be a top 24 team every year and be in the playoffs every season. It's more than doable and it should be the expectation; thankfully, it is.

So then, if we want to not focus on the relatively insufficient finances for football and basketball, what is the reason why UND football does not have a top 3 salary pool in the Big Sky Conference (it's No. 4 I believe) and why is UND baketball stuck with a mediocre coach at best in Jones and not made important upgrades to the Betty? UND football is on the right path, I honestly believe it, but there's still no reason to now become complacent. Let's look at the facts: UND has yet to have a winning record as a member of the Big Sky Conference. There's no end to the potential coming up, but the winning still needs to be done. Finances need to be raised, and when hockey sucks up over $5.6 million per year, there's definitey some budget there that could be used on football uniform costs, HPC Phase II costs, and/or Betty Upgrades.