UND-FB-FAN

http://whotv.com/2015/01/19/north-dakota-state-bison-fans-deserve-to-hear-this-because-they-probably-cant-read/ A little fun poked at NDSU and their "wonderful" fan base...

Offensive line needs depth desperately. Losing that California JUCO kid does hurt some. With Anderson, Meehan, Stockwell, and Francis, I think the starting oline this season is mostly set; however, key depth is needed and Boas should be replaced as a stater if any half-way decent recruit is picked up.

UND football and Bubba are sure accumulating some good talent and constructing a heck of a 2015 class. Of course, it all needs to hold up and work it's way out on the field, but judging by what Bubba and his staff were able to do with last year's less than adequate talent/depth, I think the development of these players will go good. Good things ahead for UND football!

Who cares about wins, as long as the games are fun to watch......... Good lord.

Wrong. So very wrong. Many deserving DII coaches out there waiting for their shot at coaching DI. Plus there's no reason UND and Mr. Faison can't spend a little more; too much invested in dead programs like women's hockey and baseball.

Very nice weather today for recruits and their visit. Hope it all clicks and Bubba gains some commitments this weekend!

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2043988/chris-angulo Looks like a CB prospect to me, which would be great! Add both Angulo and Tyus Carter to the CB group of this class and that would be great for the CB position group as a whole moving forward!

Here's to a sweep... Go Sioux!

Well, UND basketball and Mr. Brian Jones aren't too hot themselves...

Maybe we're looking at different videos but I think the kid has potential. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1561078/keith-key Good bloodlines, both in talent and in resources. Like his size too; good to have some strong side size rather than always recruiting 5'10 190 lbs OLBs. Hope it works out for him and UND football!

This thread is what it is and isn't going to cause any sort of catastrophe. If you don't like it, don't read it. As for NDSU, give them their credit. They have built a powerful brand in FCS football and Summit basketball. As for UND, there's no reason success can't come in those aforementioned sports. However, whether the hockey diehards like it or not, more emphasis needs to be put on football and basketball. That means less on hockey; just the way the law of distribution works. Need increased budget for better salary for a different MBB coach and better marketing/gameday experience for football. Also need HPC phase II to get completed. With that and hard work, UND football and MBB will eventually see success ALONG WITH hockey. Oh, and also need an AD who can see this vision and aspire to make it a reality...

Belittling the hockey program? The hockey program is great but the emphasis placed on it by the UND athletic department creates challenges in terms of funding football and basketball. To believe that is not the case is downright ignorant. Can UND football succeed as a DI program? Absolutely, but the UND athletic department needs to change their current direction.

FCS football gets a lot more national coverage than college hockey, though. How many FCS games on ESPN? Now how many college hockey games? How about sports shows? FCS football shows up on those highlights, especially if they upset a FBS squad, a lot more than college hockey. That fact remains, whether you like it or not, that hockey is extremely unpopular in America when looking at things relatively.

Yes, but a little commitment from the people producing and hosting gameday would be nice. This is nothing novel; just some effort is needed.

I was aware of a few of those points, but a few surprised me. All in all, it just comes back to UND's athletic department needing new leadership and direction. I agree that hockey does not need to be torn down completely, but football and basketball need to be better emphasized...like a lot. Also, your points about women's hockey are very logical; you would have persuaded me to cancel that program if I wasn't already in possession of that stance.

Absolutely! #1 thing Alerus should do before next season! It would be inexpensive and effective. Get it done Alerus! Of course, going back to when the turf design was made, the Alerus doesn't actually care about UND football as much as they pretend to.

University of New Hampshire is a very good model in comparison to UND. UNH had the #1 in the FCS playoffs this season. I would like to think UND could get to that FCS football level in the near future; that is my hope.

Football being back on campus would be favorable, down the road of course. I think it would get the student body back into football games.

Agree. If UND's athletic department doesn't want football and men's basketball to succeed and compete for championships, they won't. It all starts at the top. Faison is so content, and dare I say it, lazy, that the expectations for football and basketball are very convoluted.

Hockey is largely a psychological hindrance, at least for the current athletic department staff. UND should be able to focus on improving football and basketball along with hockey, but it seems most in the UND athletic department are content right now just because hockey is okay and everything else (football and M basketball) is not. Faison and some of his employees (UND SID) are so dead set on hockey that the others suffer; it's a matter of the truth. One can't look at the mediocre nature of UND's football and M basketball track record since moving DI and say otherwise.

Hockey wasn't the "golden goose" at UND just 20 years ago. Perhaps the REA will keep hockey as the top sport form here on out, but it will always keep UND at a DII status in football and basketball moving forward. For St.Cloud and Duluth that doesn't matter because they are DII. For Omaha and Denver it doesn't matter because they don't have football. For Wisconsin and Minnesota it doesn't matter because they have the budget and big time enrollment. UND is in a unique situation, and yes, it's hockey program is maxed out in terms of following. Football and basketball are the big crowd producers; always have been and always will be. UND needs to explore ways to expand those sports.

Article that hits all the key points: http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/our-opinion/3653194-our-opinion-taking-depth-look-unds-football-attendance

Football and men's basketball need to get to relevance, or at least one of the two programs. All successful college DI athletic programs are relevant nationally only when football and/or basketball are successful, not hockey. UND hockey is a great fiscal engine, as mentioned above, and is the recognized focus of the university largely due to tradition and facilities, but football and basketball are much more appropriate when focusing on improving the support and fan following.

The hockey program doesn't need to be torn down, but rather the athletic department can not become complacent just because the hockey program is covered and structured the way they want it to be. A lot, and I mean a lot, of work needs to be done with football and basketball at UND; UND's athletic department needs to be willing to actually try and put football and basketball at the same level as hockey in order for such a buildup to occur.

100% correct. This should be the opening lesson of athletic directing 101. UND should try and raise football and basketball to the hockey program's level rather than just simply proclaim themselves as a college hockey university; that's a dead-end street for the ENTIRE athletic program.