UND-FB-FAN

Wrong. Many current bandwagon NDSU fans (as many as 2000 to 3000) are fair-weather fans that once supported UND football. The coupling of UND's football failures and NDSU's successes have ultimately led UND into a negative perception. From what I hear when asking around, the majority of people in Grand Forks presently just assume UND football is a joke. A lot of that is due to what NDSU is doing, and nothing else. If you choose not to believe this, then that's unfortunate that you ignore reality. As a result, you're actually insulting a part of your very own fan-base.

The more NDSU wins, the more people in Grand Forks, and even apart of UND, start to think UND football "sucks". That's the one thing NDSU winning does that bothers me: with NDSU success the general perception that UND football is irreverent only grows. The uphill climb for UND and Bubba continues... Go UND!

20-7 NDSU now in the 3rd quarter. Going to require a real good effort from Illinois State to get back ahead.

Good start for the Redbirds. Something to watch for: how does Wentz bounce back from his fumble? If it gets to his head NDSU might be in trouble...

Although I of course hope that Illinois State pulls out the game today, I think the "Frisco home-field advantage" for NDSU will be too much. The championship game is by no means neutral; the vast majority of FCS championship fans in Frisco represent NDSU. I honestly believe the only way NDSU gets knocked off in the foreseeable future is if they play a true road playoff game. Fortunately, that could happen as soon as next season...

I apologize if you got that idea, but obviously such a deal is not "free", and I was not trying to imply that. It's an investments that in turn saves on apparel and uniform costs.

Oh how I hope Illinois State comes ready to play tomorrow...

UND women's basketball currently wears Adidas uniforms.

You realize what the alternative is, right? Not having an apparel deal leads to a lot of "mismatched" pieces and personal expenditures for the student-athletes. Apparel deals allow for consistency, and in that, its essentially head to toe. Here's an article detailing a similar deal that was struck between Adidas and the University of South Dakota: http://www.goyotes.com/genrel/020212aab.html

Football jerseys were Nike but the football staff apparel and player pregame wear was all Adidas. Obviously Bubba was already anticipating a change to Adidas.

If this deal does not go department-wide, then the issue lies with not only Brian Jones but also AD Brian Faison. Faison needs to do his job, overrule Jones, and make sure the department gets a much needed, overdue apparel deal completed. Men's basketball would be just fine with Adidas, especially since their jerseys, shoes, athletic wear, etc. would all be discounted and more accessible each and every season. All big athletic departments endorse and ultimately agree on athletic apparel contracts because they straightforwardly benefit the department. By agreeing to wear only one manufacturer's gear, you then get all gear, from head to toe, supplied. That is huge in terms of program budget and student-athlete appeal. Brian Jones needs to step back or Brian Faison needs to step up; one or the other. Get this Adidas deal done for every UND athletic team!!!

Adidas supplies Big Ten schools such as Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nebraska and they have kept all of those uniforms clean, traditional, and looking good. I'd imagine Bubba will be able to get clean looking unforms similar to what the team wore in 2001.

Considering Coach Schmidt just visited him in-house, it's looking good. He has a PWO offer from Oregon, a team in the 2015 FBS national championship game, meaning he would be one heck of a skill position addition to the 2015 recruiting class. Hope it all works out. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1573082/iwarri-smith

Army has offered and I think there is some interest by some other FBS programs. Obviously UND should pursue this kid if he fits the program - he would be a great addition talent-wise.

My thinking as well. Perhaps Ja'Won Arrington, who would be a welcome addition to Cedric Simmons and Olivera in the backfield. http://m.uabsports.com/m/sports/m-footbl/mtt/jawon_arrington_860145.html

Until Jones is replaced, UND men's basketball has now officially become unwatchable.

I have strong ties to the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the state of North Dakota, so I'm actually able to understand the importance of this medical school, unlike the basic academics that arise from NDSU. North Dakota is a rural state; that's just how it is. Therefore, rural medicine is the top priority. Also, given the oil boom in the western part of the state, the influx of people and the rising state population, and the poor physician to patient ratio, the necessity of the ONLY medical school in the state of North Dakota is high. Yes, the UNDSMHS is not highly ranked in many categories, but it is highly reputable in those that matter. For instance, it is tied for the 2nd best rural medicine program in the nation! Source: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/rural-medicine-rankings By no means is the UNDSMHS the "worst" medical school in the country, as stated by some NDSU trolls. If NDSU graduates can't look through their green and yellow goggles and see the state importance of UND and their medical program, then I guess my occasional criticism of NDSU's educational quality seems justified.

Expected that second half collapse. Look at Jones' overall DI record over the past few seasons? Not good... His conference success has fooled a lot of people. In reality, the top schools of the conference, namely Weber State, have still always topped Jones and UND.

Getting blown out against a poor NDSU squad has still left a bad taste in my mouth. With that said, I obviously hope UND can somehow find a way to pull out the game and get a huge win.

Most likely not. Not with our coaching...

Nearly every NDSU game I've been at, even the ones not including UND, I've heard the Sioux suck !@#$ chant. That's appalling and only confirms that NDSU fans inherently possess an inferiority complex. UND events include absolutely NO chants pertaining to the Ag school, unless of course UND is actually playing NDSU.

Academics is only part of the equation; anyone willing to engage in a rational conversation would acknowledge that. NDSU's leadership is far more committed to football than is UND's leadership; that has and always will be the difference until something changes there. Fortunately, UND upped their commitment a year ago when they hired Bubba and increased the coaching salary pool.

Aviation and petroleum engineering, two programs you intentionally avoided, are common among athletes and they are not offered at NDSU. Also, UND's business program possesses far greater networking than NDSU's program via alumni base and simply online education opportunities. I'm not one to pursue the argument that one school is straightforwardly better than the other, but I will say that UND offers many programs that NDSU does not offer. To say NDSU has an advantage with their agriculture program is ridiculous; it may help to a degree, but how many of NDSU's all-conference players over the past few seasons have been pursuing an education in agriculture? Very few... NDSU's 2014 first team all-conference players and their academic major: FB Andrew Bonnet - finance OT Joe Haeg - civil engineering OL Jesse Hinz - criminal justice & Spanish DE Kyle Emanuel - construction management S Christian Dudzik - sports management & philosophy S Colten Heagle - marketing P Ben LeCompte - sports management As you can see, not a single first team all-conference player is directly majoring in agriculture. I apologize for actually doing the research and shutting down your insane assumption.

Faison needs to step down, Kelley needs to revisit his focus on collegiate athletics and the tradition of excellence UND athletics is supposed to possess, and then a new, energetic AD needs to be hired. Just thinking aloud my Christmas wish list...

This is all correct.