UND-FB-FAN

For one, Bubba's staff has far more experience than Mussman's staffs did. Also, Bubba is a proven winner as a DI football coach. Mussman never had the opportunity to coordinate at the DI level I guess, but he certainly never won much as a head coach at that level. Bubba's level of passion for UND and North Dakota is far greater than that of Mussman. Just listen to his press conferences or check out the north bleachers at every men's and women's basketball games. So far, Bubba has done all the right things, including recruiting. However, the most important thing, execution on the football field, remains to be seen.

I'm holding back until the conference tournament is over. This team has been so sporadic it seems it would only make sense that they lose to Southern Utah and then go on a big tourney run. With that being said, I absolutely hate the inconsistency. In my opinion, the sign of a well coached team is discipline and consistency. Even if the talent and wins aren't occasionally present, which happens in college athletics because seniors graduate and move, a well-coached team always finds ways to do the little things and stay in most games. This is why big-time coaches rarely have losing seasons, even if they lose high-end talent. It seems Jones' teams have been just the opposite. Even though this team continues to gain additional talent and experience, they stay inconsistent. That shouldn't happen. Good football/basketball coaches demand attention to detail and focus. UND has not especially had this. This was the case in football for the past six years. Thankfully, steps were made to correct that and things look to be changing for the better. As far as Jones and basketball are concerned, I'm not convinced. This year's team could still do some good things in the tourney, but its unlikely. Also, I honestly believe UND should be top 3 every year in the Big Sky along with Montana and Weber State in basketball. It's a matter of facilities, tradition, and other resources. When you look at it that way, UND is right on par. I'd say let the tournament play out and go from there. That's all.

Good addition. Need CBs and he looks like he could possibly step right in and contribute.

This is all true, but Faison will not fire Jones unless he has a horrible losing season. Not winning the BSC tournament will not hurt Jones job one bit, because, well, the expectations of the men's bball program does not include making the dance every year, unfortunately.

Stefan took his minutes, and rightfully so. I'm not a big fan of Benton's game - he needs to improve in quite a few areas.

That was the same excuse given after the 2012 football season when Mussman wasn't fired. However, another horrible season in 2013 changed those perceptions - oh, and the football coaches salary pool increased accordingly. Faison won't fire Jones after finishing 3rd in the Big Sky, even after losing to the lone winless BSC team. However, if Jones' team is horrific next season, Faison would consider a change. It might actually take two consecutive losing seasons.

Zero

Go home dirt boy

Jones' teams are great at teasing. They get the game down to 2 points and then they give up a layup! If you're gonna pressure the inbounds, don't leave a guy open for a lay-in!! Jones deserves to be caned. There's far better out there for UND; nevertheless, it won't happen this offseason.

He won't be, but he should be. This team is too inconsistent given the senior experience it has.

This game is almost enough to single-handedly convince me Jones is a worthless coach.

I was thinking of that same word; it describes Jones' teams perfectly. This team is so up and down they don't deserve to win a single tournament game. If we lose this game, I will have zero hope going into the tournament. Tournament atmospheres are bad for this team - loon at how the Oregon tourney turned out.

Thankfully this is the last spring where shoveling may be an option. However, even if there still is snow on March 28 (and i certainly hope there isn't), the Alerus hopefully can be used. Didn't raise money for that turf for nothing

Absolutely. It's clear-cut to most.

Once more, the 2013 team that so diligently and graciously cleaned off the field performed horribly during the 2013 season. Whereas NDSU, who won the 2013 FCS national championship, did not shovel anything and yet they went undefeated. My point is shoveling snow has nothing to do with football performance; it's simply common courtesy to treat the student-athletes as such and not put them in a situation that requires them to perform unnecessary labor. You're essentially arguing that having the team remove snow off the field is fine. Well, perhaps in a high school setting it would be fine, but at a DI university, the resources should be in place for a support staff to be there. If not, there are support issues by the athletic department and university. Again, and in conclusion, UND needs football players and an athletic department that supports them, not good shovelers that need to be resilient laborers when the university looks the other way. I respect Bubba requesting that shoveling and other pity acts not be asked of the student-athletes. If you want to proclaim to recruits that they may have to do such acts in addition to academics and athletics, go right ahead. I can guarantee your hard workers will not have been highly sought after by other schools.

Alright; you recruit shovelers while NDSU, SDSU, UNI, Montana, etc. recruit good FOOTBALL players! A scholarship student-athlete should not have to clean off the facilities that the university used in the very recruiting process that brought them there. In a contemporary college football landscape where paying college football players has even been discussed, unnecessary maintenance of University facilities should not be required of student-athletes. If it became a requirement at UND, we'd be the laughing stock of FCS football.

If UND did not even contact the Alerus to try and get the team in there to practice while the conditions were unfavorable, then the athletic department deserves the majority of the blame for last spring's "snow debacle".

A well respected program and coach would not have the team shoveling in the first place. Thus, you have proposed a situation that likely would not happen. Most successful programs have snow-removing equipment and/or an indoor practice facility. Fortunately, by the winter of 2014-2015, UND football will have an indoor practice facility. Nevertheless, having the players shovel because the Alerus could (or would) not cooperate and there was no way to obtain snow removal equipment is just plain unfortunate and embarrassing. It should not happen, because well, it does not happen ANYWHERE else in the DI landscape. How did the 2013 season turn out after that great "team-building" shoveling exercise anyway?

In all honesty, having the players shovel the practice field last spring was one of the most embarrassing things I had ever heard about at the DI level of football. That is inexcusable because, well, it shows the lack of investment in the football program. It's upsetting that the coach, not the A.D., will be the one to get this thing turned around in terms of principles and values. That's where it starts - ultimately it ends on the football field with coaching and execution, but if you don't have investment in the program from the top, it's difficult to have consistent success. If UND football comes back to life, it won't be because of Brian Faison, but rather because of Bubba Schweigert and his demand for legitimate UND football pride/respect.

I agree. Of course, I would believe most wish Schleusner the best of luck at his new job in Brookings, just not too much luck.

So Schleusner is gonna end up in the NFL? That's a good one...

Perhaps, but that remains to be seen I guess. At best, SDSU will be right on par with UND. Both will have an IPF but the Alerus is still a nice facility and possible advantage - it's indoors and has the CanadInn attachment. There's no question SDSU is making nice upgrades though.

SDSU has more to sell than UND? He better not hurt UND on the recruiting trail; that would be an embarrassment. UND should/will out recruit SDSU, especially with the superior facilities.

Low standards? The Ag school maybe won the NC in football, but how's their women sports? I'll answer that for you: horrible. Also, our hockey team is tied for first in the conference and every year is a possible NC year in hockey. Actually, have the bizon defeated us head-to-head in anything this year? Of course not. Keep digging dirt - it's all the bizon are truly good at.

Yep, plenty of bandwagon fans down there and across the state. That will change over the next couple years....