UND-FB-FAN

Patience until this evening. If there's no press conference, official announcement, or information leak by tonight, then everyone has reason to be worried. Given the necessary buyout situation regrading Mussman's contract, this thing could take most of today. Faison needs to get this thing done though if he truly wants UND football to be competitive.

That comparison is strikingly similar.

Bollinger has potential, but I feel his lack of coaching experience is worth noting. Playing is different than coaching - no way around that. I feel Bollinger isn't the BEST candidate, although he is a good one.

I know his background and I believe he's a great coach, I just think one should be cautious when considering a 34 year old coach who has no experience as a college head coach. He would be one of the youngest head coaches in the country if he was hired. I think the youngest FBS coach is 32 and he coaches at Western Michigan.

There are a lot of people in North Dakota and Western Minnesota that did not attend either university but they like football. If you were not loyal to a particular university, would you enjoy watching UND's current football product over NDSU's team? The answer is definitely no. The relationship between winning and attendance is relevant in all sports. You win, you draw crowds. You lose, and you lose attendance. That's just the way it is. And the crowd I "roll with" is not different, they just enjoy quality football - something Mussman has not been able to produce.

Absolutely. With winning and playoff games, UND football will rebuild support along with increased attendance.

I easily know 100 people who were once UND supporters and now only go to Fargo games. NDSU's success coupled with UND's lack thereof has negatively affected UND's fan base.

The IPF won't save the program; new leadership and better coaching will do that. The IPF will have an impact on recruiting - there's no question about it. Being able to practice within a controlled environment and work out in a new building will definitely be attractive to recruits. Will it exclusively affect recruits? Likely not, but it has the potential to win a few recruiting battles. The IPF is a game changer.

The upsetting thing with PJ Sparks is this whole season he should've started but it never happened. That's just blatant incompetence on the part of the coaches. Same goes for a number of younger players on defense. A fiery leader who demands respect is what this team needs at the head coaching position. Mussman is not that guy.

Too young and way too inexperienced as a head coach. He'd make a good offensive coordinator possibly, but I currently wouldn't want him as a head coach.

Good article besides the non-mention of the Aaron Anderson. Can't wait to watch the team compete against Wisconsin!!

I saw the Beck kid play and I wasn't overly impressed. However, he does have a good frame. I think UND should snatch all three and see if any of them has the work ethic to mold themselves into an FCS football player. They may not have the measurables as Chicago kids, but you never know if they have the passion and desire of a home state kid until you get them into the program. That's what Mussman hasn't done - get enough home state kids into the program and develop them into contributors. All three are at least worth a shot as walk-ons.

I'm afraid that's just not practical. Anyone worth hiring (FCS coordinator or FBS position coach) is currently employed and busy with their respective team. If Faison lets go of Mussman on Monday, then Faison likely has known for a while that he was going to go that direction. For that reason, I'm sure he already has candidates in mind. Just let the process play out and hope that Faison hires a great leader with DI experience. Once that is in place, recruiting will improve to new heights. A coach with DI experience will immediately start recruiting the right student-athletes, not 155 lbs running backs/defensive backs and gutless line of scrimmage players.

There shouldn't be any panic as of right now. Considering this year's poor results and Mussman's unlikely future as head coach, why would many recruits want to commit to the University of North Dakota? I suspect many prospective recruits are waiting this thing out and seeing who the next head coach will be. In a lot of ways, I look at this lack of activity as a good thing, because it suggests Mussman is on his way out. And like I've said before, the sooner Mussman is gone and a real leader is hired, the sooner this program can start building towards a Big Sky championship/playoff berth.

UND 110 Minnesota Morris 69 FINAL

I'm not concerned about this team's offense. With Hooker not redshirting and Nash being every bit as athletic as advertised (along with having Huff, Anderson, and Webb), this team will be able to put up points night in and night out. My main concern is the front court defense. Defensive rebounding should've been better tonight. Wisconsin and NDSU will definitely test UND in this area. I'm hoping Alonzo Traylor was simply serving a one-game suspension as Schuler was. He definitely will be counted on playing big minutes after what I saw from Calceterra and Salmonson.

I expect a competitive game. That means UND wins the game or loses the game by single digits. That simple. With the maturity and experience of this year's team, that isn't too much to ask for.

Hopefully that is how it works out.

I had researched Wristen a few weeks back; I feel he would make a great candidate. He's turned around CSU-Pueblo's program into a DII contender. He beat Northern Colorado this season also (UND's current team did all it could to accomplish that).

#19 Wisconsin (2-0) beat #11 Florida last night. UND will definitely have a difficult task ahead of them when they play in Madison next Tuesday. I just hope the team can play a competitive game and keep it close - that in itself would be a statement.

More of this arrogance again - great. Bellmore was a good player, but talent deprivation in North Dakota is not the current issue. The current coaching staff doesn't have a quality plan in place; therefore, very few North Dakota kids are allowed to make an impact. Instead, Mussman tries to take the easy way out and recruit talented kids from Illinois rather than develop local kids into high quality system players that can execute their job. There's no quality development, or discipline for that matter, in Mussman's current program. Recruiting some nonlocal kids that are talented is fine, but it won't work exclusively. The Dakotas and Minnesota produce enough talented, prideful athletes to consistently provide UND with winning rosters.

I feel that threatening to discontinue football support/season ticket renewal is a bit blatant, but there is a sense of practicality to it. I don't approach this situation saying "If Mussman isn't removed, then I won't attend any more games", because I have acquired a similar mindset rather spontaneously and implicitly. That is, if Mussman is the head coach, i honestly believe UND football will never resume it's rightful tradition. During the Roger Thomas and Dale Lennon days, UND football was expected to compete and produce winning records year in and year out. There were no unrealistic expectations like national championship every single season, but just to expect a quality, competitive product each and every week. That is no longer the case, and it really hasn't been the case since Mussman took over. Rather than just going out and getting the job done, the new mindset with Mussman has been patience and excuses, and that's not only among the coaches and players but also among the fans/boosters. That's NOT the UND tradition I grew up around and it's that upsets me dearly. Maybe Faison is taking this program down the New Mexico State football road, which is where his experience lies, but I just hope that's not the case. UND football has the potential to drop completely off the map if a coaching change/culture change doesn't happen. I honesty and objectively believe the football program will never live up to the once proud reputation UND football once had before Mussman took over. Hopefully Faison, who was hired after the Lennon era, can realize the proud history of UND football and appreciate it. If he can't, then the football program will stay mediocre at best. I honestly will not go to any games next year if Mussman stays; not because I'm trying to prove a point, but because I honestly will have no interest nor optimism. I will continue to support UND athletics through other sports, but not football. If Faison doesn't care enough to get new leadership for the program, then why should I keep unloading support into the football program. I don't even recognize the current football program/culture, and that in itself should demand change.

I understand that as being quite obvious. And for that reason, I have kept in touch with the athletic department regularly. With that being said, I have no insider information or leverage. Therefore, all I can do is wait to see if they agree with my opinion on November 18th.

Very good point.

The football product is awful, and until something is done by the athletic department to change that, why should anyone spend their time and money to support it? Especially if Faison and the athletic department are content with where this program is and they do nothing following the season. Doing nothing and simply "waiting this thing through" will not help out anyone but UND's opponents and the school 70 miles to the south. With that said, if Faison is planning on dismissing Mussman, I agree that it should be done after the final game of this season. So, I'll be patient until after the UC Davis game - that's when I expect an announcement.