UND-FB-FAN

You’re right, let’s just keep it at that [not]. I’m sure summer school for football players will attract a bunch of recruits and transfer targets. The FACTS are UND has missed on too many recruiting targets, they have not beat NDSU since 2003, and the REA has excess funds that they pointlessly recycle into their facility for the benefit of, and solely of, UND hockey. But, again, for the 1000th time in the past few days, funding is only a piece of the puzzle. Need better marketing and prioritization. Does UND *actually* want to win a FCS title or not?? If so, then up the game across the board, including holding the coaches to a higher standard, terminate if not getting it done, and hire elsewhere. Most importantly, as this thread alludes to, is to improve recruiting.

I think GF has several such businesses, and I know our fan/alumni base has enough leaders to spearhead this thing. Although keeping coaches and university out of it would be nice, that’s impossible considering how intimately everything is connected at UND. At a minimum, the coaching staff will need to be privy to the deals available. If this recruiting season has demonstrating anything, though, it’s that UND needs to up its recruiting game, and NIL deals are naturally the next direction to turn to. Where are we with setting this up? I - amongst others - have potential $ to provide to this. Get dollars *legally* into the potential recruits and transfer targets’ hands so we can get some big name commits.

Oh I’m well aware, I contributed to that. I was responding to someone else @Sioux>Bison stating you can’t get anything done on a forum. So, again, don’t @ me.

The current philosophy (same one that lives rent free in your head) of UND, propagated by the administration and the deals made with folks such as those in Vegas, is what limits football and basketball as much as the underlying funding. The efforts towards marketing and improving football and basketball have been subpar during the DI era from the get-go.

Yeah, that’s an unfair characterization and you know it (or maybe you don’t) Game was on 1/17/2012, on a Tuesday, and still brought in 7000+. Not played on a Friday or Saturday night and bars/suites weren’t open that night. So, if you don’t think a fully operated and staffed REA for basketball opponents like NDSU, SDSU, Minnesota, etc. would sell out, then you’re missing the point. Plus, again, if the basketball team were to be playing there full time, they would have better players, better setup for basketball, etc. again, this is not the subject of this thread, so don’t want to go down this path too hard, but just wanted to point out some gaps in your response

Agreed I’m sure the REA has all kinds of funds that could be adapted to NIL for football student-athletes, but we know those funds are locked up tight just for ice skaters. Shame, shame, shame … anyways, UND football needs support given the contemporary dynamics of recruiting. Need more funds for NIL, need donors/alumni to step up and get NIL deals funded for the coaching staff to move UND football forward.

I would propose you can accomplish both, as I stated. Hurt ndsu and sdsu, help garner und support.

Thought experiment… if UND hockey played in the Betty (adapted of course), and UND basketball played in the Ralph, what would the sell-out dynamics be? Would be very interesting, but given the suites and bars, and other amenities, it is fair to think could still sell out the Ralph whether it’s hockey, basketball or anything else. of course, also to consider, if UND basketball was recruiting athletes to play in the Ralph and train in those facilities, UND’s caliber of basketball recruits would be on a whole different level; they wouldn’t be bottom feeders in the Summit, that’s for sure. overall, the culture of Grand Forks and UND with hockey makes this hard to fathom, but it’s just to get some folks thinking outside of the box But again, this just goes to show it all comes down to which program you want to support the most, and what is the philosophy. Do you want one program head and shoulders above the rest, or several really good programs equating to a good overall department? No one wants to degrade hockey, just elevate the others, and perhaps reallocating 10-20% from hockey would do little to no harm to an already overinflated hockey program the way it is

Ouch. No NIL deals to sway any potential transfer I see …

Correct, which is why you folks need to stop choosing favorites on here. The great leader of the deaf on here @The Sicatoka has stated he does not think UND football would gain much by winning an FCS title … would be just like the rest, he states … unreal the potential set backs to ndsu and sdsu as well as the wake up call to the dormant und football fans of the region would make it beyond worth it

Major bias at play here, which you conveniently tried to skip over. From a cost and quality standpoint, the REA is a far superior venue - and thus easier to sell out - when compared to all other venues UND competes in (Alerus Center, Betty. Etc).

Hilarious that the guy on here called @Sioux>Bison likes this post! UND football will be relegated with this mindset to the point UND will go the UNO route.

You did read what I wrote, right? “How does St Could State and Duluth out-compete the better funded UND year after year? Funding is not the whole story, but nice try. Funding is just a piece of the puzzle. UND hockey could and would still differentiate UND despite a 10-20% reallocation and UND would better position themselves in the region with FCS titles. If UND is winning FCS titles, then NDSU and SDSU are not. “

No, you’ve misinterpreted my posts, I’m afraid. Hockey can get donations, but to accept a deal that relegates the other non-hockey sports, when in fact those other sports are more highly recognized on a national scale, is unideal. I don’t hate hockey, but using hockey to dismiss the other sports is foolish. Hockey should be on equal ground with football and basketball; that’s not jealousy, that common-sense and evidenced-based as per national trends. As for differentiation, having a major hockey program in an $100M arena will always differentiate UND from other athletic departments. But what they don’t do for the other sports - mainly football and basketball - in order to uphold hockey is the issue. Football and basketball need to be elevated, and thus keeping UND hockey head and shoulders above the rest is not a progressive comprehensive approach moving forward. But what you said the last paragraph I’ve said all along. Many folks rehash posts without reading what has already been posted. There are many factors beyond funding.

Your assumption that UND hockey would degrade is the issue. There’s no evidence it would get any worse by reallocating 10-20% of funding. In fact, could they get much worse? The past few seasons have been petty the way it is. How does St Could State and Duluth out-compete the better funded UND year after year? Funding is not the whole story, but nice try. Funding is just a piece of the puzzle. UND hockey could and would still differentiate UND despite a 10-20% reallocation and UND would better position themselves in the region with FCS titles. If UND is winning FCS titles, then NDSU and SDSU are not. And I don’t think hockey’s model is one easily replicated; how long we gonna have to wait for another $100M donation to come from a single donor/trust? And will it be directed towards a non-hockey sport in full? I doubt it.

It’s standard place for football to receive the major donations in terms of collegiate athletics in the U.S.A. It is NOT commonplace for hockey to receive the major donations. Public opinion matters because that is what fills the seats. UND and greater GF region consistently fills the REA, but regionally and nationally speaking, UND has become more and more irrelevant of late in other sports because they aren’t funded (nor focused on) at the level needed to excel. It’s not all just about filling up the REA, which many are content with cause that is done year after year, but it’s about pushing the brand forward regionally and nationally. That will increase enrollment, recruiting, and further perpetuate success. Football and basketball are far more popular nationally than hockey, so those other sports absolutely matter. So to answer your question, yes; a $100M gift to UND football would do wonders for UND athletics as a whole, but that surprises no one. You get what you pay for.

You sure must be a hell of a leader … Do you realize UND hires people to do what you’re suggesting? Obviously not, albeit it’s fair to argue they’re not getting the job done. It’s okay to use a forum to communicate with passionate fans about ways to encourage more support, but as your replies indicate, there will always be some “fans” who don’t get it.

I won’t be choking on sh*t; if that happens. I’ll be attending the games with a smile and congratulating the staff each step of the way, from the blue turf to the Alerus Center as the piss yellow fan base exits in disappointment. With all that said, I can also be realistic. The direction of the program is worrisome - more so due to the lack of support from Chaves and the hockey-centric mindset enabled by Engelstad gift(s) - but there are things that can be done to fix it. Since @Sioux>Bison is too sensitive to read comments about that on here, I guess I’ll have to move it to other forms of communication, which I have no problem with.

You’re beyond paranoid if you think this forum is a major player in recruiting.

The whole point of a forum is “talk”. You can’t “do something” on a forum, but you can set forth the foundation and discuss ideas. Nice try, though.

This demonstrates you’re too short-sighted for your own good. Visibility of the issue never hurts, and trust me, my efforts certainly don’t stop here at “SiouxSports” - never have, never will. Thanks, but really no thanks, for the concern, though.

Yeah, okay, and you think there will be credibility to follow this response … ?

And you know that how? It’s terribly ironic you respond with that considering your “contributions” are neither ground-breaking or promotional. So, in effect, what are YOU going to do to bolster UND athletics? Now that is where the ZERO things comes into play. I’ll sit back and read your non-sense, but absolutely no reason to respond to your garbage anymore.

You can believe what YOU want to believe, to fit your narrative. Sound familiar?

Okay, Mr. Elaborate Defense. I’d venture to guess you preferred the ruling issued by the court of public opinion in this case …