UND-FB-FAN

I disagree. Hockey and football are interconnected, as both are ran by the same departmental leaders. The dept. funding model emphasizes hockey, as do the people that make up the athletic department. Too many “hockey people” instead of “football people”. Too many people set in their ways, going about their daily business on autopilot, without stopping to consider the ramifications of their actions and whether or not a different direction would be better for the University and athletic department. You exemplified this with “GF is a hockey town” mantra. There are also certainly external influences, namely special interest donors - albeit they do have a ton of funding power.

I can explicitly tell you I do not want this; rather, just an emphasis on by far the most popular collegiate sport in this country. You can’t say you’re the flagship, but then only cater to a regional niche sport. The ignorance and lack of appropriate representation is appalling, actually. If you poll the entire state of North Dakota, football is more popular than hockey, hence NDSU’s recent rise in perception over the past 10-15 years.

I agree this needs to get better, hence my criticism of coaching, funding, and departmental prioritization.

100% agree.

Sounds simple; just win. But a lot more goes on behind the scenes than “just win”. UND isn’t consistently beating NDSU until UND football is taken more seriously by its own athletic department, fans, and supporters. UND-NDSU in the division I era has been completely one sided. The 2021 contest that was close on the scoreboard only showcased how inept the brain trust leading UND football right now is.

Oh boy, the bumpkins have surfaced now.

“Butt hurt”? Vikings? Hockey town? Dang you’re out in left field. As a division I model, centering on hockey won’t work. University of Minnesota - the “state of hockey” flagship - still invests significantly more in football than hockey. UND athletics is a dysfunctional model held hostage by special interest donors. If UND ascends, it’s because football grows, not because anything better or different happens to ice hockey.

You a hockey-only fan? You seem like someone with red hair …

Hockey-only fans are literally the red-headed country bumpkin stepchildren of sports fans. I’m not that. I fall in line with the mainstream.

The status quo isn’t nearly good enough for UND athletics. In fact, 2022-2023 was a very disappointing year. “Grand Forks is a big hockey town” is the status quo. Also perhaps a fact, but doesn’t mean it’s unchangeable.

Honestly, no. But credit to you on the attempted analogies.

Well, actually, if you don’t identify the problem, you can’t really fix it. So I disagree. With that said, it’s a major uphill battle, for sure

Yes, absolutely. One is superior to the other. Ask the country.

The game will be at noon. I’d prefer the biggest football game in North Dakota be played at 2 or 3 PM, that’s all. A huge number of other folks would agree with that. But it is what it is given the home hockey game. Ultimately, hockey is affecting football, which I think is pure bullsh*t and stupidity (in simple terms, I’m backed by popular vote), but again, we know who Chaves answers to (Midco, sure, but bigger picture is donor down south).

Tailgating is not synonymous with binge drinking, but it is associated with it I suppose.

We know who Chaves answers to … hockey will continue to get unwarranted preferential treatment.

Disagree. More time for tailgating is preferred, especially with cold fall mornings. 2-3pm kickoffs the best

The NDSU game being on the same day as the Wisconsin hockey game is perhaps a bad thing from my perspective, but who knows, could be fine. It does mean the game will be earlier than I’d like, though. 2 pm or 3 pm kickoffs are always better than noon in my opinion.

Rinse, lather, repeat. Average football. I’m sure I’m going to regret flying out to Boise, but trip already booked.

Now I’ve contributed. We’ll all be okay and won’t have to cry ourselves to sleep now. sheesh

UND football (and the athletic department as a whole) needs to reassess their expectations and philosophies, as do you your interpretation of them.

Misplaced and irrelevant. Straw man at work.

Most likely scenario is Bubba retires or moves on to a leadership position in the athletic department and Freund gets promoted to HC. Not sure when that will happen, or if Freund will be a major upgrade. If UND loses Freund before this happens because of Bubba and Chaves’ stubbornness, then UND will have to look elsewhere. As for inbreeding, this is definitely an issue. It’s been an issue for UND and Bubba. It’s potentially an issue with NDSU, but they’ve ultimately done fine with Entz and Roehl - back to back FCS championship games the past two seasons and one championship. UND football would kill for that, let’s be honest. NDSU does expectations/philosophy on a way different level than UND.

They would. But it won’t come because which FBS program wants what Bubba brings to the table? None.

Same to you. But you’ve oversimplified: NDSU’s FB budget isn’t exponentially greater than UND’s. Expectations and philosophy are independent of funding. UND lacks in these areas.