Siouxperfan7

The goal of the NCHC was getting schools that were committed to their hockey program and supports them financially. I don't know the athletic budget of either schools, but if I were a betting man, I would say that a school that is 4 times the size of MTU and is D1 in all sports has a bigger budget. While I agree there were many other schools they could have taken, the NCHC needed an eastern team to go with Miami OH. Choosing W. Mich. is clearly better than MTU. Anyway.....getting back to trophies...I think that the National can come up with some good trophies. God help us if it is anything like the Cy-Hawk trophy!! Man...that has to be the worst trophy design in the history of trophies!!!

D'oh kay!!

Making a trophy that has current member schools will be outdated very quickly if/when teams leave or the conference expands.

The design is not optimal. Sure it would be nice to have seating around the entire building. But history has shown that the Alerus can be a loud and intimidating place for opposing team. the atmosphere has been great in the past when the place is packed and people are cheering loud! So to answer your question whether you can create a football atmosphere in a building like this....the answer is YES!! I have experienced it. It is possible!

Whatever happened to the band playing right in front of the student section side right before the kickoff? They would always stop there on their way back to their seats and play "Fight on Sioux" as the team was taking the field for the kickoff...right up until the ball was kicked. That always got the crouwd into it.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/247752/ Article in the paper today sparked my interest to see what everyone else thought about what the names of the trophies of the NCHC should be. Also what should they look like?

What is disappointing is we heard all summer long how the marketing for UND football was going to be better. Looking around town and from what students have said around campus, it is very little. We all know that you don't really need to market UND hockey to students and the rest of the community. People will sell out the place no matter what. UND need to step up their promoting of the football team. Billboards, yard signs, posters in the dorms/dining halls/union/etc.

If you live on the south end of Grand Forks, The Eagles Crest Grill at Kings Walk Golf Course has a bus to the games as well. Not as rowdy and crazy as say Rumors or Southgate....but hey, maybe that's what you are looking for!!

I remember back in the D2 playoff era, that they had restrictions on how many players you could dress (for playoff games). They would put all the players that didn't dress in the student section! They were the most loudest boisterousness students in the entire section!! Can't blame them...its their fellow teammates out there. Not sure about what the rules are in that regard now...but that definitely was a great idea to do that!

To BIson fans and the UND fans that keep talking about NDSU. Here is a place you guys can argue all day and night and not bring it into unrelated threads and piss everone else who could care less about NDSU. Comence your "who's pecker is bigger" arguments here. Thanks!!

Are you seriously gonna go with the argument of 3 stop lights and a train that you MIGHT have to wait for maybe 5-15 minutes?!!! Come on!!! The students that live off campus can get to the game! How many of these students living on campus don't have cars? Really? If you don't have a car and want to go to the game...take the FREE shuttle!! You are acting like the Alerus is located out by the Air Port!!! Everywhere in Grand Forks takes what 15-20 minutes to get to? Seriously. This is by far the WORST excuse for why people can't come to the game!! People (students included) have no problem getting to the mall, the grocery store, the bars downtown, the movie theater, their favorite restaurant, Target, Walmart, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. The Alerus is no exception. No one is making these kids walk. Take your car!! They all have one....or know someone that does. Saying that a college kid can't drive a mile and a half and come up with 5 bucks (less if you have other people in your car) is beyond ridiculous Come on Darell.....you know better than that to give them that sort of ridiculous cop out!!!

Give me a break. The Alerus is to far away?!!! Come on!! It's on and a half miles away from Wilkersson Hall. And it's not like Grand Forks is a big city!! If you drove your car from campus you would hit what...3 stop lights!! I am not going to let anyone get away with the fact that the Alerus is too far away. People drive downtown to the bars, to the southend of town to Target, ...they can drive to the Alerus. Heck...if they don't want to drive...there are shuttles going from the Chester Fritz to the Alerus all game day morning!!! Also...your telling me a college kid doesn't have 5 bucks to park their car? Get in a car with 4 other people from your dorm and that's one dollar a person!!

1) 3 - This last week was pathetic...but in he previous 4 home games there has been at least somewhat of an attempt by the students to fill their section. But as far as rating their "showing up, staying, and making noise....it has been awful. Sure there were times at the beginning of the Mines and Portland State game where the student section was pretty full. But after the kickoff...they pretty much just stood there with their hands crossed and only cheered on third downs. No enthusiasm whatsoever. Maybe in some of the students in the first couple rows, but overall they might as well been at a funeral! After halftime, the student section was half full..at best. 2) Being someone that has ripped on the student section and the overall fan support, I don't want to just compplain about the problem without offering solutions. Because it can be fixed. Here are a couple things I would suggest to improve the student attendance and overall student experience at football games. 1. Promote tailgating. I guess I am not sure if they charge students to tailgate or not....but they should give those tailgate passes away! The student tailgate lot is pretty big. Student government should be involved more in getting their organizations out there tailgating. Fraternities, Sororities, Basketball team, volleyball team, Med school, law school, etc. should have representation at the student lot. Maybe having a year long competition between student organizations throughout the year and the winner gets a prize. Say....use of the Engelstad suite for a hockey game or something!! 2. Better circulation of tickets for students. They should be handing out tickets to the game everyday the week before the game. Dorms, Dining halls, in the quad on campus....everywhere!! Get people excited about UND football and make it easier for them to obtain tickets. 3. One suggestion that has been brought up before is using 'Yell Leaders' that help the fans with cheers and chants during the game. Not cheerleaders, but students that can energize the crowd for the entire game!! As far as the atmosphere....students need to take ownership of the atmosphere they create at the game. Hanging more pictures in the concourse isn't going to get people to be more involved in the game. Students need to take pride in the fact that they are cheering for their University and their fellow classmates out there. the students need to decide if football is going to be a priority for them. they have already moved the student section down once. If the student attendance continues to go down, Don't be surprised if they move the student all the way to one side and sell the prime 50 yd line seats to the general public!!

How did this turn into a debate about NDSU??!! For crying out loud!! Why does every football post turn into a NDSU/UND debate!!! I thought this thread was about the Montana game??!!

How many current students were enrolled in UND when we lost to Sioux Falls? Seniors and older...that's it. I am sick of people blaming the Sioux Falls loss an excuse the attendance is down. That was 3 years ago!! This a completely different team and different opponents!!

Cal Poly just can't get a break!! They may have to go undefeated to be a seeded team!!!

Whiteys, Rumors, BWW, Southgate, Muddy Rivers....those are just a few that I know that I have taken in the past. Obviously more. I am sure others will list the ones I missed.

Kind of sad that the athletic department would have to go to these type of tactics to get students to a football game! But if if that is what needs to be to done to get students to the game...might as well do it!!

I think we are all aware of the skill that Hardin has and he has definitely showed it on the field, especially this year. You don't see too many 5'11" , 167 lb receivers in the NFL, but what do you guys think about his chances for playing on Sundays in the future?

This pic was sent to me of the West stands. This was in the fourth quarter when the game was tied!! If there were students that trickled in after the game started...they definitely abandoned ship before the game was over. Its not like this game was a blowout for wither team. This was a tie game in the 4th quarter with Montana!! And its not like the game wasn't entertaining!! Hanson had what 400+ yds passing in the first half?!!! I realize that student sections around the country have been down at some schools....but that is no excuse. Its not like the UND students have never supported this team and program. The Alerus used to be deafening back in the day. A game like this in 2004 would have been ridiculous!!! Just unfortunate that one of the most entertaining games in UND football history and that ended with an exciting game winning touchdown with 12 seconds left was sadly only witnessed live by about 8000 fans.

Here is what the student section looked like at 2:25 on Saturday. That is 5 minutes before kickoff of one of the biggest games on our schedule. PATHETIC!!! Can I just say it one more time....THE UND STUDENTS ARE PATHETIC when it comes to their support of this football team. I am embarrassed of our fan support in general...but the students have really been the most disappointing. And this proves it! Pretty sad when fans of an opposing team 1000 miles away outnumber our students by 3-1.

2:40 CST

It is deffinitely going to be great to have Jameer and Galladay for 3 more years!! Probably the happiest person to see them around for 3 more years is Joe Mollberg!!

Looking at the tickets available on ticketmaster...it looks like (and I am estimating) that there are over 9000 tickets sold for Saturdays game. I really hope there is a large walkup crown Saturday. Hopefully people will realize the game is not on TV locally and they come out to the Alerus. I would love to see numbers close to 11000!! I pine for the old days at the Alerus where you couldn't hear the person next to you!! Hopefully I swill get to experience that just a little bit on Saturday!!