fightingsioux4life

Probably the usual drivel.

I don't think our alumni base likes this at all. But in order to raise more money, you have to build relationships with potential donors. We haven't been doing that and the results speak for themselves. Aside from HPC Phase I, our facilities are the same or worse as when we were D-II. And we are now 10 years into the Division I experiment. Unfortunately, too many of our own people think as long as the student-athletes do good in the classroom and good in the community, there's nothing that needs to be fixed. And that mentality has to change. And it has to start with our next UND President.

But it's all okay boys and girls, because it's "all about the relationships" and "all about teaching life lessons". So it doesn't matter how much we lose or how bad we look doing it. After all, this is just high school with better athletes. And you cannot talk about improved fundraising because that is "spending other people's money" and that is just WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! (extreme sarcasm on a very frustrating day). Now I'll sit back and wait for the contrarians to tell me how wrong I am and how I am not a "real fan" because I don't like what is happening and I have the nerve to post it on our fan forum.

I'd like to tell these idiots where they can stick that lottery ticket.

10-7 ISU. 8:30 left in 2nd quarter.

About 10,000.

Amen. And I don't care if they have Patrick Roy in goal either.

Man, do I miss those days! That was a special time on campus and I am grateful to have been a part of it. And I so miss the Old REA, what a storied building that was.

Yeah, I don't think Nick Saban could win there.

There are a substantial number of UND alumni living in Imperial Cass County, ND. I really hope they are NOT supporting NDSU at the expense of UND. If that is the case, then we aren't doing a good job of cultivating relationships with people. The "leadership" at UND has been non-existent to incompetent over the past 10 years. The next Presidential hire will be crucial to changing this dynamic.

So it's a zero sum game then? You either have great academics/research or great athletics? Sorry, but that's a false choice. You don't have to give up one for the other. But it seems like that is the philosophy at the University of North Dakota. And I do not agree with it. This isn't high school, where it doesn't matter how bad your athletic teams are. Maybe you think it should be that way, but it's not. Athletics are a great marketing tool for any university (just ask Gonzaga)....IF you are successful. If you are NOT successful, then athletics can be a millstone around your neck. Which is becoming the case here. And the last time I checked, the Champions Club was run by the UND Alumni Association. So maybe that should be disbanded then? So we can emulate Rutgers? No thank you.

No, they don't HAVE to cost more. But how much are you willing to bet they won't cost more? Especially since that is the cost structure on the other side of the Alerus Center.

But would these people be willing to pay substantially more to move to midfield? Because those seats almost certainly will cost more.

And if I was to sit down and talk with these people, what kind of response would I get? I think I can guess: -We don't have the resources to do this/that/whatever. -It isn't "feasible" to do this/that/whatever. -The student-athletes are doing good in the classroom and/or community, so it isn't a big deal. -Bubba is "one of us", so we don't think a change is warranted at this time. Anyone else who wants to add to this list, please feel free. No one is questioning that you want us to be successful. Everyone here (except the Bison trolls) wants that. But too many people like @jdub27 will just accept any explanation they get from the higher-ups at UND and conclude that nothing can be done about what is wrong. And the problem since the day we moved up to Division I is that we didn't have a plan on how to raise the money necessary to put winning teams on the court/field. That is why our coaches are underpaid, our facilities (except for HPC Phase I) are still Division II and our teams are mediocre or worse across the board. And we have been Division I for 10 freaking years now! If the only reason we moved up is NDSU moved up, then it was a big and costly mistake. The Alumni Association has posted record fundraising numbers, yet athletics doesn't seem to get one red cent of it. It seems to me that the Alumni Association has decided to focus almost exclusively on academics and research because athletics is "fine the way it is because of Men's Hockey and REA". Well, I think we are capable of being more than "Rutgers with hockey". I think we need to come up with outside-the-box ideas when it comes to fundraising and revenue streams. The "time honored" tradition of season tickets, Champions Club and 50/50 raffles is not enough at the Division I level. We aren't playing the likes of Augustana, UM-Crookston and Winona St. anymore. But all of this will require a President that cares enough about athletics to come up with a functional plan and the resolve to carry it out. And that person hasn't been selected yet. So until that happens, we are kind of twisting in the wind right now.

This is a dangerous point for UND athletics as a whole. The conditions are ripe for apathy to set in. The opposite of love is NOT hate, it's apathy. Once that sets in, it is very hard to dislodge. Chaves has his work cut out for him.

Ask him yourself: william.chaves@UND.edu And here is the UND Alumni Association and Foundation "Contact Us" page where you can submit a comment on why with historic fundraising numbers, athletics continues to operate with a bargain-basement, shoestring budget. I have a very hard time believing that our alumni don't care about athletics and aren't interested in donating to upgrade our facilities and overall budget. Good academics/research and good athletics are not mutually exclusive. In short, we are rapidly becoming Rutgers with hockey. I think we are capable of much, much more as an athletic department and as a university.

Don't start with the politics again. Please.

No kidding.

Martyr complex? All I am doing is pointing out that we have been Division I for 10 years (give or take a year) and with the exception of HPC Phase I, we have the same facilities we had as a Division II school. Just pointing that out rubs some people the wrong way.

Opps, you are correct. It is a Division III school from Wisconsin. My bad. But it is still a waste of time. We should go on the road any play Division I teams instead.

So how did NDSU get THREE Division I teams to come to Fargo? The geography doesn't help them anymore than it helps us. I would rather go on the road and play a big name Division I team for the exposure and the experience our team would get from such a trip. Whenever I post the AD's e-mail address on this forum, I get called out for being "inappropriate". And if you don't like my comments, then don't read them. I think Chaves has the potential to be a great athletic director; I liked his MBB hire a lot. But if we don't get HPC Phase II funded and some other things (FB locker room for example), it won't matter who the AD is or who the head coach of a particular program is, we will continue being stuck in the mud around here. If you think everything is "fine the way it is", that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. But I happen to think things are not fine. After 10 years as a Division I school, we still lag behind in facilities and resources. That is a problem. And it is one the next UND President will have to address, among other things on campus.

What a classic movie from the 1980's that was!

A highly regarded prospect vanishes from the UND Women's Basketball program? You don't say.

Sounds like the same old slop.

This is the attitude that is holding our entire athletic program back. Just accept mediocrity and shut up about it. Well, I will not do that. And the more of us that refuse to accept mediocrity, the better. That is what will help get the administration to stop running athletics like a high school.