fightingsioux4life

And KEM needs to understand that she does not run UND because she is an only child of a multimillionaire. I think Kennedy will convey that message (more diplomatically than I just did, of course). And KEM will likely run to the media whining about how she wasn't bowed down to by Kennedy (again). REA and BESC were built for the sole purpose of benefiting UND in general and UND Athletics in particular. That was Ralph's vision when he decided to put $100+ million into it. They do not exist to fatten the wallet of KEM and her corporate associates.

Did I say that Mr. GOBC? #listeningskillslacking

A mix of blue chippers and 2, 3 and 4 year players works best.

Really? What are the odds that this spoiled-rotten heiress would ever give us a substantial amount of money in the future? I say the odds are very slim to none. Also, the very existence of REA, Inc. as a non-profit entity is predicated on the proceeds benefiting UND. I don't think that premise is met by skimming 52% of the FB revenue off the top. I don't think that premise is met by REA taking a lion's share of the profits for itself. As some have stated on here, if a non-profit organization is not being true to its charter, their non-profit status with the IRS could be jeopardized.......if someone had the backbone to report them. I'll let that last thought hang in the air for everyone to ponder.

If calling for strengthening all of our athletic programs is "anti-hockey", then I am not the one with the problem. This is not a zero-sum game. Strengthening our other programs will not make hockey weaker. It will make the entire department stronger. But the hockey-only zealots couldn't care less if the non-hockey programs rot on the vine and die. That has to change. Otherwise, we need to move back down to D-II. And no, I am not being facetious about that.

Yeah, that's right. I forgot it is the responsibility of the FB players to raise the money themselves holding 50/50 raffles. This is definitely on them. (sarcasm)

Anti-hockey? I have season tickets in REA for cripes sake! Our point is that if we are going to put together quality Division I teams, the "hockey only" mentality must stop. We aren't Division II anymore. And that means getting financial resources from wherever we can. The whole purpose of building REA was to do that.

I did not say "complete". And you must have missed the headline last week where our MBB program lost an assistant coach to a school in our own freaking conference (USD) in a lateral move. That is what I was talking about. Even a marginal increase in coaching salaries could prevent garbage like that from happening. Most collegiate athletic programs lose money. Every school has at least one revenue sport that pays for the others. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the overall model of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.

If we don't raise coaching salaries for FB and MBB (and eventually WBB), those programs will not be able to retain quality coaches and therefore, will never reach their full potential. Something we could do a better job of if the REA contract wasn't so skewed against UND.

Took the words right out of my mouth. Great post.

Let me make this abundantly clear: The days of UND being able to focus on hockey and nothing else are over. They ended the moment we became a Division I school. If we want to go back to that, we should drop back down to Division II and join the NSIC. Otherwise, this mentality needs to end. Now.

To answer your question, 50-50 should do the trick. Subtract expenses from revenues and split what is left over 50-50. And get the FB revenue out of the equation; what does the FB program and the Alerus Center have to do with REA and BESC?

So your Darwinian model of an athletic department is to have programs compete against each other for survival until only one is left? This is the most asinine thing said on this issue so far. Most programs lose money. So they are subsidized by the revenue sports. UND has Men's Hockey. NDSU has Football. Duke has Men's Basketball. If you are against welfare, then you are against intercollegiate athletics as a whole.

Blais had never been a head coach at the Division I level before he took over in Grand Forks in 1994. The rest is history.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

The gift was delivered back in 2001. It isn't like we are getting tens of millions of dollars from them annually.

She needed to lie like a rug to the Heraldo to make that point?

You think Grand Forks could support an AHL team? I am thinking not.

I am expressing my feelings regarding her spoiled rotten entitled attitude. She acts like everyone works for her and owes her everything. She obviously did not learn much from her dad about treating people right and being an honest broker in business. I stopped calling her a princess when some people complained, so I switched to using MISS instead of Ms. I suppose I could just drop it altogether.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

That is my point. She is being completely unreasonable because Kennedy won't roll over when she snaps her fingers. And that isn't going to change. How can Kennedy work with someone who runs to the media and lies through her teeth? She is not an honest broker. If we are going to cave into her every whim, we might as well make her de-facto President.

REA is NOT going to "shut down". They need us to fill that arena to make money to keep up with maintenance, utilities, etc. And your canard about an AHL team coming in and adopting the Fighting Sioux name and logo is not going to happen either. This is the logical result of a rich heiress being stood up to for the first time ever by a President with a backbone. Nothing more, nothing less.

The problem is that your hero MISS McGarry doesn't seem to want to do that either.

I am simply stating facts. Facts that people didn't want to talk about for years until the current kerfuffle sprung up last week. No gift is ever 100% positive, there are always some negatives. Ignoring those negatives is foolish and pure wishful thinking. If UND isn't getting a fair shake from the four (?) different boards that govern REA, then it needs to be addressed. We finally have a strong President that won't roll over every time he is ordered to. Kennedy is doing his job as President of UND. You cannot demand a strong leader, then complain when he does his job. Make up your mind.

That is a straw man argument. Nobody is going to make that claim, much less myself. UND and Grand Forks has benefited greatly from REA and BESC. But these buildings were built to serve the interests of UND, not the other way around. And that is something that MISS McGarry doesn't seem to understand.