fightingsioux4life

Hey, it was CMSioux that came on here and basically said (not in so many words) that Mussman did the best he could considering the circumstances. That simply is not true based on the evidence. Mussman was an outstanding offensive coordinator for us for many years; I don't think anybody would argue with that. But his tenure as HC was nothing short of a disaster. Having said that, I am happy with what Bubba is doing and I am looking forward to 2015.

Then how do you explain the NBA starting the NBDL?

.....and NDSU has never, ever lost a recruit to UND. Ever.

Based on the schedules these athletes are subjected to day after day, week after week, I don't think "free" is a good description for it. And the idea that all these athletes are somehow "replaceable parts" is simply not true. Most of these athletes were recruited by multiple schools and are considered the cream of the crop in their particular sport. The team wouldn't be generating jack squat without these elite players. The team is made up of the players, so yes, the players are the ones generating the revenue. Maybe it's time for the NFL to start their own developmental league and stop using colleges to develop their future stars. That would definitely change things.

I think college athletics has gotten more complex and time consuming over the years. TV contracts are also much larger than they used to be. So as the appetite for more and more money gets bigger, so do the demands on the athletes who are responsible for generating it in the first place. In the so-called "real world", this would be called indentured servitude or even sharecropping. So why is it acceptable in college athletics? SMH

And when was this? Any time recently? I have a hard time believing that what you said happens at big-time FBS schools, but I suppose it's possible at the FCS level and lower. College sports has become year-round not for the benefit of the athletes, but of the people that make money off of them (TV networks, athletic departments, the NCAA). It's time to start reigning some of this stuff in. And if that ticks off the NFL, too bad. They can use some of their billions to start their own developmental league like the NBA did.

You totally ignored the important point in my post: "there are more than a few coaches that will pressure their players to not get jobs during the summer so they can focus entirely on lifting weights, ect. With the thinly veiled implication that starting jobs may be at stake depending upon their decision." And please don't try and tell me that "They wouldn't do that" because they definitely would, especially if they were on the hot seat and needed a big season to keep their job. Coaches are kings of their particular castles and they can and will determine roster spots however they want. No athlete is going to risk his roster spot and/or starting spot to make a little extra spending money. Welcome to life as a student-athlete.

And there are more than a few coaches that will pressure their players to not get jobs during the summer so they can focus entirely on lifting weights, ect. With the thinly veiled implication that starting jobs may be at stake depending upon their decision. Being a college athlete is a 12 month endeavor today. And that is not necessarily a good thing.

I thought we wanted all these kids to be lifting weights every single day during the summer? We can't have it both ways.

The stipends are a result of the mad money being made at the highest levels of FBS and D-I Men's Basketball. The problem is that smaller schools (FCS and mid-major MBB) will be budget crunched by this. Perhaps this will trigger that long-awaited realignment for NCAA football?

Until he's fired for losing too much. That job is a black widow for coaches.

What I am worried about is having one or two good programs (MH and WBB for example) and be mediocre at best in everything else. I am hoping that we will weather the storm easier than schools like USD.

You are right, positive things are happening with our programs. But we are still playing catch-up in some areas thanks to our mediocre transition period. Now this whole athletic stipend deal threatens to upset the whole apple cart. These are interesting times we are living in. As for Jones and MBB, I still think there is a chance that he will get the program to where we all want it. He is playing for his next contract, that is for sure.

And for the record, I would gladly support across the board ticket price increases if that is what it takes to get this done. I think an increase in Champions Club donation levels is also very possible.

Denver would be a fabulous choice (and not just becacuse a lot of UND alums live there! ).

I think we all remember a QB with the last name of Mertens from EGF. NDSU got him and people on this forum were all up in arms that we didn't recruit him harder. Well, Mertens turned into an interception machine in Fargo and didn't amount to what people were thinking he would. Recruiting is an inexact science at best and a total crapshoot at worst, although I do think Bubba and his staff have a better handle on it than the previous regime did.

It might be best to do what the Slummit did; pick one neutral site (Sioux Falls) and then everyone knows where the tournament will be held every year. I don't know what would work for a far-flung conference like the Big Sky (no matter where you put it, travel will be an issue), but maybe that is the fairest and simplest solution.

Okay, let me explain it to you again. Faison could have at least put in a bid just in case that is where the league decided to go. What is there to lose? We used to host D-II WBB regionals at the Betty when the MH team was at home at REA, so I don't think it's impossible to do. And I am sorry, but Faison is responsible for stuff like this so if a bid isn't submitted, it is on him. Just how expensive and time consuming could bidding for a conference tournament be? I don't know, but I imagine it wouldn't rise to the level of an NCAA bid. Any chance that gives our MBB and/or WBB teams the best chance they can get to make the NCAA tournament (and all the benefits that go along with it) is worth taking. And it is totally and completely fair to expect a school to have the appropriate resources for a successful Division I move before the decision is actually made and paperwork signed and submitted. I think it can be argued that NDSU's transition period was way more successful than our own. That is what has some of us a little concerned, even with the hiring of Bubba (who is working out very nicely) and Brewster (who has the women's team in a very good place). But please continue with your admonishments of me and others you don't agree with.

Faison dropped the ball on this one.

This is my biggest concern. I really don't want a FB program that finishes 4-7 most years, with an occassional 6-5. We need to seriously commit to the program or it will become a financial drain because of poor attendance.

Throwing Women's Hockey into the mix will help cancel out Men's Hockey. How to balance out Football is another problem. Unless we drop Football; there are some people on here that don't even know we still have it.

My position on this is simple: Stipends for Men's Hockey, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball and Football. If other sports need to be cut to make it work, do it. These are the sports we will lean on in the coming years as a Division I school and we cannot afford to let any of them atrophy and die.

This is a tough one. I gotta put the Packers choke job slightly ahead of the Gophers choke job; it would have been insufferable listening to the two-week long Aaron Rodgers Suck-Up show if they hadn't choked.

You must remember that Bison fans think that Fargo and Hector Airfield is on the same level of Minneapolis and MSP International (a true Midwestern hub airport). I am not surprised that Bohl would pull a stunt like that. The fact that bridges have been burned between him and the current Bison regime should make this a non-surprise. What a prick; I REALLY want our first FBS win to come against the Cowboys now!

Yes, yes they can!