fightingsioux4life

That is my feeling as well.

Yeah, I missed that. I am honestly to the point where I am sick and stinking tired of all the nonsense swirling around this campus. The nickname issue, the FCOA issue, it's enough to drive me to drinking (and I don't drink at all). Potato Bowl can't come soon enough, when we can focus on something positive for a change.

Just when you think this issue is going to be resolved in October, another bureaucrat breathes more life into it: https://sayanythingblog.com/entry/und-2/ And the key statement that tells you what Ms. Neset wants: In other words, Ms. Neset is going to order Kelley to put 'North Dakota' back on the list. I have a question for Ms. Neset: How many more "quick looks" do you need to give this issue? There have been literally years of "quick looks" given to this issue. A better idea is to have a "quick look" at Ms. Neset's qualifications (or lack thereof) to hold the job she holds on the SBoHE. And I mean every single word of that.

That is the big question for the Twins. When Target Field opened up, the Pohlad family said this would give them the revenues they needed to hang onto players and thus be perennial contenders. That claim is going to be tested in the next couple of years as the team adds more and more young talent from the minors. The Pohlad's are out of alibis for letting players sign with other teams and then having those teams win championships with them (David Ortiz anyone?). When this team is a championship contender in a couple of years and it is time to lock down the cornerstones of the team for the future, it will be time to put up or shut up.

The Grand Forks Heraldo's Editorial Board has weighed in on UND's epic fail with regard to FCOA. http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/our-opinion/3827868-our-opinion-stop-waiting-start-moving-sports-scholarships And Tom Dennis ends with what I have been harping on since this whole issue came up: I find myself either loving or hating what Dennis writes in these editorials. This time, I am firmly in the former category. It is time for UND to either fish or cut bait with regard to the Division I experiment. The choices before us have never been more clear.

Good point. However, that is one of the biggest problems with Kelley. He wants everyone to like him and you can't do that and be an effective President of a campus like UND.

I am also fed up with Faison's "hunky-dory" attitude towards everything (he waited way too long to fire Mussman for instance). And please, no more lectures on how Faison is great because of the IPF and getting into the Big Sky Conference. This disastrous non-decision on FCOA has the potential to wipe out any good he has done during his 6 years in Grand Forks and is the last straw for me. However, I maintain that the Buck stops in the Office of the President and that means who we hire to replace Kelley must have an understanding of the concept of athletics as being a vital component of any university campus in terms of marketing, exposure, positive press coverage, a source of alumni and community pride and support and so on. The new President's first order of business should be to call Faison into his office and wish him well on his future endeavors. Then after Faison has cleaned out his office, we can hire an AD that is on board with going all-in on athletics and not just being happy having the Division I label.

Another example of what is wrong with UND athletics is illustrated by today's Grand Forks Heraldo headline: 'No Nickname' removed: Kelley leaves 'UND/North Dakota' option off ballot for October vote. So let me ask a very serious question right now: Which is more important to UND's present and future; this nickname business or the failure to fund FCOA for anything but hockey? The answer, in my opinion, is obvious. But it isn't obvious to the people in charge at Twamley Hall and Hyslop. And those are the people that need to get it through their thick skulls about how important it is for our coaches and players to be on a level playing field when it comes to resources. Otherwise, this whole move to Division I was a waste of time, money and effort. While NDSU focuses on a nationally televised game vs. Montana, we are still bickering over if we should have a new name and logo or not. God help us, we need it.

Roughriders is unique to NCAA athletics (if I am wrong, please correct me on that). Once again, I do not care if GFRR or a certain CFL team uses it. It is the best option we have and I think we should go for it and run with it. In 10 years, a lot of this back and forth debating is going to look silly and laughable in retrospect.

That would incur the wrath of the ND Legislature, which would probably defund the entire University System if it didn't get them in trouble with small town voters. This will be funded using private funds.

Rig the electronic voting machines. -Ohio in 2004.

That is exactly what I am thinking on this. I say Roughriders finishes in the top two of the initial balloting and then wins the run-off.

He is just venting his frustration with our lack of leadership on this and other issues. And I do not blame him at all. Congrats on your school's gutsy leadership on this. I hate the Bison and always will, but you guys are doing it the right way.

It was essential that the FU trolls who would love to ruin UND's image for years to come were not allowed to vote on this. That was my biggest concern, they would all go out en mass and vote Sundogs just to make us look bad. With our asinine decision making on the FCOA issue, we are doing a nice job of doing that ourselves.

That could also be construed as a justification for voting North Stars.

That is the nightmare scenario in all this. I think Roughriders will make the final two and will win the run-off. It might even get a majority in the first round of voting.

Ah, the infamous "Climax-Fisher Rule". Well, screw that. I am voting Roughriders and I do think it will carry the day if not after the first vote, then definitely after the run-off. IMO, Sundogs and Nodaks are the bottom two choices. I can live with anything else on there.

The headline in the Heraldo today could just as well have said: "UND considering move back down to Division II to protect Men's Hockey." Because if we do what I think we are going to do, we might as well start the de-transition process right now.

http://und.edu/features/2015/08/nickname-process.cfm So they basically went with my idea of requiring a majority vote and having a run-off if nothing gets a majority. Nice! I will be voting Roughriders.

I have had it up to you-know-where with this whole "If the Big Sky doesn't do it, we shouldn't do it either" garbage. That almost sounds like what the NSIC used to do with football scholarships when they had that cap that was set way below the NCAA maximum. It was all about "inter-conference competitiveness". So that is what we moved up for? So we could set lower standards and then pat ourselves on the back for being "competitive within our conference" and that's it? I suppose if the Big Sky sets a cap for football scholarships of, let's just say, 50, you will be on board with that? Sorry, I am not cool with that. Mark my words, NDSU is not backing down on this. And I disagree 100% with the idea that "We can't afford this for anything but hockey." That is pure B.S. Like I have said before, if we can raise $300 million for an endowment, we can raise the money for this. And if that involves cutting some lower-tier sports, then so be it. Get rid of baseball and softball. Get rid of swimming and diving (both men's and women's). That will probably help us focus on the rest of our programs more. Once again, in closing, I am sick and tired of NDSU being on the cutting edge of FCS athletics while we wallow in the mud and pretend that everything is just fine the way it is. Because it is not fine. And it won't get to be fine until we get a new President that understands how important athletics is to a university's overall mission. Faison is just doing what he is told; Kelley is the one that is apathetic to this because he is leaving next year anyway.

Kelley will not pick Sundogs. He will want to avoid any major uproar from the fans and the community. He'll pick Roughriders because that will be acceptable to a lot of people, even the Fighting Sioux Hardliners.

I was responding to your comment that not having a nickname wouldn't be a problem at all. If we pick a new name, the NCAA won't bother us; they basically would have gotten everything they wanted back on August 5th, 2005. But if we don't pick a new name, then they will have all the opening they need to slap us down again.

You are committing a lie of omission. IF WE PICK A NEW NAME, then Fighting Sioux won't be looked at as an "unofficial" name. That is all we need to do to put this to bed. PICK A NEW NAME. But you and others on here are more interested in sticking a finger in the eye of the NCAA and the others that forced this change. Four words for the "UND/North Dakota" camp: Don't poke the bear.

If you want to trust the NCAA, go right on ahead. I for one will not put anything past them.

Eh yourself.