fightingsioux4life

Okay, didn't mean to put words into your mouth. I am just sick and tired of the "can't do" attitude surrounding UND athletics outside of Men's Hockey. Once we moved up to D-I in all sports, we gave up the luxury of running D-II sports on shoestring budgets and still having lots of success. But some people on this forum and in the UND athletic department haven't figured that out yet. Just venting my frustrations.

I seem to recall a bunch of empty seats in the FFD when the Bison were 2-8 back in 2002 and 3-8 back in 2009. Winning draws fans, makes money and pays the bills. Losing does the opposite of those things. If NDSU FB has a couple of subpar seasons (7-4, 6-5), a lot of bandwagon fans are going to jump ship. Also, NDSU does a much better job at marketing than UND does and it's been this way for years. And it needs to stop. I am sick and tired of UND being invisible compared to the media bullhorns that NDSU has at its disposal (KFGO and KVLY in case you were wondering). And if we are going to use the "Fargo is 3 times the size of Grand Forks" excuse, then we might as well give up right now because there is nothing we can do about that. Based on that logic, our hockey program should be small potatoes compared to the Gophers, who are located in a metro area of about 3 million. And if small, private schools like Gonzaga and Butler can make big splashes on the Division I Men's BB stage, then we can and should and must do better in MBB ourselves. We cannot continue to come up with more and more excuses why we can't do this and can't do that and start making things happen. And it's Faison and Kelley and the Alumni Association's job to do that. It all starts at the top with a winning, forward-thinking, positive approach to all sports. That is what is missing and that is what must change.

It isn't just about this season, it's about the whole body of work, which to be honest is mediocre at best. And basketball isn't #1 at NDSU either, so don't throw out that tired old excuse. Cold weather? Same problem in Fargo, but that doesn't stop them from making the NCAA tournament twice (including in their first season of eligibility). And if we are just willing to accept that all non-hockey sports are and will continue to be afterthoughts, we should have stayed in D-II. But we didn't, so we better figure this thing out. You are ready to throw in the towel, I am not. And if Kelley and Faison are willing to throw in the towel, we might need changes in those positions as well. I am through being patient and waiting for the "transition" and "nickname" hangovers to pass. It's put up or shut up time and I for one hope we put up.

You and your precious GOBC minions like to brag about how much power and wealth and influence you have over UND and Grand Forks, so don't tell us to "leave the GOBC outta this". Put up or shut up. My guess is it will be the latter because the former never has been and never will be true. Correct?

Unless the City of Fargo is appropriating money to NDSU from their general fund, I don't know what difference that should make. Grand Forks and UND have a much closer and much more symbiotic relationship than Fargo does with NDSU. Grand Forks businesses have always massively supported UND, as the campus is such a vital part of the vitality and sustainability of Grand Forks. And GF is growing thanks to residual impacts of the western oil boom and the emerging UAS industry, so that should help both UND and GF. I do agree with your second point however; the leadership simply isn't there at UND right now. Once Kelley retires and Faison either steps up or ships out, we can start making progress around here.

Yeah I'll listen. But I suspect all I'll get is more ducky and bunny sunshine blown up my a$$. But the question still needs to be asked, so I asked it.

And I suppose you think Mussman should still be in charge of football too? We bought out Mussman thanks to some generous alumni. I am thinking there would be more than a few basketball alums with deep pockets that might be willing to step up for their alma mater. Please tell me what Jones has done over the last 9 years to justify keeping him around? Has this program shown any signs of progress? I say no. What say you?

I certainly hope that is a lesson Faison has learned from both the Mussman and Jones extensions.

Men's hockey is a cash cow, so I don't think that can be listed as a detriment to the bottom line. Women's hockey is a legitimate sport to bring up. How much does tennis and swimming/diving cost to operate anyway? I am guessing not as much as hockey, football or basketball. I must ask the same question regarding wrestling at NDSU. If we need to cut sports to help our higher profile sports get more funding, I am all for at least discussing it. But I just don't know how much savings will be generated by doing that.

I still don't understand why we are broke and destitute when it comes to collegiate athletics vs. NDSU. We both have one revenue sport (MH for us, FB for them). We both have similar enrollments, similar missions as universities, similar obstacles to overcome (climate, location), play in one-bid conferences for basketball (Big Sky for us, Summit for them), have winning traditions and have loyal and passionate fan bases that want nothing less than the best for their respective schools. Whatever the problem is, it needs to be fixed. But whenever people like myself bring it up, we are basically shouted down by the ducky and bunny crowd. Which I think is a big part of the overall problem, aside from the hockey-only fans. If enough of our fans are apathetic about being championship contenders, why should Faison and Kelley care all that much? Shoot for the stars and you will more often than not achieve greatness. Shoot for the dog house and that is where you will end up.

I remember when a Rich Glas led team lost to Mary by 40 points back in 2004. It looks like we are back to that level of mediocrity and apathy with the MBB program.

Didn't you know? Nothing matters besides hockey at North Dakota's Flagship University!

That might work too. Oilers should also be considered.

Speaking of Raptors, how about THIS kind of Raptor? With an Air Base nearby, this might make sense for UND.

This is where Siouxperfan7 chimes in to tell us that the bolded part really doesn't matter!

And like always, the national media will ignore it like they always do. If the Vikings had that same defense, that is all you would hear about for days on end. People would think the Falcons won instead!

Shhhh, don't say that too loud. Otherwise, you'll be accused of wanting a "gold-plated" version of D-I athletics and also wanting to spend "other people's money". Seriously though, I agree with the bolded sentence 100%. When are we going to start acting like a Division I program instead of being merely satisfied with being one in name only?

Based on your logic, Mussman should still be in charge of the FB program. And Carolyn DeHoff should still be in charge of the NDSU women's b-ball team. If the players aren't motivated to be the best they can be, then that is a recruiting flaw and that falls on the coaches. Unless you really want to convince us that recruiting is on the players, too? Jones has been here long enough to be held responsible for the state of the program. And honestly, if I hear one apologist bring up "nickname" or "transition", I might literally throw up.

So since it involves "other people's money", we must shut up and accept whatever is dished out to us? Sorry, not happening, no matter how many "grandfatherly" lectures you give me and others on this forum. Honestly, you and 82SiouxGuy set the standard for preaching and establishment brown-nosing. And you both like to relentlessly attack anyone that dares to think otherwise. Whatever floats your boat I guess..... Please name one thing in this world (outside of REA itself) that isn't built at least in part with "other people's money"? The Vikings Stadium? Other people's money. Target Field? Other people's money. Fargodome? Other people's money. Alerus Center? Other people's money. Do you sense a pattern here? I do. And I honestly don't care how we fund this stuff; it simply needs to be done. And it is not my job or your job to find the financing; it's the Faison's and Kelley's of the world that are tasked with doing this. Our sister institution in North Dakota (NDSU) is dominating the State and Region in terms of media coverage, success on the field and court and so on. You may not have a problem with that, I do. What happened in Fargo last night is just another example of this. Jones has been here since before the move up to Division I, but his teams continuously underachieve and cannot buy quality road wins if their lives depended on it. But he'll have his defenders that will make the case that he is not responsible for what happens during games because he isn't out there playing. The FB program crashed and burned because of that thinking; I do not want MBB to suffer the same fate. As for e-mailing or calling these people, I honestly question just how much they care what I or other stakeholders think. The cave-in to FU with regard to FB scheduling was vehemently opposed by me and others on this forum. I sent Mr. Faison an e-mail telling him not to cave in. I am pretty sure many others did as well. Did it make any difference whatsoever? Nope. That is why a lot of people are cynical about doing that. You may have all the confidence in the world in the establishment to make the right choices on things like this, but I do not. More and more in our society, the average person is worth next to nothing to the decision makers and power brokers and no number of e-mails and phone calls will change that. Always question authority when things don't look right or smell right or feel right. Always.

Raptors? A Dinosaur theme. And no, not this dinosaur.

What? Did you just tell me what username I will or will not use on this forum? Do not go there. Ever.

The Arizona schools would bring us up to 10 teams, which is what the old WCHA was for years.

This is not an option. If we do that, this issue will just keep coming up over and over and over again. That is a distraction we don't need.

There was a USFL team that used that name. I think the USHL team in Green Bay uses it as well.