fightingsioux4life

This was a special accomplishment for the entire UND family. I had been waiting years for this moment. We had teams in the past that could have won the national title, but just didn't put it all together like they could have (the 1996 and 1999 teams come to mind). But after this game, we finally had our championship and the football program was elevated to a level it could only have dreamed about 15 years earlier when Roger Thomas took over.

I still have this game on tape, back during the old Midwest Sports Channel era. This game also was on WDAZ. That game is a great example of why the Old Ralph was one of the best college hockey arenas ever. I still get nostalgic when I drive over the Columbia Overpass and realize we will never play there again.

This is what Spirit Lake should focus on, not those ill-advised petitions to put the name and logo into the State Constitution. The NCAA fears two things above all; toxic press coverage and the Federal Government (both Congress and the Courts). I wish this had been started before that horrible legal settlement was signed, but I look forward to seeing how it plays out.

That was when UND football was in the toilet and probably couldn't have beaten some Texas High School teams. Kleinsasser did what he did against a good, but not great, Bison team in the Fargodome. Apples and oranges. But of course Bison fans love living in the past, so it makes sense.

You mean Stu Prickel?

I figured this would happen once we emerged from transition. Roebuck, for all intents and purposes, IS Women's Basketball at UND. Everything that this program stands for, everything that it's accomplished, can be traced back to Gene Roebuck. This is the biggest coaching retirement (if it happens) since Dave Gunther.

Let's have a fund raiser targeted at all season ticket holders, alumni, former players, ect. and come up with the cash to buy the equipment. Then we don't have to gripe about this anymore. I would contribute some cash to this.

But we ran into a hot goalie! Seriously though, I am with you. This team needs to get it's fingernails dirty and it's nose bloody to score goals or else this season might rival the early 1990's for futility.

I definitely think Faison deserves credit for his part in getting us into the Big Sky Conference. I think it's a much better conference that the Summit/MVFC arrangment the other Dakota schools decided on. As for scheduling getting better as time goes on, I also think it should, but I have some nagging doubts that it will. It does seem that our administration is still stuck in some old D-II thinking when it comes to athletics. It cannot be just about being frugal and prudent and playing it close to the vest (I think that was one of Dale Lennon's only flaws as a head coach, btw). It has to be about building a better future where we are competitve at the Division I level in everything, not just hockey. That means a championship-contending FCS football team and basketball teams that win conference titles and compete for bids to March Madness. Those conditions would provide a big boost to both marketing and finances. That is my vision for D-I athletics at UND.

That is my vision for a playoff system as well. It's fair, it rewards the all-important "regular season", it gives non-playoff teams something to shoot for (lower-level bowl games) and it would drive fan interest through the roof. And if the "it would hurt academics" crowd wants to be credible in their argument, they should also advocate to abolish the NCAA basketball tournament and replace it with a BCS-style system where the media and coaches "vote in" the national champion. Sounds preposterous? It is, but that is what the BCS-ites are protecting. It's time for football to join all other sports in the 21st century.

Maybe I should clarify something; I was NOT talking about marketing to Bison fans. I was talking about getting people that aren't into hockey like most of us in Grand Forks to come to Grand Forks for home football and basketball games. I think one of the points that proponents of Big Sky membership vs. MVFC/Summit Membership made is that it expands our reach westward vs. eastward. Now that we are in the BSC, it's time to capitalize on that advantage we have over the other Dakota schools, whose focus will be more eastward. And I fully realize that people won't drive 4 hours to watch us beat up on teams like Black Hills State; that is why I've been one of the most vocal critics of some of the home scheduling decisions made in the Bunning/Faison era. As for the Return on Investment point made by the green team, that is probably the same logic behind scheduling SD Mines next year when we should work on building a playoff-calibre portfolio of opponents (a.k.a. FCS teams!). We get weak, lower-division opponents to come to the Alerus Center, we beat them like we should and then we get to keep more of the gate and that insures a good Return on Investment. That bargain basement approach worked in D-II where everything was cheaper; it will NOT work at the DI FCS level. For the record, I am not suggesting a reckless advertising program, but one that targets the fans we want to get to come to Grand Forks and/or tune in on TV and/or radio whereever they live. If we are going to make this Division I move pay off (financially and otherwise), we will have to change how we treat our non-hockey programs. They were neglected for so many years that it will take a long-term plan to raise their profile to the point where we can achieve what I think we can achieve. That means a nationally-ranked, championship contending DI FCS football team and basketball programs that are in contention for Big Sky titles and trips to March Madness (which will help both marketing and finances). The hockey teams should continue to roll along like they always have. That is my vision for Division I UND sports.

The problem with UND athletics marketing is that outside of the Greater Grand Forks area (except for perhaps the Northern Red River Valley), UND does not have the presence that it should have considering it is again (thank God) the largest university in the State of North Dakota. Both football and basketball have been short-changed in marketing for years and years. For a long, long time, football wasn't advertised until a week before the first game. And once the commercials start, they take on the following attitude: Hey, Sioux football is back. We are at home this weekend. Tickets are available. Come and check it out, unless you have something more important going on. If you listen to NDSU marketing, it makes you want to drive to Fargo overnight to buy a ticket to a game (football and/or basketball). When the UND Women's Basketball Team was winning national titles in the 1990's, it did not generate the level of hype and excitement in the marketing that it should have. When NDSU's women's team was winning national titles before that, they made it seem like they were beating the UConn's and Tennessee's of the world. I do not like NDSU athletics at all, but they have much better marketing of their programs than we do. And if we are going to succeed at the Division I level, we will need to change that. It has real world consequences for attendance, fundraising, recruiting, media exposure, ect.

My friend, Faison peed in all of our cereal when he scheduled South Dakota School of Mines for next year. If you are okay with that, that is your opinion. But I am not. USD has been better at transition scheduling with a fraction of the resources that we have to work with. And next year is our first year of eligibility for the FCS playoffs. Having SD Mines on the schedule will NOT help us in that regard. You cannot win scheduling games like this (scheduling USF should have taught us that). You have to spend money to make money, which means we better start getting quality opponents to come to Grand Forks. And if it's not "feasible" to do that, we shouldn't have moved up in the first place.

I am totally 100% with you on this. However, if we absolutely cannot find an FCS team to replace SD Mines, then get one of our old D-II rivals to fill it. That would attract some fans and would look much better than SD Mines. My biggest fear is that Faison won't even make a solid effort to accomplish this.

I agree with you, but we aren't Faison. Since it is Faison and not us, I am sure he will settle for a lower-level team so we can keep more of the gate and balance the budget. Faison should also do whatever he can to get South Dakota School of Mines off the schedule for next year, even if it means settling for an established D-2 team. But I suppose that won't happen either. Faison should be on the phone as much as possible to fix these things. It's time we act like a DI FCS team that is serious about getting into the playoffs and winning once we get there.

Blame it all on hunting season. That's what our program always does.

I also received this same call at work. We need more of this.

Well, the hockey team is out of town, so that excuse is out the window. It is my belief that the students will be back once the meaningful games are back on the schedule. This is the first meaningful game we've had at home in a long, long time.

Amen. It is amazing how many excuses and rationalizations people in our fan base come up with to explain why it just isn't possible to bring our program to the next level in FCS. We don't have the money for this, we don't have the money for that, we don't get along with certain people in other athletic departments, we have hockey so nothing else matters, blah, blah, blah. We have to start thinking big and then act on those ideas. Here are a few of mine: 1) No more games against schools like South Dakota School of Mines, University of Sioux Falls and Black Hills State. I couldn't care less about how much of the freaking gate we get to keep from those games. Just how much "gate" will this team bring in if we keep scheduling like this? People aren't going to pay good money to watch us play teams like this. And once playoff time rolls around, these games will cost us a playoff spot. I can almost guarrantee it. Do what it takes to bring in legitimate DI FCS teams and quit giving us excuses why it just can't be done. 2) Better marketing before and during the season. Starting your advertising the week before the first game is bush-league at best, negligent at worst. This might have worked in D-II, but it won't work in FCS. We have to make it clear to the public that UND Football matters and is going places. That will help sell tickets. The best advertising for a program is getting fans to buy a ticket and watch a game. 3) Better TV and Media Coverage. Getting more games on TV will give the program more exposure and improve everything from attendance to recruiting. If this means picking up more feeds from opponent broadcasts, then we should work hard on making those deals happen. This has gotten better over the years, but it can and needs to get better as we move forward as an FCS program. Those are the three biggest things I came up with. They will cost money and will require a commitment from all of us, but they are necessary to win championships at this level. And, as I have said before, if we aren't willing to do these things, we shouldn't have moved up in the first place. End Rant.

If we don't get a good QB for next season, we'll have trouble beating Northern Colorado again. Nothing would end the honeymoon of being accepted into the Big Sky Conference like a 3-8 season and a couple of double-digit beatdowns by teams like Montana and Montana State.

Next week, UND can finish what has been a challenging and frustrating transition period with a win over longtime rival South Dakota and clinch a share of the last Great West Conference title in the process. This is probably the most significant game at the Alerus Center since October 29th, 2005 when Nebraska-Omaha ruined what was shaping up to be a national championship season with a 20-19 comeback win after being down 19-0 late in the third quarter. In my opinion, the program was never quite the same after that. But next Saturday afternoon, we can start a new winning tradition, this time at the Division I FCS level. This is the time to fill the Alerus Center up again, like we did from 2001-2005. This is the time to bring back the noise, the excitement, the energy, the passion. Do your hunting some other weekend. Take a nap some other Saturday. This Saturday, get your rear ends to the Alerus Center and show this team that you support them and that you are fired up for the Big Sky Conference in 2012!!! Go Sioux!!!

This is also an excellent idea. Anything but games against NAIA or transitional D-II programs.

Likely the last conference title as the Fighting Sioux.

You are right, but they are still a rival of ours (even if we don't play them anymore) and I love it when they lose. I hope in the future we get them in the playoffs; what a big match-up THAT would be!