fightingsioux4life

This is the ultimate dream of the hockey-only crowd, but it simply will not happen. The NCAA requires that school sponsor a certain number of sports for men and women. I guess we could petition to join the Pioneer League for football and the Ivy League for everything else and go non-scholarship, but I don't think our alums and fan base would support something like that. But NDSU fans and alums would support this 100% because they would have the run of the state (and region) for recruiting. That alone makes this a non-starter for me.

Do you really think that Rep. "Clueless Al" Carlson (NDSU-Fargo), a self-professed Bison booster, gives a rip about the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo or the University of North Dakota as a whole? He did what he did to diminish the power of the Higher Ed system; which he has never been a big fan of. He has zero incentive to stand up for the general welfare of the University of North Dakota and is not doing so here. He is a false prophet and will lead us into an athletics blackhole from which there will be no escape. But I suppose you (and others like you) will consider that "a small price to pay". If you ask me, you are the one that thinks saying things will make them true. The choice right now is stark and clear; Big Sky Membership and a vibrant Division I athletic department or NAIA obscurity. I know which one I would choose.

Get lost troll. Go back to Bisonville and start a thread about how NDSU football could potentially compete for the BCS national championship if they were just given a chance. We don't need any of your garbage here.

Oh really? The NFL is a performance-based league. You either get it done or get out of town. Jimmy got it done for years and years. Get over it.

Just keep in mind that the Russians won this tournament last year with two early losses. Time to regroup and get ready for the Czechs.

I think Blais wants to get both goaltenders some experience early on. It certainly paid off in 2010.

Finland 1, USA 0 early in the 2nd period. I don't like how this game is going.

NHL network interviewed Benedict Arnold (JT Miller) between periods.

USA wins 11-3!

9-2 United States after 2 periods.

USA leads Denmark 3-2 after 1. PK was terrible and needs to improve. Overall, the team was up and down and needs to establish some consistency.

Isn't this the excuse fans of the Gopher men's team have used for years if they lost a recruit to us?

I also think Miller backstabbed the program after saying he was coming, but I for one am willing to put that aside for two weeks and support Team USA and their quest for gold. And hopefully our neighbors to the north three-peat by settling for silver once again!!!

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.