IrishSiouxFan

I agree, I think the majority of us who want a new facility are really only asking does UND have a long term plan and what are they doing to make it a reality. They haven't done a particularly great job in communicating with us what the over-arching goal is. Sure we've seen these amazing conceptual renderings from several years ago, but not one mention of them in quite a while. I really hope a state of the art IPF comes to fruition within the next year or two, it would be huge in terms of recruitment but that seems to be a pipe dream. I think the main reason that fans like myself are in the "hurry up and build it" mindset is that a lot of things are changing in the landscape of college football and their will soon be a huge and seemingly permanent divide between the haves and have nots. As a loyal UND supporter I would rather see my institution I would rather see my school on the short list when the realignment Armageddon begins and with several schools in the Big 12 threatening to seek litigation on A&M and the SEC we have been granted a short stay of execution, we have to spend this time wisely rebuilding if we want our football program to remain relevant in the 21st century. I think we can all agree on that.

Where is this very nice stadium of which you speak of?

I never said that's will happen, only saying what I would do if I were in their position. I could be totally wrong about this but it seems like nobody has really reached out to Standing Rock, I know we have sent representatives and so on, but should we have asked the leaders of Spirit Lake if they would be willing to talk with Standing Rock to field their concerns and to see if a compromise could be reached. In my opinion, this whole thing could have been handled better if we made Standing Rock feel like they were part of the team and not an observer with a say. We did a terrible job of reaching out, they probably won't listen to us but they might listen to their Spirit Lake family.

Actually, if they could get Standing Rock to agree to let UND use the name and then secure an injunction and sue the NCAA they might be able to work out a settlement that allows UND to retain the name.

Actually, I think the last thing the Big Sky wants to do is not admit UND. The SEC just voted 10-1 to let A&M in, realignment Armageddon has just begun. I would be shocked if we found ourselves in a league with Montana and Montana State still in it, in fact we might want to seriously reconsider the travel costs of being a conference that won't help our ticket sales. In my opinion Spirit Lake's efforts would be best served by sitting down with the leaders of Standing Rock and trying to find a compromise that everyone can live with, let the tribes hash it out and hopefully bring their terms and conditions to the university.

But he makes a very valid point, that the Alerus Center doesn't feel like it's a part of the university. It is lacking in the same culture that makes the REA feel like a true UND tradition. I realize that we are struggling with attendance and we always will as long as we continue to schedule home games against "Nobody State University", that and getting beat by "Nobody State University". The Alerus might be okay for now but it's definitely not the permanent home of UND football and as stakeholders in this program we are more than ready to see a glimpse of the future. You are right that a lot of schools would love to have the Alerus and the video boards, but we are not most schools, we are much, much better than that and expect exceptional things from an institution we this proud of.

I was thinking about how they might go about expanding the field for end zone seating while I was at the Drake game last week. I think it could be done, but I'm not sure how it would look or if it would add enough seats to justify the expenditure. It's very unfortunate that expansion was not in the original design, I mean who designs a $100 million facility with a 20-30 shelf life? Apparently the Grand Forks City Council.

Hopefully there will be some teams left in the BSC when we get there. I hate these conference raids, especially when they don't affect your school in a positive way.

Hopefully the BSC can stay un-poached after the next round of raids. One could make the argument that the Big Sky is on par with the current and future WAC. I'm not sure how difficult it would be but the BSC should consider starting an FBS division and shoot invites to Idaho and Utah State.

In all honesty, nobody has a bigger more loyal fan base in college hockey than UND. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan, I'm saying it because it's a fact. I think it's great that you support SCSU to the point you're in denial about how things in the real world actually work. Let's see how loyal your fan base is when the likes of Ferris State, Lake Superior, and Northern Michigan come to the Concrete Center every year.

I have to say after watching last night's game I think we will lose this one, although Idaho didn't look very good either against BGSU. I thought our defense showed signs of great improvement but our low scoring offense left much to be desired. But it's early and there's a lot of football left to be played and plenty of time for improvements through out the season. I think if we win against Idaho it will be because of our defense and kicker IMO.

Honestly, a great indication of how Air Force would perform in the NCHC will be coming up in October during the Ice Breakers tournament. I tend to agree with you though, I don't think they could handle the competition in the National. WOuld love to see their name on the roster though.

In terms of academics both schools are more "like institutions" that are already in the NCHC. You guys wouldn't be dropping $15,000 a month on Gino if you didn't think there was a chance of you getting in. I feel bad for the St. Cloud fans, I honestly do, but there is way to much bad blood for me or any true Sioux fan to want to be in a conference with the likes of St. Cloud.

I would much rather WMU to BGSU than St. Cloud. In fact I wouldn't mind just being a 6 team conference if ND doesn't join, the OOC schedule could be packed with HE and B10 as well as a few old WCHA rivals and would make for an exciting season.

Tell us then, what does St. Cloud bring to the National?

Attendance will go up after this season. If they think they're losing money now, imagine how much they will lose when UND builds an on campus stadium. Renovating the Alerus helps protect their investment and puts UND in a position for a FBS upgrade.

I really hope St. Cloud doesn't get an invite. What would be the point of starting the NCHC id were just going to invite the schools we were trying to get away from?

Politically, Grand Forks has to be worried about UND eventually building a larger stadium on campus. If they could find a way to expand it to seat 25,000 plus people they could ensure that UND would not outgrow the facility for at least another 20-30 years. They could even host a hockey game or tournament there to help increase revenue.

Does anybody know if it would be possible to renovate the Alerus so that additional seating is added at both end zones in a bowl shape? Seems like it should be able to be done for around $20 million or so, if we could squeeze 5,000-10,000 more seats out of a renovation without sacrificing comfort we might have a FBS ready facility on our hands.

Personally, I think that Notre Dame will join the NCHC until the SEC, Big10, Big12, Big East, PAC 10 and ACC start forming "Super Conferences", at that point Notre Dame will find themselves with a gun to their head and join the Big 10. Then we will have to find a new replacement, hopefully we can look to schools like Iowa State, Texas, or Cal instead of settling for schools from the WCHA. Just my opinion, we will see shortly how Texas A&M will affect the world of college athletics.

Are they already sold out?

I'm thinking WMU and Notre Dame, possibly BGSU if the Irish decide not to join. Unless teams like Air Force, BU, BC, MAin, or New Hampshire want in (no likely), we should leave it at either 6 or 8 teams and begin encouraging schools like Texas, California, and Iowa State to make the jump.

I could easily see 8, but 10 is pushing it. Out of curiosity who do you foresee the next 2-4 teams being?

I'm not a fan of Carlson and believe that he is indeed on a power trip and doesn't mind harming UND while he is out proving his point. I will say though I hate how the NCAA has held a gun to our head, it makes me sick to my stomach to think of us as anything but the Fighting Sioux, but I know if we don't retire it we will be lepers in the world of college sports. Is it me or does the retirement of the name feel a lot like hearing news that a loved one only has months to live? Life will go on but it will never be the same.