molden

UND hockey operates under the guise of an educational program. It's a big lie.

8 current players The whining of UND fans from that poor little town up north. I thought maybe I wouldn't see it here. It's decades old. Yawn

All I had to do was to mention the sacred cow of hockey in Grand Forks, the squeaky-clean program of great educational integrity, and here we are. Funny stuff, and absolutely predictable. It's the old 'UND does it right and NDSU is dirty' whine from Grand Forks. Then UND fans get into comparing the cities and other irrelevant topics. I could care less.

My impression is that whining about Bison football is common coming from a UND fan. UND hockey is a great program. But be real, it's an athletic mill. Bison football is a bigger mill by shear numbers. They are the respective flagship programs of the two universities. Both programs recruit questionable students. Get real.

Typical UND deflection. "We run clean programs here." It gets very old.

Further, a lot of Bison fans are of the opinion that your flagship program is a glorified minor league hockey program, with education being way down the list of priorities. You've heard the talk, and we've heard rumors of in-house discipline problems over the years. But really, what's the goal of a program that knowingly recruits high NHL draft choices to play hockey for a year or two? One can imagine that Bison football players are recruited for similar reasons. There's no difference. The numbers are just bigger. In reality, it's a matter of containment with some of the athletes that both universities recruit. And within these programs, perception can often be problematic. When a group of players decides to do something extremely stupid, how it is handled is the thing that will be judged. It seems that mistakes have been made to this point. We're not out of time yet. I doubt that the president will allow the clock to run out. There's too much at stake.

Let me add that we have a lot of love and respect for Craig Bohl and Gene Taylor. They brought Bison football back from the depths, and led us through the DI transition beautifully. Tons of excitement along the way. We'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt. It's not too late for them to step up to the plate. The damage does not have to be permanent. Realizing that a lot of Sioux fans have no love for Gene Taylor because of perceived problems with scheduling some football games, many of us are of the opinion that the original scheduling problems originated in Grand Forks. We have learned to trust Taylor with creating schedules that work for the Bison. After all, didn't the original cancellation occur because of concern for the UND program and potential playoff implications? Correct me if I'm wrong please. It's a perception problem, and a PR problem that many Sioux fans won't admit to, in my experience. Gene Taylor did not cancel the series. He played the cards that he was dealt. His assignment was to bring NDSU through the transition and to build a solid program. Put a big check by that one. So, you know, Taylor & Bohl have earned some loyalty from NDSU fans. Perception and PR problems can come from both camps. NDSU doesn't have have a monopoly on these.

Looks like the president is the one who didn't get out in front of this in terms of the public perception. Somehow, Craig Bohl and Gene Taylor got into the camp of protecting the players. It's almost as if the pressure has gotten to these two. Winning a national title and being one of the favorites to win this year is a sharp double-edged sword. Ones perspective can become warped. Most Bison fans expect and hope that the leadership will get ahold of this problem. Again, I don't know of one Bison fan who expects this to just go away. And I will say again that a UND fan who's vocal about this shouldn't expect a favorable response from a Bison fan. You guys were pretty tough on us during the transition. Bison fans in their 20s and 30s only know of those years in terms of the rivalry. Us older guys remember the dynasty years of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s. We remember the problems of the early 90 to mid-90s. We remember the Bob Entzion days. We watched Rocky suffer under his lack of leadership. Let me also add that I remember watching some pretty outstanding Sioux teams in the 70s. The rivalry existed because it went in cycles.

Whoever said that Bison fans don't see this as a big PR problem doesn't live in my world. The fan base is extremely concerned. What you might be hearing are the voices of those who resent involvement from UND fans. They're bound to strike back. There's very little trust.

Let me be frank. I'm more upset than anyone here. I'm trying to give these guys the benefit of the doubt. I hope that they come to an agreement soon. But, is it possible that the number of players and the severity of the crime have complicated matters? Grasping at straws perhaps, but I'm working hard to figure out what's really going on. I would think that they'd be motivated to get the suspensions rolling, considering we're just over two weeks away from the conference season. A loss at Colorado State wouldn't have affected potential playoffs. But I doubt that it would have mattered. Robert Morris was in way over their heads. It appears that the game against Prairie View should be an easy win. Then we go to Northern Iowa on the 29th and host Youngstown State the next game. It's a puzzler.

Everyone take a deep breath. I know that you've all been really concerned.

Apparently there's a process going on that people on the outside don't know about. I don't know of one fan of the Bison that wants to support a dirty program. We are not a win-at-any-cost group. We're proud of the type of program that Coach Bohl has been running. He has a 10 year record of consistent, fair, and firm dealings with players. The conference season is still almost 3 weeks away. Apparently there's a process that no one on the outside is privy to. I can't predict what will happen, but it's clear that NDSU has not completed the process.

(from the president of NDSU) Dear Campus Community, Recent events and media portrayals of these events have left many on our campus with understandable questions. Given that, I would like to offer some clarification of University disciplinary policies that I think you will find helpful. In addition to civil or criminal penalties, students who are charged with a crime are subject to a campus disciplinary process, which is conducted through the Dean of Student Life office as outlined in the code of student conduct, http://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/studen...tudentCode.pdf. To reiterate directly from the code: “When students commit acts that are also violations of community, state or federal laws, on or off campus, those students will be subject to the same civil and/or criminal penalties as any other citizen in addition to campus resolution. Campus resolution of such acts may proceed before, during or after the civil or criminal proceedings have concluded.” Students involved in co-curricular activities also are subject to disciplinary review and sanctions by their organizations. The criminal, civil, University and organizational processes may and often do overlap. We take seriously our responsibility to cooperate with external investigations, and at times prioritize that step. We also balance that with consistent application of our own student disciplinary procedures. In the case of recent situations I referenced above, the University immediately and completely cooperated with investigating authorities. Our doing so reduced what would have been months of effort on their part to a matter of days. Unfortunately, though, because the University process has not been widely reported, some have perceived that the University is not taking action, or not acting quickly, which is not the case. We must carefully observe federal student privacy laws, and for campus administrators, including me, who have a role in the student discipline process, it is inappropriate to become directly involved in or comment on situations under review. I can appreciate that for people not involved in the process that all can be misinterpreted as a lack of action by the University. As I have said many times, NDSU is committed to an environment of good stewardship, and please be assured, we are working within our policies to address disciplinary matters. Dean Bresciani Dean L. Bresciani, President North Dakota State University

It's time for me to leave this hallowed blog. All of the responses are Sioux-like. Decades upon decades of the same chatter, whether it be online or word of mouth. I had to come here to test the waters to see if it was still around. Ya'll can't see how tainted your motivations are. I've seen enough. Bye

Another Sioux judge online. This story is so old that most of you wouldn't remember.

Motivation is the problem with Sioux opinions about North Dakota State. Resentment is your game.

Typical response from a Sioux fan. We're clean, and they're not.

I'm telling you that your motivation is not exactly pristine.

Point is that Sioux fans' opinions are irrelevant when it concerns Bison football. Stupid, but very Sioux-like response. Always predictable.

Glad to see all the love for Bison football. Through the years we've always counted on Sioux fans to be the judge and jury for the Bison. When there's trouble with UND's flagship program, meaning hockey, we're all over it at bisonville. Not. Came over to see the rumored chatter. Don't tell me that your hockey team is full of good boys. Don't tell me that there's never in-house decisions on how relevant a discipline problem is. But I know that you will, because that's the dynamic of this loving relationship. Sioux hockey is clean. Bison football is not. That's the mindset of a Sioux fan. It's been that way for decades. zzzzzzzzz You know, when we moved up to DI we received so much love from Sioux fans. It was underwhelming. Even though you had an invitation from us to join us in the move, you tried to paint it as something else. And because of that great degree of love, ya'll have absolutely no credibility on the topic of our problems, which will remain our problems, which will be dealt with by the people that we hire to deal with our problems. Ya'll know nothing about what's going on besides what the media is pushing. You don't care about the Bison players or the program. Never did. Never will. So your opinions are irrelevant. But keep pretending that your opinions matter, because that's your history too. You've always wanted to have your flagship program, and you've always resented ours, and you've manifested your resentment so beautifully, with cancellations of all athletics, and efforts to be involved in who works at North Dakota State. I've supported UND in its efforts to keep the Sioux name. I've supported UND hockey through the years. I've been an advocate of having only one DI hockey program in North Dakota. But I don't pretend to know what goes on within the hockey program. I assume that the paid professionals know how to handle the program and its players. I assume that the leadership at UND is the only entity capable of doing so. They get the benefit of my doubt, and I certainly don't trust the media when it tries to get involved in said program.

There is no doubt that a renewal of this old rivalry would be the biggest sporting event in North Dakota. It would probably draw some national attention when the first one happens. To argue that other events, that have national or world implications, would be bigger is a moot point. It's really not in line with the discussion here. Anyone with a brain understands that there are major sporting events that dwarf a Bison-Sioux game, in terms of national & world attention. What's important is that most North Dakotans would be aware of the game, and a vast majority would be white-hot about who wins. The Auburn-Alabama game is the biggest sporting event 'in' the state of Alabama. Our game would be the same...on a smaller stage. But it would still be just as important here...as it is there. But...I don't want this game to happen until both programs are functioning at a very high level within their conference, and the FCS. I don't want one team to seemingly have everything to lose...and nothing to gain. The playing field must be level. The Bison are there. I expect the Sioux to be a strong Big Sky program sooner than most people think.

In the United States, hockey is a small community. A lot of people have heard of it...and they've seen clips on TV while they're surfing. They rarely watch it, if ever. They don't understand the rules...and it's boring to them. The World Juniors is a big deal in the hockey community. Outside of it, it's irrelevant. The same would apply to some of the major wrestling events that have taken place at NDSU over the years. There have been a few national tournaments. The American culture embraces football, baseball, and basketball. Hockey has made some big strides...but until most of our high schools and universities compete in it, the sport will have more of a cult following. Hockey fans are totally dedicated to the sport. I respect this. It's a great sport. But this thread is about whether the old rivalry should come back...or perhaps 'when' would be a more fitting word. Both schools are competing at a level that more closely resembles DII prior to the time when the scholarship levels began to drop. When UND shows that it is one of the top Big Sky programs, then the game makes good sense for both parties. Until then...not...

Yeah, the Bison craved attention last year. That's a good one. No game until UND proves to be a top-tier team in the Big Sky. Then there's no excuses available on either side. Gene Taylor does what he believes is best for Bison Football. That's what he's paid to do. He's done ok. Playing against one FBS program each year is a good thing. It's exciting, and the money is needed. The rivalry was powerful because both schools took their turns at being the stronger program. There were many great games. Being we're not in the same conference, the schedule needs to fall in place in a way that gives both schools the kind of schedule that prepares the teams for conference play. That's the name of the game. Win the conference, gain homefield advantage, and make the playoff run. We learned about this in 2011. With so many good teams in the FCS, playing on the road in the playoffs is very difficult. The Bison-Sioux game cannot be the Super Bowl for both schools. If we were in the same conference it would be different. I have no doubt that UND will be one of the stronger programs in the Big Sky eventually. It's just a matter of when.