IowaBison

Interesting figure/ Ellsworth scored 5th among all air bases for a tanker mission, this was higher than all current active tanker bases included GFAB (41) which ranked last of all active tanker bases....

****Grand Forks Air Force Base is now on the Floor****

I don't want to see it, but that doesn't mean that one can ignore BRAC or pretend that it isn't a possibility.

Don't know. Check back, I'll post it as soon as it comes up. For the last two hours they've been focusing on Navy assets.

I believe that both the northern presence argument and home tankers are just as poor if not worse than the UAV mission. Minot is only 200 miles away and most importantly-the Soviet Union fell almost a score ago. There is over capacity air force wide

But you have to consider the sources of your information, both our congressional staff and the grand forks media have a significant interest in seeing the base around, they have been acting as cheerleaders and advocates for GFAB. If you look at less biased media outlets, you will have seen a more serious, deliberate approach to BRAC whose commissioners have repeatedly questioned the absence of GFAB from the original BRAC list. Given that they have added all but one of the facilities they have considered today, I can't see how Grand Forks would not be added to the list given the vocal concerns that have been voiced.

if you have the internet you can get a radio or video feed of the hearings at cspan.org

They just added a small naval asset in San Diego, the Marine Corps Recruiting Station-San Diego is next.

they just added an airbase in Maine to the list, I think that Grand Forks will probably be put back on the list ?

the BRAC hearing is on live on CSPAN3

...In assessing inputs, the researchers considered such factors as the energy used in producing the crop (including production of pesticides and fertilizer, running farm machinery and irrigating, grinding and transporting the crop) and in fermenting/distilling the ethanol from the water mix. ... I've seen studies before that came up with about the same number (2x % versus 29% for this one). Ethanol is a scam, but as an economist, I deal on price; politics and physics be damned. Today it (barely) makes financial sense to operate a flexible fuel vehicle, but I am thinking about getting one. (If I were an environmental economist I would definitely buy one.) Go Cyclones!

In light of that, I can't see how UND could consider making the move without the expectation of spending somewhere in the vacinity of $12 million per year (in 2005 dollars) on athletics. That puts the Sioux around $4 million off, with not much room for growth. (Maybe that's where Kupchella & Company came up with their $70 million endowment idea? 70x.05=3.5, almost enough to cover the gap) Go Cyclones!

I think that both UND and NDSU realize that their bread and butter in the long run is attracting students from the Twin Cities.

what did you buy with your per-cap?

I think the hope was that folks from Moorhead State would come to the game and increase the gate. Unfortunately, the games were so bad, that many Bison fans skipped the games.

I disagree with your thoughts about NDSU. IF there wasn't DIAA, I would agree. But NDSU did quite well last year in their marquis sport playing the best in their division. Did we beat Oklahoma in Norman, not even close. But we are playing the big boys in DIAA.

I agree completely. I think that UND has a great thing going with its DII/hockey combination. If they could add a few more hockey schools to the NCC, I think that would be even better. Two points: 1) NDSU waited a year to make the transition so the NCC as a whole would consider it. A year that would have been better spent, in hindsight, making the move. 2) If UND leaves DII, the NCC will either die, merge, or struggle for years.

UND/NDSU/SDSU being on the Big Sky agenda is not as sure as death and taxes, but at this point the odds are much much greater than any other DI possiblity. Watch and see. The next 18 months may be interesting or agonzingly boring, depending on your patience level. I agree with this (though a little less on the UND part). Even with the addition of UNC, the Big Sky is relatively unstable primarily because Sac State has such a weak program, and PSU isn't much better. I think it's plausible that as NDSU and SDSU approach full division I status that the Big Sky will reappear on the radar screen with UND (and others) receiving that same form letter they got last fall save changes to the date and a reference to UNC. I wonder if the majority of the presidents wouldn't 'exchange' NDSU/SDSU for Sac State and Portland State. If that happened I could definitely see UND being invited the next year given that they were in the transition process.

first of all, i know a hell of a lot about statistics (you obviously missed the lecture on causality) what was missing in your previous post was the requisite commentary which is found in this one, what was lacking was any sophistication or logic if hockey is such a cash cow, why did your athletic department run a half million dollar deficit for 2003-2004 after the waiver of women's hockey scholarships? i do like your point about scheduling, though I doubt you'd be able to schedule more than two hockey (probably A-10) schools and I'm not to sure they'd be willing to travel to ND, what's in it for a school from New England or the Mid Atlantic to play a game in Grand Forks? i've long thought that both NDSU and UND should be DI, but i honestly don't think that sioux fans have the financial ability to support hockey at the level they've grown accustomed to and successful programs in the other sports. In other words, I think UND is tapped out with regards to $$$. if you're so sure of your point, i say call up buning and make him aware of your points and don't forget to mention to UND's stat department that your the world's next snedecor, your a shoe-in for the job being able to find a percentage and all.

No, he actually made an inference that UND might be more successful in DIAA football because it had hockey. 'That tells me that DI hockey could be more of an asset in a move to DI rather than a liabality.' ? That makes no sense! And this is what I pointed out. It is a point similar to the one made by bigmgr74, but apparently because he is not a fan of certain team he's not a troll, while I am? That makes no sense either!

not out trolling, just pointing out the absence of logic in the post.