Dustin

Maybe you misunderstood- I was saying big 10 schools rank hockey as #3.

Agreed. I say take the opportunity if given. We’d be silly to say no to the big 10, even if we lose some conference clout.

Yeah, I'm (almost) with you. I don't think being associated with the Big 10 can hurt. Until you realize that UND's #1 sport is the rest of the conference's #3 sport (if lucky). And that UND may not have much to say in terms of how the conference goes about its hockey business. UND in Big 10 hockey is kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't.

There is some truth to this, too. The problem with the NCHC is not the quality of hockey, but the lack of big names behind it. Any conference would be strengthened by Minny's and Wisco's hockey resumes and big-time athletics departments.

I wonder what he thinks now - the program he transferred from is a (somewhat unlikely) frozen four participant; whereas the juggernaut program he transferred to didn't make the tournament.

At this stage of the tournament, I also approach cheering this way. UND's "rivals" are the 6 other elite hockey programs with numerous national championships (Michigan, Denver, Wisconsin, Minnesota, BC, BU).

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/4425628-unds-john-santiago-and-brady-oliveira-brothers-football-and-faith Nice piece about Lightning and Thunder. My biggest impression of the article was how Santiago drops (as if out of nowhere) the desire for a National Championship - a pretty lofty goal for team that has played just one NCAA playoff game, but it's nice they have something to shoot for.

I think I've settled on rooting for Notre Dame for this reason. They've been close a few times (championship game in 2008, semifinal games in 2011, 2017, 2018), and having another big name school be relevant at hockey is good for the sport. I still wish the NCHC would have snagged them. I think it would have been worth it, even having to bow to their demands.

The region final didn't have UND last year, and attendance was terrible for that game. I was a little ashamed.

I can't speak for the rest of them, but I am definite "Yes" when it comes to NCAA hockey. (NHL season is too long and doesn't captivate my interest.) I watch as much of the NCAA tournament as possible, whether UND is playing or not. Once UND is not in the running, I cheer for schools that have never won the natty, or have not won it in a long time. I also watch WJC games (generally just the USA ones, but may watch a championship game regardless).

Regardless of whether there's a bracket challenge or not, I'm curious if there's a team that Sioux nation is pulling for? Personally, when UND is out of the running, I cheer for teams that have never won it, or teams that have a long drought. Of the 16 teams, 9 have never won it. 2 more have long droughts - Cornell at 48 years, and Michigan Tech at 43 years. Even Michigan is in a pretty good drought at 20 years. The other 4 have all won it once in the last 10 years - Denver in 2017, Providence in 2015, UMD in 2011, and BU in 2009. I'm actually not too picky this year, though I don't really want to see Denver repeat.

USD end-of-season RPI was 146, which is actually behind NDSU (145). Denver was 57, UND 71, and ORU 106. After USD, there's a big jump down to Omaha at 225. The rest are pretty much bottom feeders. In the Big Sky, Sac St. was 80, Portland St. 114, Idaho 123, and on down the line.

Since all of the winter sports are over, I, like many fans, am already looking ahead to next year. While I've seen several discussions on football, basketball, and hockey, I haven't seen any about the upcoming volleyball season. A few of the major things that stand out to me: 1) Summit League - some new opponents, some old rivals. Denver has the best thing going in Summit volleyball at the moment, so they will be our best competition right off the bat. Not sure who else will be able to make noise. 2) Scheduling - One of the things I noticed with Summit League scheduling is that games tend to be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I deeply hope that UND's home games are NOT scheduled this way. I really liked Thursday night and Saturday late morning/early afternoon. Hopefully Graves will be able to exert some will in this area. 3) We graduated the most accomplished senior class in UND volleyball history last year. Our biggest names coming back are Alivia Fraase, Jordan Vail, Ashley Brueggeman, and Sidney Mattson. 2018 will be a completely different look than the last two years, so Pryor will have his work cut out for him if he expects another conference championship.

Can someone update this list for 2017-18? Looking for a ride to the game on Saturday.

Ah, makes a little more sense now.

Yeah, what's up with that?

The college volleyball season ended last night with Nebraska claiming its fifth national championship. They beat Florida 3-1.

Florida went up 2-0 over Stanford, then had to win it in 5 sets before clinching their spot in the national title match. Nebraska vs. Florida on Saturday night. Florida has been to the final four a number of times, but has never won it. Nebraska is an NCAA powerhouse with 4 nattys.

Nebraska defeated penn state in 5 sets in the first national semifinal. Florida and Stanford currently playing in the second.

I'm personally excited to go to BB conference tourney in Sioux Falls. I've watched some of the summit league tourney games on TV (thanks to Midco - now we'll get to see quarterfinal and semifinal action), and it does have the feel of being "big time."

To some extent I agree, but being a Conference champion and NCAA participant are irreplaceable signs of success. To me the goal should be a strong enough non conference schedule to allow us to not play the seeded team right off the bat.

https://wisconsinjuniors.com/morgan-hunt-commits-north-dakota/ When asked, what separated North Dakota from other schools? Morgan answered, “UND is a great school for me to earn my degree. Their volleyball program competes at a high level, the facilities are amazing, and their fan base is unbelievable. The people of Grand Forks, ND really support the university’s athletics. I also connected instantly with the coaching staff and future teammates. I know it’s going to be cold, but I know I’ll get over it!”

I noticed Denver was high enough to not play a seeded team. Looking for that type of development for our program.

I'm guessing that getting sent to Minneapolis will be the most likely destination as long as Minnesota is one of the seeded teams. What would be nice is to be ranked high enough to play the other game of that bracket.

11/19/17 RPI has UND at #72 and Denver at #55. I am very curious how we stack up against the Pios next year.