SiouxVolley

Here's a week old article on James Madison where their coach Matt Houston says that going FBS for JMU is legitimate talk. They don't need a conference now to do it, as their admin hated the idea of the Sun Belt. If they stayed CAA except for fb, their admin would probably be very satisfied as it would set them up to later get in CUSA, the MAC or even the AAC. They might need more regional independent schools like Liberty and UMASS to make an independent schedule though. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2017/08/15/james-madison-repeat-expectations-matt-houston/560269001/

A different developer proposes on-campus plan for U of Illinois arena http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-08-17/developer-has-different-idea-proposed-indoor-ui-sports-arena.html

Absolutely not. Haven't posted there for years. There is a big thread on Reddit discussing a Patriot Hockey League. Have never posted on Reddit.

So you seem to be stating that the Alerus would not have been an upgrade over the old Winter Sports Building. Seem to recall that their wasn't sellouts after their 1997 championship. We will never know, as UND knew it had a donor in Ralph and wasn't worried. But no one thought a new arena would be as grand as it was.

And there is talk of Kansas City again: http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/kansas-city-has-holes-to-fill-before-it-can-become-an-nhl-expansion-destination

Yeah, there are a lot of moving parts. There has been rumors about Penn restarting hockey and Pitt and Syracuse starting teams, and almost all of Atlantic Hockey has made upgrades in both facilities and scholarships. A league change really wouldn't be any different for Air Force. Really seems like the whole state of Pennsylvania is ready to get on the college hockey bandwagon, as they seen the success of Penn St. Something will happen, but not sure what.

In the Atlantic Hockey thread on USCHO, a poster says a Patriot Hockey League will form, as the Patriot League currently has BU, Holy Cross, Colgate, Army, and Air Force will join for hockey only and maybe Navy will start a varsity team. Lehigh and maybe Lafayette have money and nearby facilities to start a team. Don't think BU would take kindly to being forced into a lesser league than HE, but it can make sense for the other schools. But BU may have to move back to America East to avoid it. That would really upset the apple cart for Atlantic Hockey and the ECAC, and even HE and maybe even the WCHA, as Bowling Green wants out. Been wondering why Holy Cross hasn't been accepted into HE to backfill for Notre Dame. Maybe this is the answer.

Ralph. He was very concerned the the Big Ten would form their own league and leave us stranded with Bemidji and Mich Tech. A lot of people poo-posed this well after Ralphs passing, including some posters here. If the Ralph hadn't been given, in all likelihood we'd would be playing in the Alerus. Grand Forks asked UND if they would use Alerus Center ice if that was included, and UND said no. This was when the Winter Sports Center was known to be a rusting hulk. With the Alerus, UND would have needed a practice rink on campus and playing football and hockey on the same day would have been impossible. But mainly, UND would not likely get the top hockey recruits like they do now. Minny, Wisconsin, BU, BC, DU and maybe UMD would win the vast majority of recruiting battles. Maybe we beat SCSU and Mankato. Attendance nearly tripled with the REA and it's doubtful the Alerus would have gone over so well with hockey fans. UND would have been a relative pauper without the REA.

And UND hockey would be in the WCHA today if not for a major gift. We need a major gift of an on-campus stadium to even contemplate FBS. UND has much more going for it than Ball St, Bowling Green, EMU, Akron, Kent St, La-Monroe, USA, Coastal Carolina, Troy, Appalachian St, Georgia Southern and others that are FBS. What we need is a stadium on-campus, as then FBS becomes a major advertising tool that we don't currently have.

Idaho St can barely fund a low level FCS program. If a conference has eight transitioning FBS schools, the NCAA has no choice under its own rules but to declare it an FBS conference when all have completed the transition.

NDSU, SDSU and USD are promoting the challenge on their websites, so presume the interest comes from them. As said elsewhere, a Summit football league combining the Dakotas, Montanas, Idaho and EWU could be big, and those three schools seem to be promoting it.

There is an official Big Sky - MVFC Challenge this year and UND will play a big part in it. siouxcityjournal.com/sports/football/college/usd/digest-mvfs-big-sky-announce-challenge/article-05ec3d25-d3f8-57c0-b732-9f11fc65e28c.html

The NDSU men's game on Dec 9th at UND is part of a doubleheader mens/women's against NDSU of course. Since its a Saturday, and the hockey team is on the road at St Cloud St, it must be at the Ralph. Highly doubt they would schedule a double header at the Betty against NDSU.

The MVFC already includes the Summit for fb. A split would be more appropriate, but there needs to be more schools for that to happen and there is no money involved like the dance money

It rarely makes sense to merge conferences - as an autobid would be lost and no certainty in gaining an at-large bid. But that said, the calender is counting down on the MVC's dance credits, mostly from Wichita St. In three or four years, those credits could be the same if the MVC becomes a one bid league and the Summit survives. The MVC wouldn't want to go to 12 unless there are other reason for it, as the share of dance revenue get more diluted. But with Wichita St forfeiting it's future MVC credits to the league, and new teams possibly not getting a full sure til later, for three or four years it could add to 12 without pain. The A10 schools that created the credit gets like 60% of their credits, with the league dispersing the rest of it. That kind of system may lead to more incentives to succeed and expand.

Best of luck to Ashley Hardee. Appears he has gotten his personal issues resolved. Didn't realize he had gotten a beach volleyball position at UAB. www.nsudemons.com/news/2017/8/14/lady-demon-volleyball-kiracofe-adds-former-north-dakota-head-coach-ashley-hardee-to-nsu-volleyball-staff.aspx

The athletic situation at Idaho State continues to deteriorate. President Vailas has tendered his resignation, effective a year from now. http://www.idahostatejournal.com/members/isu-football-former-bengal-qb-machurek-sounds-off-on-isu/article_40c229dc-0d72-5512-a26c-7af2638f7279.html

With everybody back sans Moser, this team should be outstanding. Make hay while the suns shines. Would be interesting to hear Pryor's goals this year. Undefeated in conference play, 30 victories, and a 1st round NCAA win are my stretch goals if Griffin, Dooley and Merseli stay healthy. A lot of matches should be dedicated to the second string play so they get plenty of playing time, as there are weak teams on the schedule. Will be interesting if Merseli comes out even stronger, as she became such a bona fide force later in the season which drove much of UND's success. Last year, the team didn't start out very strong, and that should not be a problem this season.

As expected, the defending champions are big favorites to repeat as Big Sky champions according to the coaches poll. http://goviks.com/news/2017/8/11/vikings-selected-fifth-in-big-sky-volleyball-coaches-poll.aspx

You've gone on record elsewhere that there will be no more moves out of the Summit. We supposed to believe that IPFW is perfectly happy as an eastern island, Western Illinois doesn't have a budget problem and doesn't have complaints about Summit air travel, ORU simply loves the Summit and Sioux Falls, Omaha isn't seriously considered by anyone although they got an MVC official visit, and UND is so strung up for cash that we needed to move out of the Big Sky to cut down on air travel. Sioux Falls just makes the Summit schools tinkle with joy, as witnessed by IUPUI making Dakota tournament jokes at their Horizon invitation party. The Horizon and MVC wont go beyond 10 in spite of Presidents, AD's and Commissioners stating the opposite. Your so convincing.

Should add that IPFW debated moving back to DII when it splits into PUFW and a much smaller IUFW. PUFW decided on DI in part because Fort Wayne will sport a new arena downtown that should be available by 2019. The Horizon takes kindly to new and renovated arenas, as witnessed by them just adding IUPUI and NKU. If PUFW thought it be stuck in the Summit, it would have dropped to DII. PUFW and Robert Morris move into new digs almost at the same time, which gets the Horizon's attention. The Horizon has always been a dream for eastern Summit schools, like Oakland, IUPUI, Valpo, and Green Bay, Milwaukee, Wright St, Cleveland St before them. The only schools not to make it are E Ill, W Ill, and Chicago St, which have no proven basketball roots. Any Big Sky school move to the Summit will be one years notice for Olympics and two years for football for no exit fees. Otherwise, there would be a big cost.

More confirmation of the Hawaii appearance from an islands paper: http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/sports/local-sports/uh-notes-sacrifices-pay-linebacker-broman

I'd argue that Douple is gone no matter what. Douple has always seemed clueless. The tournament will probably be moved around to Billings, Spokane, Bismarck and Sioux Falls, with the women and men being separate as a condition of the western teams being added. Taking four Big Sky teams wouldn't destroy that conference but taking five could. The Montanas and Idaho won't allow that.

Kennedy knows precisely what will happen IMHO. The Montanas, Idaho and EWU will join, and any eastern Summit teams that are left will have more reason to depart.

Don't think UMKC wants to associate with Dakota schools, which is why they left for the WAC. Conference affiliation with a bunch of Dakotas is looked at very negatively, as we don't have tv sets in numbers or great recruiting. UMKC doesn't see a need to broaden it's awaredness in the Dakotas. Hockey is an exception, which is why Denver stays in the near term. These are the moves coming up, ImHO. MVC takes Murray St and ORU. Horizon takes IPFW and Robert Morris. OVC takes W Illinois and S Indiana or Lindenwood from DII. Later, the Horizon takes Omaha and UMKC.