DI transition articles/info

[dakotadan]

Moving up to DI isn't easy... but is it worth it?

An interesting article from rivals.com that talks about the transition of basketball teams to DI.

If you think nobody would want to sign up for this type of situation, think again. USC Upstate is one of 19 men's basketball programs making the transition to the ever-growing Division I ranks. The additions of USC Upstate, Florida Gulf Coast, North Carolina Central and Presbyterian College as provisional members this year increased the total of Division I men's basketball programs to 341.

341! And that doesn't include the 6 schools in UND's transition class.

Big move can mean big mileage

Of the 13 provisional Division I schools, South Dakota State is the only team playing the majority of its games at home.

Can a DI program survive as an independant?

Many of these independents have started working together in an effort to fill their schedules. For example, New Jersey Institute of Technology's schedule this year includes home-and-home series with fellow independents Chicago State, Longwood, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley State. That arrangement helped these independents schedule games later in the season, when most conference members are concentrating on league play.

"We couldn't get games in January, February and the beginning of March," NJIT athletic director Lenny Kaplan said. "Now we can. Working together, we can."

[dakotadan]

I personally found this page the most interesting. It shows all of the various classes that are in the process of making the transition and gives a short profile of each school. If you take out UND's class that is in the exploratory year, only 4 out of 16 schools are still independants. One of those is Cal State Bakersfield who will likely end up in the Big West conference.

Division I newcomer profiles

[bincitysioux]

Although, not a school in transition, there were some interesting articles on independent Chicago St. this weekend.

Could Chicago State return to Summit League?

The Cougars would like to patch things up with the Summit League, formerly the Mid-Continent Conference, to which they belonged through 2006, but the Summit is now at an even 10 teams.

"Never say never," Tom Douple, commissioner of the Elmhurst-base league, said of Chicago State's possible return. But Douple added that the league's schools have committed to spending more on improvements, including academics. "The bar is being raised even higher," he said.

Chicago State looking for right fit

The Chicago State athletic department is operating on a budget of approximately $4 million. The school's peer institutions, such as schools in the Summit League, which Chicago State left in 2006 when it was the Mid-Continent Conference, spend approximately $6 million to $7 million on their sports programs.

"We're doing it with smoke and mirrors here," Benjy Taylor said upon completing his first season as Chicago State's basketball coach. "The next administration really needs to commit to making us a viable situation. We have good coaches in place, we have good kids here. We're doing a good job of changing the culture, but we need a little assistance in doing that."

Where some see a future at a lower level of competition, others see hope. Foremost among them is athletic director Wayne Baskerville, a former Big Ten assistant commissioner who took over the job 18 months ago, after the school departed the Mid-Con in a leave-before-you're-kicked-out scenario.

Payouts that CSU has received for basketball games over the last 2 seasons

Wichita State, $45,000-L 76-64

Indiana, $55,000-L 90-69

Texas-El Paso, $50,000-W 86-82

New Mexico State tournament, $20,000 L 80-74 to NM St, L 59-44 to SE Louisiana

DePaul, $37,500-L 83-56

California Tournament, $50,000-L 75-51 to Cal; W 72-61 over Eastern Michigan.

Michigan State, $55,000-L 69-61

Kansas State, $55,000-L 73-36

Illinois State, $45,000-L 81-49

New Mexico State, $55,000-L 94-61

Drake, $30,000-L 83-53

Indiana, $60,000-L 97-59

Alabama, $65,000-L 93-79

[bincitysioux]

Seattle University preparing for Div. I

One of the hurdles will be scheduling for next season.

Callero said he has bargained a few Division I schools to play Seattle by committing to one home game while playing two games on the opponents

[star2city]

UM-St Louis would be an interesting addition to the Summit, especially if cross-river rival SIU-E joins the Ohio Valley.

Part 1 of 5: Can UM-St. Louis athletics achieve Division-I status?

Part 2 of 5: The House of Cards: Conferences

Can UM-St. Louis athletics achieve Division-I status? Part 3 of 5

[dakotadan]

Selling Division I

[GeauxSioux]

It really sounds like the athletic department is working more as a team in conjunction with FSSP.

[GeauxSioux]

University stands firm in 1-A football plans

Larger guarantees are just part of the financial picture, but they remain a significant part.

"It would cost us more money to be in Division 1-AA because you're not going to get the big-game payoffs," said MidSouth Bank President Rusty Cloutier.

Walker said the difference would come to around $2 million less per year in our overall athletic budget if UL were to go to 1-AA.

That's a large number in a $10 million athletic budget.

"I have friends at a bank in Boise, Idaho, and they said it's unbelievable what Boise State's win in a BCS bowl game did for their university," Cloutier said. "Athletics is the marketing arm of a university. Success there has a tremendous branding connotation.

"So, athletics is very valuable. Are we ever going to be Auburn, or LSU? Absolutely not. But, Boise, Hawaii, Southern Miss? That's possible."

I think using athletics as a marketing arm was one area where Kupchella fell short. Hopefully Kelley will view it more positively.

[gjw007]

University stands firm in 1-A football plansI think using athletics as a marketing arm was one area where Kupchella fell short. Hopefully Kelley will view it more positively.

It can be a great marketing shot in the arm but only if a team is successful.

[NDSUguy]

Selling Division I

I haven't seen any of the advertisement for the new Sioux marketing. I did read the article however and I can't say that I understand the "We are 1. We are North Dakota" slogan. What exactly does "We are 1" mean???

Does it mean 1st year in tradition? D1? Maybe the point is lost on me because I haven't seen it.

Can anyone offer clarity?

[The Sicatoka]

Can anyone offer clarity?

Did you miss the insert in this weekend's Fargo Forum?

It is/was the opening splash page ...

http://www.fightingsioux.com

[NDSUguy]

Did you miss the insert in this weekend's Fargo Forum?

It is/was the opening splash page ...

http://www.fightingsioux.com

I live in minneapolis....so yes, i missed it.

[dakotadan]

What exactly does "We are 1" mean???

We are 1 : We are united : We are together

I would think this is how most people would view it. This ties into many aspects of the transition. No longer is the athletic departmet part DI and part DII, our whole department is now in 1 division. Also, it reminds our alumni and fans that we are all in this together and need to support it as a whole to make it successful. Then there is the visual cue of the DI that ties into the DI transition.

And it just reminds people that we are North Dakota's team.

Seems like a good marketing campaing for the first year in DI.

[NDSUguy]

And it just reminds people that we are North Dakota's team.

Thanks for the laugh!

Maybe in hockey but not football.

[dakotadan]

Just like shooting fish in a barrel.

[bincitysioux]

We are 1 : We are united : We are together

I would think this is how most people would view it. This ties into many aspects of the transition. No longer is the athletic departmet part DI and part DII, our whole department is now in 1 division. Also, it reminds our alumni and fans that we are all in this together and need to support it as a whole to make it successful. Then there is the visual cue of the DI that ties into the DI transition.

And it just reminds people that we are North Dakota's team.

Seems like a good marketing campaing for the first year in DI.

I would say that is an excellent interpretation of this particular marketing campaign.

[NDSUguy]

We are 1 : We are united : We are together

I would think this is how most people would view it. This ties into many aspects of the transition. No longer is the athletic departmet part DI and part DII, our whole department is now in 1 division. Also, it reminds our alumni and fans that we are all in this together and need to support it as a whole to make it successful. Then there is the visual cue of the DI that ties into the DI transition.

And it just reminds people that we are North Dakota's team.

Seems like a good marketing campaing for the first year in DI.

It appears that prospective students have spoken. NDSU was named the university of choice among North Dakota high school seniors on the ACT.

[star2city]

It appears that prospective students have spoken. NDSU was named the university of choice among North Dakota high school seniors on the ACT.

Cass County used to be about 12% of ND's population. Now it's more like 25%. Grand Forks county (not GF city) has actually declined in population most decades. Take both those counties out: and which school is the real choice of non-commuters?

[KEH]

Just like shooting fish in a barrel.

i have never tried that

[The Sicatoka]

... among North Dakota high school seniors on the ACT.

Both of them? (Hey, it's sad, but that's where the NDHS enrollment trend is.)

[NDSUguy]

Cass County used to be about 12% of ND's population. Now it's more like 25%. Grand Forks county (not GF city) has actually declined in population most decades. Take both those counties out: and which school is the real choice of non-commuters?

My subtle point is that UND can not be North Dakota's team when the trend is that incoming students are choosing NDSU.

You do however bring up a interesting point though... Any info on the number of students who chose NDSU/UND from outside of Cass and Grand Forks counties?

[Hammersmith]

My subtle point is that UND can not be North Dakota's team when the trend is that incoming students are choosing NDSU.

You do however bring up a interesting point though... Any info on the number of students who chose NDSU/UND from outside of Cass and Grand Forks counties?

Ask and ye shall yada yada yada...

Total enrollments for students who list ND as their address; Fall 2007:

NDSU(all counties) = 6599

UND(all counties) = 6538

NDSU w/o Cass = 3197

UND w/o Grand Forks = 3370

NDSU w/o Cass & GF = 3062

UND w/o GF & Cass = 2738

Trends(2003/2004/2005/2006/2007):

NDSU(all counties) = 6708/6730/6522/6681/6599

UND(all counties) = 6840/6707/7174/6703/6538

NDSU w/o Cass = 3136/3155/3047/3414/3197

UND w/o Grand Forks = 4378/4351/4123/3701/3370

NDSU w/o Cass & GF = 2973/3011/2904/3250/3062

UND w/o GF & Cass = 3742/3709/3602/3038/2738

[star2city]

NDSU's freshmen enrollment increase is incredible. With freshmen from Minnesota accounting for the majority of NDSU freshmen, one has to wonder how much NDSU's win over UM legitimized NDSU as a choice among Minnesota high school students - especially in the Cities. With the freshman classes at NDSU becoming even larger, one has to wonder where NDSU enrollment will stabilize: 15,000, 16,000? Higher ed personnel in Minnesota, especially SCSU, MSU-Mankato, UM-Duluth etc , have to be livid about the number of higher-performing students that NDSU and, to a lesser extent, UND are taking from their state.

NDSU's record enrollment includes 2,661 new freshmen, 495 more than last year, an unprecedented 22.9 percent increase.

International student enrollment also hit an all-time high at 963 students.

Last fall

[star2city]

NKU arena wows visitors

Carrie Underwood won't perform in the new Bank of Kentucky Center until Wednesday, but the country music star's voice filled it as the doors opened to the public for the first time Monday during a dedication and open house.

Visitors got an up-close look at the monster truck "Samson" and were entertained by skateboarders and BMX bike riders performing tricks on the main concourse, where the smell of buttered popcorn lured many to the concession stand. But without a doubt, Monday's star attraction was the sparkling $69 million arena on Northern Kentucky University's campus.

Oakland shows how to jump to D-I, NKU to revisit D-I

Northern Kentucky University is waiting for an NCAA Division I membership moratorium to end in 2011 before revisiting a potential move from Division II.

In the meantime, it can learn much from others that have already made the leap.

Take Oakland University. A decade ago, athletic director Tracy Huth said it was common for Michigan residents to assume students wearing Oakland shirts were from California.

They didn't realize that Oakland University was in Rochester, Mich.

[Smoggy]

NDSU's freshmen enrollment increase is incredible. With freshmen from Minnesota accounting for the majority of NDSU freshmen, one has to wonder how much NDSU's win over UM legitimized NDSU as a choice among Minnesota high school students - especially in the Cities. With the freshman classes at NDSU becoming even larger, one has to wonder where NDSU enrollment will stabilize: 15,000, 16,000? Higher ed personnel in Minnesota, especially SCSU, MSU-Mankato, UM-Duluth etc , have to be livid about the number of higher-performing students that NDSU and, to a lesser extent, UND are taking from their state.

NDSU Enrolls 22.9% more freshman

After teaching in the Twin Cities this doesn't seem too surprising. They really recruit and get out to the schools. Too bad that UND doesn't and when we do it seems to be pretty late in the year.