Big Sky or Summit/Valley?

[siouxfan68]

I'm not sure who needs the game more (and I really don't care), but I really can't objectively argue with the hockey statement.

I'm not sure that either really need the game, but 10,000 tickets sold for Saturday's basketball game in Fargo might indicate that people like to see the schools compete against each other.

[DI IN FARGO]

DI:

You've mellowed over the years. First you congratulated us on the Big Sky, now wishing us a Merry Christmas. Nice. You must not be hanging out at Bisonsports.net anymore?

Hey I said Merry Christmas last year to you guys. Unfortunately I never got one back but I tried. Oh and yes I still do hangout there also.

[The Sicatoka]

I'm not sure that either really need the game, but 10,000 tickets sold for Saturday's basketball game in Fargo might indicate that people like to see the schools compete against each other.

The last 2000+ were bought by Buffalo Wild Wings and will be given away in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck.

[The Sicatoka]

Face it you are a hockey school first.

And this is a problem because ... ? ? ?

Because we're running out of space in the rafters of REA for WCHA and NCAA title banners?

Because we put out NHL team captains and Olympians?

Because ... UND wins at hockey?

Help me out here.

[Cratter]

I'm not sure who needs the game more (and I really don't care), but I really can't objectively argue with the hockey statement.

And that's what upsets NDSU fans so much.

For years Sioux fans #1 favorite team to play against was the Gophers in Hockey.

For years Bison fans #1 favorite team to play against was UND in football.

They don't like being UND's #2.

That's the problem Sicatoka.

[dakota fairways]

Hey I said Merry Christmas last year to you guys. Unfortunately I never got one back but I tried. Oh and yes I still do hangout there also.

Merry Christmas DI & all the other posters on this board from a newbie

[SooToo]

Glad I could help you out with the visit Oh and Merry Christmas to all of you even if you are fans of the wrong school! Or if you prefer Happy Hanukkah or fill in the the blank.... Happy ____________

.... Festivus!

(Only makes sense for those who were around for Seinfeld)

And I suppose someone should point out, regarding the "obsession" driving this thread, that the topic was started by .... a jackrabbit troller.

[Bison Dan]

And this is a problem because ... ? ? ?

Because we're running out of space in the rafters of REA for WCHA and NCAA title banners?

Because we put out NHL team captains and Olympians?

Because ... UND wins at hockey?

Help me out here.

Oh you're right you have a very good and successful hockey team. But from someone on the outside looking in it looks like the athletic dept. views all the other sports as secondary. Expectations aren't very high and very little pressure to win as hockey is the money sport. Case in point WBB - does anyone on this board really think that Fargo South has 3 DI athletes. That's just Roebuck being lazy and not going out in the summer and hitting the gym's around the country. That's the reason Amy got out of coaching - the fire was gone. I think that's what he was saying.

[The Sicatoka]

But from someone on the outside looking in it looks like the athletic dept. views all the other sports as secondary.

You're saying that about a school that was top five in the (all sports) Director's Cup in Division II for most of the 1990s.

That school is in year 3 (of 4) of a transition to Division I. It's not all going to be wine and roses right now.

[VMeister]

.... Festivus!

(Only makes sense for those who were around for Seinfeld)

Festivus rocks.

[darell1976]

Hey I said Merry Christmas last year to you guys. Unfortunately I never got one back but I tried. Oh and yes I still do hangout there also.

DI I wish you, Bison fans, and all others a very Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

[Matt]

Oh you're right you have a very good and successful hockey team. But from someone on the outside looking in it looks like the athletic dept. views all the other sports as secondary. Expectations aren't very high and very little pressure to win as hockey is the money sport. Case in point WBB - does anyone on this board really think that Fargo South has 3 DI athletes. That's just Roebuck being lazy and not going out in the summer and hitting the gym's around the country. That's the reason Amy got out of coaching - the fire was gone. I think that's what he was saying.

I tend to agree with your point about South, however I'm not ready to pass it off to laziness just yet.

[UND92,96]

Oh you're right you have a very good and successful hockey team. But from someone on the outside looking in it looks like the athletic dept. views all the other sports as secondary. Expectations aren't very high and very little pressure to win as hockey is the money sport. Case in point WBB - does anyone on this board really think that Fargo South has 3 DI athletes. That's just Roebuck being lazy and not going out in the summer and hitting the gym's around the country. That's the reason Amy got out of coaching - the fire was gone. I think that's what he was saying.

There's one player from Fargo South on the roster, and one signee, so I'm not sure where you're getting three.

This is the first season a Roebuck team has really struggled badly, so I don't see how that can be used as an example of expectations being low, or that poor performance is tolerated. Has recruiting been sub-par for three or four years? Yes. I don't know whose fault it is, but certainly a coach of Roebuck's stature isn't going to be fired at this juncture of his career for that. He'll go out on his own terms. He's earned that.

Had you used men's basketball as an example, you may have actually had a point, as that's the one major sport at UND which has struggled for more than a season or two. And I highly doubt it will be tolerated much longer if it continues.

[UNDvince97-01]

Can we PLEASE leave hockey out of these threads? Please?

[Shawn-O]

Glad I could help you out with the visit Oh and Merry Christmas to all of you even if you are fans of the wrong school! Or if you prefer Happy Hanukkah or fill in the the blank.... Happy ____________

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, DI in F.

[nd1sufan]

The Big Sky conference will put UND in the spotlight. Now that the Sioux have a conference home of the quality of the Big Sky, the recruits will come and the wins will too. UND is able to win championships against the Minnesota's, Wisconsin's and Michigan's of the hockey world. They will also learn to win in the world of Montana, Montana State, and the rest of the BSC.

Yeah, like it has put Northern Colorado, Portland State, UNA, etc. in the spotlight. I'm not saying the MVFC/Summit would put UND any more in the spotlight, but some UND fans thinking that the Big Sky equivalent to the Big Ten or Big 12 in the eyes of the rest of the country is just naive. Making the Big Dance or FCS playoffs will put you in the spotlight, and it doesn't matter which conference you went through to get there.

[dakota fairways]

Yeah, like it has put Northern Colorado, Portland State, UNA, etc. in the spotlight. I'm not saying the MVFC/Summit would put UND any more in the spotlight, but some UND fans thinking that the Big Sky equivalent to the Big Ten or Big 12 in the eyes of the rest of the country is just naive. Making the Big Dance or FCS playoffs will put you in the spotlight, and it doesn't matter which conference you went through to get there.

You are right, it will take wins to put the Sioux in the spotlight, not just being in the Big Sky. However, I think you missed my point - UND has been at a huge disadvantage trying to recruit since the Bison had such a big head start in D-I. The Sioux now have a home in a respected D-I conference and the recruiting competition should be less one-sided. Your comment that it doesn't matter which conference you go through to get to the big dance sounds like an off-handed admission that the Bison got to March Madness because the Summit was weaker than the BSC is. The Bison and the Jackrabbits bolstered what was a weak Mid-Con and the Summit is now a decent League, but the BSC is already a very good FCS conference and the Sioux will learn to win in the Big Sky, just as they have learned to win in the old NCC and the WCHA.

[dakota fairways]

just curious about this forum's reaction to the domino effect of the rumor surrounding Tennessee State being invited to the SWAC. This creates an opening in the OVC. Rumor is that one of the leading candidates for moving to the OVC is Western Illinois. This would create an opening in the Summit/Missouri Valley. Opportunity for the Sioux to join the other 4 Dakota schools or for Nebraska Omaha to move to D-I? It would actually disappoint me if the Sioux dropped the Big Sky in favor of taking the Western Illinois vacancy. What do you say?

[nd1sufan]

You are right, it will take wins to put the Sioux in the spotlight, not just being in the Big Sky. However, I think you missed my point - UND has been at a huge disadvantage trying to recruit since the Bison had such a big head start in D-I. The Sioux now have a home in a respected D-I conference and the recruiting competition should be less one-sided. Your comment that it doesn't matter which conference you go through to get to the big dance sounds like an off-handed admission that the Bison got to March Madness because the Summit was weaker than the BSC is. The Bison and the Jackrabbits bolstered what was a weak Mid-Con and the Summit is now a decent League, but the BSC is already a very good FCS conference and the Sioux will learn to win in the Big Sky, just as they have learned to win in the old NCC and the WCHA.

To be quite honest, I think currently the Summit is a better mens basketball conference than the Big Sky. Oakland, who just beat #7 Tennessee and lost by one to #8 Michigan State. I don't think there is a team in the Big Sky can compare to Oakland and their athleticism. After this year when the Summit loses their 2 worst mens BB teams in Centenary and Southern Utah, it will only get better.

[dlsiouxfan]

To be quite honest, I think currently the Summit is a better mens basketball conference than the Big Sky. Oakland, who just beat #7 Tennessee and lost by one to #8 Michigan State. I don't think there is a team in the Big Sky can compare to Oakland and their athleticism. After this year when the Summit loses their 2 worst mens BB teams in Centenary and Southern Utah, it will only get better.

Montana's pretty damn good as they have wins over PAC-10 schools Oregon State and UCLA. I know they aren't as impressive as Tennessee and Michigan State but still pretty good victories. Personally I think Oakland will walk through the Summit this season so the fact that they have a strong team doesn't necessarily mean the conference as a whole is strong.

[Herd]

Montana's pretty damn good as they have wins over PAC-10 schools Oregon State and UCLA. I know they aren't as impressive as Tennessee and Michigan State but still pretty good victories. Personally I think Oakland will walk through the Summit this season so the fact that they have a strong team doesn't necessarily mean the conference as a whole is strong.

Current Sagarin ratings show the Summit at 16 and the Sky at 24. The Summit w/o Centenary and S. Utah (soon to be departed) would move to the 14th ranked conference. Really, not a lot of difference between the conferences, but the summit is up behind Oakland's sos and performance. I think that Oakland, IUPUI, ORU, SU(s), IPFW . . . is a stronger core than the sky has, but you could debate. There is some strong local BB in major summit markets of Indianapolis, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Tulsa, and KC. I think this will help keep the summit strong. Some nice markets in the sky too.

[nd1sufan]

Montana's pretty damn good as they have wins over PAC-10 schools Oregon State and UCLA. I know they aren't as impressive as Tennessee and Michigan State but still pretty good victories. Personally I think Oakland will walk through the Summit this season so the fact that they have a strong team doesn't necessarily mean the conference as a whole is strong.

UCLA is a good win, but Oregon State is a horrible Pac 10 team. Also, Nevada's only win is a 15 point victory over Montana. I'm not sold on the Big Sky if Montana is their best team. I'm not saying the Summit is better every year, I just think they are better this year.

[mksioux]

just curious about this forum's reaction to the domino effect of the rumor surrounding Tennessee State being invited to the SWAC. This creates an opening in the OVC. Rumor is that one of the leading candidates for moving to the OVC is Western Illinois. This would create an opening in the Summit/Missouri Valley. Opportunity for the Sioux to join the other 4 Dakota schools or for Nebraska Omaha to move to D-I? It would actually disappoint me if the Sioux dropped the Big Sky in favor of taking the Western Illinois vacancy. What do you say?

If W. Illinois left the Summit/MVFC, I'm sure the Summit would love to replace them with UND. But I bet the MVFC would prefer to simply go back to 9 members and reinstitute a round-robin schedule.

[Hansel]

If W. Illinois left the Summit/MVFC, I'm sure the Summit would love to replace them with UND. But I bet the MVFC would prefer to simply go back to 9 members and reinstitute a round-robin schedule.

WIU is a football school, why would they leave the MVFC for the OVC (which has not had a playoff win in a long time)

[sultan]

If W. Illinois left the Summit/MVFC, I'm sure the Summit would love to replace them with UND. But I bet the MVFC would prefer to simply go back to 9 members and reinstitute a round-robin schedule.

I don't think that UND would have any interest in the MVFC. UND got into the conference that was their 1st choice. The Big Sky is where they wanted to get into and it happened. The future is really exciting.