Should UND go Division I?

[Bisonfan1234]

The attendance for the NDSU-Concordia SP game yesterday was 7,045. It will be interesting to see if this is going to be indicative of how a late-season game will draw when there's little or nothing on the line. Granted, Concordia-SP is not a big-name opponent, but on the other hand there was still potentially something to play for for NDSU yesterday. Will a late-season game against St. Mary's (CA) or Southern Utah draw much better? I guess we'll find out.

I'm hoping we get into the Gateway...so a late season showing with a top ranked West KY or West IL should draw alot.

[bisonguy]

UND92,96

NDSU attendance typically drops at the end of the year, even when the playoffs are in the picture. In 2000 attendance was only 9,500 vs. UNC and 8,000 vs. Morningside.

Hunting season seems to take a lot out of the football attendance.

[star2city]

UND92,96

NDSU attendance typically drops at the end of the year, even when the playoffs are in the picture. In 2000 attendance was only 9,500 vs. UNC and 8,000 vs. Morningside.

Hunting season seems to take a lot out of the football attendance.

It probably didn't help attendance that the Dakota Bowl HS games were scheduled for the evening. This is what McFeely said about the Bison vs HS crowds:

The final score Saturday in the North Dakota Class 3A championship game at the Fargodome was West Fargo 45, Bismarck 21. It was a game that a) was far more entertaining and b) had infinitely more atmosphere than North Dakota State’s drumming of Concordia-St. Paul earlier in the day.

It also had almost as many people in the stands, by the way.

Even the NDSU Spectrum student newspaper's David Nilles has been commenting on the Fargodome atmosphere and what he learned from the Alerus:

..., I also learned a few things from my day in Grand Forks covering the game.

First, UND fans are much more active fans than SU. Granted, they had the benefit of it being a rivalry game, but I haven’t seen the Fargodome crowd on its feet cheering. The only time fans stand is when the PA announcer tells them to.

I realize it’s not rational to tell a paying customer to stand up and cheer. However, passive Fargo fans could take a lesson from those up north. It may be illegal to partake in traditional tailgating activities, but it isn’t to be a rowdy fan. (Some people think being rowdy is loudly rustling the pages of the book they are reading at the game.)

But as we all know, (sarcasm) tailgating is evil (/sarcasm). I haven’t heard any complaints from the massive amount of tailgating taking place before the game. I didn’t hear about any rioting. I think a certain discussion committee could learn a lesson from this.

The atmosphere of the game was truly incredible. It’s too bad nothing like that will likely be accomplished in Fargo. It’s not the athletic department’s fault. They put the goods on the field and court.