Big Sky Football Schedules 2011-2015

[the green team]

I disagree.

Here's why:

If USD was in the BSC the rivals would be set out differently and UND probably would have UNC and USD as rivals.

I'm happy with Montana State instead.

Isn't it funny how things work out some times. Just when a person thinks that USD backing out of the BSC could be negative it really ends up being a positive for us at UND. I can't agree with your take on this anymore. What a great South Dakota backs out of the Big Sky and the effects it has on UND mind.

We have Montana St. as one of our rivals, and NC which in the late 90's between us & them was (permit me to borrow a phrase from Rocky in Football America) "a violent mean ass war" Oh god he was funny, but that line is applicable here. Super pumped about having them as our Conference partners/rivals. Plus, Montana 3 years in a row. Awesome!

[UNDvince97-01]

Obviously we don't play them in football, but we play then more often than we do the Bison.

Oh sorry, I thought we were talking football in this thread.

That being said, the last time we played Minnesota was 1974. We last played NDSU in 2003.

[UNDvince97-01]

I hate to have to go back to this again, but it would be crazy for both sides (UND and ndsu) to not entertain the thought of playing each other every other year at minimum. It just makes too much fiscal and economical sense for both athletic departments, not to mention the fan interest it would generate across the state.

I do understand that neither side NEEDS the game. I also get that some on both sides do not WANT the game. That aside, I have always thought it was laughable when ndsu said they had "moved on" with new "rivalries" with SDSU and Minnesota. Make a contrived trophy to replace the nickel, and playing Minnesota a few times doesn't make new rivalries. You have to have history and tradition in rivalries, proximity, and a special kind of "dislike" for each other to make it unique.

Now that we have a new and improved conference schedule, we have some of our own saying the same thing: Don't need em, who cares, move on, new rivals, etc. I also find this laughable.

Both sides need to grow up and get over the ugly recent past and get this game scheduled. Both sides stand to gain a lot from this game. Yes, even if it's every other year, Brian Faison.

No matter how hard both sides try to discount the rivalry between the 2 schools, we will always have the history, proximity and dislike that no other rivalry can match.

Please get this game on the schedule soon.

[UND Fan]

Not looking for 7 OOC games makes NDSU look less attractive. I love Sioux/Bison games, and living in Fargo now for 12 years I would love to see the Sioux pound the Herd in the Fargodome but if they don't play I am fine with that since we have other options now with the Big Sky.

I would just as soon the rivalry didn't start again for 2-3 years because I want to continue to "pound the Herd". Our program is naturally a ways behind theirs right now due to the transition. After a couple more years of recruiting and our young guys maturing, we will again be more than capable of competing with and beating the Bison.

[MoSiouxFan]

I would just as soon the rivalry didn't start again for 2-3 years because I want to continue to "pound the Herd". Our program is naturally a ways behind theirs right now due to the transition. After a couple more years of recruiting and our young guys maturing, we will again be more than capable of competing with and beating the Bison.

Based on the last 2-3 recruiting classes we've had, IMO we'd be able to compete with them--and beat them--by 2012.

[johnson]

EDIT: You could even look at the vb game played at NDSU last fall as another example. NDSU has owned UND in volleyball yet it was a sold out fieldhouse with the NDSU band playing and lots of Sioux fans in attendance...I was one of them.

NDSU sells out quite a few VB games. The Bentson-Bunker isn't very big.

[dmksioux]

NDSU sells out quite a few VB games. The Bentson-Bunker isn't very big.

I have heard that they do. However, do they sell out against percieved "lesser" opponents? That was the reason I added the "NDSU has owned UND in Volleyball" comment. History shows we have not been real competitive with their program yet this game sold out. Do NDSU games against lower Summit League schools sell out?

[star2city]

MSU's Ash says rivals are tragic, but schedule 'reasonable'

Montana State's two "rivals" - Montana and North Dakota, one of the four teams that will join the conference in 2012 - will be on the schedule every year. Schools like Eastern Washington and Weber State - both of which are within driving distance of Bozeman and have served as veritable rivals for MSU in their own right - won't be.

"I think it's tragic," Ash said. "We have long-standing rivalries with some of these teams. They're regionally accessible, we have great games with them every year and now we're going to be in a situation where we're not always playing them."

Ultimately Ash said that the new scheduling model was a "reasonable solution given the circumstances," citing his main concern was expanding the Big Sky Conference in the first place.

"I've said that publicly since this all started," Ash said. "But I've also said just give us a schedule. We're not going to complain about it. We'll go play it and we'll try to win the league."

[darell1976]

MSU's Ash says rivals are tragic, but schedule 'reasonable'

Cry me a f-in river Ash. What would have happened to "your" rival teams if you and Montana went to the WAC?

[johnson]

I do understand that neither side NEEDS the game. I also get that some on both sides do not WANT the game. That aside, I have always thought it was laughable when ndsu said they had "moved on" with new "rivalries" with SDSU and Minnesota. Make a contrived trophy to replace the nickel, and playing Minnesota a few times doesn't make new rivalries. You have to have history and tradition in rivalries, proximity, and a special kind of "dislike" for each other to make it unique.

I agree that the rivalry will never go away. However, a bit of a rift is forming between NDSU and UNI. It is nowhere near the NDSU v. UND rivalry but I think in a few more years the NDSU v. UNI rivalry will be up there as well. With Chris Klieman leaving UNI for NDSU that only has intesified things. Farley has even mentioned his hate for NDSU this year.

Some may laugh at SDSU being a rival but since the move up it has become more important to fans and players. Before the transition the Bunny's were just another game to me and that continued on into the transition. Once SDSU went on three game winning streak against NDSU it changed things for me. I still don't consider it a dog fight type rivalry but it is one of those games that I consider a must win for the program every year now.

[johnson]

I have heard that they do. However, do they sell out against percieved "lesser" opponents? That was the reason I added the "NDSU has owned UND in Volleyball" comment. History shows we have not been real competitive with their program yet this game sold out. Do NDSU games against lower Summit League schools sell out?

I would have to go back and look but I have been turned away a few times for tickets the past couple of years. I believe their season average is close to the Fieldhouse capacity. You have me curious now I'll have to go and take a look.

[IrishSiouxFan]

Cry me a f-in river Ash. What would have happened to "your" rival teams if you and Montana went to the WAC?

The WAC wouldn't have wanted Montana State only Montana.

[dakota fairways]

Either every other year or do a Dakota rotation where 1 year you play @ NDSU the next you play host to USD then the following year you have @SDSU, then just complete the circle vs NDSU, at USD, vs SDSU. We only need to fill 3 spots and usually 1 of those is for an FBS team so stick 1 of these Dakota teams for an OOC game and you have 1 team to fill.

This idea should be investigated. It is a decent solution. Not that having to play the Bison is as big a deal as it seemed a year ago, playing them every other year, and alternating with the SD schools would also be palatable - as in NDSU (in 2013), then USD (2014), then NDSU (2015), then SDSU (2016), then NDSU (2017), USD (2018), NDSU (2019), SDSU (2020), etc... downside there would be the home/away alternation would result in two years in a row on the road.

Also wonder why all the hand wringing over Minnesota, Wisconsin & Iowa - what's wrong with Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa State, Missouri or even Idaho and Wyoming, for that matter?

[darell1976]

The WAC wouldn't have wanted Montana State only Montana.

But Montana wanted Montana State with them. The point is if MSU moves up they would have to say goodbye to EWU and Weber State...unless they schedule all their OOC games against the FCS.

[UND1983]

NDSU sells out quite a few VB games. The Bentson-Bunker isn't very big.

Gene Taylor was "amazed" at the atmosphere of the UND-NDSU volleyball game last year and expressed that to Faison. Even he didn't expect it to be that big.

[mizzou/sioux]

I hate to have to go back to this again, but it would be crazy for both sides (UND and ndsu) to not entertain the thought of playing each other every other year at minimum. It just makes too much fiscal and economical sense for both athletic departments, not to mention the fan interest it would generate across the state.

I do understand that neither side NEEDS the game. I also get that some on both sides do not WANT the game. That aside, I have always thought it was laughable when ndsu said they had "moved on" with new "rivalries" with SDSU and Minnesota. Make a contrived trophy to replace the nickel, and playing Minnesota a few times doesn't make new rivalries. You have to have history and tradition in rivalries, proximity, and a special kind of "dislike" for each other to make it unique.

Now that we have a new and improved conference schedule, we have some of our own saying the same thing: Don't need em, who cares, move on, new rivals, etc. I also find this laughable.

Both sides need to grow up and get over the ugly recent past and get this game scheduled. Both sides stand to gain a lot from this game. Yes, even if it's every other year, Brian Faison.

No matter how hard both sides try to discount the rivalry between the 2 schools, we will always have the history, proximity and dislike that no other rivalry can match.

Please get this game on the schedule soon.

Now that the upcoming Big Sky football schedule has been released up through 2015, I can understand why neither UND nor NDSU really "need" the rivalry football game as such. But I also think much consideration should be given to renewing this rivalry. The rivalry was among those listed in a book published on great college football rivalries perhaps a quarter of a century or so ago. I also like the idea of rotating games between und and usd, und and sdsu and the like, as has been suggested here. The details can be worked out.

I think it's laughable that some NDSU supporters can hype up the SDSU rivalry (largely manufactured) as being anywhere close to that of the UND-NDSU rivalry. Wishing doesn't make it so. If in the eyes of some the basketball game between UND and NDSU probably didn't heat up as much as many might have expected might have had something to do with NDSU's playoff football excruciating loss just moments earlier.

I quite agree with the statement, "No matter how hard both sides try to discount the rivalry between the 2 schools, we will always have the history, proximity and dislike that no other rivalry can match." So true.

[johnson]

Gene Taylor was "amazed" at the atmosphere of the UND-NDSU volleyball game last year and expressed that to Faison. Even he didn't expect it to be that big.

I wouldn't disagree with that at all. It was more charged up than any other meeting between the two schools that I have been a part of anyways. It was a long time coming for both sides.

[johnson]

I think it's laughable that some NDSU supporters can hype up the SDSU rivalry (largely manufactured) as being anywhere close to that of the UND-NDSU rivalry. Wishing doesn't make it so. If in the eyes of some the basketball game between UND and NDSU probably didn't heat up as much as many might have expected might have had something to do with NDSU's playoff football excruciating loss just moments earlier.

I really don't know anyone that I associate with that has ever considered the SDSU rivalry on the same scale as NDSU v. UND. The Bunny's won a few recently and that doesn't sit very well with my group but that is about as far as it goes in my eye's.

[mizzou/sioux]

This idea should be investigated. It is a decent solution. Not that having to play the Bison is as big a deal as it seemed a year ago, playing them every other year, and alternating with the SD schools would also be palatable - as in NDSU (in 2013), then USD (2014), then NDSU (2015), then SDSU (2016), then NDSU (2017), USD (2018), NDSU (2019), SDSU (2020), etc... downside there would be the home/away alternation would result in two years in a row on the road.

Also wonder why all the hand wringing over Minnesota, Wisconsin & Iowa - what's wrong with Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa State, Missouri or even Idaho and Wyoming, for that matter?

UND at Wyoming in 2015. Wish granted.

[MissSioux85]

I only skimmed the thread. Apologies if this has already been posted.

GF Herald Article - Football: Sioux, Bison still talking

UND and North Dakota State have been talking about resuming their football rivalry, which has been dormant since 2003.

We are in discussion and talking dates, UND athletic director Brian Faison said.

When and where the rivalry will resume, however, still remain a mystery. And it still could be a few years away. The earliest the game could be played appears to be during the 2014 season.

Brian and I have had some general conversations, NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said Thursday night on WDAY radio. Were still waiting for the (2014, 2015 schedules) from the Missouri Valley. So were talking out years beyond 13, trying to figure something out

[darell1976]

I only skimmed the thread. Apologies if this has already been posted.

GF Herald Article - Football: Sioux, Bison still talking

With those idiots on Bisonville thinking they could beat us 81-0....I wish the Sioux would play them now to shut them up. Seriously 81??? I thought 81 was the number of Bison football players arrested this year.

[star2city]

Should be interesting what season ticket sales are starting in 2012. I would hope those sales would double to at least 7000. The promotional campaigns going into the 2012 and 2013 seasons better be good, especially in the Minot and Bismarck media.

Have always maintained that Taylor didn't want to assist UND football season ticket sales, so a game in Grand Forks would never ever be before 2013. Now that Montana and Montana State will be staples on UND's schedule, an NDSU game wouldn't be as huge a season ticket sales driver that it would have been before (the demand for UM and MSU games at the Alerus will be huge, so many will be forced to buy season tickets to gain access). Now, the potential of a huge payday for NDSU and Taylor at the FargoDome (season tickets for that season would see a big cost increase, because demand would be huge) override concerns about how a later UND-NDSU game at the Alerus would increase UND ticket sales. Taylor and Faison will reach an agreement soon for mid-decade games.

[dakota fairways]

UND at Wyoming in 2015. Wish granted.

yep. Idaho too - this year. That's what I meant - what's wrong with these games? Even if UND ends up staying off the sanctions list, what's the big deal about playing Minnesota & Wisconsin when you are only going to have 1 FBS/BCS game a year anyway?

[Dagger]

Taylor said the earliest they will schedule UND is 2014. Both UND and NDSU have a common open date in 2013. Taylor said they have already scheduled 11 games for that year but that they might schedule 12 games. If they did schedule 12 games in 2013 they wouldn't play UND though. Let's face it. NDSU administration just doesn't want to play UND. Taylor continually makes up excuses why they won't play UND. UND doesn't need the game so it is just fine if NDSU doesn't want to play.

[dmksioux]

Taylor said the earliest they will schedule UND is 2014. Both UND and NDSU have a common open date in 2013. Taylor said they have already scheduled 11 games for that year but that they might schedule 12 games. If they did schedule 12 games in 2013 they wouldn't play UND though. Let's face it. NDSU administration just doesn't want to play UND. Taylor continually makes up excuses why they won't play UND. UND doesn't need the game so it is just fine if NDSU doesn't want to play.

According to this article, UND's schedule is filled for 2013. The same article only has 11 games listed. Does UND have a 12th game that hasn't been announced or are they sticking with 11 games?

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/201837/group/sports/

UND