Gus Chiggins Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I'm a UND fanatic, but I do realize that our football team won't be competing against the big boys. It's just the way it is. Big Boys is a pretty relative term though. UND currently plays in the NCHC with the following group of Big Boys: St Cloud State, Western Michigan, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, Denver, Colorado College and Miami (OH). Not exactly the SEC, ACC, B1G, Big 12, or PAC-12 is it? Even on the national level, the Big Boy hockey argument is weak. We're on the same team here, lets just stop belittling other UND sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FargoBison Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I'm a UND fanatic, but I do realize that our football team won't be competing against the big boys. It's just the way it is. Ohio State spends more on football then UND spends on its entire athletics department. When it comes to football only a select few have the ability to compete. The rest are just playing for meaningless bowls or chose to be the in the FCS. Don't compare it to hockey, it just doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Some football programs have to hold onto Division 2 trophies, while others have Division 1 trophies to display. Preaching to the choir? I don't believe NDSU has one national championship trophy to display that was won at the sports highest collegiate level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaux_sioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I'm a UND fanatic, but I do realize that our football team won't be competing against the big boys. It's just the way it is. The big boys don't play college hockey anymore. A few years ago we were stocked with first rounders, now they all play in major juniors. The mighty hockey team also hasn't won the big one in a long long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND-FB-FAN Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Preaching to the choir? I don't believe NDSU has one national championship trophy to display that was won at the sports highest collegiate level. oh goodie... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Do I want a FCS championship? Yes but nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade. We all know FCS is the "Second Division" of college football. But UND can always claim something NDSU can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I don't mean this in any sort of disparaging way, I love Sioux hockey, and I'm guessing I am in the minority here since North Dakota hockey is hands down the most popular sport in the state. But I personally have always been far more impressed by North Dakota's 3 women's basketball titles and football championship than by the hockey titles. Those teams had to climb much steeper mountains to get to the top than the hockey program ever has. Regarding the Nickel Trophy, the Indian Head nickel is still legal tender in the U.S., so I see no reason why it shouldn't be up for grabs if the two schools ever "renew the rivalry" regardless of what our nickname is. Having said that, I think it should only be on the line if the two schools start playing regularly, as in every single year, or at minimum every other season, and I mean regularly. If they can only agree to a home and home 4 years apart, the thing doesn't need to be a part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd1sufan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Preaching to the choir? I don't believe NDSU has one national championship trophy to display that was won at the sports highest collegiate level. The highest level filled with Division 2 and 3 schools. Not every day you get to compete with St. Cloud St, RPI, Union College, Bemidji State, Mich Tech, Lake Superior St., St. Lawrence etc., unless you play Div 1 hockey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfhockey Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I think the north Dakota schools (both) dominance of womens ball is far more impressive then anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The highest level filled with Division 2 and 3 schools. Not every day you get to compete with St. Cloud St, RPI, Union College, Bemidji State, Mich Tech, Lake Superior St., St. Lawrence etc., unless you play Div 1 hockey. And Nebraska Omaha....sounds like FCS football...oh wait Nevermind they didn't think it was worth playing FCS ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd1sufan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 And Nebraska Omaha....sounds like FCS football...oh wait Nevermind they didn't think it was worth playing FCS ball. And about 300 division 1 Schools have looked at hockey and said no, its not worth playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaux_sioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I love me some hockey and it's awesome to play but let's be real. College hockey is no longer what it was only a few years ago. The top prospects don't play college anymore. The big boys don't play hockey so it's a false statement if D1 hockey is referred to as 'playing the big boys'. Other than B1G and Ivy league schools what other major colleges have hockey? Oklahoma? UCLA? USC? Any SEC schools? Oregon? Texas? NDSU? Prpl. Oh but you get to play against CC Ankorage Ferris St Bemidji St northern Michigan Michigan tech RIT Alabama Huntsville and other storied sporting institutions. I love hockey but you hockey nuts need to get over yourselves. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigGreyAnt41 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The only thing that makes them "the big boys" is their football program. Without that, nobody would refer to them that way. Sure, most have big student populations, but there are plenty of big-time football schools that don't have big student populations. So why should these school be referred to as "the big boys"? They are simple "one of the big boys of college football", just as UND, UMD and Denver are "the big boys of college hockey". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The highest level filled with Division 2 and 3 schools. Not every day you get to compete with St. Cloud St, RPI, Union College, Bemidji State, Mich Tech, Lake Superior St., St. Lawrence etc., unless you play Div 1 hockey. Would I be way off base to say that the level of quality competition found in DI hockey would be proportionately similar to the level of quality competition in the FCS though? There are roughly twice as many teams in FCS as there are in DI hockey. I'm no great hockey mind at all, just a casual fan, but off the top of my head I can think of maybe 5 to 10 hockey teams that will be in the hunt for a title every single year: UND, UM, UW, Denver, BC, Michigan, BU, and probably a couple more east coast teams that escape me. Aren't there probably 10-20 of the same FCS teams that are usually on everybody's radar to make a post season run every year? NDSU, Montana, App St., UNI, EWU, James Madison, Delaware, Sam Houston, Montana St., GSU, Villanova, Youngstown, Furman, and others that I can't think of at the moment. My point is that it is really probably all relative. For every Alabama-Huntsville in college hockey, there is Savanah St and Austin Peay in FCS. Michigan is a "big time" school in college hockey. Montana and Delaware are "big time" schools in FCS. For every "big time" college hockey school, there are probably two "big time" FCS schools. It kind of all balances out in my eyes. Some say you can't compare college hockey and FCS football. I think it is a great comparison. Unless you, A) are a fan of a school that has college hockey, or B) live in a region where a popular/successful school plays college hockey, you probably aren't going to hear or see a lot about it unless you make an effort to. Same goes for FCS football. Heck, even attendance numbers at the championship games for each sport at neutral venues are very similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlsiouxfan Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Let's be honest... anyone who demeans the level the football team or the other athletes on campus play at, because they play at a "lower division", are demeaning them because they play a sport that the the rest of the country actually cares enough about to participate in. It's undeniable that the level of athleticism required to play FCS or even Division 2 football is light years above that of Division 1 hockey. A lot of the athletes on UND's hockey team and even in the NHL would simply not be there had hockey had anywhere near the participation level of football or basketball. Also, if all of the schools that participate in Division I football had hockey teams and funded them to the level they fund football, UND would solidly be in an FCS division for college hockey. There are at least 50 plus football stadiums at the FBS level that make the Ralph look like a sandbox in terms of seating and game atmosphere. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The only thing that makes them "the big boys" is their football program. Without that, nobody would refer to them that way. Sure, most have big student populations, but there are plenty of big-time football schools that don't have big student populations. So why should these school be referred to as "the big boys"? They are simple "one of the big boys of college football", just as UND, UMD and Denver are "the big boys of college hockey". I consider the "big boy" schools to be any that are a member of a BCS football playing conference. Ohio St. is a "big boy" school, but their hockey ain't so "big time" is it? There are only six BCS schools that place any sort of emphasis at all on college hockey: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan St., Boston College, and Notre Dame. You are correct that UND, UMD, and Denver are "big boys" in college hockey. But if as many schools played hockey as they do football and basketball, all three of those schools would have DII trophies on the shelves instead of DI hardware. Hockey is great, I love it, I have season tickets. I just disagree that it's titles are any more meaningful than an FCS championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Get back to me when any FCS team can claim to have averaged more fans than any team in their professional league counterparts like UND has done for hockey and FBS does for football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Get back to me when any FCS team can claim to have averaged more fans than any team in their professional league counterparts like UND has done for hockey and FBS does for football. If you are talking about when the NHL was locked out, that is kind of lame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Haha no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnboyND7 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The only thing that makes them "the big boys" is their football program. Without that, nobody would refer to them that way. Sure, most have big student populations, but there are plenty of big-time football schools that don't have big student populations. So why should these school be referred to as "the big boys"? They are simple "one of the big boys of college football", just as UND, UMD and Denver are "the big boys of college hockey". Take a look at their athletic budgets before you question their status as "big boys" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Looks like Phoenix has the worst attendance in the NHL, and they still draw 2,000 more per game than the Sioux. 25 FCS schools averaged higher attendance than North Dakota hockey in 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND-FB-FAN Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I love me some hockey and it's awesome to play but let's be real. College hockey is no longer what it was only a few years ago. The top prospects don't play college anymore. The big boys don't play hockey so it's a false statement if D1 hockey is referred to as 'playing the big boys'. Other than B1G and Ivy league schools what other major colleges have hockey? Oklahoma? UCLA? USC? Any SEC schools? Oregon? Texas? NDSU? Prpl. Oh but you get to play against CC Ankorage Ferris St Bemidji St northern Michigan Michigan tech RIT Alabama Huntsville and other storied sporting institutions. I love hockey but you hockey nuts need to get over yourselves. 100% accurate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodak651 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Making fun of NCAA hockey for having small schools that are competitive is ridiculous. LOL NCAA basketball gonzaga, Wichita, Marquette, Creighton, providence, valpo, Seton hall, and the rest of a10 and the big east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxCrioux1 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The highest level filled with Division 2 and 3 schools. Not every day you get to compete with St. Cloud St, RPI, Union College, Bemidji State, Mich Tech, Lake Superior St., St. Lawrence etc., unless you play Div 1 hockey. Pretty weak arguement coming from a school that plays Furman, eastern illinois, SDSU, and for the life of me i can't think of many of those teams you guys have played out east lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaux_sioux Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Making fun of NCAA hockey for having small schools that are competitive is ridiculous. LOL NCAA basketball gonzaga, Wichita, Marquette, Creighton, providence, valpo, Seton hall, and the rest of a10 and the big east. Not just small, these are schools that nobody has ever heard of. Everyone knows Gonzaga, Valpo, Seaton Hall, Marquette and the others because of tourney success. Anyone know Ferris St for almost winning a title? Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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