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The DI-AA West Conference picture is blurred...


WYOBISONMAN

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Here is a great article from the DI-AA board on the conference turmoil in the DI-AA West. The author is our own Bison Kent. It really shows how the turmoil from DI-A is shaking the entire ranks of college football. Evnthough the article does not mention it, I am sure that the effects of all this are even impacting D3 and NAIA in ways. I don't think I have seen such turmoil in conference affiliations and college football since the NCAA lost its monopoly on TV rights. From my perpective I would say that the more power the BSC schools get, the worse it is for DI-AA, D2 and D3.

Check out Kent's column.....

DI-AA West Column

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Probably quite a bit if you consider the trickle down effect on the NCC.

Sounds like a case of wishfull thinking if you ask me. I am not so sure UND is going to move up to Division 1 unless the stature of Divsion II changes so drastically that its not advantagious for UND to remain @ the Divsion II level, ie they cut scholarships more than they already are.

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Sounds like a case of wishfull thinking if you ask me. I am not so sure UND is going to move up to Division 1 unless the stature of Divsion II changes so drastically that its not advantagious for UND to remain @ the Divsion II level, ie they cut scholarships more than they already are.

I'm not quite sure what WYOBISON is alluding to with the "trickle down effect" for the NCC. Maybe he can educate me/this board on that later. However, scholarships in DII will inevitably be reduced to the point where it IS no longer advantageous for UND to stay at that level. Time will tell but if you look at some of the new DII teams showing up on area schedules you can see it happening already. Teams like Upper Iowa, etc, obviously won't be able to consistently compete with the likes of UND, usd, mankato (and whoever else in the NCC schedules them) and I highly doubt these schools have the resources to ramp their programs up to where they'll need to be. Therefore, their only option is to try to "level the playing field"--i.e. get schollies lowered (once again). It's already happened/happening and in a few yrs UND will see this and make their decision, one way the other. Fortunately for NDSU, we recognized this and no matter what the naysayers want to believe, we are getting out of DII just in time. Yeah, we'll take our lumps for a couple years, but in the long haul things will only get better for us.

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Fullerton had the following comment ... "It seems that they are approaching the issues thoughtfully - which is more than what can be said of the emotional/ego driven approach so often used in determining an institution's athletics future."

Interesting to see a quote like that from BSC Commissioner Fullerton in a piece written by a Bison fan.

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I think that the trickle down effect of all this turmoil in D2, DI-AA and DI-A will result in more defections from the NCC. Scholarships will be cut and the bigger programs will leave. The BCS schools will leave the NCAA totally and I would guess that when all shakes out (maybe up to 5 years down the road) There will be about 3 non-BCS divisions under the NCAA and the BCS division that will not be affiliated with the NCAA. I think this is the beginning of huge instability in the NCAA.....NDSU is just at the cutting edge and will benefit from the move.

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I think that the trickle down effect of all this turmoil in D2, DI-AA and DI-A will result in more defections from the NCC.  Scholarships will be cut and the bigger programs will leave.  The BCS schools will leave the NCAA totally and I would guess that when all shakes out (maybe up to 5 years down the road) There will be about 3 non-BCS divisions under the NCAA and the BCS division that will not be affiliated with the NCAA.  I think this is the beginning of huge instability in the NCAA.

Frankly, I've always thought (and mentioned quite a few times during the NCC's turmoil) that there's a fair chance of a big shakeup in the NCAA, which could result in the reclassification of quite a few teams and possibly the creation of new classifications.

However, unless that happens, I don't see any immediate impact on the NCC. Honestly, who do you see defecting from the NCC because a few football powerhouses are moving to the ACC? With SDSU and NDSU gone, I don't see any team left that could readily move, as the divisions stand, other than UND. I think the NCC is going to be pretty stable if not growing for a few years.

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I'm wondering when NDSU and UND are finally going to release their schedules. 

Any thoughts about when this is going to happen?

Next couple of weeks maybe

Judging by what UND Fan posted in a different thread, it sounds like UND's schedule could possibly be finalized within the next few weeks. NDSU's schedule probably won't come out for awhile yet as according to an article in the Forum last week, they only have five game contracts so far.

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I think it would be pretty cool to see Bison play hockey. Not very mobile, but it seems to me that if you could just get one to lay down in front of the net it would be pretty hard for the opposing team to score. Seriously, I presume you are speaking of the NDSU administration, and it's true they tried to get the city of Fargo to assist in paying for a hockey arena about five years ago. In hindsight, that was the best thing that happened for Bison athletics if it did indeed spur the move to DI. We have the facilities, student population, and community of a DI institution already, so I see no reason to make it official. Next year might suck for football (I am not totally convinced of that yet) but IMO we will reap benefits in the following years.

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Since you refuse to say so explicitly, I have to presume you think NDSU's move to I-AA is emotional/ego driven then? Why do you think that?

I've read NDSU's Carr Report.

It explicitly said "Secure an acceptable conference membership before making the decision to reclassify to I-AA."

Not following a consultant's report that you (NDSU) paid for doesn't seem exactly "thoughtfully" done.

And now we have the appearance of many "DI-AA" emotional egos here.

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You make a good point, but IMO there was no way a conference would even think about taking us unless we made a formal announcement and started the transition. Also, I believe even having a consultant conduct a reclassification study shows thoughtfulness on NDSU's part. Also, we waited a long time between the first talks of reclassification and actually starting the reclassification process, again showing patience. Carr's recommendation would have precluded NDSU from going DI, which would have disappointed me and countless other Bison fans who were supportive of the move and IMO would have been a mistake. I'm sure you'll disagree but that's ok.

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You make a good point, but IMO there was no way a conference would even think about taking us unless we made a formal announcement and started the transition.

Carr's recommendation would have precluded NDSU from going DI, which would have disappointed me and countless other Bison fans who were supportive of the move and IMO would have been a mistake.

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I've read NDSU's Carr Report.

It explicitly said "Secure an acceptable conference membership before making the decision to reclassify to I-AA."

Not following a consultant's report that you (NDSU) paid for doesn't seem exactly "thoughtfully" done.

And now we have the appearance of many "DI-AA" emotional egos here.

The carr tells this to everyone (see SDSU's carr report). What they don't tell you is that no D1 conference will show interest in you until AFTER you move up.

They'll say the same thing to UND and if UND won't move up before they get into a d1 conference then they'll be stuck in d2 until the NCAA redraws the classifications after the BCS schools split away.

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... until the NCAA redraws the classifications after the BCS schools split away.

Not to reiterate myself, but ...

If your posit comes to pass and there is a significant "reshuffling," wouldn't you expect there to be reduced, or even no, probationary periods (ala 1973 and the creation of three divisions)?
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