nodakhoops Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Well, I would say there is about zero interest in leaving the Sky for the Summit. Ain't gonna happen and the only advantage would be travel costs. Every other advantage is with the BSC. Again, I love the Big Sky but i was just giving my opinion on where I would like the tourney if it was up to me. If UND could also get in the MVFC I think joining that and the Summit are a no brainer and below are the advantages I see. A lot more than just travel costs. - Road games fans can travel too in football and basketball (Playing these schools twice a year in BBall allows more opportunities for this) - Home football games with NDSU, SDSU, USD, Northern Iowa - Home volleyball/basketball games with NDSU, USD, SDSU, Omaha, Denver - NDSU home fb game every other year along with home and homes in BB and VB. - A baseball league UND could easily win. (They beat NDSU every game last year who won the league. UND could've been playing baseball on ESPN but instead NDSU was) - Less travel costs - A great basketball conference tourney fans can drive too. -Can still schedule non conference games with Montana, Montana State, and other big sky schools. - More casual fans at games (having NDSU, SDSU, USD, Northern Iowa, etc will drive up attendance numbers) - Increased media coverage in Fargo and South Dakota. Fargo media talks MVFC and Summit League all the time as does Midco Sports. UND in those leagues increases UNDs coverage more in those markets. So I guess I see a lot more advantages than just travel costs. Let me say again, I really really like the Big Sky and Big Sky TV is awesome, but I stand by my opinion that a MFVC/Summit league is the best conference for UND to grow attendance and casual fan interest. 3 Quote
bincitysioux Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 The season isn't even over yet. Isn't it a bit early for the annual Big Sky vs Summit conversation? We are going to run out of off-season material...... Quote
Hawkster Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Again, I love the Big Sky but i was just giving my opinion on where I would like the tourney if it was up to me. If UND could also get in the MVFC I think joining that and the Summit are a no brainer and below are the advantages I see. A lot more than just travel costs. - Road games fans can travel too in football and basketball (Playing these schools twice a year in BBall allows more opportunities for this) - Home football games with NDSU, SDSU, USD, Northern Iowa - Home volleyball/basketball games with NDSU, USD, SDSU, Omaha, Denver - NDSU home fb game every other year along with home and homes in BB and VB. - A baseball league UND could easily win. (They beat NDSU every game last year who won the league. UND could've been playing baseball on ESPN but instead NDSU was) - Less travel costs - A great basketball conference tourney fans can drive too. -Can still schedule non conference games with Montana, Montana State, and other big sky schools. - More casual fans at games (having NDSU, SDSU, USD, Northern Iowa, etc will drive up attendance numbers) - Increased media coverage in Fargo and South Dakota. Fargo media talks MVFC and Summit League all the time as does Midco Sports. UND in those leagues increases UNDs coverage more in those markets. So I guess I see a lot more advantages than just travel costs. Let me say again, I really really like the Big Sky and Big Sky TV is awesome, but I stand by my opinion that a MFVC/Summit league is the best conference for UND to grow attendance and casual fan interest. BSC has football, the Summit doesn't. That trumps anything else. Would we get into the Mo Valley? Who knows. Quote
bincitysioux Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I think winning would be the best thing UND could do to grow attendance and casual can interest. Haven't done a lot of that in football or men's basketball in a number of years now...... Quote
nodakhoops Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 BSC has football, the Summit doesn't. That trumps anything else. Would we get into the Mo Valley? Who knows. Correct, and I don't envision anything changing. just stating there are many other reasons besides just travel why I think the Summit is a better fit for basketball for UND compared to the Big Sky. Quote
nodakhoops Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I think winning would be the best thing UND could do to grow attendance and casual can interest. Haven't done a lot of that in football or men's basketball in a number of years now...... This is correct and attendance will grow when that happens. However, when not winning it sure is nice to have regional rivalries to keep interest and attendance up. I bet if we had the same BBall record but played in the Summit this year our attendance would be much better based on playing USD, SDSU, NDSU, at home. Same for football if we were in the MVFC. Plus we would have better local/regioanl media coverage. FM is about 20% of NDs total population, and there is very little UND talk there compared to NDSU/Summit/MVFC. Being a part of that conversation would help UNDs local image/perception when it comes to basketball, and football if the MVFC were to happen. Again, love the big sky and didn't mean to derail this thread, but my personal preference for a conference tourney would be Sioux Falls because I could either attend, or I could watch every single one of the games (Men and Women) on Midco. Quote
gfhockey Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 What do other teams message boards say bincity? Quote
bincitysioux Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 Predictably, Griz & Bobcat fans like Billings. Weber fans like Ogden. Nobody seems to love Reno. Quote
Smoggy Posted February 16, 2015 Posted February 16, 2015 One nice thing about Reno is that a person could still gamble on the rest of college basketball at the same time. Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 This is regarding this years tournament, but felt it was relevant................. Sacramento State ready to remake The Well for Big Sky tournament on moment’s notice Should the Hornets win the Big Sky Conference regular-season title Thursday or Saturday, Sac State will have a makeshift, 2,700-seat arena built in three days inside their bustling campus recreation and health center, The Well. There, the school will host the eight-team, seven-game postseason conference tournament March 12-14. Sac State is prepared to import bleachers, scoreboards, basket stanchions and a hardwood floor into The Well’s 130-foot-by-200-foot “gym box,” where students play intramural and pickup basketball, volleyball and badminton. Pretty interesting read from the perspective of a school that actually does have facility problems. Also, I am guessing that the issues that Sac St. has faced regarding their potential hosting of the tournament is going to play a significant role in if the conference decides to go with a pre-determined site in the future. Quote
jdub27 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 This is regarding this years tournament, but felt it was relevant................. Sacramento State ready to remake The Well for Big Sky tournament on moment’s notice Pretty interesting read from the perspective of a school that actually does have facility problems. Also, I am guessing that the issues that Sac St. has faced regarding their potential hosting of the tournament is going to play a significant role in if the conference decides to go with a pre-determined site in the future. Very, very intrigued to watch this unfold and to see what it looks like. I honestly hope they do a good job in pulling it off, definitely sounds like everyone involved or affected has the right attitude about the whole situation. Quote
sioux2013 Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 I really think the tournament should be at the regular seasons champion site as this will yield the most attendance as long as the host team keeps winning. However, looking at this year where the tournament is to begin in less than a week and nobody knows where the tournament will be held as 3 teams are currently tied for first with one game left. This makes it very expensive to the families trying to get air line tickets on such short notice versus buying the tickets weeks or months in advance if it were at a pre-determined site. Quote
Siouxperfan7 Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 Big Sky officials quietly cheering for Sac State to lose tomorrow. Doubt they want to showcase their prestigious league tournament on ESPN from a wellness center!! Quote
ArtVandalay Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 threads like this just make me shake my head that we are not in the Summit league. Sad. Really sucks. Quote
nodakhoops Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 threads like this just make me shake my head that we are not in the Summit league. Sad. Really sucks. Amen to that. Could be making a 5 hr drive to watch both WBB & MBB play in a brand spanking new arena against long time rivals. Love the big sky, but conference tourney 5 hours away would be one big advantage to the Summit. Quote
Risky Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 Their saying that 95% of the fans at the Summit Tourney in Sioux Falls last night were fans from SDSU. It just shows that even in the Summit tourney, most fans that go to conference basketball tourneys are from the teams that are from locations close to the home site. If SDSU or USD hadn't been in that championship there would not of been many people at the game. The Big Sky would be the same. It is the luck of the draw who is in the championship game as to how many people attend. I like the way the Big Sky does it. The top ranked team should get to host. At least in that scenario it would have the best chance of having a good crowd. Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 Well, based on everything I have read, there is a good chance that an announcement will be made during the tournament this weekend. Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Nothing new to report here, but an updated article. Sounds like April is when they will announce. Big Sky Conference looking at new sites for tournaments, including Billings Considering Billings only bid on the Men's tourney, and Missoula only bid on the Women's tourney, I wonder how likely that set up would be to get the tournaments. The Griz are hands down the best drawing team amongst the women's team. Quote
jdub27 Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 I wish they'd stick with the current format but pretty sure that door is shut for at least the next couple years. Have a feeling its not going to do real well, there just isn't a great central point for multiple fan bases. Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 I wish they'd stick with the current format but pretty sure that door is shut for at least the next couple years. Have a feeling its not going to do real well, there just isn't a great central point for multiple fan bases. I agree. Although I prefer the current format, my gut tells me they are going to go with a pre-determined site for the next 3 years and then re-evaluate. Comminssioner Fullerton is orignally from Montana and spent a good portion of his career at Montana St., so if the Presidents really want to do this, I wouldn't be surprised if Fullerton pushes hard for Billings to get the tournament. Quote
FSSD Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 I agree. Although I prefer the current format, my gut tells me they are going to go with a pre-determined site for the next 3 years and then re-evaluate. Comminssioner Fullerton is orignally from Montana and spent a good portion of his career at Montana St., so if the Presidents really want to do this, I wouldn't be surprised if Fullerton pushes hard for Billings to get the tournament. Billings is in middle of nothing and only convenient for the Montana schools... Boise works for Montana, Montana St., Weber St, Idaho, Idaho St. EWU and PSU. All within 250 to 450 miles. Put it in Boise. Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 16, 2015 Posted March 16, 2015 Billings is in middle of nothing and only convenient for the Montana schools... Boise works for Montana, Montana St., Weber St, Idaho, Idaho St. EWU and PSU. All within 250 to 450 miles. Put it in Boise. I agree that Boise is probably the most "centrally located" city for most Big Sky schools, but they aren't under consideration. It is down to Billings, Reno, Ogden, and Spokane for the men's tournament. I would have to say that if Montana St. could ever become relevant in basketball, Billings would probably provide the best crowds except for Ogden. Spokane isn't a bad drive for half of the conference either. Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 Big Sky officials are visiting Billings today and tomorrow. Billings preps bid to host 3 years of Big Sky men's basketball tournaments Gazette opinion: Bring Big Sky basketball to Billings Spokane's point of view: Big Sky Tournament considers Spokane as host Quote
bincitysioux Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 Update on the Billings visit: Welsch column: Billings gives Big Sky Conference every reason to say 'yes'Big Sky Conference group 'impressed' with city's welcome Big Sky Conference Representatives Impressed with Billings Sounds like a decision will be made on April 17. Quote
Risky Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 All things considered, Billings wouldn't be a bad location for UND fans. Definitely driveable. Quote
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