President Kennedy Message on Athletics

[Siouxperman8]

I have to believe that Kennedy has a plan, probably involving the Summit League.    It is hard to imagine that he isn't working something in the background.

[SIOUXFAN97]

3 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

I have to believe that Kennedy has a plan, probably involving the RETURN OF THE NCC.    It is hard to imagine that he isn't working something in the background.

 

[Cratter]

Kennedy kept saying the final decision was going to be his and his only? 

So was it all a show and he didn't plan to do anything all along?

Has Kennedy lifted a finger yet?

[Siouxperman8]

1 minute ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

I have to believe that Kennedy has a plan, probably involving the RETURN OF THE NCC.    It is hard to imagine that he isn't working something in the background.

I am confused by this argument/complaint.  There would be a lot more interest and attendance if we were playing our regional rivals rather than schools like Sac St, SUU, Cal Poly, etc.   There are some nice names to bring in but I would bet we would draw better in January basketball games vs. SDSU, USD and NDSU rather than Montana, Montana State and Idaho State.

 

 

[Cratter]

3 hours ago, Hambone said:

There has to be something else going on.  In the updated Herald article Kennedy is saying that this was a "once in a Kennedy tenure" type of decision, so he will not revisit it in the future.  If that's the case, there has to be something else.  Seems to me we're looking forward to mediocrity in most sports.

Pretty dumb statement to make....is his tenure going to be a short one? Otherwise it would be more wise to say "we might take a look at options down the line if we find sponsoring 20 sports isn't a long term solution, but right now we are dedicated to making it work."

Nah, instead it was basically,  "I'm not going to look at this issue ever again, as far as I'm concerned while at UND."

[fightingsioux4life]

52 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

bring on winona state in the quarter finals of the d2 playoffs!!!! heck bring on the gorillas of pitt state...love it!

I assume you are being sarcastic. In that case, agree 1000%

[Cratter]

26 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

I have to believe that Kennedy has a plan, probably involving the Summit League.    It is hard to imagine that he isn't working something in the background.

Do you need a committee and have coaches gives speeches to save their sports to simply look at switching conferences?

[bison73]

8 hours ago, jdub27 said:

Since I already gave my thoughts on a couple of the recommendations, I'll finish out with the list:

• Increase ticket prices by 25 percent across all sports for which tickets are required. - 25% is a little steep but ticket prices haven't increased much recently and I was surprised there wasn't any bump this year with season tickets. Season hockey tickets only cost $420/seat before donation so increasing by 25% move the price to $525. Increases in football, MBB, WBB and whatever else would be pretty minimal but you also need to be careful when raising prices without a strong demand. The big caveat with this one is whether it includes Champions Club donations or just the ticket price, which would make a huge difference.

• Increase the distribution of ticket revenue from 48 percent to 60 percent. - Not sure exactly how this contract is worded, but I actually do think that if possible, this is something that should be looked in to. I believe that UND contracts with one of the REA entities for this.

• Reduce the number of complimentary tickets. - Seems logical on the surface without actually knowing how many tickets are being comped. Likely will make a minimal impact though depending on the scenario could end in a few negatives.

• Restructure the agreements with the Ralph Engelstad Arena and the Alerus Center. - Likely easier said than done with the Alerus Center, which I think is already pretty UND friendly to begin with, especially considering the amount of time UND actually uses it. The REA is a whole separate issue and my feeling is that any gains now come at the expense of gains when UND eventually takes it over. Doesn't mean there isn't some middle ground to help out right now but likely more complex than just "restructuring".

• Add scholarships to fully fund each sport at the allotment of scholarships permitted by NCAA. - A recommendation to actually increase expenses instead of cut them. By my rough count, this would require UND to add ~25 scholarships on the men's side and ~15 on the women's side (plus FCOA as well). I actually agree with the general theory behind this but it should be done only after they have cut a handful of sports. Cut the operating expenses and move the scholarships over. If they did follow through I'm sure that imbalance wouldn't cause any Title IX angst.

• Keep all 20 sports. - I've already said my piece. What a punt.

I thought UND was already fully funded on each sport with FCOA included?

[homer]

4 minutes ago, bison73 said:

I thought UND was already fully funded on each sport with FCOA included?

No. It was said last year that UND is not fully funded for all sports. 

[Cratter]

22 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Who just won, and won huge? 

UND President Mark Kennedy. 

1. He just owned the faculty. They complain when they're not involved in the decisions; but, when involved they completely renege. Based on this Kennedy no longer has to ask them anything. Why? He tried and they self-exposed as inept and unwilling. 

 

So if the committees recommendations self exposed as inept and unwilling, does that make Kennedy inept and unwilling?

I can't remember this much "controversy" from such a fresh UND president.

[Blackheart]

35 minutes ago, Cratter said:

Kennedy kept saying the final decision was going to be his and his only? 

So was it all a shi+ show and he didn't plan to do anything all along?

Has Kennedy lifted a finger yet?

Fixed your post.

[AJS]

29 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

I am confused by this argument/complaint.  There would be a lot more interest and attendance if we were playing our regional rivals rather than schools like Sac St, SUU, Cal Poly, etc.   There are some nice names to bring in but I would bet we would draw better in January basketball games vs. SDSU, USD and NDSU rather than Montana, Montana State and Idaho State.

 

 

I've never understood any push back to joining the Summit in everything, but football. It seems like a win / win situation all around. Increased attendance with the Dakota schools, Omaha and Denver in basketball and massive travel savings for many of the non-revenue sports. 

I'll never agree with not cutting at least a couple sports, but there are still enough things to do to salvage this mess. The most crucial / important is getting into the Summit. This has to get done.

 

[Vegas_Sioux]

1 hour ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

bring on winona state in the quarter finals of the d2 playoffs!!!! heck bring on the gorillas of pitt state...love it!

Potato Bowl vs Crookston? 83 to 3?

 

[SIOUXFAN97]

1 minute ago, Vegas_Sioux said:

Potato Bowl vs Crookston? 83 to 3?

 

let's go back...d2 is where the money is!!!

[bison73]

40 minutes ago, homer said:

No. It was said last year that UND is not fully funded for all sports. 

Thanks. Somebody else had said you were so didnt think anything about it after that.

[fightingsioux08]

1 hour ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

bring on winona state in the quarter finals of the d2 playoffs!!!! heck bring on the gorillas of pitt state...love it!

With grand valley state no longer in d2....

This is what Kennedy meant when he said we shall fund as many championship competing sports as we can . . . We can win every d2 championship....no way bubbas football team loses to any d2 school now that grand valley state isn't around to beat us in the playoffs.....

Plus imagine our mbb, wbb, and volleyball funded with fcoa and competing against d2 schools!!!...we will mop the floor with the competion!!!! (Not 1, not 2, not 3.....)

 

 

All jokes aside I became a huge und fan (all sports) when we were d2 and I loved rooting for und back then but if we went back a division I would be so mad at the administration that I would lose interest in ALL und sports...even hockey and football....I am obsessed enough to have hockey season tickets even though I live in bismarck and i spend a boat ton on und merchandise but dropping to d2 would cause me to quit all of that 

[SWSiouxMN]

35 minutes ago, AJS said:

I've never understood any push back to joining the Summit in everything, but football. It seems like a win / win situation all around. Increased attendance with the Dakota schools, Omaha and Denver in basketball and massive travel savings for many of the non-revenue sports. 

I'll never agree with not cutting at least a couple sports, but there are still enough things to do to salvage this mess. The most crucial / important is getting into the Summit. This has to get done.

 

One half step before that.  Big sky has to be okay with UND being a football member.  There is the Presidents meeting tomorrow and the ADs met last weekend. I don't think that would be an issue but you never know

The Summit is a nine team league, with a chance to add a 10th member square in the footprint.  Unless their commish is still bitter over what happened 4-5 years ago I don't see how it doesn't happen if UND goes that route.

This whole thing... something just doesn't add up.

[bincitysioux]

This is disappointing and actually quite ridiculous.

A move to the Summit would be embarrassing at best.

[jdub27]

The only think I can think of is that with the timing of the Big Sky Presidents meeting tomorrow, Kennedy knows something he isn't sharing. UND being a football affiliate had obviously been discussed informally. It was no slam dunk like one would originally think but maybe something changed. Otherwise I am at a little bit of a loss with this decision. 

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

A quick test for everyone disappointed with today's news.

Complete this sentence:

If UND had cut the sports I wanted them to, and if those dollars had been redirected to my sport(s) of choice, but those sport(s) still did not see an increase in success or competitiveness after five years, I would be _____ than I am right now.

(HINT: the answer is no better off.)

[bincitysioux]

mark.r.kennedy@und.edu

[AJS]

6 minutes ago, bincitysioux said:

This is disappointing and actually quite ridiculous.

A move to the Summit would be embarrassing at best.

In what way? The Summit is stronger in basketball than the Big Sky, plus it would would be huge savings in travel to the budget.

 

5 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

The only think I can think of is that with the timing of the Big Sky Presidents meeting tomorrow, Kennedy knows something he isn't sharing. UND being a football affiliate had obviously been discussed informally. It was no slam dunk like one would originally think but maybe something changed. Otherwise I am at a little bit of a loss with this decision. 

That's pretty interesting, you'd think the other schools would be for it as well. Then again, one trip to GF wouldn't make or break any schools budget, where as UND leaving would throw a wrench into scheduling, with them now having an odd number of teams. 

I just hope we start getting answers quickly. The news today left me uneasy. 

[UNDBIZ]

Things to look forward to in the coming years: 

1. UND's revenue sports, sans hockey, will continue operating at a funding disadvantage when compared to peers. Locker rooms, player lounges, travel and recruiting budgets, etc. will remain poor. 

2. MBB will continue to have poor coaching and will remain a revolving door for assistant coaches.

3. Non-revenue sports will remain doormats for whichever conference we are in. 

4. The FB staff will eventually turn over and we won't pay for quality replacements. 

5. We will continue seeing few non-conference home games in MBB and FB. The few we get will be of low quality.

6. Fan interest will wane and we'll face another revenue crisis.

[AJS]

20 minutes ago, NoiseInsideMyHead said:

A quick test for everyone disappointed with today's news.

Complete this sentence:

If UND had cut the sports I wanted them to, and if those dollars had been redirected to my sport(s) of choice, but those sport(s) still did not see an increase in success or competitiveness after five years, I would be _____ than I am right now.

(HINT: the answer is no better off.)

What sport did they redirect the money to by cutting baseball? This question doesn't apply, because UND is in a budget crisis. They should have made cuts as well as look for ways to generate more revenue (which they are doing). You (as well as Kennedy) obviously feel that UND athletics as a whole are stronger having more programs then a school this size should have... I don't. 

[bincitysioux]

Summit League = Landing pad for all schools rejected by the Big Sky.

And unfortunately it appears UND may be willing to throw away the enormous opportunity that the Big Sky presents, mostly because it and many of its supporters miss NDSU.

Where would the hockey program be today if it were equally consumed by a perceived need to be in lockstep with Minnesota?  Probably not at the top......