2018 Season

[Irish]

1 minute ago, UND1983 said:

Who said they are complaining?

Maybe just the fans on this board are doing the complaining.  I support the FB program and have season tickets but the jealousy towards hockey gets a bit much.  

[Irish]

4 minutes ago, Teeder11 said:

"They" aren't complaining. Some fans of UND are arguing for more love for a program whose growth potential is enormous. "They" admire the tradition of success of MH and aspire to emulate it, per Bubba's own words. 

I support the FB program and have season tickets like I mentioned.  I am fully in support of developing this program into a National Champion.  Bubba brought in a great attitude and is a great ambassador for the program.  However, he needs to get it done on the field too - so far he hasn't shown the moxy to make any tough staff moves.  We are moving in a positive direction with funding an facilities.  This is a big year for Bubba as he has hitched his wagon to some coaches who need to step up their game.  The program was on track to build a great following until last year's derailment.  Attendance and game enthusiasm was at a high point.   Time to turn things around in a big way.  And just my personal gripe - It's hard to get too optimistic when your head coach thinks Rudolf is the man to guide the offense.  

[Teeder11]

2 minutes ago, Irish said:

I support the FB program and have season tickets like I mentioned.  I am fully in support of developing this program into a National Champion.  Bubba brought in a great attitude and is a great ambassador for the program.  However, he needs to get it done on the field too - so far he hasn't shown the moxy to make any tough staff moves.  We are moving in a positive direction with funding an facilities.  This is a big year for Bubba as he has hitched his wagon to some coaches who need to step up their game.  The program was on track to build a great following until last year's derailment.  Attendance and game enthusiasm was at a high point.   Time to turn things around in a big way.  And just my personal gripe - It's hard to get too optimistic when your head coach thinks Rudolf is the man to guide the offense.  

Agreed.  Need to build depth and stay healthy.  Football is the most watched college sport in the country.  It would be huge for UND to get back to our strong tradition of success on the grid iron. 

[siouxfan512]

1 hour ago, fightingsioux4life said:

If you under-fund a sport, it will never be able to "earn a bigger budget". Your thinking is self-defeating and not practical for an intercollegiate athletics program of our size and scope. Most schools have one big revenue sport to help fund the others. Hockey is ours. If we don't use the windfall from hockey to build our other programs, they will never achieve anything.

If we are going to continue clinging to this hockey-only doctrine, we might as well drop back down to Division II.

Most BIG schools "big" sport is football which is FAR larger than what UND has. (Mich Football vs UND hockey) I'm not saying UND sport need to all be self sustaining, but you can't slight your most successful program on the hope that you will improve another. UND has managed to provide pretty well for football and basketball (not saying in couldn't be better) despite some less than successful season at the D1 level. 1 tourney appearance at each. Winning draws crowds, crowds fund programs. UND football and basketball need to win and win more consistently to establish their fanbases and earn additional funding. Hockey cannot fund everything, and if Hockey does fund everything, it shorts itself .... do you really want to short your only Cash Cow??

[siouxfan512]

23 minutes ago, Irish said:

I support the FB program and have season tickets like I mentioned.  I am fully in support of developing this program into a National Champion.  Bubba brought in a great attitude and is a great ambassador for the program.  However, he needs to get it done on the field too - so far he hasn't shown the moxy to make any tough staff moves.  We are moving in a positive direction with funding an facilities.  This is a big year for Bubba as he has hitched his wagon to some coaches who need to step up their game.  The program was on track to build a great following until last year's derailment.  Attendance and game enthusiasm was at a high point.   Time to turn things around in a big way.  And just my personal gripe - It's hard to get too optimistic when your head coach thinks Rudolf is the man to guide the offense.  

I like Bubba. Bubba's biggest issues to this point is "retaining" Rudolph and his PeeWee football scheme. However, at this point, Rudy's problems are Bubba's responsibility. I hope for both of their sake that Rudy makes some changes this year. Last year was Bubba's chance to adjust staff and find a more adequate coordinator. He stuck to his man (which is fine), but if his guy doesn't work out, he has to shoulder that responsibility). There is plenty of talent out there to win, we saw that two year ago. Some of last year hinged on injuries, sure; but there was plenty that had to do with lack of offensive prep and play calling.

[Parkers Pros]

It was evident that we didn’t have the line to achieve the results that are needed to be successful with the offensive scheme we run. Studs looked like he regressed some but I don’t know that he did, just didn’t have as much time as the year before.  

We were playing from behind a lot so we lacked balance and were predictable so teams could load up and pin their ears back. The key to this Offense, this team, is ball control and unpredictable play calls which needs a great defense and great line play. Rain Slater loss is a big one I think...

[CMSioux]

12 hours ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

This is one of many, many inequalities amongst the programs. It doesn't help anyone to be "careful" and caution against criticizing UND's untouchable hockey program. The inequality is so obvious it is disturbing. We shouldn't stand for it just because "UND is UND and hockey is UND". It needs to change some in light of UND's division I aspirations.  

I guess you ride the best horse. Fargo media talks about SU football year-round as that is their thoroughbred. In GF it is hockey. Example! do you think we will  see a Herald story on what numbers the incoming freshman football and basketball players will be wearing?

[gfhockey]

Miller is a busy man. He has a girlfriend now. 

 

Schloss girlfriend is deeks pizza

[Teeder11]

1 hour ago, gfhockey said:

Miller is a busy man. He has a girlfriend now. 

 

Schloss girlfriend is deeks pizza

^^^^^^^ I nominate for post of the week. Too funny. 

[northernraider]

2 hours ago, gfhockey said:

Miller is a busy man. He has a girlfriend now. 

 

Schloss girlfriend is deeks pizza

It would be nice too see more hype articles this time of year. Nothing else is happening in the local sports world. 

[fightingsioux4life]

11 hours ago, siouxfan512 said:

Most BIG schools "big" sport is football which is FAR larger than what UND has. (Mich Football vs UND hockey) I'm not saying UND sport need to all be self sustaining, but you can't slight your most successful program on the hope that you will improve another. UND has managed to provide pretty well for football and basketball (not saying in couldn't be better) despite some less than successful season at the D1 level. 1 tourney appearance at each. Winning draws crowds, crowds fund programs. UND football and basketball need to win and win more consistently to establish their fanbases and earn additional funding. Hockey cannot fund everything, and if Hockey does fund everything, it shorts itself .... do you really want to short your only Cash Cow??

Building our other programs will not "short" men's hockey. Having a successful athletic department across the board will lift up everybody. And if you don't invest in programs, they will never have sustained success. That is what is wrong with your thinking; it virtually guarantees a hockey-only doctrine on campus.

While NDSU runs their athletic department like a high-level D-I school, UND runs theirs like a D-II school (and sometimes, even a high school). And I am sick and tired of it. We are becoming "that other school in North Dakota". That is unacceptable.

[Irish]

33 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Building our other programs will not "short" men's hockey. Having a successful athletic department across the board will lift up everybody. And if you don't invest in programs, they will never have sustained success. That is what is wrong with your thinking; it virtually guarantees a hockey-only doctrine on campus.

While NDSU runs their athletic department like a high-level D-I school, UND runs theirs like a D-II school (and sometimes, even a high school). And I am sick and tired of it. We are becoming "that other school in North Dakota". That is unacceptable.

I think everyone would agree that more funding for Football is desirable.  The question is where should it come from.  There is a  bit of a chicken and egg thing about this - success means more ticket sales and more money which leads to more success.  To some extent Football has been a victim not of hockey fans who see that as our main sport, but of poor decisions by the athletic department and coaches.  First was our disastrous decision not to move to DI when NDSU did - this decision was spearheaded by the AD who was a former football coach.  Next was the disastrous Mussman hire and the fact that we let him linger so long - it cost us at least 8 years while our rivals were seeing much success.  Finally, when we did have the chance to advance on the national stage we had one of the biggest playoff collapses in history capped off the the famous triple reverse.  Then, when enthusiasm was high again we got last year.  Now Bubba thinks that Rudolf is the man to run our offence.  In spite of this there is still a lot of reason for optimism.  We seem to have talent going into next year, although key positions still need to be manned.  We have completed with phase I of our new practice facility and have plans to start phase II.  When the Bison started their run in DI they didn't have all the cash in the world or sold out attendance. They were coming off a period where we were dominant.  What they did have is great coaching hires and the ability to get it done on the field with a great philosophy and players who fit into that scheme.  Time for Bubba to get it done and get us an offence that it is out of the 19th century.  Sioux football can be dominant again, but time to show it on the field.  There was more pre-season buzz last year than I have seen in a long time.  Time to recapture that.

[iramurphy]

20 hours ago, LkvlleUNDFan said:

I know this is pure fantasy, but do we really have to mention Grady ever again? If the dude wanted to be playing football, he'd be playing. From what I've been told by guys on the team that knew him: 

• He didn't take his final exams after the season was over his freshman year. That's the move of someone who doesn't plan to be back or to go somewhere else.
• He doesn't need the scholarship $.
• He had a child at home and wanted to be more present. 
• He had a second chance and didn't even show up.
• He stiffed some of his teammates on paying rent and just left his stuff in the apartment (XBox, etc.). Didn't reply to voicemails, texts, etc. from the guys that thought of him as a friend.

He was a great talent. But to blame the coaching staff for not retaining him seems unreasonable. He DIDN'T want to be here. End of story.

We don't need to keep commenting on this young man.  He had untapped potential but hasn't been part of the program for a couple of years.  I don't believe we need the details.  The reasons are really none of our business and personal issues are best kept  within the program. Hope he realizes his potential, and becomes a good father, husband  and productive member of our society.

[UND Fan]

5 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

We don't need to keep commenting on this young man.  He had untapped potential but hasn't been part of the program for a couple of years.  I don't believe we need the details.  The reasons are really none of our business and personal issues are best kept  within the program. Hope he realizes his potential, and becomes a good father, husband  and productive member of our society.

Well said!!   Fully agree!

[Teeder11]

6 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

We don't need to keep commenting on this young man.  He had untapped potential but hasn't been part of the program for a couple of years.  I don't believe we need the details.  The reasons are really none of our business and personal issues are best kept  within the program. Hope he realizes his potential, and becomes a good father, husband  and productive member of our society.

Actually, I think LkvlleUNDFan did a nice job of helping many on this board understand that there are things beyond the coaching staff's control when it comes to players' decisions. His/her post, I think, actually will help many move on from Grady and quit bringing him up, which gets us closer to what most of us want anyway.

[jdub27]

35 minutes ago, Irish said:

I think everyone would agree that more funding for Football is desirable.  The question is where should it come from.  There is a  bit of a chicken and egg thing about this - success means more ticket sales and more money which leads to more success.  To some extent Football has been a victim not of hockey fans who see that as our main sport, but of poor decisions by the athletic department and coaches.  First was our disastrous decision not to move to DI when NDSU did - this decision was spearheaded by the AD who was a former football coach.  Next was the disastrous Mussman hire and the fact that we let him linger so long - it cost us at least 8 years while our rivals were seeing much success.  Finally, when we did have the chance to advance on the national stage we had one of the biggest playoff collapses in history capped off the the famous triple reverse.  Then, when enthusiasm was high again we got last year.  Now Bubba thinks that Rudolf is the man to run our offence.  In spite of this there is still a lot of reason for optimism.  We seem to have talent going into next year, although key positions still need to be manned.  We have completed with phase I of our new practice facility and have plans to start phase II.  When the Bison started their run in DI they didn't have all the cash in the world or sold out attendance. They were coming off a period where we were dominant.  What they did have is great coaching hires and the ability to get it done on the field with a great philosophy and players who fit into that scheme.  Time for Bubba to get it done and get us an offence that it is out of the 19th century.  Sioux football can be dominant again, but time to show it on the field.  There was more pre-season buzz last year than I have seen in a long time.  Time to recapture that.

Fair points and I agree on most, but how much of Mussman's issues were because of lack of funding? His ability to put an experienced staff together was pretty hamstrung and overall, the move was made without the proper resources allocated and the problem compounded itself. On top of that, he likely stayed in his job as long as he did because of a cost issue (extended him on the cheap and then didn't want to buy him out).

[UND-FB-FAN]

17 hours ago, siouxfan512 said:

Have to remember that their fund comes heavily because they put butts in seats. Can’t fault them for that.

... with a $100 M gift aiding hockey. Hockey received investment. UND football currently requires it. It's not an even playing field when one simply compares the programs with attendance. UND Hockey could have a mediocre team (like last year's team) and still lead the nation in attendance; why? The REA. UND football cannot afford that (both a better facility and mediocrity on the field). When UND wins most of their games (e.g., 2016) they still struggle to sell out the Alerus Center. No issue like that for hockey with the REA.

Now, does that mean UND football must have a $100 M Stadium? It's unrealistic so no; but at UND, hockey got the big-money stadium whereas most everyother DI school in the Midwest puts their big-time donation into a football stadium. UND is an outlier. Not necessarily a bad thing to be unique but people have to realize this situation. It puts UND in also a unique situation for making overall funding work. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

13 hours ago, Irish said:

I support the FB program and have season tickets like I mentioned.  I am fully in support of developing this program into a National Champion.  Bubba brought in a great attitude and is a great ambassador for the program.  However, he needs to get it done on the field too - so far he hasn't shown the moxy to make any tough staff moves.  We are moving in a positive direction with funding an facilities.  This is a big year for Bubba as he has hitched his wagon to some coaches who need to step up their game.  The program was on track to build a great following until last year's derailment.  Attendance and game enthusiasm was at a high point.   Time to turn things around in a big way.  And just my personal gripe - It's hard to get too optimistic when your head coach thinks Rudolf is the man to guide the offense.  

He needs $$$ (HPC phase II, better coaches via better salaries) to make it happen on the field.

Do you fire a lumberjack for not cutting down trees fast enough when all he/she is provided is a handsaw and everyone else (other programs) has chainsaws? 

UND now is trying to recruit players to 90 year old locker rooms and coaches to 90 year old offices and meeting rooms with outdated salaries to boot. 

It all comes back to emphasis and support, which UND football needs more of within the hockey climate of Grand Forks. 

[Midwestern Hawk]

10 minutes ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

He needs $$$ (HPC phase II, better coaches via better salaries) to make it happen on the field.

Do you fire a lumberjack for not cutting down trees fast enough when all he/she is provided is a handsaw and everyone else (other programs) has chainsaws? 

UND now is trying to recruit players to 90 year old locker rooms and coaches to 90 year old offices and meeting rooms with outdated salaries to boot. 

It all comes back to emphasis and support, which UND football needs more of within the hockey climate of Grand Forks. 

Hockey is a great sport and UND has a fantastic program but if the University wants to elevate its profile in the Midwest and beyond, only football and basketball will do that.  Phase 2 needs to be a priority and funding needs to be generated ASAP.

[UND-FB-FAN]

13 hours ago, Teeder11 said:

 Football is the most watched college sport in the country.  It would be huge for UND to get back to our strong tradition of success on the grid iron. 

Yes, 

so, so much potential.

The UND athletic department funding plan cannot afford an overly stagnant and conservative stance on its direction, despite what many around UND and Grand Forks feel comfortable maintaining. 

[hky]

 "There was more pre-season buzz last year than I have seen in a long time.  Time to recapture that."

Agree.  We bought more season tickets, invited friends out to tailgate, really talked up the team, the program, Bubba, etc. to anyone who would listen.  That blow out at USD was bad. Then more injuries and the season was lost.  So was that buzz around the community.  I think (hope) it'll be back once the team has some success.  

[UND-FB-FAN]

5 hours ago, CMSioux said:

I guess you ride the best horse. Fargo media talks about SU football year-round as that is their thoroughbred. In GF it is hockey. Example! do you think we will  see a Herald story on what numbers the incoming freshman football and basketball players will be wearing?

NDSU Basketball isn't the #1 sport, but yet they get those kind of news stories and even a new arena? Hmm ... doesn't quite sound like the same level of treatment as what goes on at UND.

[UND-FB-FAN]

2 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

We are becoming "that other school in North Dakota". That is unacceptable.

Too late. Of late, NDSU is academically and athletically the most prevalent school in North Dakota. Enrollment up, particularly in-State, and more programs added. Athletic accomplishments go without saying. Hate to say it but it is true. It's completely different from even 10 years ago (sports do make a difference) . 

[Midwestern Hawk]

6 minutes ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

Too late. Of late, NDSU is academically and athletically the most prevalent school in North Dakota. Enrollment up, particularly in-State, and more programs added. Athletic accomplishments go without saying. Hate to say it but it is true. It's completely different from even 10 years ago. 

Almost 100% due to 6 national championships and the take-downs of FBS opponents.  How many schools have had ESPN Gameday visit twice in the last 10 years?

[UND-FB-FAN]

58 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

Fair points and I agree on most, but how much of Mussman's issues were because of lack of funding? His ability to put an experienced staff together was pretty hamstrung and overall, the move was made without the proper resources allocated and the problem compounded itself. On top of that, he likely stayed in his job as long as he did because of a cost issue (extended him on the cheap and then didn't want to buy him out).

It's all $$$. UND was dominant in DII because money wasn't an issue; majority could still go to hockey without issue. Now in DI, with hockey still taking up the vast majority, funding is spread far too thin for realistic DI success (especially at the level of what UND football was during DII).