The Ralph

[PCM]

No I'm implying Roger's might have been.

Politically motivated or not, Roger's explanation makes sense.

[cfm567b27]

Politically motivated or not, Roger's explanation makes sense.

So doesn't the one provided by Supertrex....Which I'm sure is also minus any political motivation...or inclination

[mikejm]

My biggest beef isn't anything related to the arena...it's that the focus is taken off of the team and has been placed on socializing, drinking beer, and "being seen." The arena is just not as intimidating as old REA.

I don't buy this. I will agree that the new arena and 5000 extra seats has brought many new people to the game. And some of these (maybe even most) people aren't "into" the game as much as the old-timers. But to say the focus has been taken off the team is a stretch.

Walk around the rink. The photos of teams and players past, the banners hung from the rafters, the logos create something akin to an atmosphere of worship. This is the home of the Fighting Sioux and woe to all wearing opposing colors who enter here.

I will agree that the atmosphere is a lot more commercial than in the old rink. But the focus, clearly, is on hockey, and most of all on the Fighting Sioux heritage and history.

[PCM]

So doesn't the one provided by Supertrex....

Not to me, and I've worked at UND for 12 years. I'm certainly no accountant, but I do know that battles over seemigly trivial expenses and penny pinching are a way of life at the university. No department can spend money it doesn't have.

Apparently some have forgotten what happened several years ago during a previous adminstration when deficits in some departments were covered by shifting funds from other departments. It wasn't pretty.

[The Sicatoka]

Based on Supertrex's hypothesis, a UND professor needing to attend a conference at the University of Wisconsin the same weekend the Badgers and Sioux play could just "hop on the team bus" and ride with the hockey team down to Madison, right?

Physics Department funds pay for physics graduate students' tuition.

Athletic Department funds pay for student-athletes' tuition.

How and where they get funds may differ, but both have budgets to live to and both must pay for the bills of "their people." That's exactly how any business with multiple departments works.

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

My biggest beef isn't anything related to the arena...it's that the focus is taken off of the team and has been placed on socializing, drinking beer, and "being seen." The arena is just not as intimidating as old REA.

Wrong...drinking beer has always been a focus at hockey games, at least for the students

[Hansel]

The tuition is given at no additional cost to the school. It's like an employee taking a ride on a company jet when it has an open seat. The plane's gonna fly and one more person on board doesn't increase operating expenses significantly.

Athletic Departments actually do "pay" the tuition, fees, etc.

Figures provided by athletics officials show that about $4.5 million of the department's $18.6 million budget in 1999-2000 was spent to cover a variety of expenses charged by the university or affiliated organizations.

many articles stating this can also be found.

[CoteauRinkRat]

Wrong...drinking beer has always been a focus at hockey games, at least for the students

Not just beer either, all those Mickey's we snuck into the games made the team watchable in the early 90's.

[UND Fan]

UND and NDSU Athletic Department's absolutely pay for the tuition and fees for their scholarship athletes. This is the major reason why the need for athletic fund raising continues to grow each year.

This isn't the case at all universities. For instance, one of the reasons that the Montana schools moved to DI many years ago was that their state legislature funds a large portion of their scholarship needs. Therefore, the state is in essence paying the University a portion of each athlete's tuition and fees. So, it isn't necessary to raise as much $ at schools whose legislature help them out. Most schools will attempt to raise as much $ but they have the luxury of spending the excess on facilities, travel expenses, recruiting a wider geographic area, guarantees to schools coming into Bozeman or Missoula, etc.

With North Dakota's financial struggles, this will never happen up there.

[The Sicatoka]

Figures provided by athletics officials show that about $4.5 million of the department's $18.6 million budget in 1999-2000 was spent to cover a variety of expenses charged by the university or affiliated organizations.

There's stuff in there that is mindboggling.

Iowa State's $18.6 (million) operating budget in 1999-2000 ranked 11th out of the 12 members in the Big 12 and amounted to less than half the money spent on sports by Texas and Nebraska.

That's just one of many.

That is one interesting read.

[The Sicatoka]

With North Dakota's financial struggles, this will never happen up there.

Don't be so sure:

At its June 2001 meeting at Valley City State University, the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) voted unanimously to grant campus presidents the authority to waive tuition.

This ground breaking policy change supports the recommendation of

[The Sicatoka]

Here is an article that ran in last Friday's (4/23) "Hampshire Gazette." This is what the UMass Minutemen are doing of late. Sound familiar?

Coming off the best hockey season in school history, University of Massachusetts coach Toot Cahoon said if his team hopes to remain among Hockey East's elite, it needs to increase its fund raising.

For every dollar we raise, Boston College, Boston University, Maine and New Hampshire are raising $25. We can't keep up, he said. ''We can't offer the same things to the recruitable student athlete that those programs offer. We can only sustain this if we're at least at a level playing field. We're running at a deficit in terms of trying to offer our kids the same kind of experience that those programs offer. I need to change that. I need to get the public aware.''

Cahoon said during the season and afterward, he has been approached by fans asking how to get involved. He's suggested getting involved in the Pond Club.

Named for the Campus Pond, where the first UMass hockey team played in 1908, the Pond Club is the team's official booster club. Cahoon hopes the rising interest in UMass hockey will increase the organization's numbers. Membership in the organization is $125. Membership benefits include an e-mail newsletter and several functions with the players and coaches.

Cahoon said the club's current membership consists largely of UMass alumni living in eastern Massachusetts.

''We need to get the Pond Club to be a very big asset in terms of our programs,'' he said. ''We run a golf tournament, but its in eastern Mass. We need our grass roots, right here in Amherst and in the Pioneer Valley, to start to grow. We need to make the Pond Club room between periods a more vibrant, viable, social alternative.''

Cahoon said he believes that some fans don't know about the hockey program's financial needs.

''I think people are unaware of where we are and where we're trying to go,'' said Cahoon, who welcomes any interest. ''We're not discriminating in terms of level of participation. We want as many people at as many different levels to understand they can all make a difference in what we're doing.''

Recognizing that the state and university have financial problems, Cahoon said he knows the increased funding needs to come from outside.

''The state has been very fair. The university has been very fair,'' he said. ''We have to move towards being self-sufficient.''

Cahoon said he hopes to start the momentum at the team's breakfast banquet at 9 a.m. May 8, which is the first event of a busy day in UMass sports, including several home games for spring sports and the spring football game.

People interested in attending the banquet or getting involved may call the UMass hockey office at 545-5175.

''We hope people will come out and celebrate our team's season then go out and enjoy a great day of athletics on the UMass campus,'' Cahoon said.