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UNO leaving the NCC


bigmrg74

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With Missiouri-Rolla leaving the MIAA, there has been talk that the MIAA might be going after UNO to bring them back up to ten members. So far, about the best reason I've heard for UNO staying NCC is so that they can get their hockey team into the WCHA. But has anybody confirmed that they would even want to leave the CCHA? The Hockey team would have to spend about the same for travel in the WCHA as they do in the CCHA, but UNO's travel cost might be lower for other sports, like Football, Basketball, and Track. How likely do you guys think that UNO could leave the NCC, and what would happen after that??

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... and what would happen after that??

Dogs and cats living together?

Mass hysteria?

More seriously,

- Where is UM-Rolla going if they are leaving the MIAA?

- UNO would be able to bus more often in the WCHA (cheaper than flying), and would have NCC rivals UND, UM-D, SCSU, and MSU-M, but I don't see when a WCHA opening is going to happen any time soon. Are they really holding on to that hope? That seems faint at best.

- Yes, UNO would probably be able to save some bucks on travel in the MIAA in the other sports.

- Where are you hearing noises that UNO would consider a switch?

UNO leave? It could happen.

After that? Welcome to the world of who-knows scenarios. All bets are off.

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UM-Rolla to the GLVC seems like a sweet deal for them (other than having to be a DII independent in football):

It is a conference that has schools near or in all of a number of major media markets in the midwest, including St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati and Evansville.

Now the MIAA commences the search ....

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Well, with Rolla in the GLVC, there is the possiablity that that conferance could add football to their list as well. Indianapolis would likely leave the GLIAC in football because to be fully GLVC with all their other sports. I wouldn't be surprized to see some other schools as well jump in with the GLVC.

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- UNO would be able to bus more often in the WCHA (cheaper than flying), and would have NCC rivals UND, UM-D, SCSU, and MSU-M, but I don't see when a WCHA opening is going to happen any time soon. Are they really holding on to that hope? That seems faint at best.

- Yes, UNO would probably be able to save some bucks on travel in the MIAA in the other sports.

- Where are you hearing noises that UNO would consider a switch?

UNO leave? It could happen.

With UNO getting the vast majority of its ticket revenue from hockey, it is in its best interests to stay with conference members that have similar mutual interests. If the CCHA should ever boot UNO because of regional geography, UNO would have some assurance that their NCC brethren would, at a minimum, offer scheduling relief for hockey. This far overrides any travel cost savings by joining the MIAA.

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Well, with Rolla in the GLVC, there is the possiablity that that conferance could add football to their list as well. Indianapolis would likely leave the GLIAC in football because to be fully GLVC with all their other sports. I wouldn't be surprized to see some other schools as well jump in with the GLVC.

There are several GLVC schools (Kentucky Wesleyan, Quincy, St. Joseph's) that already play football as D2 independents or hold joint affiliations with the NAIA and play their football there. Throw in two other independents (Tiffin and Upper Iowa) to go along with Rolla and Indianapolis and it looks pretty likely that a new (and very bad) D2 football conference will be formed. You also have Central State (Ohio) restoring football and the rumor that Truman State and Southwest Baptist will be leaving the MIAA for the GLVC.

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  • 2 weeks later...
My guess is that UNO would likely look to move should the NCC membership drop further.  However, since it's unlikely anybody else is going to be leaving (unless UND goes division I across the board), it appears unlikely that UNO will look to join the MIAA or any other conference in the near future, at least based upon the quotes from Dannenhauer.

It appears the above speculation (sorry for quoting myself) is supported by the following article excerpt printed yesterday in the Omaha paper:

UNO Athletic Director Bob Danenhauer said he was contacted earlier this month to gauge interest in filling the void in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association created by the departure of Missouri-Rolla.

"I told them that we're committed to the North Central Conference, but that we appreciated the phone call," Danenhauer said.

The NCC, which for years was a strong 10-team league, is down to seven schools because of the recent departures of Northern Colorado, North Dakota State and South Dakota State for NCAA Division I-AA and Morningside to the NAIA.

Minnesota-Duluth joins the conference this season. All parties are hopeful of adding one more school to make it an eight-team league that will make scheduling easier.

Many predict it's only a matter of time before North Dakota follows NDSU to I-AA and the NCC will begin to unravel. That means the talk of joining the MIAAwill probably continue following UNO until the NCC stabilizes.

"A couple of years ago we discussed what would happen if the NCC disbands," Danenhauer said. "The MIAA is the obvious choice, but the university hasn't discussed it seriously. The travel would be about the same. Instead of taking Interstate 29 North, we'd take Interstate 29 South."

I'm not so sure that UND going division I is exactly imminent, but nevertheless what UND decides to do probably does hold the key to the future of the league.

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