Dump WDAZ as Broadcast Partner?

[star2city]

Check out this Forum editorial. In the eighteen months, there are been by my count four editorials by the Forum that were intended as major slaps at UND that went beyond normal journalistic standards. This is another:

Division I lights click on at UND

When North Dakota State University began a determined (and ultimately successful) drive to lift its athletic programs from Division II to Division IAA, UND raised its Division II nose in the air and proclaimed it was not interested in making the change.

For the Forum to state that the DI move has been ultimately successful is like stating the South won the war after the First Bull Run Battle. The Forum should ask UNC about current view of success after this football season.

So UND raised its DII nose? It hadn’t yet replaced the Hyslop, doesn’t yet have a decent football/track practice facility, and doesn’t have an athletic scholarship trust fund, would have had to give up the DII 2005 Elite Eight, and didn’t at that time have an interested conference. Sounds prudent to me. NDSU raised it nose at its own consulant report about needing a conference, but that doesn’t get reported. There is no guarantee yet that the Big Sky will accept NDSU.

Why does UND and but not NDSU seem to be concerned about DI costs? The Forum, Chapman, Taylor & Company do not bring up funding as a major impediment to the DI move because it would highlight NDSU’s pay-as-you-go financial footing. NDSU has almost no room for financial missteps and the Forum knows it so it has to stamp the move successful to prevent any revolt in the ranks.

Why are all these arena proposals being made for downtown Fargo? The aforementioned and other NDSU power brokers know all too well that funding for renovating the BSA will be an long and arduous process that would not even yield a decent DI arena, without sacrificing practice space and indoor track capability. For NDSU to have a shot at b-ball being a success in DI, they have to have the public step up on pay for an arena. As stated before, the Forum, NDSU, and other NDSU-philic power brokers are attempting to manipulate Fargo voters into voting for a downtown arena guised as downtown development, when the major beneficiary will be NDSU basketball. This disingenuous campaign will never be reported in the Forum, until the arena is built.

In my view, it is about time that UND dumps WDAZ as a broadcast partner. Why help an entity profit when it’s parent organization derides your decisions when they were clearly the best path for the information that was known at the time. UND should switch to KVLY or the Fox affiliates, both of which would provide larger viewer coverage. Although WDAZ is practically a Grand Forks institution, it is best to do business with a company that at least has honorable intentions.

[bisonguy]

Just think of them as counterpoints to the great journalistic classics, such as:

Bisons' D-I move doesn't make sense

Division I? Say no!

'Sucker's game'

Just be glad The Forum doesn't carry the UND beat. There would be a lot more accountability on UND's part.

[Cratter]

and I quote "What happened?" Translation: The Big Sky Conference sent UND a letter telling them should apply to their conference. Plain & Simple. The Forum makes it sound like UND is pursing D1...haha. UND has stated it doesn't even know if it will apply to the Big Sky like THEY want.

[ScottM]

And now, thanks to the reporting of Forum sports writers (page one story Thursday), correspondence obtained through an open records request revealed that the university has opened the D-I door wide enough to accommodate discussions with the Big Sky Conference. In other words, the university is actively considering the possibility of an answer other than "no" to Division I status.

What load of self-serving shiat. Who do they think they have, Woodward and Bernstein? Losers.

Looks like Ziegler and the rest of Chaps' lapdogs didn't really pay attention to the fact the D1 idea has been gaining momentum for a few years now, even if it wasn't splashed on the front page to their tabloid.

[star2city]

Just think of them as counterpoints to the great journalistic classics, such as:

Bisons' D-I move doesn't make sense

Division I? Say no!

'Sucker's game'

Just be glad The Forum doesn't carry the UND beat. There would be a lot more accountability on UND's part.

[Cratter]

[Supertrex]

If the Forum wanted to be accurate, they would state that conference affiliation for NDSU depends on the timing of UND's move up. But the Forum and their "editors" will never tell that story.

The fact will always remain that NDSU needs UND to make the move up. Without UND, NDSU chances of gaining conference affiliation with Big Sky are not nearly as good. NDSU went off half-cocked and moved to D1 without affiliation. UND's representatives and NDSU's own consultants have said that was a mistake.

I personally can not wait until UND moves up so that these two teams can play once again...nothing makes me happier than watching UND blow NDSU off the field and giving them the butt kicking the so justly deserve. I need that fix in my life.