2025 UND football

[geaux_sioux]

4 hours ago, UND1983 said:

Their day isn't ruined at all. The downvote has just never been used as idiotically as it is by that group

I would actually argue against that. Different posters at different times have done the same. In the end who cares? 

[Mama Sue]

Well I live in MN and nothing, absolutely nothing, can be worse than the childish fighting in the MN House. 
A more positive topic: wasn't today national signing day? Or has the transfer portal and NIsl almost erased that too?

[UND1983]

1 hour ago, geaux_sioux said:

I would actually argue against that. Different posters at different times have done the same. In the end who cares? 

Me.  And you obviously 

[CMSioux]

7 hours ago, Kab said:

Part of UNDs problems is they don’t communicate enough

no reason they didn’t put out a public. Notice about this so those who may have wanted to attend could have 

If you look at the picture they posted there were plenty of empty seats in that room. 

[SiouxBoys]

8 hours ago, Kab said:

The reason I ask is it was the same price as I pay for a spot each game

you need to check your attitude 

I guess I must be Mr. Irrelevant .  I will forward my thoughts to the new coach and tell him how important you are just in case he hasn’t figured that out 

Here's a crazy idea. If you want invited to the season tailgate holder meeting next year, buy season tailgating spots. If not, then don't complain about not getting an invite. 

[Hans8891]

Good grief people.  They invited existing tailgate spot holders based on the forms we all fill out for tailgating spots.  I did go.  It was a good meeting.  They sought input on how we could improve the tailgating experience, including discussing a survey sent out to the same group.  It included exciting things like port-a potties and garbage can availability.  They asked about ways to improve the vitality in the tailgating area.  Some in the tailgate area just use it as a space to park, which does not improve the tailgating experience and they would like to figure out how to address that without getting into issues with long time ticket and tailgate holders.  They would like to see less spots just used for cars, especially in the area of the hawk walk and the spaces up front where they would love to see an active and populated area for tailgating.  They talked about how people liked the fireworks, live bands, other extras that people liked or don’t like.  How to keep people from going into the active areas less than 2 hours before game time when the area is crowded and cars don’t work very well to get through - and technically are a violation of the tailgating rules we all sign up for.  There was discussion about how many hours before the game people would like to be able to get in and we talked about extending the time after games to be able to stay and enjoy the atmosphere.  We talked about the fact that tailgating costs would likely go up since right now it isn’t any more expensive to have a tailgate spot than it is to park for 6 games - $90 v $100 per season - and even less if we have home playoffs.  There is a waiting list for tailgate spots right now.  They talked about preferences for game times, with strong opinions that we would like to have another night game and not noon games if possible - prefer 2Pm games or later for tailgating purposes.  There is no overlap next year between home football games and hockey games.  That is the report on the meeting.  It was a good discussion, but not overly well attended.  There were a few tailgating regulars there, but not a ton.  Schmitt stopped by and thanked the group, but overall it was an informational and brainstorming session.

[CMSioux]

9 hours ago, Hans8891 said:

Good grief people.  They invited existing tailgate spot holders based on the forms we all fill out for tailgating spots.  I did go.  It was a good meeting.  They sought input on how we could improve the tailgating experience, including discussing a survey sent out to the same group.  It included exciting things like port-a potties and garbage can availability.  They asked about ways to improve the vitality in the tailgating area.  Some in the tailgate area just use it as a space to park, which does not improve the tailgating experience and they would like to figure out how to address that without getting into issues with long time ticket and tailgate holders.  They would like to see less spots just used for cars, especially in the area of the hawk walk and the spaces up front where they would love to see an active and populated area for tailgating.  They talked about how people liked the fireworks, live bands, other extras that people liked or don’t like.  How to keep people from going into the active areas less than 2 hours before game time when the area is crowded and cars don’t work very well to get through - and technically are a violation of the tailgating rules we all sign up for.  There was discussion about how many hours before the game people would like to be able to get in and we talked about extending the time after games to be able to stay and enjoy the atmosphere.  We talked about the fact that tailgating costs would likely go up since right now it isn’t any more expensive to have a tailgate spot than it is to park for 6 games - $90 v $100 per season - and even less if we have home playoffs.  There is a waiting list for tailgate spots right now.  They talked about preferences for game times, with strong opinions that we would like to have another night game and not noon games if possible - prefer 2Pm games or later for tailgating purposes.  There is no overlap next year between home football games and hockey games.  That is the report on the meeting.  It was a good discussion, but not overly well attended.  There were a few tailgating regulars there, but not a ton.  Schmitt stopped by and thanked the group, but overall it was an informational and brainstorming session.

All good - did anyone bring up:

- by only inviting those on the current active list they are missing those who quit tailgating and why they quit - they could have been reached by posting something on social media or sharing a survey to everyone on social media.

- Just because a car is parked does not mean it is not being used to tailgate, many tailgate sites have numerous people active why should they not be allowed to park near their group site? 

- People driving their car through a the crowd less than two hours from the game is just a matter of communicating that this rule will be enforced. The first time they have to turn around and go pay $15 for a parking spot they will understand. 

- Like the energy the students bring, but there must be a way to prevent the mountain of trash they leave (ask student leaders to step up) - tailgaters who pay for their spots leave their site as clean as they found it (by the way I often bring food to them so I'm not anti-student). 

- There is no good reason why tailgaters shouldn't be allowed a Happy Hour after the game - have never seen any other school not have it. 

- Why do we have to get a summary from you and not UND? 

[Kab]

Someone suggested I apply for a tailgate spot

i have no intention of doing that as tailgating isn’t my thing

my concern in this is UND does a horrible job of promoting football

get people excited about coming to football games

have more family plan games with a free parking spot with groups of 5 or more 

i asked what a tailgate spot cost and those with spots didn’t answer, it’s basically the same as a parking spots

i hope those with more than one spot have to pay for each spot, may I suggested $100 per spot per game 

OK, fire away 

 

 

[Siouxperman8]

17 minutes ago, Kab said:

Someone suggested I apply for a tailgate spot

i have no intention of doing that as tailgating isn’t my thing

my concern in this is UND does a horrible job of promoting football

get people excited about coming to football games

have more family plan games with a free parking spot with groups of 5 or more 

i asked what a tailgate spot cost and those with spots didn’t answer, it’s basically the same as a parking spots

i hope those with more than one spot have to pay for each spot, may I suggested $100 per spot per game 

OK, fire away 

 

 

Yes.  Us season tailgaters do pay for all of our spots.  I guess if you really wanted to kill tailgating you could charge $100/spot/game.  My bill would have gone from $300 to $2100 last year and I would have noped out. 

The main difference between the cost of tailgate spots and game day parking is that you pay for them ahead of time so you are paying even if you don't show up.  We used all of ours for every game the last few years but in the past it was hard to justify driving 650 miles round trip for a meaningless game and standing outside in the wind and 10 degrees for 4 hours late in the year.  

When Mike Mannausau was coaching he would come back out after the team went thru to greet and thank those of us who braved the weather to tailgate and support the team.  He said he felt he should because of the dedication to the team we were showing.  

[Kab]

3 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

Yes.  Us season tailgaters do pay for all of our spots.  I guess if you really wanted to kill tailgating you could charge $100/spot/game.  My bill would have gone from $300 to $2100 last year and I would have noped out. 

The main difference between the cost of tailgate spots and game day parking is that you pay for them ahead of time so you are paying even if you don't show up.  We used all of ours for every game the last few years but in the past it was hard to justify driving 650 miles round trip for a meaningless game and standing outside in the wind and 10 degrees for 4 hours late in the year.  

When Mike Mannausau was coaching he would come back out after the team went thru to greet and thank those of us who braved the weather to tailgate and support the team.  He said he felt he should because of the dedication to the team we were showing.  

Fair points

went to a roughrider game years back in Regina

 usually had a motorhome and there was a parking attendant we knew so he always gave us a good spot , but we had to supply him with a bottle

the general manager would stop by and thank us for attending from the US, that’s marketing 

maybe those with season tickets could get a season parking pass for $10 per game, would be paid with the tickets

we drive further than you because we like football and like you choose the games we go to based on opponent and weather

[GoHawks]

14 hours ago, Hans8891 said:

Good grief people.  They invited existing tailgate spot holders based on the forms we all fill out for tailgating spots.  I did go.  It was a good meeting.  They sought input on how we could improve the tailgating experience, including discussing a survey sent out to the same group.  It included exciting things like port-a potties and garbage can availability.  They asked about ways to improve the vitality in the tailgating area.  Some in the tailgate area just use it as a space to park, which does not improve the tailgating experience and they would like to figure out how to address that without getting into issues with long time ticket and tailgate holders.  They would like to see less spots just used for cars, especially in the area of the hawk walk and the spaces up front where they would love to see an active and populated area for tailgating.  They talked about how people liked the fireworks, live bands, other extras that people liked or don’t like.  How to keep people from going into the active areas less than 2 hours before game time when the area is crowded and cars don’t work very well to get through - and technically are a violation of the tailgating rules we all sign up for.  There was discussion about how many hours before the game people would like to be able to get in and we talked about extending the time after games to be able to stay and enjoy the atmosphere.  We talked about the fact that tailgating costs would likely go up since right now it isn’t any more expensive to have a tailgate spot than it is to park for 6 games - $90 v $100 per season - and even less if we have home playoffs.  There is a waiting list for tailgate spots right now.  They talked about preferences for game times, with strong opinions that we would like to have another night game and not noon games if possible - prefer 2Pm games or later for tailgating purposes.  There is no overlap next year between home football games and hockey games.  That is the report on the meeting.  It was a good discussion, but not overly well attended.  There were a few tailgating regulars there, but not a ton.  Schmitt stopped by and thanked the group, but overall it was an informational and brainstorming session.

Most of these things I brought up in the survey so I'm glad they got addressed! I also brought up the tailgate/parking issue. I don't understand why my tailgate pricing should go up just to scare away someone who uses it for parking? I show up every game so I get punished? Season tailgate spots doubled last year also.

[forksandspoons]

Let’s go!!! New weight room looks amazing! Can’t wait to see more posts about the new facilities! 

 

[southpaw]

5 hours ago, CMSioux said:

All good - did anyone bring up:

- by only inviting those on the current active list they are missing those who quit tailgating and why they quit - they could have been reached by posting something on social media or sharing a survey to everyone on social media

It's really unfortunate that the only way UND accepts feedback is through this one poll only sent to the single name on a tailgate pass. 

 

Oh, wait that's not true at all. So many people upset they're not included on a targeted survey. There are plenty of other ways to share your input.

[forksandspoons]

5 hours ago, forksandspoons said:

Let’s go!!! New weight room looks amazing! Can’t wait to see more posts about the new facilities! 

 

Also, Paye looks the part for sure. Hope he has a great spring! 

[CMSioux]

14 hours ago, southpaw said:

It's really unfortunate that the only way UND accepts feedback is through this one poll only sent to the single name on a tailgate pass. 

 

Oh, wait that's not true at all. So many people upset they're not included on a targeted survey. There are plenty of other ways to share your input.

Not reading anyone is "upset". Fan boards are for discussions. That's all. How hard would it have been for UND to post a short survey on their website or X where anyone could share thoughts? This topic has run its course. We shall see if anything tangible comes out of this myopic study.

[southpaw]

3 hours ago, CMSioux said:

How hard would it have been for UND to post a short survey on their website or X where anyone could share thoughts? 

It would have actually made it incredibly hard because then anyone can share their thoughts. You want UND taking input from NDSU fans? From people who show up for one game every few years? From people posting joke comments? 

[SiouxFan100]

Is there anything stopping emailing Eric and saying your thoughts and input?

[GoodGood]

7 minutes ago, SiouxFan100 said:

Is there anything stopping emailing Eric and saying your thoughts and input?

An ndsu fan might email him and give him some bad ideas 🤣

[Hawkster]

16 minutes ago, GoodGood said:

An ndsu fan might email him and give him some bad ideas 🤣

If he's that easily influenced, we have problems.  

[Siouxperman8]

6 hours ago, CMSioux said:

Not reading anyone is "upset". Fan boards are for discussions. That's all. How hard would it have been for UND to post a short survey on their website or X where anyone could share thoughts? This topic has run its course. We shall see if anything tangible comes out of this myopic study.

I wouldn't feel left out if there was a survey that went out to season ticket holders of men's or women's basketball, hockey or Champions Club Legend level ($50k+/year) or any other group that I'm not a part of.   I don't understand why a survey of tailgating season ticket holders should be an issue for anyone. 

[Hans8891]

There was discussion of many of the issues being raised.  With respect to cost, it is not common to have tailgating prices close to regular parking costs.  They are usually at a premium.  Sometimes a very steep premium.  What we have just doesn’t happen anywhere else.  There are added costs to tailgating with bathrooms, patrol, cleanup, etc.  it did go up from 60 to 100 bucks per spot - and yes, it is per spot.  However parking also rose from 5 to 10 to now 15 per spot per game.  Do the math.  If we make home playoffs (and I believe with Schmitty we will), it is cheaper to have a tailgate spot than pay parking for each game.  That is not realistic.

there was also discussions of other things that make tailgating exciting like bands, fireworks, etc.  those all cost money to create.  Raising it to 100 per game per spot is idiotic and would kill it.  But I do expect it will go up some over the next few years - and I think it realistically should.  I am a tailgater that has 5 spots that will be affected but understand it is the right decision.

you are correct that some who bring cars are part of a group and tailgate elsewhere.  That is part of the balancing they are trying to evaluate.  When the players and recruits come through, they want that to generate excitement.  In the portal world, you recruit new players but you continue to recruit the ones you have.  Some of that is the vitality they get from the atmosphere created.

there was discussion of students and the mess associated.  It was noted that this was one of the first years in a long time that students stayed past halftime.  We want students there - period.  That is part of creating that atmosphere.  If that means we all have to take a step back and remember what we were like in college and not through the rose colored glasses of “we never did that”, then that is what we need to do.  It is amazing to me how many of my rowdiest college friends forget what they were like in college.    They always encourage students to use the garbages.  Unfortunately that does not work very well.  I for one will accept the trade off if we get kids to games and they stay and help the game day atmosphere we want in the Alerus.

[F'n Hawks]

2 minutes ago, Hans8891 said:

There was discussion of many of the issues being raised.  With respect to cost, it is not common to have tailgating prices close to regular parking costs.  They are usually at a premium.  Sometimes a very steep premium.  What we have just doesn’t happen anywhere else.  There are added costs to tailgating with bathrooms, patrol, cleanup, etc.  it did go up from 60 to 100 bucks per spot - and yes, it is per spot.  However parking also rose from 5 to 10 to now 15 per spot per game.  Do the math.  If we make home playoffs (and I believe with Schmitty we will), it is cheaper to have a tailgate spot than pay parking for each game.  That is not realistic.

there was also discussions of other things that make tailgating exciting like bands, fireworks, etc.  those all cost money to create.  Raising it to 100 per game per spot is idiotic and would kill it.  But I do expect it will go up some over the next few years - and I think it realistically should.  I am a tailgater that has 5 spots that will be affected but understand it is the right decision.

you are correct that some who bring cars are part of a group and tailgate elsewhere.  That is part of the balancing they are trying to evaluate.  When the players and recruits come through, they want that to generate excitement.  In the portal world, you recruit new players but you continue to recruit the ones you have.  Some of that is the vitality they get from the atmosphere created.

there was discussion of students and the mess associated.  It was noted that this was one of the first years in a long time that students stayed past halftime.  We want students there - period.  That is part of creating that atmosphere.  If that means we all have to take a step back and remember what we were like in college and not through the rose colored glasses of “we never did that”, then that is what we need to do.  It is amazing to me how many of my rowdiest college friends forget what they were like in college.    They always encourage students to use the garbages.  Unfortunately that does not work very well.  I for one will accept the trade off if we get kids to games and they stay and help the game day atmosphere we want in the Alerus.

The game-day experience from the Ralph is tough to beat but have to try to make it more appealing at the Alerus. Even when the hockey team isn’t as good (like this year) the Ralph is nearly sold out and the student section is full. 
 

Getting on that level probably isn’t realistic, but I think we can start to get there.

[fightingsioux4life]

3 minutes ago, F'n Hawks said:

The game-day experience from the Ralph is tough to beat but have to try to make it more appealing at the Alerus. Even when the hockey team isn’t as good (like this year) the Ralph is nearly sold out and the student section is full. 
 

Getting on that level probably isn’t realistic, but I think we can start to get there.

This isn't an either/or thing. We can have great gameday experiences for both programs. We must stop limiting ourselves with false choices.

And if hockey doesn't turn it around quickly, we'll have an attendance problem there too. There is only so much scoring on yourself you can get away with before people stop coming.

[F'n Hawks]

16 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

This isn't an either/or thing. We can have great gameday experiences for both programs. We must stop limiting ourselves with false choices.

And if hockey doesn't turn it around quickly, we'll have an attendance problem there too. There is only so much scoring on yourself you can get away with before people stop coming.

I know it isn’t an either/or thing. To be more clear I guess I’m saying that there is no reason we can’t make the experience at least somewhat comparable to what hockey has.
 

Obviously, it all starts with winning. Hell, even last year when we had the stretch of home games in September, they were attended pretty well except for the San Diego game. The biggest crowd of the year numbers wise was against UNI in October, which is surprising but winning all those games in Sept and getting some of the casual fans to come back made a difference.

[CMSioux]

On 2/8/2025 at 11:59 AM, Hans8891 said:

There was discussion of many of the issues being raised.  With respect to cost, it is not common to have tailgating prices close to regular parking costs.  They are usually at a premium.  Sometimes a very steep premium.  What we have just doesn’t happen anywhere else.  There are added costs to tailgating with bathrooms, patrol, cleanup, etc.  it did go up from 60 to 100 bucks per spot - and yes, it is per spot.  However parking also rose from 5 to 10 to now 15 per spot per game.  Do the math.  If we make home playoffs (and I believe with Schmitty we will), it is cheaper to have a tailgate spot than pay parking for each game.  That is not realistic.

there was also discussions of other things that make tailgating exciting like bands, fireworks, etc.  those all cost money to create.  Raising it to 100 per game per spot is idiotic and would kill it.  But I do expect it will go up some over the next few years - and I think it realistically should.  I am a tailgater that has 5 spots that will be affected but understand it is the right decision.

you are correct that some who bring cars are part of a group and tailgate elsewhere.  That is part of the balancing they are trying to evaluate.  When the players and recruits come through, they want that to generate excitement.  In the portal world, you recruit new players but you continue to recruit the ones you have.  Some of that is the vitality they get from the atmosphere created.

there was discussion of students and the mess associated.  It was noted that this was one of the first years in a long time that students stayed past halftime.  We want students there - period.  That is part of creating that atmosphere.  If that means we all have to take a step back and remember what we were like in college and not through the rose colored glasses of “we never did that”, then that is what we need to do.  It is amazing to me how many of my rowdiest college friends forget what they were like in college.    They always encourage students to use the garbages.  Unfortunately that does not work very well.  I for one will accept the trade off if we get kids to games and they stay and help the game day atmosphere we want in the Alerus.

Just two cents worth:

Make the spring game more than it is. Yes, I understand this was a Bubba thing to downplay it, but remember back in the day when they at least tried some things - a burger competition, free tailgating. I understand having a real game doesn't work in the spring and there is never gonna be a big crowd but marketing the team is a year-round thing. 

Game day: letting tailgaters know when the players buses are coming. Yes I know the general rule is two hours before the game but there were plenty of times when tailgaters missed the Hawk Walk because the buses were early. All it would take is to have someone on staff blow a horn from the Champions Club tent. I often heard player's parents lamenting that they did not know when it would arrive - and yes they understood the irony that their own son wasn't communicating the arrival time. Would be great if we could subscribe to a text message blast.