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Sorry Sioux Fans......Babich is leaving!!!!!!


WYOBISONMAN

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The following is in today's Fargo Forum. All Bison Fans are rejoicing. This is much needed so we can move to D1 with a "Clean Slate". Babich was sooooo bad. I am amazed he landed this position.

Friend: Babich to Rams done deal

By Jeff Kolpack

The Forum - 01/26/2003

North Dakota State head football coach Bob Babich won

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Once again, our interests are aligned. NDSU fans don't want a .750 (36-12) coach who won 1 national championship and 2 conference titles in 4 years; UND fans do!

Looks like there's one way for everyone to be happy: Lennon continues coaching at UND (as he's already said he would despite being wooed by an existing D-IAA school).

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Could you imagine a Bison locker room where the only National Championship ring in it would be on the hand of the head coach who had won it as head coach of UND (and a UND alumnus no less)?

I think the earth might just flop right off of its axis. ;):)

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It has begun -- NDSU fans' transition to living in past glories. Watch the trend in the future as they continue to emphasize (D-II) history over current success (or lack thereof).

I don't think there's an argument here. Like I said, a lot of UND fans were quite happy to keep .750 record, NCAA champion, 2-time NCC title, Coach Lennon who was being actively recruited into the conference NDSU dreams of joining. You don't want him? No problem, we do!

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Wacker didn't leave the Bison with much when he moved on. From what I have seen, and I have seen several of the recruits play High School ball, the new coach will have some good players to work with. At least Babich left a great bunch of recruits.

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From what I have seen, and I have seen several of the recruits play High School ball, the new coach will have some good players to work with.  At least Babich left a great bunch of recruits.

Just out of curiosity, when was the last year that NDSU fans DIDN'T think they had a great class, at least at the time? Obviously not all of them have panned out--the class of 2001 in particular was pretty poor--but every year that I can recall we have heard from Babich and read in the Forum about how great the class supposedly was. Since the success has been relatively modest since the last NCC title, it kind of makes you wonder whether the talent was just overrated, or the coaching was just that deficient.

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Yeah, Lennon was a real powerhouse this year......I just think he is a mediocre coach.  Say what you want about Rocky, but UND has never ever had a football coach that was even close to as good as Rocky.  I am sure that upsets you guys a little bit, but it is reality.

You're talking out of both sides of your mouth if you think Lennon is mediocre and that Rocky was somehow better. Let's review Rocky's last four seasons at NDSU:

1993

7-3 (lost to UND)

1994

9-3 (lost twice to UND)

1995

10-3 (1-1 against UND)

1996

6-4 (lost to UND)

Looks like pretty Babich-like numbers, don't they? Even you would have to admit that 1-5 against UND over his final four years wasn't sitting too well with Bison fans. Had he continued to lose to the Sioux for another year or two, he may have been canned even if he hadn't been feuding with Entzion. For whatever reason, some Bison fans seem to forget that by the end, Rocky's teams weren't overly successful, and were downright bad against the Sioux.

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UND 92,96

I would have to lean towards deficient coaching. The 2000 Bison team should have won a national championship, even with the third string QB playing. There was nobody even close in the level of talent that year.

Somewhat related news- I was talking to a UND alumnus today about Babich, and he said there is talk that Lennon wants to leave UND, unless the practice facilities receive a HUGE upgrade. Maybe the Sac State interview was used as a wakeup call.

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The last couple of times the recruits looked this good was the year Lamar Gordon was recruited and the year Phil Hansen was recruited. The Hansen class included Chris Simdorn (Harlan Hill Winner), Pat Pringle (Grand Forks), Dan Goettl, Ken Clark, Tom Johnson, and another Hastings Grad Marty Sieh to name a few. Two years later Simdorn with starters Hansen, Pringle and Goettl won the National Championship. Time will tell, but it looks good this year.

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Lennon is the Earl Solmonson of UND football. We will see how good he is as the recruits of Roger Thomas move on. Last seson just might be a look at your future. I seriously doubt that Lennon would be the best candidate for the NDSU Coaching position but if he was he would be hired.

I agree that Rocky was a good coach but I also agree, and have pointed out many times, that BISON football began its decline under his watch and it continued under Babich. The thing about BISON FOOTBALL is this: the past and the tradition get discussed because we have it to discuss. You guys go back 2 years.

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I'll agree with 'bisonguy,' sort of. From my perspective, the biggest part of NDSU's recent woes has been player development. The next guy, ready to step in, hasn't been there lately when the injuries hit. Of course, who's responsible for player development? Coaching.

When do you judge the 2003 recruiting class for anyone at any sport? After five seasons (assumes a red-shirt year). Anything before that is incomplete speculation.

This will be Lennon's first "all his own recruits" season. Can't disagree with that. That group of seniors that won a National Championship for UND, that was Roger Thomas' recruiting class.

Ah, but who was the recruiting coordinator for that group under Thomas? Hint: He's now the head coach at North Dakota.

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I agree that this will be an interesting year watching how a "Lennon" team does. Maybe us Bison fans are gun shy after seeing how the coach has fouled up some strong potential by a lack of development and a lack of depth on the roster. It is a hole that will take some digging before we are out.

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