Exploritory Year

[IowaBison]

Hmmm... was that "being a good neighbor" to the rest of the NCC or was this done simply because NDSU and SDSU didn't have a conference to call home? I have a very hard time believing that the two schools would have waited the extra year if they had already had an invitation from a D-I conference in hand.

So are you saying that it would be okay for UND to leave the NCC with less than 18 months notice if they had a conference invite?

Northern Colorado didn't wait, didn't have a conference invite, and didn't receive 1/8th the crap that NDSU and SDSU did from conference members.

[SiouxMD]

So are you saying that it would be okay for UND to leave the NCC with less than 18 months notice if they had a conference invite?

Northern Colorado didn't wait, didn't have a conference invite, and didn't receive 1/8th the crap that NDSU and SDSU did from conference members.

Just curious...when you say "conference members" do you mean UND? Or did NDSU / SDSU receive crap from other members?

If other members did contribute to the receiving of crap...how would you break down the additional 7/8th crap received?

Why do you think UNC received only 1/8th the crap of NDSU / SDSU?

Take your time.

[PCM]

Take your time.

[RD17]

So are you saying that it would be okay for UND to leave the NCC with less than 18 months notice if they had a conference invite?

Northern Colorado didn't wait, didn't have a conference invite, and didn't receive 1/8th the crap that NDSU and SDSU did from conference members.

I'm beginning to think that this is either going way over your head or you just like to argue.

What I'm talking about has nothing to do with whether or not UND gets invited to a D-I conference.

The only point I'm trying to make is that if UND is going to withdraw from the NCC, it will need to do so within a reasonable time frame so the rest of the conference can schedule, search for new members, etc.

That "reasonable time frame" for withdrawing from the NCC is on an accelerated clock compared to what is required by the NCAA for moving from the exploratory year to officially entering the provisional process.

Notifying the NCAA on 6/1/2007 that UND will go ahead and enter the provisional D-I process = cool.

Notifying the NCC on 6/1/2007 that UND is withdrawing from the conference immediately = not cool.

That is all I'm trying to point out.

[IowaBison]

Notifying the NCC on 6/1/2007 that UND is withdrawing from the conference immediately = not cool.

That is all I'm trying to point out.

And I'm just saying that there would is no foreseeable reason why UND would have to do that (in addition to taking things out of their intended context as had done) given the NCAA process for transition (ie exploratory year/first year transition).

[IowaBison]

Just curious...when you say "conference members" do you mean UND? Or did NDSU / SDSU receive crap from other members?

If other members did contribute to the receiving of crap...how would you break down the additional 7/8th crap received?

Why do you think UNC received only 1/8th the crap of NDSU / SDSU?

Take your time.

Yes, there was crap dispensed by more than one institution.

And who said the crap distribution that was proportional?

[RD17]

And I'm just saying that there would is no foreseeable reason why UND would have to do that (in addition to taking things out of their intended context as had done) given the NCAA process for transition (ie exploratory year/first year transition).

I can't believe this can be that difficult to understand.

If UND announced tomorrow that it was beginning the process of moving to Division I, 2006-07 would be the exploratory year. In order to withdraw from the NCC at the end of the exploratory year and begin the four year D-I provisional process in 2007-08, UND would need to notify the NCC by 9/1/2006 of its intentions to leave the conference. This is the same time frame that SDSU and UNC had to work with when they left the league (I believe NDSU might have notified the NCC even earlier).

Now of course (as others have pointed out) UND could wait until after 9/1/2006 and pay the penalty ($35,000?). But IMO that would not be the right way to handle the situation.

If UND is going to start the D-I process now and it is concerned with meeting deadlines set by the NCC, then for all practical purposes the exploratory process ends on 9/1/2006.

[SiouxMD]

Yes, there was crap dispensed by more than one institution.

And who said the crap distribution that was proportional?

I am not certain who said the crap distribution was proportional...is this a rhetorical question?

[BisonMav]

[Now of course (as others have pointed out) UND could wait until after 9/1/2006 and pay the penalty ($35,000?). But IMO that would not be the right way to handle the situation.

If UND is going to start the D-I process now and it is concerned with meeting deadlines set by the NCC, then for all practical purposes the exploratory process ends on 9/1/2006.

If UND announced today that 2006 is the exploritory year, they would have to pay the $35,000? penalty.

18 months from today is October 2007. They could have 2007 be the exploritory year with no penalty.

[RD17]

If UND announced today that 2006 is the exploritory year, they would have to pay the $35,000? penalty.

18 months from today is October 2007. They could have 2007 be the exploritory year with no penalty.

I don't know if the 18 months is in existence or not. It wasn't when SDSU moved up. The 18 month thing is something someone else brought up earlier in the thread.

UND could definitely have 2007-08 be the exploratory year and have plenty of time to decide what to do. I don't think they'll be waiting that long.

[star2city]

Forget this good neighbor crap. NDSU and SDSU stayed in DII an extra year hoping that a few more schools, if not the whole NCC, would make the move. All that happened was that they lost a year.

Actually, SDSU officially announced the DI move and gave the NCC notice one month before the school year. NDSU was the one that lost the year, because they waited for SDSU to make up their minds.

It will be interesting how NCC schools treat UND for scheduling once UND has finished the exploratory year. If they choose to schedule UND, it will say a lot about how UND leadership dealt with the issue at the President's level. It is my understanding that Chapman and Miller didn't exactly handle the move out of the NCC with a lot of tact nor did they win popularity contests among the other NCC Presidents. A lot of the "crap" that the Bison fans like to talk about was organized muckraking by the Fargo Forum to gain public backing for the move.

[tony]

star2city is partially right, SDSU didn't wait the extra year, only NDSU did. However, his other comment that SDSU gave notice a month before the school year could be misinterpreted. Obviously, SDSU didn't leave the NCC one month after deciding to go DI because they played a full NCC schedule that year (it'd be quite a trick to leave the NCC and make up a whole new schedule in one month). NDSU gave two year's notice which I guess makes NDSU kind of a good guy for once?

After declaring an exploratory year, a school isn't going to be on their old conference's schedule for the following year. Sure, there's a chance that the school might decide to stay in DII, but no conference is going to set their schedules up assuming that. A school deciding at the end of their exploratory year that DII is the place to be is almost certainly going to end up as an independent the following year.

[star2city]

star2city is partially right, SDSU didn't wait the extra year, only NDSU did. However, his other comment that SDSU gave notice a month before the school year could be misinterpreted. Obviously, SDSU didn't leave the NCC one month after deciding to go DI because they played a full NCC schedule that year (it'd be quite a trick to leave the NCC and make up a whole new schedule in one month). NDSU gave two year's notice which I guess makes NDSU kind of a good guy for once?

In the context of how the earlier comment was made, not sure how my comments could have been misinterpreted as any thing other than your longer answer.

After declaring an exploratory year, a school isn't going to be on their old conference's schedule for the following year. Sure, there's a chance that the school might decide to stay in DII, but no conference is going to set their schedules up assuming that. A school deciding at the end of their exploratory year that DII is the place to be is almost certainly going to end up as an independent the following year.

There is no question that UND, if it declared 2006-7 as an exporatory year, would not be on a regular NCC schedule for 2007-8. The real question is if NCC schools would individually schedule UND for non-conference games.

[IowaBison]

I can't believe this can be that difficult to understand.

I agree.

Now of course (as others have pointed out) UND could wait until after 9/1/2006 and pay the penalty ($35,000?). But IMO that would not be the right way to handle the situation.

But why would they wait?

UND has enough time to do this the right way:

1) make their decision this summer or

2) wait a year.

[RD17]

But why would they wait?

UND has enough time to do this the right way:

1) make their decision this summer or

2) wait a year.

You're finally getting it.

Essentially the decision must be made by the end of this summer or pushed off into the future.

[IowaBison]

You're finally getting it.

Essentially the decision must be made by the end of this summer or pushed off into the future.

Yeah, I'm finally getting it.

[RD17]

[IowaBison]

You're finally getting it.

Essentially the decision must be made by the end of this summer or pushed off into the future.

Basically UND can file for 2006/2007 to be its exploratory year by contacting the NCAA and tell the NCC it will be leaving the conference in 2007 OR it can delay the process for the next year (or later).

[RD17]

It is true that officially entering the exploratory year doesn't force UND to make any sort of D-I commitment until the first year is complete.

But the problem is with the NCC. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that UND would have to notify the conference by September 1, 2006 if it plans on not being a member in the 2007-08 school year. So if UND were to announce its intent to move to Division I in May, the exploratory "year" would in essence only last three months because of the need to officially notify the NCC by 9/1.

[BobIwabuchiFan]

I just want to know if we move to the D-IAA level how long it will take for NDSU to want to move to D-IA?

[tony]

It is true that officially entering the exploratory year doesn't force UND to make any sort of D-I commitment until the first year is complete.

But the problem is with the NCC. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that UND would have to notify the conference by September 1, 2006 March 1, 2006 if it plans on not being a member in the 2007-08 school year. So if UND were to announce its intent to move to Division I in May, the exploratory "year" would in essence only last three months because of the need to officially notify the NCC by 9/1.

That's more like it.

[IowaBison]

Looks like a school in Grand Forks might end up being a bad neighbor, God forbid.

[bincitysioux]

I just want to know if we move to the D-IAA level how long it will take for NDSU to want to move to D-IA?

About 24 hours! Joey Chapman has already said that they'd look to the WAC or Mountain West if they can't get into the Big Sky or the Mid-Con. This is obviously hogwash. If Sac St. doesn't want to go to ND, does he really think that Hawaii has a desire to? The Mountain West is even more totally out of the question.

[RD17]

I will find out for sure on what the withdrawal date is and post it here. If you go back and read the old newspaper articles, SDSU (the last team to announce) was working with a 9/1 deadline. It's entirely possible that it has changed since then, but I haven't heard of it.

[MplsBison]

Wasn't SDSU able to squeeze out of the NCC in the nick of time before the conference enacted a rule that said members had to give an 18 month notice before leaving or pay a penalty?

As far as NDSU and DI-A goes, maybe. The MWC is out of the question. The WAC, on the other hand, may not be.

If the Big East takes on a 9th football member from CUSA, then CUSA will likely pluck Louisiana Tech from the WAC, leaving them with 8. They'll want at least 9 football members. That means they'll need to take someone from the Big Sky, likely Sac State since they're only two hours from San Jose State. There's also the possibility that SJSU might drop football.

And the MWC might want to expand and the WAC would be the likely plucking grounds.

Really, the WAC's only choice for new football members is the Great West and Big Sky.

I would say Sac State, UC Davis, Portland State, and NAU would be the most likely to move up. But I think NDSU would be considered as well.