DI Task Force Report

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

I'm sorry to tell you this will be my last post on the subject for about a week. I have a vacation coming up. Good Luck in the next week!

I will miss the input. You bring a lot of good stuff to the table... Well have fun on the vacation.

[Csonked Out]

This is a very important topic to a lot of people and with the amount of flaming going on i'm going to do my best to give a neutral viewpoint on the situation, even though i am graduating from UND this fall. NDSU took a big risk in 02 when they went D1. At the time the NCC was still the powerhouse in D2, and their wasn't really a reason for anyone to leave. Then NDSU, SDSU, and Northern Colorado left, and the face of the NCC changed. With these teams leaving it dropped the number of teams from 10 to 7 as we know, with no replacements in site. 4 years later, the gamble these 3 schools took is now starting to pay off, and UND does not want to fall too far behind in the transition.

This is tough times for UND because had the 3 previously listed schools not gone d1, we wouldn't be having this discussion today. To analyze this situation, one must look at it in the long term benefits and costs, and not the short term. Their will be money lost in the first 3-5 years because of increased traveling expenses, higher salaries, recruiting, scholarships and such, but in the long term things can change. Here are a few questions.

1) Where would UND be in 10-20 years if we stayed D2?

- the answer is simple, we would fall even further behind! The signs are already starting to show that NDSU is gaining more recognition, is winning the recruiting battle in ND, and is successful in its d1 transition up to this point. If UND is startin to fall behind 4 years in, it isn't going to get better, but only worse.

2) Why move D1 now, Why not let our weak programs build and then move?

-Every school is not successful in every sport, so one must look at the major sports. Football, we have been a national powerhouse for the last 5-10 years, and as NDSU proved, we can be competitive imediately upon moving. Hockey, we are already d1 in the sport and have won 7 national championships, no worries here. Basketball, this one is tricky. While the women's program is as strong as ever, the mens is struggling, but with a new coach in place, as well as new assistants it wouldn't be a stretch to see imediate improvements. We can't forget just 10-15 years ago, the men's team was a force in D2, so the team does have a tradition of success. As for all of the other sports, in terms of economics they are minor. If a University can sustain its main athletics and be successful at them, having a bad softball or soccer team where matter nearly as much. Just look at NDSU's baseball team, they barely won this year, but it didn't matter because their football team was Nationally Ranked, and their mens basketball team beat a top 25 team in wisconsin (Congrats on that by the way).

This viewpoint may get ripped on a bit, but the major sports are the real money makers, and in building a successful program, those are the first ones to be looked at.

3)Do we have the facilities to move d1?

- Unlike the SU's this is a major advantage for us at UND. UND already has a top hockey arena in the world, as well as having a football stadium that is easily good enough for D1-AA. We are currently trying to raise $35 million for upgrades such as an indoor track, new practice field for football and so on, so facilities wise, UND could make the transition fairly easily.

4) This one is for AFF so enjoy

Why would UND want to move D1 now when it can even come out ahead in D2?

- Their are a few answers for this. The first is that in the last 5 years UND also started a D1 women's hockey team from scratch, and I may get ripped on for this but history shows that women's sports don't show the same profit as men's especially in a sport like hockey. There is also increases in scholarships for this, so this costs UND easily $1 million+ per year, but at the same time will be running in the red for awhile yet. Their is also travel expenses associated with losing the SU's, and Northern Colorado. UND now has to travel to Washington every year to play football and that isn't cheap. Also natural resources have been affecting everyone, this hurt UND by having an additional $2.5-3 million dollars in heating expenses over last school year alone. All this being said, it will only get more expensive, while the benefits won't be as great. The basic principle to follow is if the costs outweigh the benefits dont do it, but if the benefits outweigh the costs, then it is time to move. The honest answer, their is no right time or best time to move. UND's choices are either move now and take the additional costs right away, in order to not fall behind its competition, or stay take the additional d2 costs and still receive the lesser benefits. So yes AFF we are running a deficit, and the situation isn't at all idea for UND, but would it be any more ideal in 5-10 years, or would it just be worse then? I as long with a lot of other people feel that it would only get worse.

This is a somewhat forced and rushed decision, but here are the facts everyone is mulling over. Bottom line is with the loss of NDSU, SDSU, and Northern Colorado, was also the loss of the NCC as we knew it, UND has never settled to be just ok in athletics, and with no replacement that could return our coference the powerhouse as it was, why start now? Discuss, and enjoy.

P.S. UND also received a donation of $10 million dollars, with $9 million of this to be used at the Universities discretion, this money may be fairly nice is using towards some of the increased costs of moving up wouldn't ya say?