USD and Augustana to DI highly likely

[The Sicatoka]

They held Virginia Tech to 110 yds rushing.

They gave up 271 passing.

Citing that isn't far from saying Western Washington held UNO to just 86 passing yards.

[DI IN FARGO]

Brilliant, the school that will be at 60 scholarships next year is in financial ruin, while the school that can't even afford to fund scholarships at a D-II level is the most attractive. Sounds like you've got it all figured out. Seen any women's hockey games lately? I know that they've been rolling in the money from all of that financial well-being at UND, they definitely are not on tuition waivers LOL.

I haven't been on to this site for awhile and when I read that post I couldn't stop laughing and Aff you beat me to it. What a joke, SDSU is in financial ruin? That is way to funny. Some of the things people post on this site you just can't make it up but you do have to see it to believe it. What a rube.

[89rabbit]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. SDSU is the step-child no one wants, and has pulled NDSU down with respect to finding a conference. No one wants them. They are in financial ruin right now and it appears there is no way out. NDSU/UND are the most attractive pair for any conference.

I'm not sure if you are just trying to get aff all fired up or if you are really this clueless. Finacial ruin, what are you talking about? SDSU has raised it's athletics budget to $7.786 million dollars (for year '05-'06) and it is still growing (expected to be at or near $10 million by '08-'09). While doing that we have also had our "Lifelong Champions" campaign going on and it has raised nearly $7 million in pledges and donations towards our goal of raising $20 million to endow athletic scholarships.

When Tim Van Alstine, Western Illinois' athletic director looked at our finacials, he said he was "jealous" of our funding model. I know it is scary for UND going D-I without a conference, but making up stories about SDSU's situation won't make things better for UND.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...322/1002/SPORTS

Mid-Con site visit a hit

Conference members 'pleased' with SDSU's facilities, academics

Chris Solari

csolari@argusleader.com

August 12, 2006

BROOKINGS -- Peggy Miller and Fred Oien could barely contain their smiles.

One by one, the seven Mid-Continent Conference leaders took their turn gushing about South Dakota State on Friday evening. They said they were moved by the passion of the community and campus for Jackrabbit athletics, and admitted being "jealous" of the school's funding model and overall academic make-up.

Most of all, they couldn't seem to mention enough about "how pleased" they were with the visit. . . . (read more)

Woden, you keep saying that nobody wants us (like if you say it often enough it will be true), when the facts are that SDSU is what UND wants to be . . . a member of a D-I conference. Check out the Mid-Con web sire (left hand side of the page, part way down) for irrevocable proof that we are in fact wanted and members of the Mid-Con starting July 1, 2007.

http://www.mid-con.com/

Best of luck to UND on your move to D-I, you are a quality school and will find a conference home eventually.

[DI IN FARGO]

Come on now, it's time to stop dancing with the fat chick because the real hottie turned you down the first time.

You are really stuck on yourself or in this case UND. That comment as well as the original one about SDSU being the stepchild only shows how arrogant some UND fans are. I guess you have to try to ride our (NDSU & SDSU) coat tails like usual to try to get invited into a conference. Pretty funny these arrogant comments coming from fans of the followers.

[biff]

Your missing the whole point of my post. No one wants SDSU! I don't care if they've been DI for four score and seven years, with their current financial situation and athletic performances, they have nothing to bring to the table.

It's years too early to make this judgement. They'll do better than UNC in the long run in BBall for sure, and UNC was wanted.

[star2city]

Not a problem. Everybody knows that the Big Sky passed up NDSU/SDSU because they were waiting for UND the whole time.

It is interesting, johnnyR, that Kupchella and Buning have not speculated in the press whatsoever about a conference. Contrast this with Chapman and Taylor, who publicly lobbied in the press at seemingly every opportunity that NDSU was an ideal Big Sky match when the move was announced. Obtaining a conference invite is not accomplished by running a media campaign.

Contrast NDSU and SDSU's remarks to Northern Colorado, whose leadership never whatsoever insinuated that UNC was heading for the Big Sky and remained mumb about interest until after the Sky had made the announcement. Three years ago, Bison fans assumed Northern Colorado really wanted the MidCon because of baseball and softball

Whether you want to believe it or not, there are schools that have a informal conference bid practically wrapped up even prior to a conference invitation even if its not revealed for a couple of years.

In the last ten years, these are the schools that did not have a conference invitation in hand (formal or not) prior to moving up:

Savannah State

IPFW

TxAM-Corpus Christi

NDSU

SDSU

Longwood

NJ Inst Tech

Utah Valley St

Morris Brown

These definitely did:

UC Davis

Central Arkansas

Florida Gulf Coast

Presbyterian

Kennesaw St

North Florida

SC Upstate

Winston Salem State

IUPUI

Oakland

UC Riverside

Albany

These schools very well could have:

N Colorado

Cal State Bakersfield (TBD)

North Carolina Central (TBD)

North Dakota (TBD)

[star2city]

If you want proof of how dire SDSU's financial situation is, at one point in time they were unable to pay to send film of football games to other schools, which is required by conference by-laws.

There could have been an entirely different reason: convenient alibi to gain a competitive advantage. Just a thought.

With the MidCon accepting SDSU, I highly doubt SDSU's financial situation is "dire."

[johnnyroyale]

It is interesting, johnnyR, that Kupchella and Buning have not speculated in the press whatsoever about a conference. Contrast this with Chapman and Taylor, who publicly lobbied in the press at seemingly every opportunity that NDSU was an ideal Big Sky match when the move was announced. Obtaining a conference invite is not accomplished by running a media campaign.

Contrast NDSU and SDSU's remarks to Northern Colorado, whose leadership never whatsoever insinuated that UNC was heading for the Big Sky and remained mumb about interest until after the Sky had made the announcement. Three years ago, Bison fans assumed Northern Colorado really wanted the MidCon because of baseball and softball

Whether you want to believe it or not, there are schools that have a informal conference bid practically wrapped up even prior to a conference invitation even if its not revealed for a couple of years.

In the last ten years, these are the schools that did not have a conference invitation in hand (formal or not) prior to moving up:

Savannah State

IPFW

TxAM-Corpus Christi

NDSU

SDSU

Longwood

NJ Inst Tech

Utah Valley St

Morris Brown

These definitely did:

UC Davis

Central Arkansas

Florida Gulf Coast

Presbyterian

Kennesaw St

North Florida

SC Upstate

Winston Salem State

IUPUI

Oakland

UC Riverside

Albany

These schools very well could have:

N Colorado

Cal State Bakersfield (TBD)

North Carolina Central (TBD)

North Dakota (TBD)

Of course Buning and Kupchella haven't alluded to future conference membership. After witnessing NDSU & SDSU's struggles, it underscores the obvious. See, NDSU and SDSU blazed the great unknown trail that UND, USD, AUGI(?) and UNO (?) now aspire to. Do you see where I'm going here? I remember the press conference where Gene Taylor was quoted as saying "......if we aren't in a conference, most likely the Big Sky, within a year, I should be fired". You see, at the time, nobody knew how tough it actually was in a DI transition. NDSU and Taylor took things for granted that should not have been taken for granted. Lesson learned. Buning is not a stupid man. Kupchella, well, the jury's still out on that one. I digress. UND can learn a lot from NDSU and SDSU in their own DI transition. Really, if you think about it, UND has an advantage in the whole process. They have been made aware of the pitfalls and idiosyncracies involved. They should take advantage of that. I believe UND can make a successful transition but the question remains involving conference membership. UND will be welcomed with open arms into the Great West Football Conference, no doubt. Mid-Con for the remaining sports, I don't know. Gateway? Highly unlikely. Big Sky? I wouldn't hold my breath. Doug Fullerton would be one of the best used car salesmen the world has ever seen. He should run for Senator. My personal opinion is that UND missed the boat by about 4 yrs, and extending the "exploratory year" another 2 yrs doesn't help matters. But, stranger things have happened and with the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics nothing in the next 3-4 or even 10 yrs would surprise me.

[johnnyroyale]

I forgot to add that I highly doubt that USD can make a successful transition into DI. They are barely scraping by (financially) in DII. Yes, they're competitive, but a lot of that has to do with a watered-down NCC. Now before everybody jumps my case, let's be frank with ourselves here. Do not tell me for one minute that the loss of UNC, NDSU and SDSU did not adversely affect the landscape of the NCC. Would USD and UNO and Augustana be competing for conference championships if those 3 schools were still in the mix? Doubtful. Augi? If they go non-scholly in FB and funnel the money towards BB, still unlikely. UNO? Now, there's a whole new set of problems they have down in Omaha. After a well needed house cleaning, I still don't see UNO making it in DI. Not if the NE board of regents get their way (which they always do down there). UND is the only school left in the upper Midwest that any semblance of making it in DI, IMO. And there is a lot of work to be done to accomplish that.

[star2city]

Of course Buning and Kupchella haven't alluded to future conference membership. After witnessing NDSU & SDSU's struggles, it underscores the obvious. See, NDSU and SDSU blazed the great unknown trail that UND, USD, AUGI(?) and UNO (?) now aspire to. Do you see where I'm going here? I remember the press conference where Gene Taylor was quoted as saying "......if we aren't in a conference, most likely the Big Sky, within a year, I should be fired". You see, at the time, nobody knew how tough it actually was in a DI transition.

Actually, many people know the difficulty of a DI transition: it is very well documented. It was Taylor's job to know it. IMHO, Taylor was fed false expectations by Chapman, who was overly confident that his own Big Sky connections would buy him and SDSU membership. Chapman's chutzpah blew up on him: the BSC rejections caused NDSU more than a few embarassing moments and was redeemed by NDSU's win over Wisconsin and, to a lesser extent, the Montana win.

NDSU and Taylor took things for granted that should not have been taken for granted. Lesson learned. Buning is not a stupid man. Kupchella, well, the jury's still out on that one. I digress. UND can learn a lot from NDSU and SDSU in their own DI transition. Really, if you think about it, UND has an advantage in the whole process. They have been made aware of the pitfalls and idiosyncracies involved. They should take advantage of that. I believe UND can make a successful transition but the question remains involving conference membership. UND will be welcomed with open arms into the Great West Football Conference, no doubt. Mid-Con for the remaining sports, I don't know. Gateway? Highly unlikely. Big Sky? I wouldn't hold my breath. Doug Fullerton would be one of the best used car salesmen the world has ever seen. He should run for Senator. My personal opinion is that UND missed the boat by about 4 yrs, and extending the "exploratory year" another 2 yrs doesn't help matters. But, stranger things have happened and with the ever-changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics nothing in the next 3-4 or even 10 yrs would surprise me.

The biggest mistake NDSU (and many UND) people make is to underestimate what UND leadership and alumni are capable in turns of strategy and implementation.

[89rabbit]

There could have been an entirely different reason: convenient alibi to gain a competitive advantage. Just a thought.

With the MidCon accepting SDSU, I highly doubt SDSU's financial situation is "dire."

You know another "entirely different reason" could be that Woden fabricated the whole story.

[star2city]

I forgot to add that I highly doubt that USD can make a successful transition into DI. They are barely scraping by (financially) in DII. Yes, they're competitive, but a lot of that has to do with a watered-down NCC. Now before everybody jumps my case, let's be frank with ourselves here. Do not tell me for one minute that the loss of UNC, NDSU and SDSU did not adversely affect the landscape of the NCC. Would USD and UNO and Augustana be competing for conference championships if those 3 schools were still in the mix? Doubtful. Augi? If they go non-scholly in FB and funnel the money towards BB, still unlikely.

If Sioux Falls gets a new arena, and Augie somehow gets in a conference, IMHO, Augi actually stands a chance of making a go of it. USD, with scholarship football, faces a very difficult task.

UNO? Now, there's a whole new set of problems they have down in Omaha. After a well needed house cleaning, I still don't see UNO making it in DI. Not if the NE board of regents get their way (which they always do down there). UND is the only school left in the upper Midwest that any semblance of making it in DI, IMO. And there is a lot of work to be done to accomplish that.

In case you missed it, UNO has every intent of gaining admission to the MIAA. DI seems to be off the board for them:

http://www.unogateway.com/vnews/display.v/...5/450cdf11edddb

[Riverman]

You are really stuck on yourself or in this case UND. That comment as well as the original one about SDSU being the stepchild only shows how arrogant some UND fans are. I guess you have to try to ride our (NDSU & SDSU) coat tails like usual to try to get invited into a conference. Pretty funny these arrogant comments coming from fans of the followers.

In your own words D1, Are all UND fans the same?? By your comments IMHO you feel we are.

tsk tsk..

By typing "some" does not excuse you this time. Seems you are "trolling" pretty well.

[DI IN FARGO]

In your own words D1, Are all UND fans the same?? By your comments IMHO you feel we are.

tsk tsk..

By typing "some" does not excuse you this time. Seems you are "trolling" pretty well.

You obviously can't read. Don't put words in my mouth.

[Riverman]

You obviously can't read. Don't put words in my mouth.

Please, do you want smoke to go with that mirror?? Your words not mine.

Pretty funny these arrogant comments coming from fans of the followers.

[nd1sufan]

Whether you want to believe it or not, there are schools that have a informal conference bid practically wrapped up even prior to a conference invitation even if its not revealed for a couple of years.

These definitely did:

UC Davis

Central Arkansas

Florida Gulf Coast

Presbyterian

Kennesaw St

North Florida

SC Upstate

Winston Salem State

IUPUI

Oakland

UC Riverside

Albany

These schools very well could have:

N Colorado

Cal State Bakersfield (TBD)

North Carolina Central (TBD)

North Dakota (TBD)

How many of these schools are located in Grand Forks, ND and no closer than 1000 miles from the nearest school in any conference looking to expand since the Mid Con declined the invitation to visit GF in August.

[nd1sufan]

The biggest mistake NDSU (and many UND) people make is to underestimate what UND leadership and alumni are capable in turns of strategy and implementation.

That is a stroke of genius by the UND administration. They have a secret conference deal lined up but tell them they will have to wait a least two more years for them to go D1. Now thats leadership. Wouldn't want to rush into anything (not even an established conference).

[bincitysioux]

This entire thread makes me laugh my aff off!

[dakotadan]

This entire thread makes me laugh my aff off!

HAHAHA. That is classic.

[LeftyZL]

HAHAHA. That is classic.

It's F'ing Dakota Dan.

[dakotadan]

It's F'ing Dakota Dan.

Don't start with me Lefty.

[Holdem]

Speculation runs wild! This entire thread is an example of nonesense. There are no secret deals.

Every school making the move that has had a conference invite in hand did not keep it a secret.

When Dr. Taylor made his statement it did look like the BSC was a lock. It wasnt, and unless things change they wont be moving east.

The comments about SDSU are right in line with the same insights I read regarding the conference(s) of your future. In a word rediculous!

My advice, get in line and hope both NDSU and SDSU vote yes if you do come with hat in hand looking for a spot at the table.

In the meantime, from what Ive been reading you should organize a bake sale or two just to get some pocket money for your eventual move up.

[star2city]

That is a stroke of genius by the UND administration. They have a secret conference deal lined up but tell them they will have to wait a least two more years for them to go D1. Now thats leadership. Wouldn't want to rush into anything (not even an established conference).

IMHO, there is a fantastic likelihood that you will be saying that, if you are man enough, without any sarcasm in a few years.

Near certainty: La Tech will leave the WAC within the next few years because of high travel bills, the drop in the WAC's revenue sharing from the NCAA bball tournament, and the state of Louisiana's limited capability to fund college athletics in the wake of Katrina.

High probability: Sac St will move from the BSC to the WAC. Sac St is a core member of DI, and that's what the WAC needs.

If Sac St leaves, the BSC wil immediately expand. It would need a core member (Denver) and another football-playing school. The only options out there for a football schools are UND, UBC and SUU (unless Cal Poly and/or UC Davis get desparate ).

It doesn't take much thought to see how the delayed timing can work out great for UND.

[Holdem]

Believe me there is no shortage of fans hoping you get the BSC bid. The best thing for NDSU and SDSU would be your school to the BSC. Of course, after the BSC morphs into a conference that actually needs you it might not be all you thought. But dream on, dream until the dream comes true.

[star2city]

When Dr. Taylor made his statement it did look like the BSC was a lock. It wasnt, and unless things change they wont be moving east.

Chapman was just posturing NDSU to make a claim at BSC membership and Bison fans fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It was never ever a lock or ever even close to reality. Chapman failed.

UND, through its FSSN on MidContinent Cable, can deliver practically all of the Dakotas and western Minnesota, nearly a 1.5 million people. Even an NDSU/SDSU duo could not deliver that. TV sets count, and UND has that well in hand over NDSU/SDSU. When the FSSN system was established, UND became by far the most enticing addition.

I don't mind getting tons of grief on this and other boards for my prediction of UND, UBC, and DU to the Big Sky. It may not happen all at once (i.e. the BSC may not go to 12 teams), but the likelihood of all three being in the BSC early next decade as a ten team conference is very high.

Just for the record, let's review some predictions of mine:

1. The formation of the Great West Conference - well before any bison fan considered it, because they were so sure of BSC membership.

2. UNC and DU to the BSC. Didn't get the DU part right (yet), but the chastisement given for that prediction was unreal. I stated that the Altitude Network/UNC TV deal was the clincher. There was no way that the BSC would have chosen NDSU/SDSU with UNC having the Altitude deal. (The BSC later added its own Altitude deal, which probably wouldn't have happened without UNC in the BSC.)

Don't be surprised if there is a deal between FSSN/Altitude and MidContinent Cable that will seal UND to the BSC. I certainly don't have inside information on that, but it would make business sense, and DI sports are all about business.

It is not a coincidence that NDSU/SDSU, which have not built up their own media networks, get stuck with the MidContinent Conference, which is practically the lowest media exposure conference in DI. Birds of a feather, flock together.

My advice, get in line and hope both NDSU and SDSU vote yes if you do come with hat in hand looking for a spot at the table.

With ORU and Centenary being private schools, the MidCon voting records are not available by open records laws. With Chapman's history of undermining the NDUS, he can easily say he is backing a UND bid, when in fact is could very well work to undermine it in private. UND knows it has to have an option outside the MidCon.