Cratter Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Where do you see UND in twenty years? Do you want to see UND move to DIA eventually and be another Ball State or other team failing to meet the minimum average attendance requirements? Or would you be happy competing in IAA. Which I believe will be essentially the old D2 (because of all the teams moving the past decade). Will the administration (and fans) ever be content with where they are or should they keep striving to find another level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 NO! I have no desire for UND to ever become a Kent St. type football program. I like I-AA because the majority of schools that sponsor football in that division are similar in scope to UND and they have a playoff system. The lure of I-A is supposedly the exposure and money from reaching a bowl game. Well, I don't think that the exposure and money that would be garnered from having a "successful" 6-5 season and earning a berth in "Bob's Bait-Shop Bowl" would be that much greater than being a perennial contender in I-AA . I'm not sure I think it is like the old DII, rather it is more like the old college division before DI and DII were created. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlsiouxfan Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 I feel long- term the UND football program should be Division I-A. The program if given the appropriate funding and commitment from the administration could be just as good as programs like Boise State and Utah both who have recently been to or considered for BCS bowl games. Unlike Kent State and Ball State, UND and ndsu are the focal institutions in the state and receive the bulk of attention as far as athletics are concerned. Secondly, if UND every wishes to garner the attention it desires nationally the football team must become the premier sports team on campus. Football is the national pasttime and more national recognition and dollars will come to this university from having a Division I football team than will ever come from hockey or any other sport. Finally, time has proven that both Division II football and Division I-AA football are money losers as even the top I-AA's such as Delaware and Georgia Southern usually lose money on football. Division I-A is the most lucrative business plan and the best plan for putting UND on a national stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!! Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Yes. Boise State did it and there is no reason we could not. There are manny advantages to D1-A; several have been listed in previous posts that I agree with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Will DI-A exist in 10, 15, or 20 years? Not in its current form. Heck the name is leaving soon for either FBS (DI-A) or FPS(DI-AA). The more appropriate question: Should UND strive to be exceptionally good at anything it endeavours? Yes (with the caveat that to do exceptionally well we must have the funding question completely answered and controlled). " ... pick a few things and do them exceptionally well, at the highest level." -- Charles E. Kupchella, February 21, 2002. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn-O Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 My opinion, let's fund the 63 scholarships, strive for excellence within the FCS classification, and reevaluate in 10-15 years. There are current facilities constraints even if UND wanted to move to 85 scholarships. Maine, New Hampshire, the Montana flagships, those are our peer schools, and we will now be with them. I think it's a stretch to think that the two ND flagships could both support 85 scholly football successfully. (I do think the BCS division is the ultimate destination for NDSU). Hockey is king at this school, football is second, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. In my mind, that impacts the decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn-O Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 I feel long- term the UND football program should be Division I-A. The program if given the appropriate funding and commitment from the administration could be just as good as programs like Boise State and Utah both who have recently been to or considered for BCS bowl games. Unlike Kent State and Ball State, UND and ndsu are the focal institutions in the state and receive the bulk of attention as far as athletics are concerned. Secondly, if UND every wishes to garner the attention it desires nationally the football team must become the premier sports team on campus. Football is the national pasttime and more national recognition and dollars will come to this university from having a Division I football team than will ever come from hockey or any other sport. Finally, time has proven that both Division II football and Division I-AA football are money losers as even the top I-AA's such as Delaware and Georgia Southern usually lose money on football. Division I-A is the most lucrative business plan and the best plan for putting UND on a national stage. I think the best bang for the buck is to get the basketball program turned around, get them into a conference championship game on national television, and into the NCAA tournament as soon as possible, which I believe would be eight years down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star2city Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 In order to be a IA football school, one has to be in a IA conference (unlesss you are Notre Dame or one of the service academies). With UND's (and NDSU's) geography and ND's demographics, getting a bid into a IA league (MAC or WAC) would be very dificult. We should strive toward excellence in winning, attendance, and facilities and if somehow somewhay a IA opportunity presents itself, we should be open toward it. Very few observers would have predicted that Idaho would ever be able to get in a decent IA conference and find any level of success at the IA level, and yet they are now tied for second with Hawaii in the WAC. Even after last year's difficult season, it would be very difficult to find Vandal fans that would go back to IAA. The IA level does get bashed for its bowl system. But, the bowl system actually allows fans to travel with reasonable air fares, something that is impossible with six days advance notice with the IAA playoff system. The bowl system does a better job of appealing to non-local alumni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biff Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 With the population up here supporting 2 big universities, I just don't think there's enough $ and recruits for bowl championship football. I don't think fans of either school would want to be just mediocre, which would be pretty likely. Minnesota and Iowa St. are usually just average and they're in better conferences than UND or NDSU would get into. See what happens in 20 years I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MplsBison Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I think the idea is Boise State, which has a chance to get an automatic birth into a BCS bowl this year with the new rules and a relatively low ranked ACC. Idaho has about 1.3 mill with Boise at 500k. That state supports 3 DI schools, of which 2 are I-A (Id, Boise, and Id St). North Dakota has about 600k with Fargo at 180k and GF at 100k. The state will support 2 DI (DI-AA) schools (NDSU, UND). Looking at those numbers, it's tough to say if both or even either of the ND schools could support I-A. If there is more growth, say ND gets to 800k in 20 years. Who knows. Doubtful though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 North Dakota has about 600k with Fargo at 180k and GF at 100k. About 40% of each of those numbers are not North Dakotans. (Those are "metro" numbers.) For UND to do it they'd need a football sugar daddy. (At this point we all just tell each other "Shhhh!" and do this: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MplsBison Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Not ND, no. But I don't think there's a rule saying people living in Moorhead and EGF can't cross the river to watch the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Not ND, no. But I don't think there's a rule saying people living in Moorhead and EGF can't cross the river to watch the game. We talking spectators or state funding (and taxpayer base)? I missed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MplsBison Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsioux21 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I do not believe that UND will ever go to DI-A for two reasons (1) there is not enough support in a state with a population that is shrinking and (2) I don't think that the students will support the added burden of student fees which are about to become outrageous.....This begs the question that many students have een asking...Is this move to DI-AA for the sports only or is it a mix between academics and sports??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 ...Is this move to DI-AA for the sports only or is it a mix between academics and sports??? Athletics are often the face of a University. The move is about more than just sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Will DI-A exist in 10, 15, or 20 years? Not in its current form. Heck the name is leaving soon for either FBS (DI-A) or FPS(DI-AA). The more appropriate question: Should UND strive to be exceptionally good at anything it endeavours? Yes (with the caveat that to do exceptionally well we must have the funding question completely answered and controlled). " ... pick a few things and do them exceptionally well, at the highest level." -- Charles E. Kupchella, February 21, 2002. One more notion here: UND President Charles Kupchella (August 2006): "We are doing what we set out as our goal: to make this one of the top 100 public institutions, which it already is by many measures, and to position the University so that our successors can make it one of the top 50 universities in the nation." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverman Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 After reading this article, Yes. Pays to be D1A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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