Late Friday Afternoon at Montana State ...

[bobcatfan]

I'd be pissed if I ever saw anything like that at UND. Let's leave that kind of nonsense for the likes of the Miami Hurricanes.

EWU coach was fired for NCAA infractions--nothing to do with academics

[bobcatfan]

Just got back from the Mike Van Diest open forum

attendance- I am guessing there were a 100+ at the DL forum- today there were probably 150-200 people. Yesterday's crowd was more heavily composed of what appeared to be blue-haired boosters, MSU employees, and some members of the community while today had a much heterogeneous crowd.

In his intro MVD talked alot about football in general- also went into detail about his ties with former MSU greats, and Montana in general. mentioned his previous ties with NCAA football as there was a question about his ability to move from NAIA to DI. Said he would bring about 4-5 coaches from CC if he were to come.

There weren't as many questions about academics and character issues today (probably becuase of the crowd composition), obviously MVD said he was for discipline and academics but didn't go into as much detail about how he addresses the subjects as did DL.

As y'all probably know DL is solid and appears genuine while he speaks but MVD was a bit more engaging and dynamic in his presentation (think motivational speaker[not Matt Foley]). He cracked a few jokes early which went over well with what was obviously a pro-MVD audience.

I think the discerning viewer would probably view the open forum as a virtual push between DL and MVD, while "Joe Bobcat Fan" would be more excited about MVD.

MSU would be lucky to have either IMHO

A lot of feedback on Bobcat Nation and on the feedback forms favored Lennon. Only the media and a small group on Bobcat Nation made Van Diest a slam dunk. Rumor is, Van Diest was never the favorite of the search committee or the AD.

[GeauxSioux]

I agree with both statements with the exception that the deal may not be with Lennon. I know, wishful thinking.

UND FOOTBALL: Montana State field narrows

“We hope to do something this weekend,” Fields said. “We hope to have an announcement on Monday. It may be Tuesday.”

Either someone is lying or BisonDan is right and they are idiots.

[SiouxFanatic]

A person at bobcatnation posted:

Lennon has turned the job down.

This is coming from his running back coach at UND.

F--K

It was posted today but whether it's true or not who knows. Good news for us though if it is true .

Link:

http://www.bobcatnation.com/bobcatboard/vi...pic.php?t=10476

[Cat in SoDak]

A person at bobcatnation posted:

It was posted today but whether it's true or not who knows. Good news for us though if it is true .

Link:

http://www.bobcatnation.com/bobcatboard/vi...pic.php?t=10476

Guess we'll find out on Monday. I wonder where those pesky internet rumors came from?

MSU football: 'Cats schedule Monday press conference to announce coach

By JEFF WELSCH Chronicle Sports Editor

Montana State will announce its new football coach at 11 a.m. Monday at the Stadium Club, athletic director Peter Fields said Saturday.

Still unclear is who the Bobcats' 31st coach will be.

Early Saturday, rumors circulated on Internet message boards at MSU and North Dakota that UND head coach Dale Lennon, one of the three remaining finalists, had followed Carroll coach Mike Van Diest's lead and pulled out of the running.

Fields declined to comment on the rumor "one way or the other right now" before revealing the scheduling of the press conference.

"We're still looking at the candidates we brought in - minus Van Diest," he added.

Attempts to reach Lennon were unsuccessful as of 4 p.m. Saturday.

Also Saturday, an unidentified source said former MSU coach Mike Kramer has accepted a position as an assistant at Eastern Washington under his friend Paul Wulff. Attempts to reach Kramer and officials at EWU were unsuccessful.

[The Walrus]

I believe Pat Sweeney WDAZ Sports will have some news this evening......Tune IN...

[Stromer]

I believe Pat Sweeney WDAZ Sports will have some news this evening......Tune IN...

I feel a lot better now that I have seen in confirmed on the news.

[WiSioux]

Lennon to Stay

I'm very happy that he decided to stay. He's a phenomenal coach and I look forward to football season once again

[Sioux27]

Lennon to Stay

I'm very happy that he decided to stay. He's a phenomenal coach and I look forward to football season once again

Thank you Dale!!!!

[MplsBison]

As I thought, he was trying to scare something into happening.

Must've got the feedback from admin/boosters he wanted.

[iramurphy]

As I thought, he was trying to scare something into happening.

Must've got the feedback from admin/boosters he wanted.

You obviously don't know Coach Lennon nor the Alumni or Boosters. Here are a couple of facts. Dale didn't persue this job they contacted him. He was offered the job and turned it down. He didn't need anything from the Alumni or boosters he has full support. He wasn't looking for anything. If you know the guy you would know he wouldn't use this as a ploy for what he might want. He stayed at UND out of loyalty to the kids and to UND football. HE has had chances to move to other D1AA jobs in the past and will have more chances in the future.

[Hansel]

the new coach is Rob Ash according to the Des Moines register... wtf?

[Let'sGoHawks!]

This is great news! He will be offered many more jobs in the future, hope he sticks around UND and GF. I think he will.

[GeauxSioux]

Great news!!!!

Just walked in the door after being out all day and learned this. Wow!

[Cat in SoDak]

You obviously don't know Coach Lennon nor the Alumni or Boosters. Here are a couple of facts. Dale didn't persue this job they contacted him. He was offered the job and turned it down. He didn't need anything from the Alumni or boosters he has full support. He wasn't looking for anything. If you know the guy you would know he wouldn't use this as a ploy for what he might want. He stayed at UND out of loyalty to the kids and to UND football. HE has had chances to move to other D1AA jobs in the past and will have more chances in the future.

Yes, but he could have said "no thanks" after the initial contact or after he became a finalist or immediately after his interview. I think the perception about using the MSU job as leverage comes from the fact that he waited until he had the leverage (job offer) to bow out.

I sincerely wish Coach Lennon and the UND program continued success in the future. I'm disappointed that we lost out on a great coach, but obviously his heart is in Grand Forks, so that's where he should be. Hopefully, Coach Ash can help sort out some of the issues we have and MSU will move forward successfully as well.

[bincitysioux]

I think the perception about using the MSU job as leverage comes from the fact that he waited until he had the leverage (job offer) to bow out.

I haven't yet seen a link to a press release or news report that Lennon was in fact ever offered the job.

[MplsBison]

http://areavoices.com/bisonmedia/?blog=9446

That's as good as you're going to get.

[star2city]

I think the chances of Lennon leaving for Montana State are extremely slim. My reasons why I feel that way:

- It's not that big of a deal to be asked to apply for a job, send in a resume, and then spend 45 minutes doing a phone interview. That's the point we are at right now. With DL's credentials, he's going to a be in the running for any job he applies for. Just because he's been named a finalist for a job he was asked to apply for doesn't mean he's a lock to take the job if offered.

- Everyone knows that Dale's long-term goal is to transform UND into a D-I football program and that he has worked his tail off behind the scenes the last couple of years to help make it happen. It would be very surprising to see him leave when he's just about to get the chance to do what he's been wanting to do.

- I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that Dale's oldest son is going to be a senior at GFC this fall and another son is going to be a junior. Obviously, that's a very tough time to be moving a family. Plus, with it being June already, if he did move there are only two months to find a house, get the kids in new schools, etc. before the start of school and fall practice.

- From the sounds of it, MSU's roster is littered with players that wouldn't last one practice playing for DL. With it being this close to the start of the season, there is no time to start cleaning house and recruiting players that can be a fit in Lennon's system. The job would be much more attractive if they were hiring in December.

- I think Dale Lennon is the best man for the job and MSU would be crazy not to offer it to him. But it sounds like Mike Van Diest is the favorite among the majority of the MSU supporters and the MSU administration is probably under tremendous pressure to go with the flow and hire him after all of the problems in the Kramer regime. It's most likely that Dale won't be offered the position anyway.

- With UND now transitioning to D-I and how sound the football program is right now, MSU is a lateral move at best.

All of that said, if Dale does decide to leave UND at this point, it should become apparent that the rumored internal problems in the athletic department are more than just rumors.

Ultimately, I think Dale Lennon's flirtation with this job is a shrewd political move on his part designed to scare the pants off of the administration and most specifically Buning. I imagine there will be several of those football alumni with deep pockets putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Kupchella and Buning this week in regard to retaining Lennon. No doubt there will be a few "you had better straighten this out with him or we withhold $" conversations going on in the next several days.

Perhaps we should have read our D2 correspondent's posting more closely.

As a side effect of Lennon's MSU "offer", I do wonder if this might not help future recruiting in the West.

[UND92,96]

At this point, I'd be completely stunned if Lennon is coaching the Sioux in the 2007 season.

O.K., maybe "completely stunned" was a bit of an overstatement, but I am certainly very pleasantly surprised! Thank you, Coach Lennon!

[star2city]

The Montana Griz and Idaho Vandal programs are going through some turbulent times: both programs seemingly need a shakedown and Idaho has already experienced 17 players that have either quit or been culled. Idaho could face a big scholarship hit on the next APR round.

[url=http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/06/22/news/top/news01.txt]Griz teammate allegedly witnessed murder / Freeman

[star2city]

Could there be another IAA coaching job open in Montana this summer? Not that an eGriz poll means anything, but Griz fans apparently do think Hauck should be fired "if he knew and did nothing"

http://www.egriz.com/GrizBoard/topic24480.php

[Diggler]

I don't see what the problem is with Idaho. They are just living up to their nickname.

[star2city]

The heat is turning up on the Montana football program:

Missoulian: UM needs to answer questions

The silence has been deafening.

University of Montana officials have steadfastly refused to answer questions in the wake of the arrest of football player Jimmy Wilson on charges he murdered a man in the Los Angeles area. It was more of the same last Thursday when the Missoulian learned from California law enforcement officials that teammate Qwenton Freeman is suspected of witnessing the murder.

- When members of the community and Missoula Chief of Police Rusty Wickman voiced concerns to the UM coaching staff about inappropriate conduct by Wilson, what was done? Was Wilson disciplined, offered counseling, referred to a mentor? Did anyone speak to Wilson at all?

The people of Montana, who foot the bill for athletic scholarships, have a right to know whether UM student-athletes are being held accountable for their actions.

- What kind of background checks do UM coaches perform on prospective recruits?

That Freeman, who has two active warrants for his arrest in Arizona, was allowed to join the UM football team last fall is mind-boggling. One call from a reporter to the sports information department at Arizona was all it took to reveal Freeman's criminal past. Certainly a Griz coach must've made a similar call to a member of the Arizona coaching staff.

Perhaps the athletic department needs to take a closer look at the Division I-A drop-downs it accepts. Currently on the roster are running back Greg Coleman, who was found guilty of assaulting a police officer in Iowa City, Iowa, in 2003 while on the Iowa State football team; and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn, who was kicked off the Oklahoma football team for accepting cash for hours he never worked at an auto dealership.

Quinn said just this spring that he felt the punishment was unfair because, “All I did was take cash.” Hardly an expression of remorse.

- Were Griz football players encouraged to cooperate with L.A. County sheriff's detectives who were in Missoula last week? If not, why not?

[star2city]

The past year has been a ethical disaster for the Big Sky:

Montana State - criminal implications, scholarship losses, coaching changes

Northern Arizona - major scholarship losses

Weber State - scholarship losses

Sac State - scholarship losses

Northern Colorado - punter incident, other issues

Idaho State - academic warning

E Washington - basketball program issues

Montana - criminal issues, possible implication on coaches

The only program that may have had a clean year, is, unbelievably, Portland State with its large numbers of JC transfers, and they didn't have an AD for most of the year and had to hire Glanville to keep the football program afloat.

Without question, the Big Sky has lost some its luster. But, when it adds schools in the future, running a clean program, especially in football and basektball, will most assuredly be a major criteria. We know where it can look: East.

[GeauxSioux]

Freeman dismissed from Grizzlies

University of Montana football coach Bobby Hauck announced Sunday night that he has dismissed cornerback Qwenton Freeman from the team for "not adhering to disciplinary guidelines" handed out to him earlier in the week.

"These are serious matters, and it is very disturbing," said UM Director of Athletics Jim O'Day. "At this point, we are following a zero tolerance policy, and Qwenton made a bad error in judgment."