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Alerus Confusion


darell1976

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I am confused on some rumors about the Sioux leaving the Alerus to move back to Memorial Stadium or at least a new outdoor stadium. One reason i heard is about the attendance requirement. Only D-1 has a attendance requirement not D1-AA or FCS or whatever it is called.

http://www.dakotastudent.com/home/index.cf...07-eef70de293b9

This link is to an article in the Dakota Student saying the Sioux have to move because of attendance problems which is untrue unless the Sioux plan to skip I-AA and play with the big boys of the Big 10 or Big 12 every game. So could someone clairify any confusion on this. Did the NCAA change the attendance rules?? I know the Sioux are gutting the Old Engelstad and adding new turf to Memorial but could the Sioux really be moving out of the Alerus. Please HELP!!!!

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http://www.ncaa.org/about/div_criteria.html "Football Bowl Subdivision teams( I-A) have to meet minimum attendance requirements (average 15,000 people in actual or paid attendance per home game), which must be met once in a rolling two-year period. NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams(I-AA) do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements." Also no mim. attendance requirements for Division II or III.
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Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the confusion stems from discussions about whether the Alerus is big enough in its current configuration to accommodate the anticipated growth of UND football in DI-AA and speculation about whether UND should move to DI-A where there are minimum attendance requirements. The reason I provided the link to the facilities master plan thread was because both those ideas have been discussed there, which might help shed light on why some are confused.

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Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the confusion stems from discussions about whether the Alerus is big enough in its current configuration to accommodate the anticipated growth of UND football in DI-AA and speculation about whether UND should move to DI-A where there are minimum attendance requirements. The reason I provided the link to the facilities master plan thread was because both those ideas have been discussed there, which might help shed light on why some are confused.

Why would the Sioux move to I-A?? They are not in the ranks of Nebraska, Ohio State, or even Michigan? Why not stay in the Alerus and be in I-AA for many years and down the road say 15-20 years then i see them moving out of the Alerus or even up to I-A. But as for them moving up to I-A, i don't see that happening.

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Why would the Sioux move to I-A?? They are not in the ranks of Nebraska, Ohio State, or even Michigan? Why not stay in the Alerus and be in I-AA for many years and down the road say 15-20 years then i see them moving out of the Alerus or even up to I-A. But as for them moving up to I-A, i don't see that happening.

I don't see it happening any time soon, but the possibility has been discussed.

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Why would the Sioux move to I-A?? They are not in the ranks of Nebraska, Ohio State, or even Michigan? Why not stay in the Alerus and be in I-AA for many years and down the road say 15-20 years then i see them moving out of the Alerus or even up to I-A. But as for them moving up to I-A, i don't see that happening.

I assume UND is looking to move up to IA in 15-20 years. I sure hope the Alerus gets fieldturf. If Memorial has it, the Al has to have it.

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It's just prep for their big 10 application.

That's a bit of a stretch, but if we can match and exceed the success of NDSU (which we all know will happen) I think it is a possibility. Why can't we be a regional football power? Why couldn't we eventually get into a conference with teams like Ball St. (who NDSU has beaten), Biose St., etc?

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That's a bit of a stretch, but if we can match and exceed the success of NDSU (which we all know will happen) I think it is a possibility. Why can't we be a regional football power? Why couldn't we eventually get into a conference with teams like Ball St. (who NDSU has beaten), Biose St., etc?

It would be something to have UND become the next Boise St. and to see them upset a big team in a bowl game.

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Moving up to D-I FBS is something that Phil Harmeson has mentioned several times and I believe he is still pushing for it behind the scenes. I am totally opposed to this for several reasons:

1) I want nothing to do with the Bull Crap Series: Anyone who thinks we will ever get in anything other than a lower-level, meaningless bowl game is kidding themselves. The cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking power brokers that control D-I FBS football will never give our program the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bowl bids, whether or not we deserve it. Some BCS-ites think that a team going 6-6 and squeezing into a lower-level bowl game (the Rodents every year) is a great accomplishment. I don't.

2) We can win on a regular basis at the D-I FCS level: We have the facilities, the tradition, the coaching staff and the players to win at the FCS level now. Just wait until we get our scholoarships up to the FCS level and add a new practice facility to boot. We'll contend for national championships on a regular basis, just like we do now at the D-II level. That will never happen at the FBS level. I believe that one of the reasons we are moving up is because of the benefits to football. If we move up to the FBS level, a lot of those benefits will vanish.

3) Playing outside again would kill attendance: Remember what it was like in the 1990's when our program was starting to take off on a national level? Our home game attendance (minus the Bison games) would plunge along with the temperatures in October and November. We would get 2 to 3,000 for home playoff games! :) Moving into the Alerus Center in 2001 helped us get more season ticket holders who no longer had to worry about the cold and snow of late season games. This has helped make the atmosphere at home games something other teams don't like to deal with. The playoff games in 2001 are a great example of this. If we had been outside during that championship season, attendance would have been probably half of what it was since a good chunk of our fans won't show up if the temperature is below 40F. Moving back to Memorial Stadium (which needs a lot of work if we did it) would set back all the progress we've made in the past 6 years.

Bottom line: A move to FBS football would be a disaster for our program. We would have a better chance to become the next University of Buffalo Bulls than we would the next Boise State Broncos. I also believe the reasons I laid out above apply to NDSU as well.

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I am confused on some rumors about the Sioux leaving the Alerus to move back to Memorial Stadium or at least a new outdoor stadium. One reason i heard is about the attendance requirement. Only D-1 has a attendance requirement not D1-AA or FCS or whatever it is called.

http://www.dakotastudent.com/home/index.cf...07-eef70de293b9

This link is to an article in the Dakota Student saying the Sioux have to move because of attendance problems which is untrue unless the Sioux plan to skip I-AA and play with the big boys of the Big 10 or Big 12 every game. So could someone clairify any confusion on this. Did the NCAA change the attendance rules?? I know the Sioux are gutting the Old Engelstad and adding new turf to Memorial but could the Sioux really be moving out of the Alerus. Please HELP!!!!

I think Und should play outside...

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The Bison fans have ben having a cow since Saturday's game(they really do have a cow at ndsu) because so many of their fans just sit on their hands and the fans that want to cheer are not allowed to by the Fargodome officials. I feel sorry for them. They better come to the Alerus to watch the Sioux. Everybody cheers at our games. I think the Alerus officials are cheering too. Yes ndsu could learn a lot about game atmosphere if they came at the Alerus. Of course it goes without saying that their tailgating atmosphere is in the minor leagues compared to UND. Our attendance is better for football games than theirs considering the Fargo Moorhead population is 3 to 4 times larger than Grand Forks. For the size of Grand Forks we support our athletic teams wonderfully. Oh yea!!! Our football team is better than theirs even with a lot fewer scholarships. I can't wait till we get a full complement of scholarships. Go Sioux!!!!

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The Bison fans have ben having a cow since Saturday's game(they really do have a cow at ndsu) because so many of their fans just sit on their hands and the fans that want to cheer are not allowed to by the Fargodome officials. I feel sorry for them. They better come to the Alerus to watch the Sioux. Everybody cheers at our games. I think the Alerus officials are cheering too. Yes ndsu could learn a lot about game atmosphere if they came at the Alerus. Of course it goes without saying that their tailgating atmosphere is in the minor leagues compared to UND. Our attendance is better for football games than theirs considering the Fargo Moorhead population is 3 to 4 times larger than Grand Forks. For the size of Grand Forks we support our athletic teams wonderfully. Oh yea!!! Our football team is better than theirs even with a lot fewer scholarships. I can't wait till we get a full complement of scholarships. Go Sioux!!!!

What is the purpose of this post other than to troll?

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