UND 2008 schedule

[bincitysioux]

And you didn't want to apply for the AD job.......?

I messed up the phone interview..........

[SloStang]

You can watch the Idaho State game on BigSkyTV.org on your computer. SE Louisana and So. Ill. may also offer internet options.

[dakotadan]

I heard that the Oct. 18th game against Western Washington will be UND's homecoming. The Alerus Center calendar of events seems to be confiming that.

While the schedule doesn't seem to be shaping up too bad, I would have preferred not to see a DIII on there. Hopefully they are able to offset it with another DI home game.

So is Idaho State the only home/home we have scheduled for next year besides the Great West games? The one thing I do expect to see out of the transition is an increasingly better schedule each year. The first year or two is the time to start getting some home/home and 2/1s in place. SDSU did a great job of that and with their addition to the Gateway has their schedules pretty much done for quite a few years.

[SloStang]

I heard that the Oct. 18th game against Western Washington will be UND's homecoming. The Alerus Center calendar of events seems to be confiming that.

While the schedule doesn't seem to be shaping up too bad, I would have preferred not to see a DIII on there. Hopefully they are able to offset it with another DI home game.

So is Idaho State the only home/home we have scheduled for next year besides the Great West games? The one thing I do expect to see out of the transition is an increasingly better schedule each year. The first year or two is the time to start getting some home/home and 2/1s in place. SDSU did a great job of that and with their addition to the Gateway has their schedules pretty much done for quite a few years.

As a fan you never want to see your team schedule down a division or in this case two divisions, but Wisconsin-La Crosse is a good DIII team. In 2006 they beat a good 7-4 SDSU team. At least when UND is forced to schedule down in the transition they are scheduling good teams that can at least make a game of it.

[riders06]

I heard a rumor last weekend that UND is in negotiations with a D-IA school that could possibly give UND a payout of up to $500,000. They were no slouch last year in D-IA.

[UND Fan]

I heard a rumor last weekend that UND is in negotiations with a D-IA school that could possibly give UND a payout of up to $500,000. They were no slouch last year in D-IA.

I have also heard this rumor - don't have any idea whether there is any truth to it!

I also heard that we already have nine games confirmed for the 2009 season. If that is true, we are in a very good position for '09!

[Bison Dan]

I heard that the Oct. 18th game against Western Washington will be UND's homecoming. The Alerus Center calendar of events seems to be confiming that.

While the schedule doesn't seem to be shaping up too bad, I would have preferred not to see a DIII on there. Hopefully they are able to offset it with another DI home game.

So is Idaho State the only home/home we have scheduled for next year besides the Great West games? The one thing I do expect to see out of the transition is an increasingly better schedule each year. The first year or two is the time to start getting some home/home and 2/1s in place. SDSU did a great job of that and with their addition to the Gateway has their schedules pretty much done for quite a few years.

Only 1 DI game at home and that team when 0-11 last year? This is a good schedule? If this would have been the schedule for NDSU their first year you all would be rolling over laughing.

[mksioux]

Except the Warriors were considered a playoff caliber team by the folks in D-2.

I would have hoped the hockey connections would have pulled through when they were needed this year.

Ummm, not sure where you get that about Winona. Not many people thought Winona deserved to make the playoffs all those years.

But I have to agree with you about the hockey connections. It would have been nice to see at least one of them pan out. That's probably an area where it would have been nice to have an AD.

[mksioux]

I have also heard this rumor - don't have any idea whether there is any truth to it!

I also heard that we already have nine games confirmed for the 2009 season. If that is true, we are in a very good position for '09!

Didn't we have 9 games confirmed for the 2008 season six months ago? We saw how that turned out...

[UND-1]

Didn't we have 9 games confirmed for the 2008 season six months ago? We saw how that turned out...

They did have nine games until teams started backing out. I highly doubt any teams will back out after this year because we are a counter then.

Next year is looking good, that big money game will probably fall through because we don

[mksioux]

So the dates should work out like this:

Aug. 28 Texas A&M-Kingsville

Sept. 6 St. Cloud St.

Sept. 13 UW-La Crosse

Sept. 18 @ Idaho St.

Sept. 27 @ Southeastern Louisiana

Oct. 4 OPEN

Oct. 11 OPEN

Oct. 18 Western Washington

Oct. 25 @ UC Davis

Nov. 1 @ Southern Illinois

Nov. 8 Southern Utah

Nov. 15 OPEN

Nov. 22 @ South Dakota

I think it's good that people out there will spin this schedule into a positive. But this is a flat-out BAD home schedule, even under the circumstances. I didn't think two DI home games was too much to expect.

The away schedule is decent, but I wish they could have gotten a return game out of Southeastern Louisiana.

I'll still go to as many games as I can, but there's not even one home game I can get excited about. And I don't care how good this DIII team is, it's still a DIII team. There's no spinning around that. Nothing good can come from that game. I'd much rather have a DI non-scholarship team over a DIII team.

[LeftyZL]

Except the Warriors were considered a playoff caliber team by the folks in D-2.

Winona State made the playoffs by being their conference champion and being in the top 10 in the region, not necessarily the mandated top 6. They actually bumped a so-called "playoff" team out of the playoffs. I wouldn't have considered them a playoff team in any of the seasons we played them, especially the Northwest Region that we were in.

[sultan]

Bison Dan is a little mixed up about whose fans are more concerned about the other school. Dan spends all his day on the UND site. The crazy thing about it is he gets taken to the wood shed every time he comes over here and yet he never goes away. He is either not very bright or he is just to obsessed with UND to quit. Someone needs to help him get back home. He just seems to be wandering aimlessly. He just seems lost. Maybe now we can get some real dialogue going without Dan just inserting worthless dribble.

[UND92,96]

FWIW, SDSU's home schedule in the first year of their transition was Winona State, Western Oregon (dII), Augie and NDSU.

[MplsBison]

The state of ND is held to a higher standard in football.

[bincitysioux]

Break down of the 1st DI schedules of each of the current and former GWFC members who have transitioned in this decade.

SDSU HOME GAMES: three DII's, one transitional (GWFC game)

SDSU ROAD GAMES: two transitional, 5 established DI's

UC DAVIS HOME GAMES: four DII's, one transitional (future GWFC team), one established DI (future GWFC team)

UC DAVIS ROAD GAMES: one DII (future GWFC team), three established DI's

NDSU HOME GAMES: one non-scholarship, one NAIA, one DII, three established DI's (2 GWFC games)

NDSU ROAD GAMES: three transitionals (GWFC games), two established DI's

USD HOME GAMES: three NAIA, one DII, one transitional (GWFC game)

USD ROAD GAMES: five established DI's (2 GWFC games)

N. COLORADO HOME GAMES: five DII's

N. COLORADO ROAD GAMES: one DII, one transitional (GWFC team) four established DI's

UND HOME GAMES: one non-scholarship, three DII's, one established DI (GWFC game)

UND ROAD GAMES: one transitional (GWFC game), 4 established DI's (1 GWFC game)

[bincitysioux]

The state of ND is held to a higher standard in football.

Except in Fargo!

[supersioux]

Let's face it the schedule isn't all that great, but I think we all kind of expected it. Personally, it would have been nice to have USD at home. Let's hope that attendence doesn't take a hit, but we all know that there are some fair weather fans out there.

[octupus99]

Does anyone know officially when this schedule will be out? Lennon said in December and then the Herald said this week. Still nothing. Has anyone heard anything?

[Dagger]

Actually the overall schedule is quite good. Unfortuanately the home schedule isn't going to be as good as were led to believe by Dale. Obviously some teams backed out on us. I wonder if the fact that Dale left had any effect on teams backing off. If Dale would of stayed maybe they wouldn't of backed out because of a feeling of commitment to Dale. Dale's leaving probably opened the door for them backing off. This is the ONE year where Sioux fans are going to have to bite their lip and suck it up for the team. Maybe we can luck out and get one more decent home game for next year. Maybe we should just get a bunch of busses heading to Southern Illinois for the game.

[SloStang]

I think it's good that people out there will spin this schedule into a positive. But this is a flat-out BAD home schedule, even under the circumstances. I didn't think two DI home games was too much to expect.

The away schedule is decent, but I wish they could have gotten a return game out of Southeastern Louisiana.

I'll still go to as many games as I can, but there's not even one home game I can get excited about. And I don't care how good this DIII team is, it's still a DIII team. There's no spinning around that. Nothing good can come from that game. I'd much rather have a DI non-scholarship team over a DIII team.

For what UND was facing, I think that they did well. UND is in a tough spot this year. They do not count as a DI game for FCS teams and good DII teams do not want to play them because UND was a top DII team before they got the additional scholarships.

I think that the fans need to look at this as if they would have been happy with this schedule as a DII team. I think most people would say yes. Next year is the first year that UND will count as a DI team on FCS teams schedules. I think next year you will see a vast improvement in the schedule.

BTW, Southern Utah is not your typical 0-11 team. SUU faced probably the toughest schedule in the FCS last year. They played 8 or 9 ranked FCS teams and a UND last year. They almost pulled out a couple wins against some of the ranked teams, Youngstown State being one of them. They were a young team and they have a new head coach this year. I expect that they will be very much improved after facing such tough competition last year.

[bincitysioux]

For what UND was facing, I think that they did well. UND is in a tough spot this year. They do not count as a DI game for FCS teams and good DII teams do not want to play them because UND was a top DII team before they got the additional scholarships.

I think that the fans need to look at this as if they would have been happy with this schedule as a DII team. I think most people would say yes. Next year is the first year that UND will count as a DI team on FCS teams schedules. I think next year you will see a vast improvement in the schedule.

BTW, Southern Utah is not your typical 0-11 team. SUU faced probably the toughest schedule in the FCS last year. They played 8 or 9 ranked FCS teams and a UND last year. They almost pulled out a couple wins against some of the ranked teams, Youngstown State being one of them. They were a young team and they have a new head coach this year. I expect that they will be very much improved after facing such tough competition last year.

I agree with all that. The home schedule really looks alot like it has looked over the past several years since UNC, SDSU, and NDSU left the NCC. I think the reason some of us are a little frustrated is because apparently quality teams like McNeese St and Cal Poly have fallen off the schedule, and the South Dakota game being played in Vermillion two years in a row.

[UND92,96]

The more I think about it, the more I think UND and USD should have played home-and-home this year. Obviously UND didn't have much motivation to do so back when most of us thought USD would be coming here anway, and when it sounded like we'd have a 12-game schedule with 10 FCS opponents and a couple of dII's. While I realize LaCrosse is probably not going to be a pushover, I'd still rather play USD a second time rather than a dIII (or NAIA). Just my opinion. In any event, this is the hand we've been dealt, and I still plan to go to all the home games just like every year.

[supersioux]

I know UW-L beat SDSU a few years ago, but it's hard to get excited about a DIII team that was 5-4 this year. Now bring in DIII champ Whitewater and I'm a little more intrigued.

[mksioux]

For what UND was facing, I think that they did well. UND is in a tough spot this year. They do not count as a DI game for FCS teams and good DII teams do not want to play them because UND was a top DII team before they got the additional scholarships.

I think that the fans need to look at this as if they would have been happy with this schedule as a DII team. I think most people would say yes. Next year is the first year that UND will count as a DI team on FCS teams schedules. I think next year you will see a vast improvement in the schedule.

BTW, Southern Utah is not your typical 0-11 team. SUU faced probably the toughest schedule in the FCS last year. They played 8 or 9 ranked FCS teams and a UND last year. They almost pulled out a couple wins against some of the ranked teams, Youngstown State being one of them. They were a young team and they have a new head coach this year. I expect that they will be very much improved after facing such tough competition last year.

I appreciate your thoughts. I don't doubt the coaches did all they could to get the best possible schedule, but that doesn't make it a good schedule. It is what it is...a bad home schedule. Besides, I don't think it's a bad thing for there to be an element among the fan base to hold UND to the highest of standards.

And even using your DII evaluation standard, I would not be happy with the DIII game. A lot of UND fans made fun of the NDSU-Valpo game, but I would have been much happier with a DI non-scholarship than a DIII non-scholarship, even if the DIII team is better. In fact, I think that DIII game is really what is rubbing me the wrong way. Replace that game with the worst no-scholarship DI team out there and I'd be much more accepting. Call me arrogant, but I just don't believe UND should be scheduling a DIII team.