89rabbit
07-25-2004, 07:29 AM
An interesting story from the Sunday Argus Leader. Here are some except:
http://www.argusleader.com/sports/Sundayarticle6.shtml
NCC dealing with some upheaval
Mick Garry
Argus Leader
published: 7/25/2004
The North Central Conference, often billed as the best league in NCAA Division II, has gone through several alterations in recent years after 20 years of absolute stability.
The first move came when Morningside, the smallest of the 10 schools, left in 2001. Next came Northern Colorado at the end of the 2003 school year, followed by North Dakota State and South Dakota State this past year.
Morningside, with its small enrollment and tight athletic budget, seemed out of place in the NCC for some time. Northern Colorado, while adding immeasurably to the league's luster with its national championship-caliber football program, was a consistent traveling pain for other NCC schools, as well as a lackluster draw at other conference locales.
In NDSU and SDSU, however, the league said good bye to a pair of well-funded, ideally-located charter members.
"We have a great thing going in this league and we have for a long time, so it's not like the wheels are completely off," USD athletic director Joel Nielsen said. "But, when you take relationships out of play like USD-SDSU and UND-NDSU, the wheels are going to get a little wobbly for a while. We're going to be in a wait-and-see mode for the short term, but the league is going to stay as strong as it has during its history."
Minnesota-Duluth joins the NCC this fall to make a seven-team league, but that addition won't offset the two high-profile losses.
Last season, the NCC was at the top of Division II basketball attendance and second in football. Not coincidentally, SDSU led the nation in basketball attendance and NDSU led in football. The averages in both sports are bound to fall next season without those heavyweight numbers.
Nevertheless, NCC commissioner Mike Marcil says he's not worried about the conference's stature within the region or nationally. . . .
The other big hurdle for the remaining NCC schools is scheduling.
When it was a 10-team conference, football programs had to find two non-conference opponents and basketball had to find about 10. Now, with just six conference games in football and 12 in basketball, digging out non-conference foes has become far more challenging.
Basketball programs have to schedule at least 10 of their 15 non-conference dates against NCAA Division II teams, with the rest usually being NAIA or NCAA Division III. . . .
The potential non-conference deficit has been felt throughout the region. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, from which the NCC picked up Minnesota-Duluth, had extreme difficulty getting NCC teams to their home court years ago. Not anymore.
"At NDSU, we never would have thought of playing a game in Crookston or Bemidji," Billeter said. "I'd offer them guaranteed money and just bring them in. Now they know you need games so you have to go home-and-home with them. This Thanksgiving, I'll be in Crookston and Bemidji." . . .
NCC changes
Recent changes involving the North Central Conference
2001 - Morningside leaves conference.
2003 - Northern Colorado leaves league to pursue Division I.
2004 - At the completion of the 2003-04 season, NDSU and SDSU leave the league for Division I.
2004 - The NCC adds Minnesota-Duluth to bring the conference membership to seven for the 2004-05 season.
http://www.argusleader.com/sports/Sundayarticle6.shtml
NCC dealing with some upheaval
Mick Garry
Argus Leader
published: 7/25/2004
The North Central Conference, often billed as the best league in NCAA Division II, has gone through several alterations in recent years after 20 years of absolute stability.
The first move came when Morningside, the smallest of the 10 schools, left in 2001. Next came Northern Colorado at the end of the 2003 school year, followed by North Dakota State and South Dakota State this past year.
Morningside, with its small enrollment and tight athletic budget, seemed out of place in the NCC for some time. Northern Colorado, while adding immeasurably to the league's luster with its national championship-caliber football program, was a consistent traveling pain for other NCC schools, as well as a lackluster draw at other conference locales.
In NDSU and SDSU, however, the league said good bye to a pair of well-funded, ideally-located charter members.
"We have a great thing going in this league and we have for a long time, so it's not like the wheels are completely off," USD athletic director Joel Nielsen said. "But, when you take relationships out of play like USD-SDSU and UND-NDSU, the wheels are going to get a little wobbly for a while. We're going to be in a wait-and-see mode for the short term, but the league is going to stay as strong as it has during its history."
Minnesota-Duluth joins the NCC this fall to make a seven-team league, but that addition won't offset the two high-profile losses.
Last season, the NCC was at the top of Division II basketball attendance and second in football. Not coincidentally, SDSU led the nation in basketball attendance and NDSU led in football. The averages in both sports are bound to fall next season without those heavyweight numbers.
Nevertheless, NCC commissioner Mike Marcil says he's not worried about the conference's stature within the region or nationally. . . .
The other big hurdle for the remaining NCC schools is scheduling.
When it was a 10-team conference, football programs had to find two non-conference opponents and basketball had to find about 10. Now, with just six conference games in football and 12 in basketball, digging out non-conference foes has become far more challenging.
Basketball programs have to schedule at least 10 of their 15 non-conference dates against NCAA Division II teams, with the rest usually being NAIA or NCAA Division III. . . .
The potential non-conference deficit has been felt throughout the region. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, from which the NCC picked up Minnesota-Duluth, had extreme difficulty getting NCC teams to their home court years ago. Not anymore.
"At NDSU, we never would have thought of playing a game in Crookston or Bemidji," Billeter said. "I'd offer them guaranteed money and just bring them in. Now they know you need games so you have to go home-and-home with them. This Thanksgiving, I'll be in Crookston and Bemidji." . . .
NCC changes
Recent changes involving the North Central Conference
2001 - Morningside leaves conference.
2003 - Northern Colorado leaves league to pursue Division I.
2004 - At the completion of the 2003-04 season, NDSU and SDSU leave the league for Division I.
2004 - The NCC adds Minnesota-Duluth to bring the conference membership to seven for the 2004-05 season.