Gene Talks to Troy

[Bisonguy]

Troy State, that is. Gene Taylor concluded talks today with the Troy State AD about the transition from DII to DI. Gene stated that conference talks will be the priority for the next couple months. He said the Big Sky is not a dead issue, and everybody needs to be patient. The Mid-Cont. was also mentioned on Fox news, but the lack of a commish is postponing any serious talk with the conference until a new one is appointed.

[Bison_Kent]

I wonder how Troy State moved up. I think they were an independent (at least when they moved from DII to I-AA). I know that Troy is now in I-A and made the Big Basketball tournament this past year so they must be a part of a conference.

In my opinion, we might want to start either as an independent or join a new conference such as one discussed before. This would be just a temporary move to allow SDSU move up as well. After the probabitionary period, there proabably be more chances to get into an existing conference.

I still think the Big Sky will be in the future but it might take five years to see this. I don't think we should be blaming Gene for all the problems of not getting into a conference. The majority of the blame has to go to the NCAA. First the up the probationary period to a time period for football to five years from two years. Next, they slap a 13 year wait in basketball. Next, the announce that I-A teams need to meet minimum attendance and a minimum number of home games which might place some of these teams to I-AA. Finally, they seem to take their time in deciding if teams moving up are to be classified as Division I or Division II in their first seasons.

All these reasons would make any conference shy away from getting real excited about adding teams right now. I agree with Gene. It is going to take some patience both with the NCAA and NDSU finding a conference.

[SDSUFAN]

How did Troy move up? I often had that question myself. Last summer I drove through that area and look at their facilities. Their football and baseball are superior to what we have *at SDSU and maybe NDSU. *The Football staduim seats somewhere between 20 and 30 thousand. *and is an outdoor facility that has been added on to maybe three or more times. When I was there last summer, it look like they were adding seating in the endzone, not sure what was going on.

Apparently they draw the crowds for football. The baseball facility is brand spanking new. *What is not impressive was their basketball facility. *They have a Hyslop facility with few back chairs and tons of hard ass bleachers.
Troy is a small community but about an hour from Montegomery which I believe the crowds come from. That is about all I know about their facilities. How they got to D1A in football, I really dont know details on that.
I think they are in a good area for recruits and apparently they have found what they need. They also have scheduled big D1A opponents for guarentee money. They played the Huskers two years in a row in Lincoln. Last year they also played Iowa State and got a good check for that game. They stay away from scheduling Alabama and Auburn. *The pay check will not be as good as coming up to Iowa State and their recruiting does not suffer from an embarrassing loss.

I sure Gene Taylor came away with a lot of good information. *Troy State started out as a Junior College back when George Wallace was governor. *Starting Juco's was one of his more progressive ideas.

[Bisonguy]

Jeff Kolpack reports old bisonguy news:

Jeff Kolpack column: Testimonials help calm D-I nerves
The Forum - 04/18/2003
What we learned from the war with Iraq is Americans’ appetite for patience. Or lack thereof.

The administration said many times that “it will take as long as it takes.” Vice President Dick Cheney said last fall it will be weeks rather than months.

A few days into the conflict, people were freaking out about it not being over. Well, it took weeks rather than months.

Patience has also been a preaching of NDSU’s war with Division I.

The administration told us last fall when it announced the move that there will be many tough days ahead. Athletic director Gene Taylor told us in 2001 that “it doesn’t happen overnight and we have to be willing to understand that.”

Taylor said the move will take years to implement, not months.

Well, as the Big Sky Conference made it clear to NDSU over the winter, it will indeed take years instead of months.

That’s why bringing in guys like Troy State (Ala.) athletic director Johnny Williams is valuable. It may keep people from freaking out over NDSU’s D-I move.

Williams saw Troy State grow from Division II to Division I in the 1990s.

In 1993, when Troy announced its decision, it was a successful Division II school, did not have a Division I league to join, made the move for institutional reasons and had many doubters in the city of Troy.

Sound familiar?

Taylor, who befriended Williams at an NCAA convention, brought Williams to Fargo this week to, in part, speak to campus and booster groups.

“I’m hoping my trip will make people feel at ease,” Williams said.

The hardest aspect, he said, is finding a league. It took Troy three years before the Atlantic Sun Conference accepted the Trojans.

The city got behind the team giving the school $4.5 million to upgrade facilities. It viewed the money as an economic investment.

Williams said it was cash well spent. The Trojans averaged 13,402 fans in football last year, or about what NDSU averages. Its alumni chapters grew from four to 36 and many more people now know about Troy, Ala.

He said NDSU’s finances are close to this year’s Troy budget.

But Troy also has advantages that NDSU doesn’t, such as location, recruiting area and a smaller reclassification period.

“Yeah,” Williams said, “but you’ll be playing people in the same region. NDSU is successful at a national level. That won’t change much, especially with the mass communications and technology. They’ve already started to recruit the Chicago area. What we saw is it broadened our recruiting base.”

Looking long-term, he said, North Dakota needs a Division I university. And he reiterated the words Taylor said in 2001.

“There are struggles,” he said. “The reason there are hurdles is they don’t want everyone to go Division I.”

It remains to be seen if NDSU fans can handle years of hurdles.

Readers can reach Jeff Kolpack at (701) 241-5546 or jkolpack@forumcomm.com

[JBB]

I like their ambition and success. Someday, I would like to see NDSU football go to full DI membership too. But, a full 63 scholarships will cost at least $700,000. Another 20 or so would push that to a million. A nice 30 year plan for NDSU football would be to attract the kind of competition that will fill the Fabulous Fargo Dome, be competitive with them and eventually move into a 50,000 seat stadium. That would free up the FFD for hockey.

[Bisonguy]

He said NDSU’s finances are close to this year’s Troy budget.





Maybe NDSU should go DIA. Troy State's attendance is below the 15,000 minimum that has been circulating, though.

[Bison49]

I had an opportunity to speak with Williams. He was completely jealous of the FARGODOME. He gave NDSU a lot of hope and encouragement. Williams is a very intelligent man when it comes to the NCAA. Smart idea to have him come in and speak, Gene! Way to go! NDSU is definitely heading in the right direction.

[Bison_Kent]

I don't think NDSU will ever get to the I-A football division plus I am not sure we would want it. Lets look at a similar sized school and a land grant school that has moved from I-AA to I-A in Idaho. Idaho was a moderately successful school in I-AA. They then decided to go to I-A. They went from a perienial playoff contender to one that barely wins at all now. Also, they are playing in the Sun Belt Conference with Louisana, Alabama, and Tennessee schools. They have no close road games (other then non-conference) and no rivals. They also had to play home games in a larger stadium at Washington State University as their stadium didn't meet the 30,000 size minimum set for I-A. I know this 30,000 seat minimum has somewhat lessened the amount per game, where they need to average 15,000 per home game but have to have 5 home games against I-A competition.

I think the I-AA level is where NDSU needs to be. NDSU will be a top contender after the 5 year waiting period. If the I-A level was choosen, NDSU would be the "easy" I-A game for the Nebraskas and Iowas of the big conferences. Plus, what would be the glory in playing lower I-A football? Last year, the Sun Belt Conference champion played the Conference USA third place team in the New Orleans Bowl which was played on a Tuesday night, a week and a half before Christmas.

I would rather play on a Saturday in mid-December and for a national championship in I-AA. But that is just me. For the size of school and the stadium size, I-AA makes sense. I-A does not.

[Bisonguy]

I don't think NDSU should be DIA. DIAA is the place to be. ;D It had been mentioned in a previous thread, and I was just showing that NDSU's budget was close to a DIA school.