Bill to keep Sioux nickname

[G-city Bison Fan]

Sigh...and I am no longer a ND resident anymore. Luckily I can get at least 10 family member votes together for the "let's destroy the und athletic dept." vote. Word's can't express how happy I would be to see this vote pass. I don't know why ND doesn't just let them have what they want so very badly. I for one hope they keep the nickname as long as possible.

[MNLonghorn10]

That's pretty much how I feel.

And I'm quite embarrassed that apparently 17,000 North Dakota residents are willing to cripple UND's entire athletic department for the sake of the picture on their hat or shirt................

i remember on facebook, the sioux hockey fan friends were the ones flooding my news feed with sign the petition crap, not realizing that the athletic dept may be doing suicide.

i mean really, once the gophers and badgers leave, is sioux hockey really going to thrive in their conference...especially since big schools wont even be playing them if they keep the logo. if the fans want to be small time and play the denvers, cc's, mankatos etc...what was the point of jumping to d1? i mean outside of miami of ohio, youre still going to be playing d2 programs. i know the gophers and badgers bailed after und declared. but this is just a cluster, and drunk one sided hockey fans who dont realize what theyre doing is going to ruin it for everyone in the entire fan base.

[bincitysioux]

i remember on facebook, the sioux hockey fan friends were the ones flooding my news feed with sign the petition crap, not realizing that the athletic dept may be doing suicide.

i mean really, once the gophers and badgers leave, is sioux hockey really going to thrive in their conference...especially since big schools wont even be playing them if they keep the logo. if the fans want to be small time and play the denvers, cc's, mankatos etc...what was the point of jumping to d1? i mean outside of miami of ohio, youre still going to be playing d2 programs. i know the gophers and badgers bailed after und declared. but this is just a cluster, and drunk one sided hockey fans who dont realize what theyre doing is going to ruin it for everyone in the entire fan base.

Amen.

Personally, if the hockey-only crowd at UND thinks that the North Dakota-Minnesota/Wisco hockey games are gonna continue despite the conference shake-ups, I think they are in for a rude awakening. Forget football, UND and NDSU couldn't even get a freaking men's basketball game going for like 7 years.

[DjKyRo]

i remember on facebook, the sioux hockey fan friends were the ones flooding my news feed with sign the petition crap, not realizing that the athletic dept may be doing suicide.

i mean really, once the gophers and badgers leave, is sioux hockey really going to thrive in their conference...especially since big schools wont even be playing them if they keep the logo. if the fans want to be small time and play the denvers, cc's, mankatos etc...what was the point of jumping to d1? i mean outside of miami of ohio, youre still going to be playing d2 programs. i know the gophers and badgers bailed after und declared. but this is just a cluster, and drunk one sided hockey fans who dont realize what theyre doing is going to ruin it for everyone in the entire fan base.

You assume a fan base that sees Denver, Mankato, and Duluth as "national powers" is governed by any kind of reason.

[SeattleBison]

So, who's up for starting a grass roots "get out an vote for the Whioux in June"... let's take action and destroy UND athletics!

[NorthernBison]

I think, based on what Fullerton said on the radio today, the odds of a vote to expell from the Big Sky president's within a week of the June vote are near zero. While I agree that he said, in so many words, that some want them gone already, others don't care and by omission UND has no real champion among the other Big Sky presidents. He also said quite directly that he didn't anticipate action unless or until there was evidence that UNDs position in D1 had been marginalized. He sited things like road game protests, recruiting and non-conference scheduling difficulties as examples of such evidence. So unless the landscape changes considerably between now and June I wouldn't expect action out of the Big Sky that quickly.

I've tried for a long time to imagine the biggest factors affecting the BSC Presidents in this process. There are too many twists and possibilities to list and it's not worth trying.

A. There is an incentive to boot UND before July 1 because they are a "probationary" member and this would be an easily defendable move if ND voters vote yes on the initiative.

B. One of the biggest disincentives to act quickly is the fact that a move to boot is something that can not be rescinded. Kicking them out is a permanent decision for all practical purposes. The Presidents are well aware of the consequences to UND and they also know that Kelley, Faison, etc are NOT in favor of the initiative to keep the nickname. It's not so easy to ruin somebody who agrees with you.

There you have two strong and conflicting positions.

[DjKyRo]

B. One of the biggest disincentives to act quickly is the fact that a move to boot is something that can not be rescinded. Kicking them out is a permanent decision for all practical purposes. The Presidents are well aware of the consequences to UND and they also know that Kelley, Faison, etc are NOT in favor of the initiative to keep the nickname. It's not so easy to ruin somebody who agrees with you.

I'm no UND fan, but as a decent person this is something to be admired if it does indeed prove true. That said, if it does hurt the conference to include UND, Fullerton has to make the same business decision Douple did.

[NorthernBison]

I'm no UND fan, but as a decent person this is something to be admired if it does indeed prove true. That said, if it does hurt the conference to include UND, Fullerton has to make the same business decision Douple did.

Ultimately it will be up to the Presidents. They will listen to what Fullerton says but they have proven in the past that his opinions don't always matter.

One thing we absolutely do not know is their relationship with Kelley and how that affects the decision process. Way too many possible scenarios there to get into.

FYI, I see only TWO potential homes for UND if they get the boot. Summit or WAC. Don't laugh but the WAC is more likely than the Summit/MVFC. That's how serious this is.

[Tatanka]

So if you're Kelley or Faison, how long do you actually stick around and continue to have to deal with this metacluster (I like the notion of a cluster about a cluster)? Kelley at least seems like a smart, reasonable person.

Another question. Why isn't a local journalist camping out in front of the coaches offices up there looking for a quote or sound bit from the coaches regarding this latest conversation with the skywest? Make hakstol defend his actions. Give the non teh hockies coaches a voice. If I'm any of them, I'm looking for a way off Gilligan's island before its too late.

[NorthernBison]

So if you're Kelley or Faison, how long do you actually stick around and continue to have to deal with this metacluster (I like the notion of a cluster about a cluster)? Kelley at least seems like a smart, reasonable person.

Another question. Why isn't a local journalist camping out in front of the coaches offices up there looking for a quote or sound bit from the coaches regarding this latest conversation with the skywest? Make hakstol defend his actions. Give the non teh hockies coaches a voice. If I'm any of them, I'm looking for a way off Gilligan's island before its too late.

Idiots like Rob Port and Scott Hennen have no idea just how quickly Kelley and/or Faison (but especially Kelley) could augur UND into the ground.

If Kelley was to suddenly resign and send a thank you email to all the BSC Presidents and wish them good luck in managing this circus, their vote would probably be immediate. I'm guessing it would be unanimous.