Summit Expansion?

[MrAugustana]

Head to Omaha......Huskers get nearly all the coverage. When Omaha still had football, many didn't even know they had a team.

When SDSU beat NDSU, no stories on the TV about tailgating, no post game interviews, did not lead the news, etc. Then, Augie got the same amount of highlights. Not sure how you can possibly defend that. Even if you go D1 and play in the Pioneer League, you cannot even defend it then.

I was seriously embarrassed for Sioux Falls and the Sioux Falls Media and called them out on Twitter.

You clearly feel strongly about this and I doubt anything I say I will persuade you to change your opinion on it. But I would be incredibly surprised, if you asked Zimmer for the stats on the percentage of SDSU and USD stories compared to Augie stories overall, if they were even remotely comparable. My guess is they are not, in spite of specific instances you are referring to. That being said, I respect your disagreement on it.

[scottietohottie]

2) We disagree on this. It makes sense that NDSU would get more coverage than Concordia and MSUM, as it's located in Fargo. And the local media basically runs 24-7 news coverage about the football program (saying that as an outsider looking in).

Maybe the football program just makes news 24/7.

[MrAugustana]

Maybe the football program just makes news 24/7.

Totally agree. Wasn't a complaint or a criticism. Just an observation. It doesn't bother me one way or the other how much the local media covers you guys. You win. A lot.

[IndyBison]

Great post. Couple points, though:

1. You will be lower level football than USF. Are your alumni willing to play at a lower level than your next door neighbor who used to play lower level than you?
2. Augustana and USF get way too much coverage. I live in Sioux Falls. The lack of USD and SDSU coverage is embarrassing and they should do less on Augie and USF if not willing to hire more folks. They get more coverage than Concordia or Moorhead get in Fargo; you are lucky.

Indy is a much larger market but similar. IU and as Purdue are both an hour away but they get the bulk of the coverage. The paper has beat writers and television does live remotes. Butler gets similar coverage for basketball now but that's only due to their success. Notre Dame is 2 hours north and gets done as well. The rest of the D1 schools in the state (Ball State, Indiana State, Evansville, Valparaiso) gets mentions but very little additional coverage. The schools in Indy metro will get coverage if they have success (IUPUI D1, UIndy D2, Franklin D3, Anderson D3, Marian NAIA). Wabash, DePauw, Hanover, and Rose Hulman are D3 schools with a lot of successful alumni and compete well at their level and all about 1-2 hours from Indy. They will also get limited coverage.

I'm surprised Sioux Falls prioritizes the coverage the way they do. SDSU and USD have much larger alumni bases in SF and they compete well at a higher level. They are really missing the boat there. Don't ignore the in town schools but feature the bigger schools.

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[jrd]

Indy is a much larger market but similar. IU and as Purdue are both an hour away but they get the bulk of the coverage. The paper has beat writers and television does live remotes. Butler gets similar coverage for basketball now but that's only due to their success. Notre Dame is 2 hours north and gets done as well. The rest of the D1 schools in the state (Ball State, Indiana State, Evansville, Valparaiso) gets mentions but very little additional coverage. The schools in Indy metro will get coverage if they have success (IUPUI D1, UIndy D2, Franklin D3, Anderson D3, Marian NAIA). Wabash, DePauw, Hanover, and Rose Hulman are D3 schools with a lot of successful alumni and compete well at their level and all about 1-2 hours from Indy. They will also get limited coverage.

I'm surprised Sioux Falls prioritizes the coverage the way they do. SDSU and USD have much larger alumni bases in SF and they compete well at a higher level. They are really missing the boat there. Don't ignore the in town schools but feature the bigger schools.

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The Sioux Falls media is all about Sioux Falls, if it didn't happen within the I-29-90-229 corridor it didn't happen. Back when SDSU was in the DI transition and KWSN refused to cover anything SDSU their excuse was that their signal didn't reach Brookings, which was laughable, as if the only fans and supporters of SDSU only lived in Brookings.

[THEsocalledfan]

The Sioux Falls media is all about Sioux Falls, if it didn't happen within the I-29-90-229 corridor it didn't happen. Back when SDSU was in the DI transition and KWSN refused to cover anything SDSU their excuse was that their signal didn't reach Brookings, which was laughable, as if the only fans and supporters of SDSU only lived in Brookings.

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

It is very hard to explain. You'd think some "new" media would move in to fill the void. Its so strange. BTW, folks are focusing on the Argus, but it the the TV stations as well. They may lead say with a SDSU football game in sports, but Augie and USF will get equal time. Never any depth to what they do with USD or SDSU.

[Yote 53]

Have to agree with this. The Sioux Falls media treat USD and SDSU as just another team and give off the vibe that Augie and USF are at the same level. Really sucks for SDSU because it limits their coverage due to their location. At least with USD, being so close to Sioux City, the Coyotes get a lot of coverage in the NW Iowa region as well as some decent coverage out of Yankton. So if Sioux Falls doesn't want to give USD coverage they can still get it out of similarly populated metro area just to the south.

[Herd]

So is UMKC to the Summit not reality? I expected there would be something official by July 1st.

[Honeybooboo]

Based on everything that has been posted/debated for the past year or so, it seems one of the primary reasons to vote them in is security for postseason auto-qualifiers, particularly if IPFW or Western Illinois bolts in the near future.

Yes, I know, everyone would rather add UMKC, Grand Canyon, New Mexico State, or even one of the D2 Minnesota schools, but, like I said a couple of posts ago, there seems to be zero indication that any of those schools want to jump into the Summit League. So saying what you (the general "you" meaning NDSU/USD/SDSU fans, etc., not you specifically, Honeybooboo) would prefer doesn't bring it to reality or make it suddenly more likely to happen. Augie appears to be the only realistic short-term option.

As others have said, if that's the only reason Augie is being added, that's not necessarily a great reason. But I doubt that's the only reason those schools would allow Augie in.

Assuming Augie can raise the funds necessary to compete, you are adding a high-academic institution in a hub city for this region (with major predicted growth), and, since they have finally started to genuinely invest in athletics over the past 10-15 years, an athletics program that has consistently seen high-level success across all sports at their current level. Yes, there is a major, major jump between D2 and D1, but my point is that, if Augustana continues to invest in athletics to the same degree (or a greater degree) at the D1 level as they have been at the D2 level, there's clearly an indication they have a chance to be competitive at a high level across several sports. So adding another successful program--if Augie can get to the point where they are consistently competitive--helps the Summit League beyond just keeping the Summit post-season eligible if someone leaves. They bring some other benefits to the table that could make the conference stronger, not weaker.

Yes, they'll most likely have to go Pioneer League for football. My guess is it's hard for multi-National Champion football fans to envision playing at such an embarrassingly "low" level (and I mean that as a compliment, sincerely). At the same time, Augie in future seasons could theoretically end up having a home schedule of Minnesota Crookston, the Univeristy of Mary, Minot State, Upper Iowa, and probably 1-2 good teams like USF or Mankato in any given season. If you want to tell me that fans would be any less excited to see Pioneer League games than a schedule of that nature, I don't know that I'd agree with you. Especially if Augie were to be competitive in the Pioneer League within a few years. It's not like we pack the stands for Minnesota Crookston but would have a half-empty stadium for Drake or Valparaiso. So while the Pioneer League would be an embarrassing step down to you guys, there's a chance Augie fans would engage just as much as they do any other NSIC season, other than the loss of 2-3 marquee matchups like USF, Mankato, and Northern State. Or maybe they'd hate it. I don't know. I'm not a huge football guy, so maybe the hardcore Augie football fans would disagree with me.



Augie fans (plural)? I'm like 99% certain I'm the only one on here. And lurking? Come on now. I rarely lurk.

As far as what you do or don't care about, I know a lot of you guys probably won't believe this, but some of us Augie fans don't really care a ton about "reuniting with the old NCC," whether it's for football or other sports. In my case, more than anything I'm just tired of seeing SDSU and USD get all of the attention in Sioux Falls when neither school is even located in the city. It really bugs me that Augie lost its beat writer at the Argus two seasons ago and basically just gets leftover table scraps for news coverage in the local media. If going D1 makes us more relevant overall, that's more important to me than getting to play the old NCC schools a few times a year.

So while us coming to town probably won't be all that exciting for you guys, I'm sort of in the same boat. If it picks up Augie's attendance thanks to drawing back in the "glory days of the NCC" diehards at Augie, then that's a bonus. But ultimately my hope is that, if it happens, making the jump keeps Augie relevant. For good reasons. Not for Centenary reasons.

Your a private school, more people live in the old folks home in Grand Forks than your enrollment, Hate me or whatever Augie brings ZERO to lift our league up.., shitty addition period!

[Honeybooboo]

So is UMKC to the Summit not reality? I expected there would be something official by July 1st.

UMKC went to the WAC because they thought it was 1998, they will probably go to DII befor2 coming back