Originally Posted by
Yote 53
You are saying that by going D1 Augie will be worthy of more coverage. Thumper's point is why do you need to go D1? You already get pretty much equal coverage the way it is as a D2 school. That's the point many of us are trying to make, Sioux Falls media coverage is mind boggling. They do a lot of HS sports coverage, which I guess is good, but when it comes to Augie and USF they get coverage on par with USD and SDSU, which is crazy.
As to the question of whether a D1 Augie would be successful? I highly doubt it. First reason is that it appears Augie is going D1 for all the wrong reasons. The driving reason is so that Sioux Falls can have a D1 school to call their own. Reason #2 is so the local SF media has a SF school to cover at the SLT. If the driving force behind a D1 move is so that Augie can be repped at the SLT then this move will fail and fail miserably.
Augustana does not have the enrollment to provide the institutional support necessary, they don't have the resources to put the necessary support in place, they don't have the endowment necessary to sustain success. You realize that moving to D1 is a lot more than just adding some scholarships and declaring yourself D1, right? As much as you need to put into adding scholarships you also need to put in just as much in support and compliance personnel.
Moving to D1 is something that goes beyond the athletic department, it has a transformational effect on the entire institution, as the 4 Dakota schools that have made the transition have come to realize. I hear some of that speak coming out of Augustana, about how athletics are the front porch to the school and a means to showcase it. I hear some of that speak, but not enough. I also don't hear much about how a move like this fits into the overall mission of Augustana. For the 4 Dakota schools it was clear, it was done because our peer institutions were Division 1 schools, and a move to D1 would help to increase the school profile and drive enrollment increases, which has happened at all 4 schools.
I don't see that happening at Augustana. I see some people in Sioux Falls and the SF media wanting their own team. I see Augustana thinking that because they have had some success now in D2 that they are ready to move to D1. Reality is that the only reason Augie has had success in D2 is because the 4 Dakota schools moved out of that division, if the Vikings move to D1 they will back to bottom feeder status, it will just be as a more expensive bottom feeder.
ETA: It would be great that if instead of debating this on Bisonville, GoYotes, SiouxSports, SDSUFans, or AGS we could all go to the appropriate place, the Augustana message board, and have this discussion there.