Not sure that this has been posted but here's a MidCo interview with Tom Douple.
https://www.midcosn.com/blog/2019/10...ue-invitation/
The differences between Augie and St. Thomas: St. Thomas is much bigger and their support for going DI is not just one or two bigwigs. Like NDSU, they enjoy broad support. Schools that try to do stuff with just a couple deep pockets on board seldom do well. Take Northern Colorado - they had some big donors who wanted UNC to go DI and kind of pushed them that way. Then, all the sudden, they got miffed about something and pulled their support.
Maybe I missed it but I didn't hear any Augustana talk. It was interesting to hear the question about Minnesota State and St Cloud State as it sounds like there has been back channel communication but nothing has ever officially been discussed. However he made it sound like those NSIC schools will be watching how St Thomas does in it's transition. The bottom line was that he sounded open to another D2 move up. I was 100% against UMKC, Augie, and UST from NDSU's perspective but get why it's a good thing for the Summit. At this point we may as well as Mankato, it honestly doesn't matter anymore.
Article in NY Times about St. Thomas trying to make the jump from DIII to DI. "but will the NCAA allow it?"
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/s...ivision-i.html
Haven't read the article because I don't have a subscription.
It is a good article establishing a baseline for the Tommie move and challenges. Outside of the St Johns game, they don't draw in football in a stadium that needs a lot more seats for even the FCS. The other sports don't really draw either and have facilities that will also need upgrading like their hockey arena. They hope to have a defcon about D1 by April.
My 1/2 cent follows.
There is a reason the NCAA doesn't want programs going straight from III to I. Put together all the marketing strategies you want, the bottom line this is going to take serious money and serious behavior change by everyone attached to the college.
They are a school that dominates their conference in sports. A conference of schools that focus in academics that happen to have athletics. They are really not a football or basketball school in the sense of a basketball school like Butler or football school like NDSU or hockey school like UN_. Nothing there to really pinpoint as the D1 pivot point.
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If they jump directly to D1 they are in for a rude awakening.
St Thomas just found a spot in the pioneer.
https://judolphins.com/news/2019/12/...-football.aspx
JU out. STU in.
NDSU TO FBS. HAVEN'T WE WON ENOUGH?