St. Thomas to FCS

[THEsocalledfan]

Heard many say they would want to go MVFC in time.....however, I think those folks are forgetting just how much money they will need to pump into hockey........I really wonder if they will be Pioneer long term.

[Greta Van Herd]

Yes, obviously I mean that St Thomas is better than those teams CURRENTLY.

Umm yes I think UND, who was currently DI, who is already providing scholarships to their players, who are well within the footprint of the conference, with ample history with over half the league, with FCS well above average facilities across the board, is a better fit than a DIII school with virtually none of those things (except for the footprint comment).

Umm ok, but the 4 teams that you said St. Thomas would be better than have all the things that you just referenced UND as having. Why the difference for UND then? Just trying to understand your thought process here. Try not to get so defensive about it.

[El_Chapo]

Heard many say they would want to go MVFC in time.....however, I think those folks are forgetting just how much money they will need to pump into hockey........I really wonder if they will be Pioneer long term.

I was at a St Thomas fundraising function saturday night, that's why they announced this friday.
to a person, their hockey situation is split 50/50 , want to keep it and go to WCHA vs sane people that don't want to money drain.

They were pretty dam excited on this D1 news, lots of deep pockets, Medtronic , GM, Cargill, 3M exec types there.
I predict they go big with Basketball and Olympic sports.....and while it appears their admin said "pioneer for football" I think the donor's will try and convince admin into MVFC.

[bisonp]

Everybody seems to be glossing over the exemption they need from the NCAA to go direct to DI. Has the NCAA ever granted one? I was under the impression that they are pretty strict on their reclassification process.

[El_Chapo]

Everybody seems to be glossing over the exemption they need from the NCAA to go direct to DI. Has the NCAA ever granted one? I was under the impression that they are pretty strict on their reclassification process.

but that's why behind the scenes St Thomas told the other MIAC presidents to "go ahead & kick us out" because that would give them the ammunition to get a waiver from NCAA.

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

It’s not just hockey. Pioneer is a perfect fit. They’ll dominate just like they do now and they can keep playing traditional rivals. If NDSU can play Butler at Target Field, NDSU can play UST there too and it will be epic. Best of all possible worlds

I don't think they are ultimately making this move to be a FB school. They know what they are and where the ceiling is, etc. MVC or bust ...

[MankatoBison]

Umm ok, but the 4 teams that you said St. Thomas would be better than have all the things that you just referenced UND as having. Why the difference for UND then? Just trying to understand your thought process here. Try not to get so defensive about it.

SIU, Indiana State, western and missouri state all have historic rivalries with other MVFC Teams, top rate facilities across the board, are at the geopgraphic center of the conference and are doing COA scholarships? Interesting, never heard anyone, literally ever suggest that about any of these schools besides you.

Some of these schools have ONE of these things.. Most have None. UND has all of them. St Thomas would have some of them day one, and have the rest within 2-3 years.

I guess I dont know what you are arguing? that MoState, Indiana State, Western and SIU are stalwart Athletic programs, top too bottom, in Mid-major college sports? If you have a counterpoint- now would be the time to say it besides just randomly taking offense to something and challenging the semantics of the statement

[MankatoBison]

Lets flash forward- lets say they all go into the summit, Pioneer in football and WCHA in hockey.

What do they REALLY gain out of this that they couldnt get in D2? Football is the big "profile booster", and they would be in a profile-less league. Pioneer doesnt move the needle at all. Like for anyone.

WCHA hockey could be a very big deal for them... but they could do that without going to the summit in other sports.

Sure, they would have more of a regional profile as Summit baseball, track, basketball etc, but does that profoundly boost their profile? if you want ROI on a scholarship, wouldnt you think the sports to target are:

1. Football
2. Hockey (not for everyone, but important for them specifically)
3. Basketball
4. Baseball
5. all of the other 10 million sports

It just doesnt make a great deal of sense to me that they would go through the hassle of paying for all of the scholarships of non-revenue-generating and non-profile increasing sports, and then SKIP over the one that generates more revenue and more profile then the rest combined? What am I missing here?

[Greta Van Herd]

SIU, Indiana State, western and missouri state all have historic rivalries with other MVFC Teams, top rate facilities across the board, are at the geopgraphic center of the conference and are doing COA scholarships? Interesting, never heard anyone, literally ever suggest that about any of these schools besides you.

Some of these schools have ONE of these things.. Most have None. UND has all of them. St Thomas would have some of them day one, and have the rest within 2-3 years.

Heck, if you want to change your own criteria in midstream, I guess that’s your prerogative.

It’s okay if you really, really, really like UND. Why try to hide it?

[JMB]

Lets flash forward- lets say they all go into the summit, Pioneer in football and WCHA in hockey.

What do they REALLY gain out of this that they couldnt get in D2? Football is the big "profile booster", and they would be in a profile-less league. Pioneer doesnt move the needle at all. Like for anyone.

WCHA hockey could be a very big deal for them... but they could do that without going to the summit in other sports.

Sure, they would have more of a regional profile as Summit baseball, track, basketball etc, but does that profoundly boost their profile? if you want ROI on a scholarship, wouldnt you think the sports to target are:

1. Football
2. Hockey (not for everyone, but important for them specifically)
3. Basketball
4. Baseball
5. all of the other 10 million sports

It just doesnt make a great deal of sense to me that they would go through the hassle of paying for all of the scholarships of non-revenue-generating and non-profile increasing sports, and then SKIP over the one that generates more revenue and more profile then the rest combined? What am I missing here?

Basketball certainly has the ability to be the big profile booster if they get good... Why else does Georgetown, Butler, Drake, etc.. play in the same situation?

However, I would expect St. Thomas to attempt to quickly move to scholarship football. They seem to be a football school. I doubt their boosters will be happy getting the living hell kicked out of them by the "schools that matter" in the FCS. They are going to want to play Minnesota. They are going to want to compete with the Dakota Schools.