UPDATE ON SDSU MOVE TO D1

[SDSUFAN]

Here is an article from the SDSU student paper the SDSU Collegian about what is going on in our quest for D1. I trust the Bison fans will find this article of interest.

April 30, 2003 Part 1 of 2

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DI transition committees will use summer to strategize in six areas
SDSU must tell NCC its plans for 2004-'05 season by Sept. 1, '03

By Justin R. Lessman
Last year at this time, talk of SDSU reclassifying its athletic program to NCAA Division I was just a whisper in the South Dakota breeze. Students mentioned it in passing. The public talked about it at area coffee shops. Faculty and administration scanned information about the concept.

It seemed so far away.

Now, after a year of questions, meetings, public forums, letters to the editor, discussions, arguments, disagreements and a stamp of approval from the South Dakota Board of Regents, SDSU is poised and ready to make the dream of Division I a reality.

Accordingly, it does not come as a surprise that athletic department officials have a full summer ahead of them.

"Things are still progressing," said Fred Oien, SDSU athletic director. "We'll just keep working on our objectives until they have all been completed."

Meanwhile, the DI transition team, composed of members of the former leadership team which studied the move to DI, is scheduled to continue meeting with consultants over the summer.

In addition to these meetings, the team has been split into six subset committees and paired with campus representatives with expertise in certain areas of interest. These subset committees will work toward drafting a portion of the formal strategy plan.

Oien said the strategy plan is being created to outline obstacles that remain in the quest for DI and to suggest solutions to those problems.

The six areas that the subset committees will look into are: academic support systems and the development of an academic criteria plan, NCAA compliance issues, fundraising development and techniques, development of external facilities and the financing of those, student athlete welfare including Title IX compliance, and university environment.

Oien said each of the six subset committees will outline goals and objectives of their specific area over the up-coming five-year transition period, suggest how to reach these, and the desired outcome.

Oien said he expects the final copy of the formal strategy plan to be completed by the fourth week of July. That gives athletic department officials just one month to formulate future strategy, as SDSU must notify the North Central Conference of its plans for the 2004-05 season by Sept. 1. Also looming in the distant future is the Dec. 1 deadline to submit a formal letter of intent to the NCAA applying for reclassification to DI athletic competition.

So, what needs to be accomplished yet before these final steps can be taken?

The most pressing issue is finding a suitable conference affiliation.

Thus far, SDSU has gotten the cold shoulder from the Big Sky Conference to the west, the affiliation that athletic department officials had deemed the most suitable.

Recent talks between SDSU, NDSU and other area schools indicate that interest in forming a new DI-AA football-only conference has been growing. However, suitable conference affiliation would still need to be located for the other sport programs.

"At this time, no conference affiliation has been found," Oien said.

[SDSUFAN]

Here is part 2 of the article:
April 30, 2003



DI transition committees will use summer to strategize in six areas


Thus far, SDSU has gotten the cold shoulder from the Big Sky Conference to the west, the affiliation that athletic department officials had deemed the most suitable.

Recent talks between SDSU, NDSU and other area schools indicate that interest in forming a new DI-AA football-only conference has been growing. However, suitable conference affiliation would still need to be located for the other sport programs.

"At this time, no conference affiliation has been found," Oien said.

"The search continues. We are still visiting with various conference officials, with athletic directors and university presidents."

And what if no conference has been nailed down by the Sept. 1 deadline?

"We have no formal plan in place if that happens," Oien said.

Top athletic department officials are not the only SDSU personnel involved in the DI transition process. Coaches are also being affected, along with their job responsibilities.

"Coaches are very much involved in the transition," Oien said. "In the summer, coaches are busy with pre-work on recruitment and preparation for the upcoming season. This summer, coaches will be involved with scheduling issues over the five-year transition period."

Aaron Johnston, head women's basketball coach, said his summer will be very full, just like any other summer, yet a little different in the wake of the DI transition.

"Yes, the Division I transition will pose more of a challenge to coaches, especially in the scheduling of competitive games," he said.

Johnston said one aspect of his job that will change in the future is recruitment of athletes.

"Division I places more restrictions on recruiting," he said. "There will be more work out of the office and on the phone, and less travel than before. After we get the process down, it could maybe even be a little easier from that perspective."

Johnston said normally SDSU puts on basketball camps from the first of June to the 15th. Then, the NCAA-mandated recruitment period goes into effect, lasting from June 15 to Aug. 1.

"I would say normally we are on the road 75 percent of those days," Johnston said. "We head to tournaments and other games and scrimmages. But in Division I, that will change some. It will be a big change for all coaches, from basketball to baseball."

Despite the changes looming on the DI horizon, Oien said he has complete confidence in all of his department personnel and head coaches and believes that they are prepared for the switch to DI.

"I feel that all of the coaches function at the appropriate level for Division I already," he said. "They are completely prepared and ready for this move."

What a difference one year makes.

[SDSUFAN]

Yesterday Virg Foss of the Grand Forks Tribune had an article about NCC schools leaving. *There was nothing new in the article except that there is a possiblity of the NDSU-UND football series continuing another 5 years.

Mr. Foss choose not to mention the other things going on at SDSU in terms of strategic planning as was reported by the Collegian and posted above. *Instead he choses to dwell on the fact that a conference has not be found by SDSU.

I think between Kupecella interviewing, NDSU make a quest for PHD programs, and the NCC going up in smoke that there are a few uneasy people among the UND community of fans and alums.

One question never analyzed and discussed in a new article is "Just how much of a cash cow is the UND Hockey Program, and is helping or hindering the other atheletic programs at UND? Is the hockey program less than successful and would this explain their resistence to D1AA? Mr. Foss should answering those questions instead of worrying about SDSU and its D1AA conference.
The UND never talk about the matter period D1 Hockey profitablity period. When Fred Oien asked "When is UND making the Move?" notice the move to glory of D1 hockey by Foss in his article. I have been booted from siouxsports.com, because I made fun of their hockey program, but it was equally funny how the UND fans over their are kind of parniod about NDSU and SDSU leaving D2.

The profitability of D1 hockey is the best red herring that can be caught in the Red River from Big Stone Lake all the way to Canada.

For those who have not seen the article I will post it in a separate reply.

[SDSUFAN]

NORTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE: Jackrabbits aren't leaving just yet
South Dakota State wants to find a conference before school says it's gone
By Virg Foss
Herald Staff Writer
At least one Major League Baseball broadcaster's home-run call is "going ... going ... gone."

It's also an apt description of the unsettled life in the NCAA Division II North Central Conference, where up to three teams could be going, going, gone to Division I.

Northern Colorado, based in Greeley, Colo., already has announced it is leaving the NCC after the completion of this school term.

North Dakota State in Fargo already has served official notification to the NCC that it will leave the league after next season. The third NCC team with Division I aspirations Brookings-based South Dakota State has won approval from the state board of regents to move to Division I.

Yet if one of the three schools remains in the NCC, it will likely be South Dakota State, which has until Sept. 1 to notify the NCC of its intentions for the 2004-05 season. The stumbling block for all three schools is finding a Division I conference. Currently, none have found one.

"We will not go to Division I unless we have a contract in hand for a commitment for membership in a conference," SDSU athletic director Fred Oien says. "We don't necessarily need immediate membership in a league, but we do need a commitment."

Big Sky?

South Dakota State and NDSU both have explored membership in the Big Sky Conference, but that league has elected not to expand at this time. Furthermore, the league has said if it does expand, it's likely to expand to the West, not the East.

If South Dakota State serves official notice to leave to the NCC by Sept. 1, it would leave the league with six teams from its current membership of nine. Minnesota-Duluth, however, has been accepted for membership effective with the 2004-05 season.

Sioux-Bison rivalry

With the Bison leaving the NCC and the Sioux staying, the split of the two North Dakota schools puts their rivalries in jeopardy in terms of future meetings.

But this week, NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said he had a contract on his desk ready to send to UND athletic director Roger Thomas. The contract firms up a Sioux-Bison football game for the next five years from 2004 through 2008.

"I'd like to keep playing them every year, if we could," Taylor said, "as long as it a competitive game for both of us, which I think it will be, and as long as both schools want to play."

Sheer numbers may throw the competitive balance out of whack in time, though. Division II schools are permitted up to 36 full scholarships in football compared with the 63 allowed in Division I-AA.

NCC commissioner Mike Marcil remains hopeful that SDSU will stay in the league.

"They are one of our charter members, and we hope all the great rivalries they have in the league will outweigh all other considerations," Marcil said. "With Minnesota-Duluth coming in, we still feel we'd have the best Division II conference in the nation, and one of the best leagues overall, at any level. "

CONTINUED

[SDSUFAN]

Continued

NORTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE: Jackrabbits aren't leaving just yet
South Dakota State wants to find a conference before school says it's gone
By Virg Foss
Herald Staff Writer


The glitter of going Division I, though, remains strong.

"When's UND going to make a move?" Oien asked.

While NDSU plans to move up a level, UND consistently has said it is content in Division II in all sports except one. The glaring difference is that UND already has a Division I sport on campus in men's and women's hockey.

The Sioux men are a member of the Division I Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while the Sioux women's program recently was accepted for full membership in the WCHA, effective with the start of the 2004-05 season.

If South Dakota State doesn't find a Division I conference affiliation by Sept. 1, Oien said, the school will remain in the NCC for at least another year past the 2003-04 season. The school could notify the league of its intention to leave after the Sept. 1 date but would suffer a financial penalty, Oien said.

Oien said South Dakota State is not close to finding a Division I conference. "Most of that dialogue is being done at the level of school presidents," Oien said.

Oien said SDSU remains committed to retaining all varsity sports it currently offers if it goes Division I. That likely would mean that South Dakota State would be affiliated with different conferences for different sports. Few Division I conferences, Oien said, sponsor all sports that the North Central Conference does.

Taylor said NDSU is continuing to look for possible conference affiliations, just like SDSU. "Things are a little quiet right now, for a couple of reasons," he said. "It's the end of the year for everyone, and they're working on budgets for next year, trying to get them in order. It's even a bad time for me to do it (look hard for conference ties)."

Taylor said NDSU continues to examine the possibility of forming a Division IAA conference for football involving NDSU, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, Cal State Pomona, St. Mary's of California, UC Davis and South Dakota State, if the Jackrabbits move up.

"We've been talking, but we haven't had a conference call with all the schools or anything like that," Taylor said. "We need to find time to get on the phone. We'll probably attack it (conference ties) again later this summer."

Taylor said these can be the best and worst of times. "It can be frustrating, because you don't know what your future schedules will look like," Taylor said. "But anytime you go into something new, it's exciting and challenging. It gets you going a little bit."
Foss reports on sports. Reach him at 780-1129, (800) 477-6572 ext. 129 or vfoss@gfherald.com.

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[BisonInTexas]

Yesterday Virg Foss of the Grand Forks Tribune had an article about NCC schools leaving. There was nothing new in the article except that there is a possiblity of the NDSU-UND football series continuing another 5 years.

Mr. Foss choose not to mention the other things going on at SDSU in terms of strategic planning as was reported by the Collegian and posted above. Instead he choses to dwell on the fact that a conference has not be found by SDSU.

I think between Kupecella interviewing, NDSU make a quest for PHD programs, and the NCC going up in smoke that there are a few uneasy people among the UND community of fans and alums.

One question never analyzed and discussed in a new article is "Just how much of a cash cow is the UND Hockey Program, and is helping or hindering the other atheletic programs at UND? Is the hockey program less than successful and would this explain their resistence to D1AA? Mr. Foss should answering those questions instead of worrying about SDSU and its D1AA conference.
The UND never talk about the matter period D1 Hockey profitablity period. When Fred Oien asked "When is UND making the Move?" notice the move to glory of D1 hockey by Foss in his article. I have been booted from siouxsports.com, because I made fun of their hockey program, but it was equally funny how the UND fans over their are kind of parniod about NDSU and SDSU leaving D2.

The profitability of D1 hockey is the best red herring that can be caught in the Red River from Big Stone Lake all the way to Canada.

For those who have not seen the article I will post it in a separate reply.

Ah, yes, you have sampled the musings of Virg Foss of the GF Herald (not the Tribune). He used to be the chief cheerleader, er, sports editor of the Herald, now he does more "hard" news for the paper. I don't think that he has ever uttered a kind word about NDSU, or a critical one about UND in his entire career, especially the hockey program. His latest pet project is to try and spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) about the NDSU move to DI. Since SDSU has become a close partner with NDSU in the move, they have come into his sights.

In fact, I predicted that SDSU would be the subject of one of Virg Foss's in-depth "investigative" articles in this thread:

So which conference would be best

It is a good thread to read - it has a link to an article that Foss wrote last fall stating why NDSU would fail based on the opinions of ex-UND coaches and administration now at DI schools. I let my opinions be known about Foss's objectivity in that thread as well.

Craig

[Charger]

His latest pet project is to try and spread FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) about the NDSU move to DI. *Since SDSU has become a close partner with NDSU in the move, they have come into his sights.

This is exactly how I felt about this. *He provided nothing new and just tried to twist the info around to make it sound like SDSU's efforts for DI were really in trouble. *SDSU needs a conference affiliation at best, and we should be able to atleast get that. *I don't a expect decission to be made until the transition period is looked at by the NCAA this summer.

I was also wondering how much UND's great hockey program is bringing in. *Their Football team has good attendance and I would assume they have some money comming in because of them, but when scheduling time comes they aren't paying for any decent competition to come to GF. *Is this big hockey cash cow eating up the football funds as well? *I have my doubts that UND will ever move up to DI. *Now with the new NCC, they will be in a conference with like schools that all support hockey (Besides USD and Augie) much more than "those other sports".

[tony]

I've made my feeling about the Grand Forks Herald (UND's Daily Press Release) known before. The Herald has about as much journalistic credibility with me as Ed Schultz does

[SDSUFAN]

I am glad others see Grand Forks Herald and Virg Foss's article like I do. At times there is news to be found there.

I understand UND lost 3 players off their Women's basketball time including Britz who was a good athlete. Some one alluded that Prezzaria was also leaving. Maybe she is coming back to Fargo. That would really be good news for the Bison faithful, but not for the Jacks. Mary is an excellent 3 point shooter.

[BisonMav]

You would almost think Foss, the Weird Herald, and UND fans would not be whining about NCC teams moving up and out. The NCC is losing two great football programs, giving UND a better chance to win the conference and advance to the playoffs each year. SDSU men's and women's basketball would be out of the way, along with NDSU women's basketball. UND could dominate the NCC now and maybe get some National Championships. They could also improve their standings in other sports. The Sue could have their choice of Division II recruits in the area, although they think they compete with Minnesota, Duke and Notre Dame for recruits. Ten years down the road when UNC, NDSU and SDSU are established in their new division, it probably won't matter much anymore. Virg will have to write about the evils of Bemidji State and Crookston, newest NCC members.