Say hello to NDSU's DI travel partner...

[tony]

SDSU and NDSU as a package are going to look a lot more attractive to the Big Sky than NDSU on its own.

[BisonInTexas]

Do you have any links you can point us to? I looked on the Forum but there is nothing there. I assume you mean that the Board of Regents approved the move.

This is great news for both schools.

Craig

[tony]

One link

Small blurb

KOTA TV

[The_Sicatoka]

"We do not believe that such a move would currently be in the best interests of our students or the people of North Dakota. If ... very many NCC schools make the move to D-I; then we could well give it some extra consideration." -- Dr. Charles Kupchella, February 2002

UNC, NDSU, SDSU.

Dale Lennon pulls his name out of the CSU-Sacramento hat today also. (Info at FightingSioux.com)

Call me suspicious, but I'm thinking the statement in bold may be invoked at some point in the not so distant future.

[Bisonguy]

"If blah blah blah, and blah blah blah, or blah blah blah, possibly blah blah blah, a remote possibility blah blah blah, maybe blah blah blah, might blah blah blah, may blah blah blah, I don't know blah blah blah, but blah blah blah, and if very many NCC schools make the move to D-I; then we could well give it some extra consideration." -- Dr. Charles Kupchella, February 2002


That's a lot of blah's!

[JBB]

All right! A possible way to wiggle out of the decision to join the wasteland of DIAA football and go broke with Minnesota and all the rest, not to mention the crime problems in all DI sports but hockey. But what about all the negative talk from the sue sox nay sayers? Does that statement by your pres. really take care of all the other problems so ably recited over and over and over again?

[Guest]

This is great news for both NDSU and SDSU. I welcome the sue to join us as well. But before we extend a hand to the people up north, I hope NDSU and SDSU will form some sort of partnership between the two schools and present themselves as a duo while talking to new conferences. This way we can be travel partners with our fellow land grant university to the south and let the folks up in Forks fend for themselves. If it doesn't work out for und, they can always become travel partners with Crookston when the NCC and NSIC merge. ;D

[The_Sicatoka]

Folks, upon further review, the SD BoR took a measured approach. They attached some important strings:

- The move will not be allowed without guarantee from a conference
- No additional state funds many be used to effectuate or maintain move
- Student fees may not be increased or new fees applied
- The new policy also requires that athletic scholarships be given only to students who meet the standard admission requirements of the university

The first one makes SDSU AD Fred Oien follow through on his past statements about not going without a conference.

The second one says the State of SD isn't paying for it.

The third one hurts because didn't either the CSL or Carr Report figure some increased revenue from higher fees?

The last one? I don't know, are they cutting breaks on admission standards for athletes? Would they?

Those are some important strings.

That nasty "conference" word rears its head again. I don't expect to see any conference add teams until after the NCAA meets in 2004. I've been wrong before, but we'll see.

[tony]

JBB nicely put.

SDSU's admission standards are just like UND's and NDSU's for now, but once SDSU goes DI, they won't be able to go after the JUCO's that UND picked up for BB for example because DI's minimum standards are higher than UND's. Maybe rather than worrying about SDSU and NDSU, USD and UND should take a look at themselves.

[JBB]

The conditions stated above were advanced by SDSU. *These will in now way impede their move up. *They were reassurances that the academic side would not suffer.

The conference issue is interesting. *SDSU now has the authority to move up, but they have not announced their intention. *Until they do they are firmly in the D2 ranks. *I suspect that the conference issue will be solved in partnership with NDSU and then they will announce their intention to move and withdraw from the NCC after their provisional year. *I think we will see things begin to move forward at a little faster clip. *

The NDSU job, should it become available will look very good to Dale Lennon. A $16,000/year raise, an increase in status and a very short move to a much nicer city. ;D