UND Still Thinks a Conference Will Want Them in 2009

[KC_Hats]

I had to laugh all the way through this article. They are talking to the same teams that NDSU and SDSU had scheduling alliances with and claiming to be the originator of the concept.

They also still think a conference with plenty of schools will join them up in 2009 with 4 years of transition remaining. They better hope somebody leaves in 2012 or 2013 or it will be a long wait.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=42449&section=sports

[4mcruenomore]

Makes it sound like he is doing something when he talks of negotiating with South Dakota to schedule games?? UMMM, you already play them and they are in the same boat as you, like it would take any talk to schedule a game, lol. They both just should have joined the NSIC.

[NDSUFREAK]

“We're going to take some questions they asked NDSU and SDSU and answer them,” Buning said. “Hopefully, we'll get that out in about a month or so.”

way to follow NDSU.

[lakesbison]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ as long as we aint on thier schedule EVER again, Im fine with whatever they do.

[buffalobilljr]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ as long as we aint on thier schedule EVER again, Im fine with whatever they do.

That's an unusual attitude for a president of a D-1 institution!!!!

[79FCourt]

Guys,

Lets not get our undies in a bind (no pun intended). We are almost through our transition, we have a conference home for all sports, and have been wildly successful in the process. We will hopefully be winning conference and national championships soon. Don't worry about what the AD up there says in their newspaper. He's gotta say something and he's certainly not going to say anything negative. Have confidence - they will be in independentsville for a significant period of time. The Summit league will not look to expand unless someone leaves, same with the Gateway. And if they are pinning any hopes on the Big Sky, they are smoking some high quality weed. No conference will add them because they are und, as they might like to believe. They will only be added when a conference needs another member. (Great West) We gain nothing by trying to run them down and saying they are stupid for making comments like they did. In fact, it makes us look like we have an inferiority complex. Take a look at our school. We will very soon be the largest university in ND, and we already have the best reputation for both academics and athletics. Why else would studends choose SU over und? Forget about them. They are too busy coughing on our dust. Don't give them a mask.

[WYOBISONMAN]

One thing we have all learned......the road to conference affiliation is long and full of unexpected turns. Who knows what conferences will be looking for teams when UND is a year out from post season play.....but it likely will be different from today.

The UND fans are clueless as to how long of a process that this is. UND is of NO value to a conference other than the GWFC right now.

[lakesbison]

OOHHHHHH ITS GOOD TO BE KING..


gives you the opportunity to IGNORE the peasants.


carry on Bison fans... feel free to close this thread now moderators

[tony]

I didn't see anything to get upset about as I'm pretty sure that everybody knows that UND is trying to ride NDSU's coattails - not that there is anything wrong that; when you are a leader, you shouldn't be surprised when people follow you

However, unlike what the article stated, UND is not inching towards conference membership. As Bison fans know, landing conferences is a two-step deal. First, a conference has to get into a position where they need to add teams. Second, they have to deem your school to be more attractive than the other options. UND has absolutely no control over the first thing and very little over the second because, as we found, geography is the number 1 consideration for likely conferences. The only thing they are inching towards is full DI membership. All they can do is try to be as successful - on the field and with the fund-raising.

That said, that kind of randomness can just as well work in a school's favor. While UND might have to wait much longer before getting all their sports hooked up with conferences, they also could get a conference invitation this year. Besides, in a lot of ways, NDSU has really opened up things for them. For example, the UBC and GWFC are NDSU's hand-me-downs. Likewise, if the Summit invites UND, it will be in large part due to NDSU and SDSU opening the door for them.

Now, on the other hand, if UND gets into the Big Sky, that will be have very little to do with NDSU. I suppose that maybe, just maybe, some of the Big Sky folks are kicking themselves for not adding NDSU when they had the chance and might think twice before passing up on UND. However, if UND gets into the Big Sky, it won't be because of glossy brochures, it'll be because of events entirely beyond their control - if that happens, they better hope their aren't any better options around and that the Big Sky still has the Montana schools and autobids.

That said, it's not like NDSU is completely out of the woods. We've got to make the Summit as stable as possible. That's why I like their plan to do everything they can to make the conference more attractive to current and potential future schools. Probably should worry more about that than delighting in UND's lack of progress in their conference hunt - karma, after all, is a bitch.

[IowaBisonToo]

What gets me is the blatant lie he spews in the article - and the reporter taking all his words as gospel. As a scientist, is chaps my a$$ when people don't do research before throwing something out in print. Maybe he was under a time crunch. For Buning to say he put together a scheduling alliance with these other schools is crap. We all know the XDSUs did it in the first place and now they are gone, the UXDs are stepping in, taking our place along with Pacific, etc. Nothing original about it. I hate when people take credit for others ideas (that's one of the reasons I've just changed jobs - it's what happened to me).