Meaningless Offseason Fodder

[yotemeal]

Thought I’d do the mods a solid and move this line of discussion out of the recruiting thread. At risk of sounding like an SDSU apologist, I will offer a few observations that I think require some consideration if we are to honestly assess the state of our program relative to our peers.

I submit that the gap between SDSU and NDSU is considerably smaller than that between USD and SDSU. The gap between USD and NDSU is a vast canyon. These are painful truths supported by compelling objective measures.

There is no doubt that NDSU represents the gold standard for FCS football. They have a large, rabid fan base; play in a nice facility by FCS standards; and the NDSU brand has benefited immensely from sustained success and national media exposure. It may be pie in the sky, but when national writers are mentioning your program as a candidate for Big 12 expansion, things are clicking. See espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/100365/ou-president-boren-puts-possible-big-12-expansion-back-in-news.

The Bison stock is sure to fall at some point, but its floor resides comfortably above our foreseeable ceiling. That’s the benefit of having a robust facility, fan base and tradition. Success almost becomes hardwired into the program, while it is fleeting for those less established.

So why do I think SDSU is closing the gap on NDSU? One, it’s already happening on the field. Honest NDSU fans will tell you this. While SDSU hasn’t gotten over the “playoff hump,” they’ve established themselves as a playoff fixture – from FCS’s toughest conference – and consistently represent one of NDSU’s most formidable obstacles. SDSU is a top-10 FCS program.

Of more consequence are the facilities SDSU has injected into the equation. The combination of the SJAC, Dykhouse Center and new Dykhouse Stadium catapult SDSU past NDSU (from a facilities standpoint), in my opinion. I drove by the stadium construction a couple of weeks back and experienced a healthy dose of envy. SDSU’s aggressive approach to facility upgrades (Frost is next on the horizon) is a total game changer that will only further energize a rapidly growing fan base. The DakotaDome is about to look as inadequate as we’ve ever witnessed. Something big needs to happen there.

When I read the above-cited ESPN blog, I thought about the construction underway at SDSU. I thought about what the future holds for the cream of the FCS crop. There is no doubt in my mind that if NDSU made the jump, SDSU would tenaciously pursue the same, and I think they’re strategically positioning themselves to make that scenario more feasible (funding would be the biggest hurdle). For now, USD lacks the fan support, facilities and funding to ever follow suit. On the full FCS spectrum, our program health is in pretty good shape. But we live in a very tough neighborhood that tends to foster doubt.

I’ll continue to trust that our leadership is making our program incrementally stronger while eyeing big changes that may be looming down the road – changes that if not prepared for now might ultimately leave USD in the dust. I’m certainly not sounding the alarms, or suggesting that an FBS jump is imminent or even realistic for the XDSUs. But I do know that we’ve been on the outside looking in once before, and we should be poised not only for what’s probable, but what’s possible. This message is brought to you by summer boredom, too much time between pitches, and lake beers.

[jackl]

Good post

[yoteforever]

Jul 7, 2015 15:40:59 GMT -6 jackl said:

Good post

It was a good post, it I'm guessing the reason for your comment was because it puts SDSU in a more positive light than does USD. I've been on your board enough to know that the only time a SDSU fan agrees is when this happens. That aside, I do think the original post is accurate.

Here's what scares me. I'm concerned if our administration "gets" the fact that football drives the bus in our college sports program. It's true at most universities, and ours is no exception. It takes dollars to run a successful program, and if you want to stretch your imagination, you can draw a parallel between a successful football program and enrollment, and you can draw a parallel between a successful football program and fund raising, and lastly, you can draw a parallel between a successful program and what I would call karma, or maybe better said, enthusiasm for your school.

I love all Coyote sports, and I've been and will continue to be a enthused fan. Our other programs are for the most part successful in the transition. Women's basketball is a conference contender with SDSU right now, and another year or two like it's been, and it will be a well established fact the power struggle is between those two schools. I think in a year or so, Craig Smith will have them end so program in the same position, and we will battle with several teams on an annual basis for the title. Women's volleyball is a regional power. Our track and cross country teams are maybe the best coached in the FCS world, and are extremely good. Mens golf won the conference title, and so on and so on. In the whole scheme of things, we have done very good. BUT, football is down, and MUST resurect itself for the fan base to get really excited again.

Two things have happened that cause me concern. First, and not to beat a dead horse, but how Coach Meierkort was handled hurt our program extremely hard. I'm fairly well connected in the coaching circles, and have a lot of friends that are AD's, and we got a huge black eye over that deal. Wasn't good. I don't care if you wanted Ed out or not, the manner in which it was handled set our program back. Secondly, USD is building a basketball arena that will be the class of the league. That's awesome. My wife and I pledged heavily to make that happen because I believe in USD, and I believe in what can be. But when they announced the Dome renovation is being put on hold, I damned near had a stroke. It can't be. IF we want to compete, we need facilities that draw athletes here. We can argue all day long about a new outdoor stadium vs a "cool" indoor facility all you want. And on a football Saturday when the temps are in the 60's and 70's, yeah it would be nice to play outside. However, when it turns crappy outside, the comfort of the Dome is unparalleled. Three of the four Dakota schools play inside, what's that tell you? The so called "elite" program of NDSU partnered with the city of Fargo and built a great facility. WE NEED TO FINISH THE DOME to complete our investment in the move to D1. If we don't, it will take the hiring of a very exceptional coach to turn the program around on his own. Whomever coaches needs the facilities and support rooms to compete and show off. The DAKOTADOME does not need to take second fiddle to SDSU's new stadium. Let the kids decide if they want to freeze their you know what off or not. I guaranty you that with a renovated Dome that argument is neutralized.

Lastly, we need to have some success for the fans to get ramped up again. I have said this a thousand times, and I'll make it a thousand and one. Game day Saturday in Vermillion is a great experience. It really needs to grow and get get alumnI and friends excited again. We have to compete and be competitive. A successful football program can do just that. Any businessman knows in order to succeed, you have to invest. Money and time. Both are essential. Right now we need leadership more than ever. We can't give lip service and say..."we want to win" and not invest. And quite honestly, that goes for the fans as well. Membership and season ticket sales are essential.

I love USD. Since I came there 40 years ago and to this day, I can honestly say there's no place like home.

[Yote 53]

How do you rank the importance of football to an athletic department? Let me put it this way, what has previously been posted is true, our other programs have experienced decent success in the transition to D1, however, due to the struggles and failures of our football program it feels like the transition of the entire athletic department to D1 has been a failure. Football drives the bus and as of right now we are sucking hind teet behind the rest of the Dakota schools and in the region. We have made very little splash and the momentum and growth is not near where it should be. The investment in the Dome renovation needs to be made or we will be MVFC bottom dwellers for the next decade. Also, with the conference movement carousel not settled just yet a poor football program leaves us in a very precarious position. The XDSU's are positioning themselves for something bigger. We need to start positioning ourselves as well.

[yote14]

Have we ever thought about having games a little later in the day? 1pm for most games is so early. it would be nice if the SDSU/NDSU and DDays game was at 4 or 5. those games will sell out if they were at midnight. Make the Ddays game a 4pm game. at 2pm you barely get done with the parade and the game starts. Very little time to set up a legit tailgate. too much work for an hour or two of using it.

I have had season tickets for the last 4 years but have no connection with anyone that makes decisions or where my opinion would be heard. But if anyone on here does that may be worth mentioning. I know a lot of people have the opinion of we tried that in the past and it didnt work well. but that was a long time ago. Later game days are necessary to have a better tailgating and gameday experience in my opinion. And quit saying tailgating is sold out and turning people away when we need the fan support. makes spots on the roof of the DOME for all I care but dont turn people away when you are begging for their support. our tailgating area is way tooooooo small. And honestly I think its being ran a little shaky. One of the guys I talked to last year stated as long as the spots are selling we dont care who fills them.

We have political groups renting tailgating spots for the entire year so they can park an RV there during DDays for 2 hours. then its a wasteland for the next 5 games which hurts the experience and MOJO of the tailgaiting. The student tailgate is a big part of a schools tailgating experience. but the students are set up in Yankton. Move their area closer to the main area. If they walk an extra 100 yards to get into the Dome on that corner its fine. If they go out to drink at halftime and do not return, having the tailgate area closer like it is now will not make a difference. If they are going to leave they are going to leave.

Any thoughts.

[Yote 53]

LOL, that politicians spot was right next to ours. It gave us and the group on the other side a ton of room on gameday. Can't say we didn't like that. So this RV pulls up on D-Days and starts pulling out these huge speakers and pointing them right at us. The groups in the area, none too happy, let them know they better not do something so stupid as to start blaring their music or ads. Fortunately, the aides running the campaign realized it was probably not a good idea to tick off potential voters. They stopped what they were doing.

This brings up another point about Dakota Days. D-Days should be politics free. After that episode last year it was unanamous consensus that everybody was sick of the political campaigning at D-Days, from the parade entrants to the political stickers plastered all over everything. Political campaigning needs to be banned from D-Days. Can't we have one day in the fall without having to deal with that crap?

[GoYotes]

Football in the MVFC is a tough nut to crack. I don't put a whole lot into preseason ratings, but the Massey Preseason Ratings show what the Yotes are up against. Yotes are sitting at a respectable number 35 out of 125 teams, however the other 9 MVFC teams are all in the top 15, including NDSU, Illinois State, UNI & SDSU at 1-4.

[canislatrans]

My preference would have been to fund football as a priority, facilities and overall program. And I agree that USD is in a tough spot with that program, and needs to win NOW and get a plan in place to expand improve the Dome. They need that to be able to compete in the recruitment process necessary to win in the MVFC.

However, I am very pleased with what USD has done with the Arena and the SPEC, and the overall progress that has been made in our Summit league sports. We will be christening new facilities with teams that are at the top or competitive in the fight for conference crowns. In fact, we were practically in a dead heat for the Summit League Commissioner's Cup, when you factor out points for sports in which we don't field a team. The new facilities will (actually already have) improve our recruitment for these sports, which should start building the momentum for achieving the crowds and financial support needed to be successful long-term in D1 sports. We need to be patient and keep supporting the program, success breeds success!

[Yote 53]

So it's getting towards the end of July and I've kind of been catching the football bug (must be those CFL games). I went over to the AGS board to catch up on what is going on in the FCS. Reading through the MVFC threads I started to get a little sick, the Coyotes are bashed at every turn and considered the laughingstock of the conference. I'm kind of to the point where I dread what could happen this season. If this football program doesn't get turned around this year it is going to get really, really bad.

[Yotes]

I gave up on that board. Literally every topic was just NDSU arrogance. I can imagine that in these boring offseason months where there is nothing of substance to discuss that they'd just talk smack about their regional opponents. How much does UND come up? Lord knows that's relevant to MVFC discussions.

[coyotecrazie5]

Who cares what they say on the board. Fact is, until we win some football games we won't get any respect.

[Yote 53]

Funny part was it wasn't really the NDSU fans that were bagging on the Coyotes, it was moreso UNI fans. NDSU fans can actually remember when USD had good football teams, made the playoffs, and had some great games with the Bison.

Agree, fact is until we win games we won't get any respect. Just depressing we are where we are right now.

UND comes up daily. Have you seen the finalist for their new nickname? Fighting Hawks? Sundogs? My God, those are beyond bad.

[yote14]

Agree all 5 are not good names. Of the 5 the fighting hawks may be the best. Sundogs? I think they are trying to be too cute with their choices. I do like the idea of the name being original and unique but dont over do it.

[Yote 53]

They just need to pick Roughriders and get it over with. IMO, the only name that is worth a crap on that list.