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Post by elcoyote on Mar 21, 2018 10:37:13 GMT -6
I don't think there is any way to make the Summit a much better situation than it currently is. No one wants to be in the Summit. IPFW wants to be in the Horizon. UNO applied for the Horizon and MVC. Oral Roberts went to the Southland but came back because the baseball was too competitive. UMKC even thought they were too good for the Summit. Denver would be elsewhere if there was a good regional home for them. WIU is a charter member and I'm guessing they don't enjoy watching all of their peers leave them behind. That leaves the Dakotas. No healthy conference has a core of just 4 members. We need to take action and tie ourselves to our peers, either to the east or west. Sadly, I pretty much think all of this is true. |
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Post by kiyoat on Mar 21, 2018 10:55:14 GMT -6
I don't think there is any way to make the Summit a much better situation than it currently is. No one wants to be in the Summit. IPFW wants to be in the Horizon. UNO applied for the Horizon and MVC. Oral Roberts went to the Southland but came back because the baseball was too competitive. UMKC even thought they were too good for the Summit. Denver would be elsewhere if there was a good regional home for them. WIU is a charter member and I'm guessing they don't enjoy watching all of their peers leave them behind. That leaves the Dakotas. No healthy conference has a core of just 4 members. We need to take action and tie ourselves to our peers, either to the east or west. These are all good points. I think that above all it would be nice to see SOMETHING pro-active. Do we even have a plan, a goal, etc. The Horizon League has stated that they are not done expanding. That at least shows initiative. I doubt we stay at 9 teams for long. 10 or 12 makes more sense. I'd prefer 12 in this conference, given the occasional turnover, and the ever-present threat of losing the auto-bid. Go west, go east, go south, go crazy and add three newly D-I schools? I don't care, as long as there is a plan and a vision. For the record, I think we need to stop turning our noses at GOOD DII move-ups, as opposed to BAD D-I schools that are in decline. Lindenwood, Augie, Minnesota State/St. Cloud/Duluth, Central Missou, etc. Privates always seem to punch above their weight in spending and athletics. Or throw a pitch at UNC-Greeley. Do something. |
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Post by lakesbison on Mar 21, 2018 11:29:36 GMT -6
Tom Douple is a do nothing commish. summit is turning into NCC 2.0 already by adding usd, und. don't need any more.  this is depressing. |
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Post by canislatrans on Mar 21, 2018 12:35:10 GMT -6
Tom Douple is a do nothing commish. summit is turning into NCC 2.0 already by adding usd, und. don't need any more. this is depressing. Thanks for the post, I forgot the Bison were still in the Summit! |
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Post by Yotes on Mar 21, 2018 17:40:16 GMT -6
I think that a major goal for our athletic program should be to find a stable and healthy home for all sports. I look at other stable, healthy conferences and see certain characteristics: Regional, like-minded institutions, who all either sponsor or don't sponsor football. To our west is Montana/Montana State/Idaho/Northern Colorado, and to our east is UNI/Illinois State/Southern Illinois/Western Illinois/Indiana State/Missouri State. I don't really care which direction we head but we have got to pick one and tie ourselves to our regional peers. No conference with a core of just South/North Dakota is going to be healthy.
The Big Sky might have been the right move from the start. Not ideal, but more attractive than where we are now.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Mar 21, 2018 21:41:04 GMT -6
The Summit needs a vision and a definitive plan for the future aside from just throwing out a prayer and hope it is answered. If the Summit stands pat and doesn't give it's members some sort of feeling of security the conference deserves any defections that it gets. I don't think Douple is going to be the one to accomplish that so for me it is up to the presidents and AD's of the conference core (for what that is, is up to interpretation) to make it happen.
I guess to combine dreaming with reality I would focus on getting to 9 teams for football and 12 for all other sports. That would leave only 3 openings for non football playing schools. Right now the Summit is at 4 non football schools so assuming Fort Wayne ends up leaving there is no more room for non football playing schools. With the Dakota's and Western Illinois that is 5 and 4 more would be needed. Northern Colorado makes sense as an addition. Could we possibly finish that 9 school football core with UNI, Montana State and Montana. Maybe throw in the Idaho's if UNI is stubborn.
The Summit is treading water so it either needs a life raft or should just let itself drown. UMKC is not the answer if there is a vision to this conference. If Augie wants in, fine but be prepared to figure out a way to keep scholarship football. Same for any of the other former NCC's as well. USD is in a better position now than they have ever been in. They have arrived on the scene for men's and women's basketball (they have been there for years) and appear to be on the rise in football.
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Post by yotebewithyou on Mar 21, 2018 22:14:27 GMT -6
No team is going to leave the Valley for the Summit League... that's just the way it is.
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Post by Yotes on Mar 22, 2018 6:00:17 GMT -6
No team is going to leave the Valley for the Summit League... that's just the way it is. I'd go a step further and say no team with other viable options would leave for the Summit League. |
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dave
Sophomore Member
Posts: 112
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Post by dave on Mar 22, 2018 20:50:33 GMT -6
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Post by Yotes on Mar 22, 2018 21:01:59 GMT -6
Wouldn't an invite be contingent upon approval of the Summit League members? Augie should look towards the WAC if they're dying to go D1.
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Post by gopheryote on Mar 22, 2018 21:19:28 GMT -6
I'd rather have Mankato and Duluth if the Summit is pulling in D2 schools, but I have no gripe about Augie if it happens.
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Post by yotefan on Mar 22, 2018 21:22:49 GMT -6
Oral Roberts is the smallest member institution in the Summit and Augie's enrollment is still only half of that. While we're at it, we might as well get Briar Cliff and Morningside back in the fold. Good grief. Augie in the Summit is a bad idea for everyone, including Augie. |
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Post by Coyote Fan on Mar 22, 2018 23:51:16 GMT -6
SDSU was saying the exact same thing when USD changed their mind about wanting to stay in D2 prior to making the move to D1. Is anyone saying that South Dakota cannot support 2 D1 programs any more? South Dakota can support Augie if Augie can financially make it work. Since not many South Dakota kids are playing on the local D1's it really is not a big deal if Augie decides to move or not. My personal conditon is that they would have to bring scholarship football with them, which I am pretty sure would be a deal breaker so I guess because of that likely reality than I am not for Augie for that reason. Augie could make it work just as well as schools like IPFW, IUPUI and UMKC.
IMO the Summit should make it a long term goal whether it's within the Summit itself or just merging conferences to have all or most of their schools be Universities or State Universities. Be a conference where fan interest and school dedication is the main priority and not the market size that they are in. We are now to the point where the athletic programs in the main sport at both SDSU and USD are better than most of the programs in the big sky. Do the Montana's want to raise their profile by joining with the Dakota's or do they want to stand pat and not really have a reason to up their game.
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Post by Yote 53 on Mar 23, 2018 7:38:44 GMT -6
Just say NO to Augustana.
The University of South Dakota moving to D1 is an entirely different thing. SDSU, USD, UND, NDSU, we're all state institutions with strong enrollments. Augustana is a small, liberal arts college. It fits the profile of a D3 or NAIA school more than a D2 school, much less a D1 school.
If I am the Dakota schools there is no way I extend Augie an invite. Don't even need to worry about political backlash there as it's a private school.
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Post by JWKunzman on Mar 23, 2018 8:30:46 GMT -6
Augie's fall 2017 enrollment was 2,080. I can't find a reliable source on Division 1 enrollment numbers, but that would have to be the smallest or near the smallest. Nothing about Augie says Division 1. I don't envision any of their team sports being competitive at the D1 level. Maybe a few wrestlers, track athletes etc. here and there. Is Stephanie Herseth just trying to make her mark or something? I can't think of any reason Augie would want to move up. They're in a great spot for them in the NSIC.
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