Summit League Expansion

[Yote 53]

Forgot about GCU.

[Yotes]

Is it normal for an application to be this public? St Thomas seemingly joined overnight since we heard nothing about it. GCU apparently applied and our source is a passing comment at the Yankton QB club. I don't recall hearing much about ORU or UMKC coming back either. Can't recall much lead-in for UND either, despite how notable that was on a local scale.

I have to keep asking myself if Augustana actually plans on going D1 or if they're just blowing smoke to gain exposure. They simply don't have a D1 profile and have gone about this entire process the wrong way.

[usdcoyote]

Mar 9, 2020 10:02:13 GMT -6 Yotes said:

I have to keep asking myself if Augustana actually plans on going D1 or if they're just blowing smoke to gain exposure. They simply don't have a D1 profile and have gone about this entire process the wrong way.

 I would say obviously Augie does plan on going DI. It was just reported that they applied for membership in the Summit. I know before Augie made their announcement that they were going DI there were still a bunch of people that were skeptical on whether they really were or not despite all the talk being that they were.  Once they announced that they planned to go DI I thought the speculation was going to be over. Are we really still debating about whether they plan to go DI?  I think right now it's just a matter of finding a conference. If they had gotten accepted into the Summit they would be making the transition very soon.

[dave]

Mar 9, 2020 10:02:13 GMT -6 Yotes said:

Is it normal for an application to be this public? St Thomas seemingly joined overnight since we heard nothing about it. GCU apparently applied and our source is a passing comment at the Yankton QB club. I don't recall hearing much about ORU or UMKC coming back either. Can't recall much lead-in for UND either, despite how notable that was on a local scale.

I have to keep asking myself if Augustana actually plans on going D1 or if they're just blowing smoke to gain exposure. They simply don't have a D1 profile and have gone about this entire process the wrong way.

Douple on KWSN last week talking about UST and Augie, listen at the 14:25 mark where he talks about expansion and reports in the media. If Augie wants to go D1 and the Summit doesn't want them go to the WAC they need members.

kwsn.com/podcasts/sports-talk-with-kwsn/5093/douple-on-summit-growth-whats-next-for-st-thomas-and-augustana-possibly-joining/

[yote18]

I listened to Douple during his halftime interview of the game today, and to me he seems genuinely annoyed at being swarmed by all of the SF media about it. When asked why UST was asked before Augie he laughed and said it was blatantly obvious why they were asked, enrollment, endowment, media market. Augie and the SF media may think it’s a sure deal, but it’s not. I’ll say this Augie making this a public affair while most keep it private probably doesn’t help. Douple has referred to many other schools wanting to join but yet we never hear about what schools they are. He keeps mentioning that it’s all about the right fit and right now other than Augie being located in SF it’s starting to sound like they’re not the right fit.

[dave]

Douple has said before he doesn't negotiate membership through the media. I've always felt the reason Augie is so public about it's intentions is they know it is an uphill battle, as the state universities won't want another D1 school in the area dividing an already small market. When they are voted down expect an all out media campaign that the big bad state schools won't let poor little Augie in their conference, especially us up at SDSU we are always a favorite target of theirs. It's time to start reminding the media and Augie supporters if they want to move up the WAC is always an option.

[Yote 53]

This has drug on for years. Every other addition has been low key and discrete whereas Augustana's has been very public and it's been talked about forever. I agree that the Vikings know they don't really belong in D1 and are leveraging the media to get them in the conference. When the backlash happens we'll all need to step up and fill the void as you know the Sanford folks won't be happy.

[Coyote Fan]

i thought it was funny how douple came to the defense of st thomas right away. than he shewed the augie speculation like an annoying fly. Augie is far from a sure thing and perhaps their chances of getting in anytime soon have fallen below 50%

[Yote 53]

Douple is annoyed and rightfully so. Summit League Tournament is the biggest event of the year for the conference and time for the spotlight. Instead the local media is asking about Augustana.

[Coyote Fan]

to the defense of the media douple hasnt really confirmed or denied interest in Augie much at all. the way he stated things today i wouldnt hold my breathe if i was a viking supporter.

[Yote 53]

I don't know but I would think this coronavirus shutdown and the oncoming economic recession (depression) as a result of it should shut down any future talk of Augustana to the Summit. If it was a stretch for them to afford it before I don't know how they could possibly pull it off now. I would imagine future student enrollment growth is going to be a challenge for most private liberal arts colleges (i.e. expensive). Money is just going to be tough to come by for many athletic departments, so much so the NCAA is probably going to relax their rules to get many programs through this. Cincinnati men's soccer just folded, won't be the last program either.

On the flip side, the value in education that schools like USD and SDSU provide to both in and out of state students is very, very attractive. This event might slow enrollment, or marketed right, could help increase enrollment. Even before this students were seeking more value in a college education.

[Yotes]

To this day I still wonder if the whole thing is a publicity stunt aimed at elevating public perception of the school. If their intentions were true it was seriously ill-advised from the beginning, and the coming recession (or depression) will be an easy way for them to publicly back down from the idea while saving face.

USD on the other hand got to go into the transition in unison with the last economic collapse. Made it through just fine because it was a well-calculated decision. I just hope we aren't headed for another recession like the last. Living through two "worst since the Great Depression" scenarios in 12 years leaves me unsettled.

[Cousin Eddie]

kwsn.com/news/articles/2020/apr/15/augies-potential-summit-league-invite-still-on-schedule/1007266/

[Yote 53]

I don't see how you can make a decision on Augustana until you know the NCAA decision on St. Thomas. That is, unless they already decided on Augustana, either 'yes' or 'no'.

[yote18]

I love reading/listening to the KSWN things on Augie, they’re so biased. As much as a few donors of Sioux Falls wants this to happen, I just can’t see it being beneficial to anyone in the league. Yes it’d be an bus game, but to a market already well covered by the SD and ND schools. So if I’m the president of USD or SDSU you have to consider how does that help our school? The short answer is it doesn’t, at that point they’re just a game with no added value other than lower costs.

We keep hearing Douple talk about other interested schools as a league lets see who they are, USD and SDSU are fortunate enough to have high caliber sports programs, same with NDSU and UND. And the goal should be to expand the brand to other areas. Sioux Falls is already set for who they’re going to support.