Regional Auro Surrounding the Summit Tourney

[usdlaw]

Douple mentioned UNO as a possible expansion school last week. I always thought there was a football hurdle to that because of Lincoln, but maybe not.

[Yote 53]

Tom Osborne has said that he is not opposed to UNO football. The regents make the decision and in the past have been opposed to it, but when TO talks, Nebraskans listen.

I don't see how UNO FCS football would be a threat to Big Red. Really, if Husker fans think that UNO would somehow weaken Nebby then aren't they really admitting the program is weak? Look around the Midwest, Iowa has to deal with not only UNI but also Iowa St. Illinois has a lot of FCS and MAC schools in-state. Ohio St has Ohio, Cincinnati, Akron, Youngstown, etc, etc. Indiana has Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Indiana St...the only "protected" schools I can think of are Minnesota and Wisconsin. Nebraska should easily be able to still thrive even if UNO is FCS.

UNO has the FCS conference hammer in their hand right now. They can go to the Summit, but there is also a Big Sky position available vacated by USD. They too could leverage themselves into the MVFC.

In a perfect world UNO gets into the Summit/MVFC and UND comes back to the midwest and gets a Summit/MVFC invite to round out the MVFC at 12 members.

If you are a USD fan you should be selfishly rooting against UNO to the FCS. Omaha is a good recruiting market and another FCS school in the region will make recruiting harder for USD. Pat Burns (UNO Football coach) is already on record as saying recruiting has gotten harder for him since the Dakota schools moved up and UNO now loses out on players they used to get to USD, SDSU, and company.

[usdlaw]

I agree with your recruiting comment. And that UNO probably wouldn't hurt Big Red, although Big Red used to/still do get a lot of walk ons out of Omaha. They may go to UNO, but maybe not.

As far as a perfect, well maybe not perfect, world, UNO and UND join the Summit. I do see UND coming back to the Summit someday. THe Summit then adds football, which Douple appears to want to do. There would be six schools, at least, with football, which is the minimum number they need: UND, USD, SDSU, NDSU, UNO, West Ill. Who knows, maybe St Cloud. Remember not that many years ago USD was going to stay D2, now look at us.

When I say "well maybe not so perfect" I mean basically the old NCC just doubled their athletic budgets to turn the NCC into the Summit. I think long term, that is basically what is going to happen.

Of course all this is speculation.

[wrj]

Mar 7, 2011 17:53:54 GMT -6 Coyote Fan said:

Do hard core true red bleeding red Yote Fans right now have an auro of jealousy when it comes to the Summit League tourney and all the god damn attention that the Jacks are getting right now. I really wonder whether USD would be getting this kind of attention if they were in the position that SDSU is in right now. I say not quite even if USD fans did fill the arena.

Today I saw all those Rabbit fans congregating around the arena and it kind of sickened me thinking that this whole state loves the Jacks and looks at USD as a much lower second fiddle, whether it's true or not.

That is one of the reasons that I get so upset after losses and why I honestly will still jump up and down in my livingroom during the good times. I want the Yotes to win so badly I can taste it. I wish more Coyote Fans would care and care alot more than they do. When I saw all the Jacks fans today it actually made me in a bad mood for awhile, wishing so badly that USD could be in this tourney and crush the Jacks right out of the Sioux Falls Arena.

I would just love to see 4,000 Coyote fans screaming at the top of their lungs and rattling every bolt trying to will the Yotes to the NCAA tourney. Am I the only one that really cares that much and really want the Yotes to win that much? Does anyone else actually jump around in their livingroom when the Yotes get a big win. Does anyone else feel sick to their stomach when the team losses or gives off the vibe of having little hope of success. Does anyone else actually get butterflies of anxiety during big games whether being in the arena or sitting at home. I have had games where I have literally sat at the edge of my seat praying that every shot would go in, kind of like my personally willing good fortune and wanting it so bad would actually make it come true. Some of the edge has been taken off that attitude since the Jacks went D1 in 2003. Well, the feelings are starting to come back for me, that is for sure.

I want so badly for USD to have success. It might not show every single day or in every single comment because when things don't go well I can go into a bit of a Coyote depression. That explains why my behavior can be so manic depressant because of my deep caring for what happens on the field.

I guess I have a program and that is caring too much and during big events and games the reminder becomes very apparent.

I am generally a postive thinker but when it comes to the Yotes I can get into moods where i feel like everyone is going to go wrong that can go wrong. As an example, it seems like the teams that have to travel to South Dakota for the post season tourney are starting to grumble more and more about the tourney being in Sioux Falls and what a big home court advantage it is for the Jacks. I agree and believe deep down that it is a definate unfair advantage. If enough schools cry foul my fear is that the year USD becomes tourney eligible is the year that tourney will disappear from Sioux Falls and the Coyote Fans won't be able to experience the same home cooking that SDSU fans have experienced. The Jacks got to host 3 or 4 mens regionals in the same timeframe where USD only got to host one over the past 2 decades. USD as a program was just as good but it seemed as if the selection committee never did USD any favors. I fear the same thing happens with the Summit tourney. I fear that USD stays in the Summit, with one of the big reasons being the post season tourney, and then it disappears in a flash.

The press will latch on to three things: 1) Winners, 2) Losers, 3) The only game in town. For a few years, SDSU had the benefit of being the only D1 game in town. USD is in transition toward ending that. In two years USD has a chance to play on the same stage on which we saw SDSU play over the previous 3 or 4 days. SDSU has been successful on some of these occasions, winning 3 women's titles and a couple of first round victories for the men. SDSU has also scored conference titles in women's volleyball, women's soccer, and men's football. They have also had some success in other programs. Now, they get to compete with USD for that same press. However, USD will have to try harder because they never get to be that only D1 game in town. That's just the way it is.

The other two things that the press loves will now come more into play, winners and losers. If one team wins more, or always loses, that team will get the press. Mediocrity will get no notice at all. We will see how that plays out, but not this season.

[chuck]

Hasn't the UND ship sailed? I would really LOVE to have them with us in the Summit/Valley...but I am guessing there would be a buyout and they are already convincing themselves that the Big Sky is a good deal for them.

I, too, like having a strong recruiting presence in Omaha...and am not really a fan of UNO taking a significant slice of that pie.

[Yote 53]

I think the UND ship has sailed. I have said it before. You just never know though. I guess we'll see what they think after they live in the BSC for a couple of years. If another opportunity presented itself (an openly public invitation to renew their rivalry with NDSU in the MVFC) in the future, maybe they rethink their options.

FWIW, right after we declined the BSC offer, the BSC commish Fullerton came out and said UND could leave with no penalties. So the door is open for them if they want to walk out.

[fargobison]

UND fans are clueless, they think they've joined the Pac 10 when really all they have joined is the Montana schools and a bunch of commuter schools. Plus they are stuck on a island, which means a ton of travel.

They could be in the Summit/MVFC with three of their peers and in a league that isn't going to kill their student athletes. But they believe they've separated themselves from the rest us, when really all they have done is isolated themselves.

I do think their admin might very well take a Summit/MVFC invite if it comes along.

[bigOyote]

Well I warned you I don't know what I am talking about. omaha.com/article/20110309/NEWS01/703099866#division-i-conference-eyes-uno
Not being well versed in how this works I am wondering if this is truly a beginning step or has this been in the works for a while. The reason I think UNO is a ways away from moving is that in the past few years, before Alberts came, the athletic department had a minor scandal which included misuse of funds to the tune of a couple of million dollars. But there are some surprising deep pockets around here that are willing to spent it for the right cause.

I do believe that Alberts (meaning the athletic department and staff) want to make the Hockey program the crown jewel. There are plans to build a hockey arena on or near campus which could create problems as far as funding for the move. The football field is nice but small and I don't think it can be enlarged much where it is.

I don't think UNL would have any problem with UNO moving up, it would not bother them in the least, but UNO would have IMO a bigger hill to climb than they do now.

Correct me if I am wrong but did I just cause the dreaded internet phenomenon of thread drift. Apologies to all.

[#1CoyoteFan (Admin)]

Haha it's okay Big.

[chuck]

Good points on UND--I, too, vaguely remember the BSC commish saying they could leave without penalty. Not to be derogatory, but I am not real impressed with the Big Sky Conference as a whole (obviously the Montana Schools are impressive for FCS, as is Eastern Washington's football championship). I realize the telecasts aren't the highest quality, but the BSC BB games I've seen are poorly attended and in less than stellar arenas. And, I can't say that in name the schools really strike me as intrinsically interesting (e.g., Northern Arizona, Portland State, Weber State) and attractive to the casual fan.

My point is..IF UND can, in fact, have another shot at this and the Summit/MVFC slots are indeed open...I'd really like them to reconsider. Think long-term instead of trying to rationalize recent decisions. The Big Sky Conference is an upgrade from the Great West, but it certainly isn't THAT amazing or clearly better than the Summit/Missouri Valley option. To have the Dakota schools together would be a STRONG conference anchor--don't think about the conferences in their current states...think about what could be. I could see a conference with the Dakota schools really flourishing...and to have a regionally and institutionally compatible peer (UND) to me would be preferable to UNO.

Also--showing my ignorance here...why hasn't Minnesota State considered the move? They are similar in size to USD, offer doctoral programs, and in a nice-sized market. In addition, they would be the only FCS school in a relatively highly populated Midwest state.

[Yote 53]

Minnesota St has money and big brother issues.

Even if the state allowed MSU to move to D1 (which Goldie won't allow), Minnesota is in a bad budget situation and it would be difficult to justify the move to D1. Even if it was 100% privately funded the perception would be the school has money to spend on sports so they could handle cuts in education funding.

Honestly, I have no idea why a school that size in a state that size doesn't have the resources to be a FCS school. The same could be said for St. Cloud.