One Last time, NDSU makes their case for their athletes

I know this isn't hockey related but it's kind of a big deal to the people of North Dakota. I am also going to get back to covering UND hockey starting tomorrow when I go to the Hockey media luncheon, that I promise you.

This evening, NDSU head football coach Craig Bohl, Athletic Director Gene Taylor and University President Dean Bresciani addressed the Fargo media on why the North Dakota State University didn't suspend nine of the 10 players that plead guilty to violating North Dakota election laws. In other words, only one player is going to get suspended for basically screwing up a petition drive that Ducks Unlimited was going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on promoting.

So, whether those in Fargo to include fans of the Bison Nation want to acknowledge this or not – this this kind of a big deal – these football players attempted to selfishly circumvented the election process – these guys attempted to defraud the state of North Dakota for personal gain. That is a serious deal – I don’t buy this crap about the players not really understanding what they did – that is absolute balderdash. These are adults and their actions have consequences and playing football for North Dakota State University is a privilege not a right – the Bison players in this case are also not the victims some have made them out to be.

If the NDSU coaching staff had just decided to suspend the players involved in this crime during the RMU game, this would have been over and it would have ended all of the speculation that has taken place since with each passing day.

Few things before bed...

NDSU players disenfranchised entire state & possibly cost conservation $80M/year, yet Taylor and Bohl are angry people are talking about it?
— Mike McFeely (@MikeMcFeelyKFGO) September 9, 2012

Like him or hate him - Mick McFeely of KFGO radio out of Fargo, ND says some interesting things and with this tweet he nailed it. Dennis Anderson of the Star and Tribune also touched on this subject as well.

Also, I will be doing some writing for the Hockey Writers as well - as an NCAA hockey writers. This was posted on twitter as well tonight - I will be doing some writing for Inside Hockey but also the Hockey Writers as well. This blog will still be here as well.

Please give our new #NCAAHockey writer Eric Burton a follow @goon48 He'll have you covered all season!!
— THW - Combine (@THWCombine) September 10, 2012

Related articles

• Win at all costs is the message at NDSU
• So is NDSU setting precedence?
• Bison Football players making national news for voter fraud
• Are Canadian schools coming to Division I hockey?
• Defenseman Thomas Welsh de-commits from Penn State

UND Sports going to HD in 2014-15

Official Press Release 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Midco Sports Network and the University of North Dakota Athletics Department has announced that they have reached agreement on a five-year television contract. Midco Sports Network will broadcast a minimum of 40 live games, plus up to 40 weekly special shows per year of the contract.

"UND Athletics will be a significant asset to our sports network in driving viewership and sponsorship," said Midcontinent Communication's Vice President of Business Solutions Mark Powell. "In the growth and development of a sports network I can't think of a better school to be associated with than UND."

UND will also receive $1 million in rights fees over the length of the contract with live game broadcasts moving to high definition in the third year (2014-15) of the agreement.

"It allows us to continue our exceptional coverage in the region on Midcontinent and at the same time the department will benefit financially in a significant way," said University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison. "We've been working hard to find new revenue streams for the program so this is a critical piece to add to the mix. We are also excited about the HD component of the contract."

Midco Sports Network will produce and broadcast up to 45 live games, plus up to 40 weekly special shows during the upcoming 2012-13 season. Those 45 games will include all home men's hockey games, five home football games, five home men's and women's basketball games, four home women's hockey games and three home volleyball matches.

A tentative broadcast schedule has been agreed to with a finalized schedule to be completed in July.

"It is phenomenal to add such a great selection of UND games and special programming to our broadcast schedule," said Powell. "We know the UND fans will be happy to get a chance to catch all these games on Midco Sports Net."

Midco Sports Network will partner with UND to include weekly shows featuring game analysis, interviews and reporting with several of the coaches of the University's athletic program.

"The weekly television show is important because it allows us to focus individual attention on our sports programs and our head coaches," said Faison. "It's been our strategy to promote all of our sports on both the weekly television show and our live game broadcasts."

Related articles

• Midco Sports Network Set to Broadcast Over 40 Live UND Games

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Who are you going to believe?

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athletic logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Listen to the clip on the Fan 740AM. [click to listen]

The question is who are you going to believe - the coaches Dave Hakstol, Brian Idalski or Chris Mussman that are already dealing with the NCAA sanctions on a day-to-day basis or some political blogger that is just trying to stir up the masses so he can hits on his blog and or some lawyer who doesn't even know what college former athletic director Terry Wanless is currently at.

 Just for clarification purposes - former UND athletic director Terry Wanless is at is Sacramento State not SDSU... Swing and a miss, you're wrong again Reed.

Reed Soderstrom

"The Athletic Director, Faison, was telling everybody that the Big Sky Conference is really worried about the Fighting Sioux thing," said Soderstrom. "We found out later through a former UND athletic director, who is now at San Diego State, that that`s not true. It wasn`t even brought up."

More Reed Soderstrom

Soderstrom suggested Hakstol’s stance in particular was related to his contract, which was renewed a few months after Hakstol first came out in favor of retiring the nickname. Hakstol has denied a connection. 

So who is bluffing?

Image via WikipediaHere is a good break down on the latest from the Big Sky Conference and their concerns about UND and the school retaining the Fighting Sioux Nickname by Tom Miller of  the Grand Forks Herald.

Faison also addressed the idea from some nickname supporters that the school’s administration has been misleading in the league affiliation process.

“The Big Sky is a legit concern,” he said. “Whether people want to believe it or not, I can’t help that. I know it. I’ve been in this business 35-plus years, and I’m telling you, we have a problem. And the answers to solve that problem if it goes down are not there. We can’t exist as a Division I independent.

“As far as conspiracy concerns, I leave that with the JFK folks. It’s reality that we are where we are. It’s reality that I’ve talked to Joel Maturi (Minnesota athletic director) and Sean Frazier (Wisconsin deputy athletic director) and we’ve been working on schedules for 2013-14, but that stops because of the nickname and logo. They can’t play us. That’s reality. That’s nothing I’ve made up. That’s been on the books for eight years. We lost a home and home with the University of Iowa in women’s basketball — the opportunity to host a Big Ten team here. This isn’t fiction. This is all real, and we have to deal with reality. That’s my job.”

Faison stressed the importance of competing against men’s hockey rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin.

“I’ve heard from some fans that say it doesn’t matter if we can’t schedule Minnesota,” Faison said. “I look at them incredulously (and say), ‘Really?’ Of course it matters.” [Grand Forks Herald]

The question is who do you want to believe? Personally, call me crazy if you want, but I don't think the Big Sky Conference is bluffing this time, not like some of the pundits claim they are. My first question, how the hell do they know if the Big Sky is bluffing or not? Have they interviewed the presidents of the Big Sky Conference? I would be willing to bet that they haven't.

Time will tell I guess and I  do not want to see the UND athletic department get hurt and suffer. I am alumnus of UND and I have two degrees from this University. I love the Fighting Sioux nickname but the time to fight the NCAA was 2-3 years ago. Where the heck were these people then? Where was Al Carlson back then? Carlson was sitting on his hands doing nothing.

The first team that is going to suffer the wrath of the NCAA is the Women's Hockey team if they end up in the top four. The first round of the NCAA tourney is held at the home arena of the higher seed. UND is close to being in the top four. They win a few more games and you never know where they could end up, they could be right there.

 But who cares right?

How about the fans, players and family members that follow the UND Women's team.

I have to say that I don't want to watch UND play some non nondescript NAIA or Division II school like Sioux Falls College, Minnesota State University, Moorhead or Minnesota Crookston in football, those match-ups don't excite me, when I know we could be watching Eastern Washtington, the University of Montana and or Montana State in football.

Related articles

• Big Sky Conference not Bluffing. (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• DQ Cup Redux? (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Minnesota AD Maturi announces plan to retire (espn.go.com)

It's official Jim Scherr to lead NCHC.

Here is the press release that was released on the NCHC's first commissioner. 

Former U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive officer Jim Scherr has been selected as the first commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which will house Colorado College starting in the 2013-14 season and will be based in Colorado Springs.

North Dakota athletic director Brian Faison will introduce Scherr during a Wednesday morning news conference at the Penrose House, a person with knowledge of the hire told The Gazette. The person requested anonymity because an official announcement has not yet been made by the NCHC. Scherr did not return phone and email messages. [Gazette.com]

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It's UAA week.

Well in case you haven't noticed, it's UND vs. UAA week. You may or may not see this blog post, based on the site meter, not too many have. This is probably the kind of stuff that that anti-nickname crowd was talking about, especially when they complained about the opposition fans and their misuse of the nickname and imagery.

This beaut, is from the UAA fan blog, written by Donald Dunlop aka Delusions of Grandeur. Not seeing a lot of hilarity in this blog post. Then again we're probably not his audience. 

Once you get past all of the bravo sierra and profanity there are a lot of good things on his blog about UAA hockey. Also, let it be known, that UAA hockey doesn't get a lot of positive coverage from the local media.  

A few of the topic of discussion we will probably see this week, 1.) Will head coach Dave Hakstol attend the UAA luncheon this year?  2.) Will UND have hot water in the showers in the locker room? 3.) As most of us know, UAA Athletic Director Steve Cobb was less than impressed with the way the NCHC took form. So it will be interesting to see what kind of a reception that UND gets.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, UAA athletic director Steve Cobb said that he blames "everybody for being less than honest with their own league members. ... I'm not offended at all they want to start a conference. I'm very offended at the way it was handled. ... It's going to be very tense and very uncomfortable." [CHN.COM]

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Alabama Lawmaker Leading Last-Ditch Effort To Save UAH Hockey

Image via WikipediaIt would appear that there is still a glimmer of hope to save the UAH Hockey program. Some wealthy donors, whose names have not been revealed, have said they will donate 1.5 Million to keep the UAH hockey program running. That is a lot of money and I think you could support a Division I hockey program with that kind of a donation. [Link to the video]

HUNTSVILLE, AL— Details of the plan have yet to be revealed, but Williams said it involves a group of wealthy hockey supporters who would fund the team's yearly budget of $1.5 million. But even if enough money was raised, there's no guarantee that a decision which dropped the program from varsity status could be reversed.

The death blow for Charger hockey appeared to come last week, when officials announced that UAH would no longer field a varsity team. University of Alabama System Chancellor Dr. Malcolm Portera cited lack of finances as the main reason behind eliminating hockey, which will be relegated to club level status starting next year.

Rep. Williams is an avid hockey fan, and said he has also been discussing the matter with Governor Robert Bentley's office. A meeting between the two is scheduled for later in the week.

UA-Huntsville Athletic Director E.J. Brophy said he had been contacted about the last-ditch effort, but said financial committments would have to be made in a matter of days if varsity hockey were to stay alive.

"I am aware that there are some people who want to help, and quite frankly we appreciate that sentiment," said Brophy. "If there is a benefactor, a heavy hitter, a benevolent angel that wants to write a monster check, that needs to happen very, very quickly."

The UA-Huntsville Athletic Department said for now they were moving forward with plans to convert hockey into a club level sport starting next year.

Related articles

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More on the NCHC...

Image via WikipediaThe NCHC had their first press conference in Colorado Springs today and I found a couple of interesting things in a newspaper article written by Fighting Sioux Hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman that caught my attention. There has been a lot of stuff thrown out there this past week and Brad's article put things in perspective. 

Brad Schlossman; Grand Forks Herald --- The new league, which has taken considerable flak from the national media since its formation was reported last week, de-bunked several myths.

The most notable: These schools did not vote to stay together at April’s WCHA meetings in Florida, which had been previously reported.

Wow!!! We were told that all of the WCHA members voted to stay with the WCHA during the annual American Hockey Coaches Association convention that was held last May in Florida. As you can see now that claim has been refuted with these comments from UND athletic director Brad Faison. So there seems to be a schism among the members of the WCHA.

Brad Schlossman; Grand Forks Herald ---In fact, the idea of the new conference was brought up and was met by a proposal by one athletic director to mandate a six-figure fine for those leaving the league. That proposal was never voted on.

Clearly, though, there were concerns from a few schools. And the more they talked, the closer they moved to starting a new conference.

“The more we talked, the more we recognized what we had in common,” Omaha athletic director Trev Alberts said. “I can’t tell you that there was any specific athletic director or head coach leading the charge. It just happened naturally out of the course of informal conversations.”

Both Faison and Ralph said the talks between the athletic directors have been very productive.

“The level of professionalism in these meetings has been astronomical, it has been through the roof,” Ralph said. “It’s so exciting, so invigorating to be in these meetings. The quality of administrators is second to none. I’m really proud to be part of it.”

The athletic directors confirmed that multiple national outlets have contacted them about broadcasting games. Sources say that Versus, which will soon be re-branded NBC Sports, is one of them.

Faison said the goal is for all games — home and road — to be televised.

“We’ve already had preliminary interest from some national media,” Faison said. “For Fighting Sioux fans, I expect that we’ll find ourselves in position where every game we play will be on TV, which is huge. Television certainly brings some revenue, but the reality is that the exposure, whether it be for recruiting or projecting back to our alumni, is important. We have a good TV platform. This will just enhance that in a dramatic fashion.”

From reading the comments of the article above you can see that the league was not just slapped together  haphazardly,  it looks like a lot of thought has been put into the formation of this college hockey conference. It will be interesting to see what kind of a TV deal the new league can get. I like most Fighting Sioux Hockey fans would love to be able to watch every single game home and away on television, that would be a major accomplishment. Not many Division I college hockey teams can make that claim.

Lastly, I also want to know how a league that is set up by the member schools, who hire the commissioner would allow that league commissioner to fine their member schools six figures for leaving a league? That seems odd to me. 

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