What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

[sodakfan]

Man-those guys have NO love for us!!!

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

Screw the Argus
Screw KELO TV.
We're movin' on. we don't need them !

[89rabbit]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

The Argus parent company belongs to Al Nauharth (USA Today fame) who is a USD Alum.

[Alumguy]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

I believe there are several factors at play. Try these:

1) Sioux Falls, in general, has a superiority complex. No person or entity outside their city limits has a right to outdo them on anything. They are smarter than anyone else _ just ask them.
2) After years and years of being bashed as that "Cow College" filled with heathens, it is difficult for anybody from "The City" to believe that anything special can be associated with a college with its roots steeped in agriculture.
3) The administration of the Argus Leader is filled with people who grew up outside South Dakota's borders. They come from places like Kansas or Iowa. There is no way that a school in South Dakota can measure up to where they came from.
4) The sports writers are of the same ilk.
5) There is an ugly belief, shared by many South Dakotans, that it is unacceptable to try and outdo your neighbors. How dare you try to be different? Who do you think you are?
6) The Argus is in a quandry. They spoke out against the move when SDSU was considering Division I. They now have a vested interest in us failing. When we succeed, they will have failed. This bothers them as they don't want to look stupid.

Just some thoughts on a snowy afternoon.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

I would agree with all that Alumguy has presented here and maybe eleborate on the observation made by 89rabbit.

Al Neuharth, USD and the founder of Gannett Newspapers USA today is a a extremely wealthy man. How he would have stacked up with Ralph Englestad in personal wealth is hard to say, but I would think he would have net worth some where equal to the estate of Ralph Englestad. Lets just say there are two guys from the Dakotas who have become extremely wealthy.
Opps Ralph technically is from Minnesota. Oh well he is connected to UND.

I am old enough to remember Al Neuharth failed venture called SoDak Sports. It was kind of a neat paper printed weekly on salmon colored paper, available in drugs stores who were big on comic books and magazines in the 1950's. I remember purchasing Sodak Sports at Ray's Drugstore in Brookings and reading it as I enjoyed a cherry coke at their now defunct soda fountain.  It was a great little paper for a kid in the 6th grade who had no TV and lived on a farm, but got to Brookings on Saturday Afternoons. You read news that wasnt in the newspapers.  Journlistically, Al and staff did a great job covering South Dakota high school and college basketball primarily.

The Late Tom Maxwell's radio program now being continued by his spouse and heard weekly across South Dakota reminds me of SoDak sports with the indept interviews and stories.

Al was a young guy at the time and really failed in getting sufficent advertizing. The paper went broke. I think he learned a great deal from this experience and went to work outstate and over time buildt the Gannett  empire.

My whole point in mentioning this is that Al Neuharth is not all news and at minimum has a passive interest at athletics in South Dakota even after all these years.

Though he has never publicly commented on SDSU's move to D1, I am sure he has an opinion and that opinion is the one that is reflected in one of his Assets- the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.  The staff at the Argus are hardly going to piss off the boss. That would not be a good idea.

Al Neuharth has promoted journalism and communications at USD, but not a cent towards the athletic department.  I am kind of waiting for another shoe to drop.

[filbert]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

Nothing going on here that winning the Fresno State basketball tournament in November won't cure.

"If you don't think you can win, don't get on the bus."

If I was still in SD, I'd be looking forward to watching those games on TV.

On KSFY.

Go Rabbits!

[filbert]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

Another thought:

Not generally known is that in the days before statehood, Sioux Falls was given the choice by the territorial legislature: they could either host the state agricultural school, or the state penitentary.

Of course in the 1880's no one knew how important a strong research-oriented university was for economic development.

Sioux Falls and South Dakota are still trying to recover from that unfortunate decision (can you say USDSU? Of course not, neither can I ;-).

[Bison_Kent]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

fibert,

That sounds similar to N. Dakota as well. Bismarck and Fargo were looking at getting the state pen and ag college. Bismarck won the fight for the state pen and Fargo won the ag college.

[NDSU_grad]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

The same thing happened in Iowa. The story goes that representatives from Ames went to the state legislature to try to petition to get the state insane asylum. They failed, but were awarded the land grand institution. The story goes that the people of Ames were very upset.

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

South Dakota chose Vermillion as the site for our states insane asylum. ;D

[Buster]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

South Dakota chose Vermillion as the site for our states insane asylum. ;D

Well, Yankton got it. I recall the rather curious signs near the building "DO NOT PICK UP HITCHIKERS". Yankton is a rather close drive from Vermillion.

[Buster]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

Another thought:

Not generally known is that in the days before statehood, Sioux Falls was given the choice by the territorial legislature: they could either host the state agricultural school, or the state penitentary.

Of course in the 1880's no one knew how important a strong research-oriented university was for economic development.

Sioux Falls and South Dakota are still trying to recover from that unfortunate decision (can you say USDSU? Of course not, neither can I ;-).

The thing is, I have a class down at USDSU once a week. I can see why the people in Brookings hate it so much -- the building is modern, well-designed architecturally, in a good location, and clean.

There's a rather nice, but small, common area, and tons of ethernet ports and 802.11a/b/g network all throughout the building.

The reason people in Brookings so detest USDSU, it seems, is because they've done it better. The classrooms are not full of crappy broken desks, shoddy equipment, and designed from converted offices and dorms. I recall classes I had on Scobey hall -- what a joke. They're the kind of rooms better suited to brutal interrogations than education.

That's not to say that all classrooms are in ill-repair. It just seems that I always get stuck in the rooms with creaky pipes, and oddly-placed pillars. The biostress building isn't too bad at all, and neither is the new printing and journalism building.

[filbert]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

Actually, USDSU isn't really the problem. As my previous post noted, the real problem began when Sioux Falls short-sightedly picked the Pen over the Ag College. Since that didn't happen, SD now has to spend resources to not only support six universities and four junior colleges (oops, Technical Institutes) but also has now realized that it has to have a 4-year + presence in the state's largest city and one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

That USDSU is state of the art is a credit to the state and a reminder that SD *can* do good things. That the rest of the campuses are all crumbling is an indication that the state isn't able to properly support them all.

Sometimes I think SD would be better off to just close the Vermillion, Madison, and Brookings campuses and move all three universities to a single institution in Sioux Falls. (As long as their colors stay yellow-and-blue and their nickname remains the Jackrabbits, that is. I'd compromise by moving DSU to Sioux Falls and moving USD to Brookings as a bigger, better SDSU...that'd be OK, I guess. <grin&gt

[89rabbit]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

The thing is, I have a class down at USDSU once a week. I can see why the people in Brookings hate it so much -- the building is modern, well-designed architecturally, in a good location, and clean.

There's a rather nice, but small, common area, and tons of ethernet ports and 802.11a/b/g network all throughout the building.

The reason people in Brookings so detest USDSU, it seems, is because they've done it better. The classrooms are not full of crappy broken desks, shoddy equipment, and designed from converted offices and dorms. I recall classes I had on Scobey hall -- what a joke. They're the kind of rooms better suited to brutal interrogations than education.

That's not to say that all classrooms are in ill-repair. It just seems that I always get stuck in the rooms with creaky pipes, and oddly-placed pillars. The biostress building isn't too bad at all, and neither is the new printing and journalism building.

Buster,

USDSU is fine for what it is, a one building place for non-traditional students (for the most part) to take a class or two.  Many metros have them.  KU has what they call their Edwards Campus here in suburban KC.  I think some people in Brookings dislike it because they see it as a waste of taxpayer money.   As for me I think it is a good idea.  That non-trad working student is not going to drive to Brookings to take his class he is just going to go to another school.  I'll take his money.  

As far as the building goes, that is a little unfair.  SDSU is a degree granting 4 year University with tons of buildings all over it's beautiful campus.  SDSU celebrated it's 100th anniversary before anyone even thought up USDSU.  USDSU is a one building extension campus, next to a Vo-tech, that is what 10 years old if that.

Sure State has some old buildings on the campus, some are over 100 years old but that is part of what makes a college campus a college campus.  A more fair comparison would be to find a building on the main campus that is roughly the same age so you are compairing apples to apples.

Don't get me wrong, I understand your concern (I had a class in the basement of the Barn) and at the time I preferred classes in the Rotunda or the Hen House.  They were fairly new at the time had nice amenities and were close to the Student Union.  I guess what I am saying is be glad you are taking classes at USDSU now while it is new.  30 years from now some guy will be saying what a dump it is.  



P.S. for those who might be lerking and not familiar with SDSU the "Barn" is the nickname for the old Basketball Arena that Frost Arena replaced.  The "HEN House" was the nickname for  the Home Economics and Nursing building.

[Alumguy]

Re: What did SDSU ever do to the Argus??

Let's put this thing into perspective. The state of South Dakota built that building in Sioux Falls with tuition money (20% of every tuition dollar goes into the Higher Education Facilities Fund) raised by students attending all the public higher education institutions in South Dakota. The state of South Dakota used no money of its own. Hell, the state of South Dakota hasn't appropriated any general funds for campus buildings since the '60s. Pretty good system, huh?

The pathetic thing is that the Board of Regents has been forced to tap into the HEFF money for maintenance and repair of these buildings. In other words, the students have to build the buildings and keep them maintained. Just recently, SDSU declared the President's home to be a classroom so that some of the HEFF money could be used to repair that house.

Now, isn't that something!