USD's Conference Search

[juice]

Re: USD's Conference Search


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I don't mean this as smack but what else is Mr. Nielson supposed to say.  That he has not been able to have discussions with conferences that are interested, our location is a deterent, and it all depends on the benjamins?  Of course that is what he is saying and that is what he is supposed to be doing.  The difference is that until you have a conference asking for information from your school in a proposal then there really isn't much of any great significance happening.  That is what happened with SDSU!  Dr. Oien said those same things and I'm sure he was obviously visiting with several conferences on a preliminary basis.  Once they requested a prospectus is when things get going.  As far as location goes, it was an issue for SDSU that was outweighed by the other positives but it will be a bigger issue for USD, not that it can't be overcome!

[/quote]

You are exactly right about this. Everyone gets so darn excited about what an AD says. But like you said, what the heck is he supposed to be saying. Of course he is going to say those things.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Hadn't read this thread earlier, but will just add one point to the conversation if anyone is interested.

The Mid-Continent, under Commissioner Douple and the backing of the presidents is eager to shed the idea that it is a "step up and out" conference, and wants to make it a true mid-major threat.

It is my understanding that as a part of that, every school, including the current members and the two new additions have had to guarantee they will stay in the conference for the next five years, and there are substantial dollar penalties if a school chooses to leave. That should aid in stability.

[Jacks15]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I hope that the Mid-Con stays stable for a while. It would be great to get to know opponents and develop conference rivals. Adding the UxD's would be something that may help in the future, but I hope the confence stands still for a while.

[Rabbit3467]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I really just dont see the big sky looking to add teams right now. If I was montana I definitely wouldnt want to, they are the cream of the crop, why add teams that might be more competitive than what they have (UND, sorry USD but your not the same). If the big sky didnt want SDSU and NDSU, what would make them interested in taking UND and USD. I dont think they feel they need more schools to make the conference better, since they are already considered one of the best conferences in FCS. Its all about football in the sky, and they have plenty of good to great teams (sure there are cellar dwellers, but those teams dont want anyone good either). I would sh$$ bricks if the sky took UND and USD, but the GW would happily accept them. I think they are on the outside looking in for a conference. I could be very wrong, but they seemed to have picked a bad time to move up in relation to conference expansion. The two SU's seemed to have picked a great time, especially if the gateway adds them. I dont think the gateway would want another two teams (again, my views) because they would already be at nine, and eleven isnt a good number for football. Time will tell, but I think the U's will have a much tougher time than the SU's.

rabbit3467

[JimmyJack]

Re: USD's Conference Search

One factor that hasn't been discussed much: USD has picked a partner in UND that won't help and might hurt their chances to get into a conference. Why? The lingering mascot litigation, etc. People in the know who I talk to tell me that conferences aren't likely to want to take on that baggage without some further clarification of what the future holds.

You need to put your best foot forward for a conference to come calling. Any lingering issues that could hang around aren't going to help.

OK, Soo fans. Flame away. Any mention of your dear mascot sends you into hysterics. That's exactly the kind of circus potential conference suitors want to avoid.

[NightHawk78]

Re: USD's Conference Search

JimmyJack, USD had to pick UND as a partner because there were no other partners to choose from. Let's look at the list of their options:

SDSU: Announced D-I move in 2003. The 'Yotes chose to stay D-II. Is happily preparing to join the Mid-Con later this year and is angling for a bid into the Gateway for FB.
NDSU: See SDSU.......both schools delayed their move in order to convince other NCC teams to move up.....no one was paying attention.
UNC: Moved up in 2003 and is currently serving as the Official Whipping Boy of the BS Conference.
UNO: Can't even balance a D-II budget and is currently begging to join the MIAA. Plus, they are at the mercy of Husker Nation.
Augie: Decided to be proactive and apply to the NSIC before USD figured out what they were going to do.
SCSU, MSU, and UMD: Shackled in D-II by the political prowess of Goldy Gopher. Currently relying on Butch Raymond's savvy to get into the NSIC.

That just leaves the Fighting Ralphs of UND to align with, I'm afraid............

If the Mid-Con wants or needs to add a team or two in the forseeable future, there are several options (Utah Valley St., Oklahoma City, SIU-Edwardville, even Tex.-Pan American) that are probably more attractive than an underfunded USD and a controversial UND..........

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I think it's funny how hard the XDSU's worked to get a foot into the door of the Mid Con but now that we're in we think we're slamming the door behind us forever.

[JackerRabbit]

Re: USD's Conference Search

I think it's funny how hard the XDSU's worked to get a foot into the door of the Mid Con but now that we're in we think we're slamming the door behind us forever.

Its funny that people think that we got into the conference because of hard work. We got into the Mid-con, plain and simple, because of luck. I don't know, maybe another program will transfer to the Horizon (already full at 10) or the Mo. Valley (already full at 10) along with a member practically getting kicked out of the conference for a ton of recruiting violations, so that there will interest in expanding again. Oh, wait, if that happened the conference would be dead because of loss of core members, so that scenario can never happen again! How about that!

I don't understand what is so difficult about this conference expansion concept for some members. See if you notice a pattern here:

Mid-Con- Expanded to 10 members
Horizon- Expanded to 10 members
Mo. Valley- Stable at 10 members

Big Sky (w fb)- Stable at 9 members
Gateway (fb)- Looking to expand to 9 members

I don't know, maybe its me, but it seems like all of the conferences have gotten to, or are at the optimal number of members right now. When we went D-I:

Mid-con- 8 members
Horizon- 9 members
Big Sky- 8 members
Gateway-8 members

Its funny how all of these conferences have or are on the verge of expanding to the optimal number now, and SDSU and NDSU got in at the same time they were in expansion mode!

UND and USD are a day late, and have just missed the expansion boat. Don't let all of the recent expansion fool you into thinking it happens this often... it doesn't, and this round only occurred because of the Big East conference raiding C-USA. That effect has now trickled down, and the conferences are stable. If you think these guys are going to expand just to help USD and UND out, you're crazy.

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Then again, you have the A10 at 14 and Big East at 16.

Yeah, that looks real stable to me.

[JackerRabbit]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The big east has tv contracts through 2016, so I imagine they'll stay together until then. The A-14 is getting ready to be raided by the Big East when it breaks up (Remember the WAC). So yeah, I would say UND and USD getting into a conference about 2016-2017 with play starting in 2018 sounds about right. Is that your point? Because I wasn't trying to say that they'll never get in anywhere, just that its going to be awhile (10-11 years). I don't think that they are going to enjoy being Indy's for that long...

[filbert]

Re: USD's Conference Search

"Chance favors the prepared mind." -- Louis Pasteur.

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

The A-14 is getting ready to be raided by the Big East when it breaks up (Remember the WAC).

Exactly.


And it will happen within the next few years.

[Rabbitden]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Hey champ I finally figured it out...you are plain and simple a Mavbot. IM RIGHT AINT I.

[JackerRabbit]

Re: USD's Conference Search

[quote author=JackerRabbit link=1168049624/15#24 date=1170003463]The A-14 is getting ready to be raided by the Big East when it breaks up (Remember the WAC).

Exactly.


And it will happen within the next few years.[/quote]

Well, I'm glad I don't need to worry about it happening or not for SDSU's sake. You should probably let somebody at ESPN know about this imminent collapse though, I'm sure they would enjoy publishing a story about it!

[2006gwfcchamps]

Re: USD's Conference Search

Another year or 2 of only 7 or 8 BE teams getting into the tournament when 9 or 10 should be in will do it.