UNO Considering Move Up

[filbert]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

Yeah, but an all-sports Summit League that looked like this would make an enormous amount of geographic sense (this assumes that Southern Utah moves to the Big Sky where they geographically belong):

Football:
Central Missouri
Kansas City
Nebraska-Omaha
North Dakota
North Dakota State
South Dakota
South Dakota State
Western Illinois
(I'd consider a move to a league that looked like this a lateral move from the MVFC--three to eight?? years down the road when UCM and UNO get to full D-I status, that is)

All-Sports
East
Oakland - travel partner with
IPFW
IUPUI - travel partner with
Western Illinois
Kansas City - travel partner with
Oral Roberts
West
Central Missouri - travel partner with
Nebraska-Omaha
North Dakota - travel partner with
North Dakota State
South Dakota -travel partner with
South Dakota State

But it's a bit of a fantasy anyway, as I would be equally surprised by UMKC initiating a football program and UMKC throwing in the towel and dropping down to D-II--i.e. neither eventuality are likely imho.

[jackmd]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

More about the potential move up.

http://www.omaha.com/article/2009082...TS03/708299841

Chancellor sees Division II fracturing as factor for UNO
By Rob White
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

An NCAA Division I athletic program could well be in the future for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

But when that happens may largely depend on the future health of Division II.

Diagnosing that depends on who you are. UNO Chancellor John Christensen and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Commissioner Jim Johnson see different things.

Christensen thinks Division II is fracturing and will look differently in 10 to 15 years. “If nothing else, I think you're going to see a separation in Division II (football) in terms of full scholarship participation and participation at some lower level — not unlike Division I.”

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Johnson, former chairman of the Division II Membership Committee, says Division II is stronger than it has been in years. He says it's unrealistic to think that smaller schools that continue moving up to Division II, replacing the 50 or so programs that have moved up to Division I over the years, will form a voting bloc and control the division. Proposals to lower Division II scholarship levels in football were defeated three years ago, Johnson said, and haven't resurfaced.

“I've seen couple of articles and I'm a little surprised by those,” Johnson said. “Somebody must have information that I don't have.”

He said Division II is becoming more selective and has denied seven applications for admittance this year. “We're trying to accept schools that are ready to be Division II members, educating them before they become members rather than after,” he said. “Division II is going to be here 10 years from now. It's not in any danger of nonexistence.”

The uncertainty is why Christensen said UNO is looking long-range when it discusses a potential move to Division I. Such a move would mean the Mavs playing Division I-AA football, the division in which Northern Iowa plays, for example, which has a scholarship limit of 63. For comparison, the scholarship limit is 85 for I-A schools like Nebraska, and 36 in Division II. UNO would be in Division I for all other sports, where the Mavericks would compete for the same national championships as Nebraska and Creighton.

UNO Athletic Director Trev Alberts says he believes UNO ultimately will make the move to Division I. Christensen isn't shying away from it, either...............

[zooropa]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

Johnson, former chairman of the Division II Membership Committee, says Division II is stronger than it has been in years.

Hey look, it's Cleopatra, Queen of denial.

[jackmd]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

Hey look, it's Cleopatra, Queen of denial.

Didn't a certain President at a university just a little north of Omaha say the same thing a couple of years ago? I can't recall exactly but I'm pretty sure I remember a press conference with some talk about focusing on regional DII rivals, academics, some other "stuff". Correct me if I'm wrong.

[SDHoops]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

I would also change how the athletic teams are referred to from "UMKC" to "Kansas City" and try to get a name change through the Missouri legislature from UMKC to Kansas City University..

Just wondering, but can't they call themselves whatever they want, athletics-wise? Cal. State University at Long Beach goes by Long Beach State and both University of Kansas and Oklahoma go by KU and OU instead of UK and UO. New Jersey's Science and Technology University goes by New Jersey Tech and/or NJIT. Couldn't UMKC call themselves Kansas City if they wanted to..or is there some rule against it?

[UWMandSDSU]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

Just wondering, but can't they call themselves whatever they want, athletics-wise? Cal. State University at Long Beach goes by Long Beach State and both University of Kansas and Oklahoma go by KU and OU instead of UK and UO. New Jersey's Science and Technology University goes by New Jersey Tech and/or NJIT. Couldn't UMKC call themselves Kansas City if they wanted to..or is there some rule against it?

Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Green Bay has been trying this for years to have their athletic programs to be simply known as the "Milwaukee Panthers" and "Green Bay Phoenix", they finally got this recognized by the NCAA.

[valleyrabbit]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Green Bay has been trying this for years to have their athletic programs to be simply known as the "Milwaukee Panthers" and "Green Bay Phoenix", they finally got this recognized by the NCAA.

This has been a trend by a lot of state schools within a large city with the name of that city being in their name.

UNC-Charlotte is now Charlotte
Memphis State is now Memphis

I would like to see UMKC, IUPUI and IPFW get rid of the acronyms and come up with simpler names. It would give our league a better identity. I think the same would be for UNO if in fact they do move up.

Doesn't the Indy Jaguars sound a lot better than the IUPUI Jaguars
or the Fort Wayne Mastadons instead of the IPFW Mastadons
or the Kansas City Kangaroos instead of the UMKC Kangaroos

I think UCLA and UNLV are the only ones who can get by with the State/City acronym. Just my $0.02.

[filbert]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

IUPUI's problem there is that there's already a U. of Indianapolis. Maybe there's some big Indiana historical figure that they can name it after (a la Purdue).

I see that Dan Quayle is an alum. Heh. Q-U!

[Grizzled_Jack]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

IUPUI's problem there is that there's already a U. of Indianapolis. Maybe there's some big Indiana historical figure that they can name it after (a la Purdue).

I see that Dan Quayle is an alum. Heh. Q-U!

I think IPFW should be Johnnny Appleseed U.

[BTownJack]

Re: UNO Considering Move Up

More about the potential move up.

http://www.omaha.com/article/2009082...TS03/708299841

Chancellor sees Division II fracturing as factor for UNO
By Rob White
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

An NCAA Division I athletic program could well be in the future for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

But when that happens may largely depend on the future health of Division II.

Diagnosing that depends on who you are. UNO Chancellor John Christensen and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Commissioner Jim Johnson see different things.

Christensen thinks Division II is fracturing and will look differently in 10 to 15 years. “If nothing else, I think you're going to see a separation in Division II (football) in terms of full scholarship participation and participation at some lower level — not unlike Division I.”

Advertising
Johnson, former chairman of the Division II Membership Committee, says Division II is stronger than it has been in years. He says it's unrealistic to think that smaller schools that continue moving up to Division II, replacing the 50 or so programs that have moved up to Division I over the years, will form a voting bloc and control the division. Proposals to lower Division II scholarship levels in football were defeated three years ago, Johnson said, and haven't resurfaced.

“I've seen couple of articles and I'm a little surprised by those,” Johnson said. “Somebody must have information that I don't have.”

He said Division II is becoming more selective and has denied seven applications for admittance this year. “We're trying to accept schools that are ready to be Division II members, educating them before they become members rather than after,” he said. “Division II is going to be here 10 years from now. It's not in any danger of nonexistence.”

The uncertainty is why Christensen said UNO is looking long-range when it discusses a potential move to Division I. Such a move would mean the Mavs playing Division I-AA football, the division in which Northern Iowa plays, for example, which has a scholarship limit of 63. For comparison, the scholarship limit is 85 for I-A schools like Nebraska, and 36 in Division II. UNO would be in Division I for all other sports, where the Mavericks would compete for the same national championships as Nebraska and Creighton.

UNO Athletic Director Trev Alberts says he believes UNO ultimately will make the move to Division I. Christensen isn't shying away from it, either...............

From later in the article:

“It's important for us right now to think not about a year or two at a time, but ultimately what will be, what could be or what should be UNO's athletic profile,” Alberts said. “And then let's get working to enhance that. Some of the things that have caught us in the past have happened because we haven't been proactive or thorough in the big picture. Quite frankly, we may be in the position we are in because of our lack of vision.”

Thank you Fred Oien & Peggy Miller!