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This was in the Brookings Register on Tuesday, but it wasn't published online. The parent company of the Register wants to cut down on the amount of article put online. They are afraid the online articles will lose subscribers, which hasn't happened. Mr. Douple took ten minutes out of his time to talk between games of the Oral Roberts doubleheader.
Q: What are some of the improvements you have seen with South Dakota State University?
Douple: When we first came three years ago, they showed us architectural drawings of the Wellness Center. So to see it complete and go in it is fantastic. What a great addition for the university. We went in and saw the new team locker rooms and that was really nice as well. You have a great crowd here, great atmosphere, and the women’s team is playing exceptional. We can’t be more pleased with South Dakota State in the league. I had the privilege to be at the first round of the NCAA soccer tournament in Minneapolis against Colorado.
Q: How is preparation for the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls coming?
Douple: The people of Sioux Falls (and South Dakota) are excited. The enthusiasm for them to host the tournament is very high. We’re excited because anything we’ve asked about or inquired about has been done. They are ahead of schedule and it should be a great tournament. We’re down to fine tuning some things for the tournament. Ticket sales are ahead of schedule. I think it is going to be really good.
Q: What schools have surprised you with the athletic calendar halfway over?
Douple: South Dakota State’s women’s soccer has played real well. I didn’t think North Dakota State would run through the season undefeated in volleyball. Their freshmen really played well. SDSU’s women’s basketball team getting some huge wins against big name competition has been very good for the league. On the men’s side, Oakland has beat Oregon and UMKC has beat Wichita State. Our ranking as a conference in the Sagarin Ratings was 19; we’re doing real well in the preseason.
I went over to when Michigan State at IPFW, I looked up at the clock and IPFW is in the game and down one with 10 minutes to go. We’re seeing improvement all around.
Q: Are there any current plans for expansion within the Summit League?
Douple: Expansion has always been an agenda item since I’ve been in the league for eight years. We’re looking at schools and we have a lot of schools interested in our league. It’s something that we always talk about and we always try to plan for the future. Right now, we are pretty solid with 10 teams. Is that the magic number? Who knows, I think it would be prudent on our part to look to see what’s out there, to see if there is any movement among our members.
If you don’t learn from history, it will come back to get you. I think the key is to be steadily looking and analyzing where we’re at and that falls on our conference office to do that.
Q: How are things progressing with The Summit Plan - the league’s improvement plan?
Douple: Having the presidents and administrations commit to this has been key for us. We’ve asked them to address: staffing, academic support, scholarships, and facilities. We went around the room in October and AD went over all their plans and where they’re at. It was just a refreshing meeting to see everybody and what really impressed me were the facility upgrades everyone has done. We’re on the right track; things are really solid with the 10 schools. There is a commitment to improve and each school has a facility issue that they have addressed and improved upon.
Q: What is the direction of the Summit League in the next couple of months into next year?
Douple: The key is going to be the tournament. Ticket sales are obviously going well. The reality is getting to the door, filling up the place and supporting the tournament. We need that in the worst way as a league to be successful. Without football, men’s and women’s basketball is our premier event to where we get national exposure. I think if that tournament is successful, garners a lot of fan support and media interest it can help our league.
On the other side, it can really help South Dakota State. It is the first Division One tournament coming into Sioux Falls, for them it is a two way street. There is a lot of national media because of the automatic bid. If they can pull that off they are set to do some other events in the future, and I think they can piggy back on that as putting that on their resume. We want support from South Dakota State fans; it is an opportunity to see good basketball.
Q: Expand more on the importance of SDSU’s win in NCAA Soccer Tournament for the league.
Douple: That is key for us to get our name out. We want to get those first round victories. Obviously, a couple years ago, Oral Roberts got to the final eight in the College World Series. Anytime our teams can win a game in the NCAA Regionals, it helps the league’s image as a whole. We want to get it to an “Oh, wow, we have to play a Summit League team. We know they’re tough, because they have won some first rounds.”
Q: Has anything really been a disappointment for you this year?
Douple: We had an issue here on Thursday with the ball, and that’s very disappointing. We’ve investigated it and addressed it with all those involved. We’ll move forward, that was the last thing I thought I would be dealing with was that particular issue. Mistakes were made and you hope that never happens. The key is we had a lot of people learn from that.
Q: How has the accomplishments by SDSU improved the league’s standing?
Douple: I’ve done a lot of research on SDSU before we took the site visit three years ago. Obviously, everyone here on the site visit was very aware of the program and the history. To me it wasn’t surprising the quality they added, and it’s great to see. You had the fan support before and I think it has picked up. Anytime you play the type of teams coming in here now, people are seeing “Wait, we’re playing Wisconsin at home?” It adds to the credibility, and I think it’s been great.
Douple: When we first came three years ago, they showed us architectural drawings of the Wellness Center. So to see it complete and go in it is fantastic. What a great addition for the university. We went in and saw the new team locker rooms and that was really nice as well. You have a great crowd here, great atmosphere, and the women’s team is playing exceptional. We can’t be more pleased with South Dakota State in the league. I had the privilege to be at the first round of the NCAA soccer tournament in Minneapolis against Colorado.
Q: How is preparation for the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls coming?
Douple: The people of Sioux Falls (and South Dakota) are excited. The enthusiasm for them to host the tournament is very high. We’re excited because anything we’ve asked about or inquired about has been done. They are ahead of schedule and it should be a great tournament. We’re down to fine tuning some things for the tournament. Ticket sales are ahead of schedule. I think it is going to be really good.
Q: What schools have surprised you with the athletic calendar halfway over?
Douple: South Dakota State’s women’s soccer has played real well. I didn’t think North Dakota State would run through the season undefeated in volleyball. Their freshmen really played well. SDSU’s women’s basketball team getting some huge wins against big name competition has been very good for the league. On the men’s side, Oakland has beat Oregon and UMKC has beat Wichita State. Our ranking as a conference in the Sagarin Ratings was 19; we’re doing real well in the preseason.
I went over to when Michigan State at IPFW, I looked up at the clock and IPFW is in the game and down one with 10 minutes to go. We’re seeing improvement all around.
Q: Are there any current plans for expansion within the Summit League?
Douple: Expansion has always been an agenda item since I’ve been in the league for eight years. We’re looking at schools and we have a lot of schools interested in our league. It’s something that we always talk about and we always try to plan for the future. Right now, we are pretty solid with 10 teams. Is that the magic number? Who knows, I think it would be prudent on our part to look to see what’s out there, to see if there is any movement among our members.
If you don’t learn from history, it will come back to get you. I think the key is to be steadily looking and analyzing where we’re at and that falls on our conference office to do that.
Q: How are things progressing with The Summit Plan - the league’s improvement plan?
Douple: Having the presidents and administrations commit to this has been key for us. We’ve asked them to address: staffing, academic support, scholarships, and facilities. We went around the room in October and AD went over all their plans and where they’re at. It was just a refreshing meeting to see everybody and what really impressed me were the facility upgrades everyone has done. We’re on the right track; things are really solid with the 10 schools. There is a commitment to improve and each school has a facility issue that they have addressed and improved upon.
Q: What is the direction of the Summit League in the next couple of months into next year?
Douple: The key is going to be the tournament. Ticket sales are obviously going well. The reality is getting to the door, filling up the place and supporting the tournament. We need that in the worst way as a league to be successful. Without football, men’s and women’s basketball is our premier event to where we get national exposure. I think if that tournament is successful, garners a lot of fan support and media interest it can help our league.
On the other side, it can really help South Dakota State. It is the first Division One tournament coming into Sioux Falls, for them it is a two way street. There is a lot of national media because of the automatic bid. If they can pull that off they are set to do some other events in the future, and I think they can piggy back on that as putting that on their resume. We want support from South Dakota State fans; it is an opportunity to see good basketball.
Q: Expand more on the importance of SDSU’s win in NCAA Soccer Tournament for the league.
Douple: That is key for us to get our name out. We want to get those first round victories. Obviously, a couple years ago, Oral Roberts got to the final eight in the College World Series. Anytime our teams can win a game in the NCAA Regionals, it helps the league’s image as a whole. We want to get it to an “Oh, wow, we have to play a Summit League team. We know they’re tough, because they have won some first rounds.”
Q: Has anything really been a disappointment for you this year?
Douple: We had an issue here on Thursday with the ball, and that’s very disappointing. We’ve investigated it and addressed it with all those involved. We’ll move forward, that was the last thing I thought I would be dealing with was that particular issue. Mistakes were made and you hope that never happens. The key is we had a lot of people learn from that.
Q: How has the accomplishments by SDSU improved the league’s standing?
Douple: I’ve done a lot of research on SDSU before we took the site visit three years ago. Obviously, everyone here on the site visit was very aware of the program and the history. To me it wasn’t surprising the quality they added, and it’s great to see. You had the fan support before and I think it has picked up. Anytime you play the type of teams coming in here now, people are seeing “Wait, we’re playing Wisconsin at home?” It adds to the credibility, and I think it’s been great.
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