Transition Article

[BornBredBunny]

Re: Transition Article

"Of course, Oakland's transition process would have been far more difficult - or might not have happened at all - if it hadn't gained conference affiliation. The school announced that it was joining the Summit League - then called the Mid-Continent Conference - on the same day that it announced the Division I move."

Quoted from the transition article that started the thread! Now you're gonna tell me the whole reason we didn't get a conference is b/c of geography!? And you're going to tell me Dr. Oien didn't get quoted as saying we aren't going to make the move until we have a conference in place?! Not my words, ladies and gentlemen! Furthermore, SDSU & NDSU were well aware of this problem before the move--why do you think they wanted the whole NCC to make the move together! We were right, of course, and it could have saved us a whole bunch of heartache over the past couple of seasons!

My whole point is now that we FINALLY have our conference, our men's basketball program will stabilize and recruiting can begin in earnest! I think the Oakland coach is more impressed with our ability to stay the course w/o a conference than anything........

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Transition Article

"[I]My whole point is now that we FINALLY have our conference, our men's basketball program will stabilize and recruiting can begin in earnest! I think the Oakland coach is more impressed with our ability to stay the course w/o a conference than anything........

I think you're right there. Recruiting can only get better with conference affiliation.

[BTownJack]

Re: Transition Article

"Of course, Oakland's transition process would have been far more difficult - or might not have happened at all - if it hadn't gained conference affiliation. The school announced that it was joining the Summit League - then called the Mid-Continent Conference - on the same day that it announced the Division I move."

Quoted from the transition article that started the thread! Now you're gonna tell me the whole reason we didn't get a conference is b/c of geography!? And you're going to tell me Dr. Oien didn't get quoted as saying we aren't going to make the move until we have a conference in place?! Not my words, ladies and gentlemen! Furthermore, SDSU & NDSU were well aware of this problem before the move--why do you think they wanted the whole NCC to make the move together! We were right, of course, and it could have saved us a whole bunch of heartache over the past couple of seasons!

That was the situation Oakland had in front of them at the time they joined the Mid-Continent (as it was named at the time). I don't know the state of the Mid-Con at the time Oakland got an invite, but I'm willing to bet the Mid-Con was losing members and Oakland was a enticing potential member.

Unfortunately that was NOT the situation that SDSU and/or NDSU were in when we were deciding to make the move. We obviously spoke to various conferences before we decided to make the move and they all said the same thing. "You are not going to be considered for membership to our conference until you show that you are committed to be a D-I school."

That is the reason we went ahead with the move the way we did. This point was argued way too much at the time and I don't know why you even bother bringing it up now? I hope you agree that as it turned out, making the move and going D-I is one of the best things that ever happened to our great university. Let's leave it at that and focus on what lies ahead of us.

As far as the whole NCC moving up and creating our own conference. It could be argued that SDSU and NDSU are better off the way it now stands. From what I know, moving the NCC up and creating a new D-I conference would have required the conference to wait 13 years before it was granted a auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament. Other sports, I don't know.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Transition Article

Just a short comment, because this area is in danger of having been beat to death. But I want to agree with BTownJack. Having been very close to the process (including testifying at the Board of Regents meeting where the decision to go D-I was finally approved by the board) I'm aware of a lot of the political-behind the scenes maneuvering, which I would discuss privately with personal message exchanges with any poster. Geography does play a part (unless you want to be a Southern Utah) in getting into a conference in our area.

The Big Sky seemed logical (and I was a proponent...but now extremely GLAD things went the way they did). We were getting very good vibes from the Big Sky as we made the move and had good reason to believe we would be getting into the conference. It was the Board of Regents who made the point of "requiring" a conference affiliation if we were to move...which made no practical sense when the Big Sky wouldn't broach the issue until we had gone D-I (kind of being between a rock and a hard place.) Lucky for us, we made the move, paid for the independent status hardships, and it is now in the past.

[BornBredBunny]

Re: Transition Article

Yep, things worked out for the best and I'm pretty happy with where SDSU is at right now! I'll be really happy when CAS upgrades are completed! Apparently some of my original comments on this topic were taken the wrong way -- I think it's absolutely outstanding we finally have our conference and now our men's program can truely take off!

[Nidaros]

Re: Transition Article

I'll be really happy when CAS upgrades are completed!

That will not happen without yours and my check to the SDSU Foundation. I am old guy who remembers Staduim For State, that yielded CAS. That is only one half of it and rickty bleachers on the east side and one tiny dressing room for the home team. That too, started as an ambitious project and then fizzled. Coughlin does not have his name on the facility just because of the campanile, its about the gift to staduim for state and that was only $50,000. If it had been a million, it would have completed the project easily. That long old story, but with a our new pres and good board of directors on the foundation, we might avoid a number of mistakes that the Staduim for State committee and staff made . One that I recall was the refusal to accept small gifts. They pushed for multiyear pledges and with no success, the students ended up making most of the funding with student fees. Lets hope that does not happen again.

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: Transition Article

That will not happen without yours and my check to the SDSU Foundation. I am old guy who remembers Staduim For State, that yielded CAS. That is only one half of it and rickty bleachers on the east side and one tiny dressing room for the home team. That two started as an ambitious project and then fizzled. Coughlin does not have his name on the facility just because of the campanile, its about the gift to staduim for state.

I think we have lost more home games because the long walk to Frost for the away team has allowed coaching staffs to plan their talks and adjustments. I may sound crazy, but have seen the away team play better in the third quarter some times and that may be due to good adjustments and the long walk has to keep the players legs active. Our guys go inside and plop down for 15 minutes. Maybe we should just upgrade one dressing room.

Wow. You're right, you do sound crazy.

[Nidaros]

Re: Transition Article

Rabbit who has NOT lived in Vermillion for years:

Hey I was trying to be funny.


I am sane by the way.

Getting back on topic the transition period and the article was in my mind viewed complimentry. I think we are finding out that the Summit is not a push over when it comes to coaches and coaching. What I have seen I think are very good and hardly D2 coaches in ability, including the Oakland coach. I will go further and assert that coaching makes the close games and might be part of our losses too. I not going to say any more.

[Germane]

Re: Transition Article

Oakland fan here. I know this thread has been dead for about a week, but I thought I'd post a link here to a multi-part article by Steve Megargee on rivals.com about the transition to Division 1 for men's hoops programs. I'm not sure how many of you on this forum regularly read rivals.com, but this article provides some good contextualization for SDSU's transition. From my perspective as an outsider, it seems like SDSU has done a pretty good job, overall. And good luck against S. Utah tonight.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/...asp?CID=774201

[BTownJack]

Re: Transition Article

Great post Germane...thanks a lot!!! Rep Points for you although it probably won't do you much good. Here's a little more literature to put our plight in persepctive.

Of the 13 programs testing the Division I waters as provisional members, Central Arkansas (13-11) is the only team with a winning record this season. Most of the provisional members have lost at least twice as many games as they've won.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Transition Article

From This Week's Collegian.
http://media.www.sdsucollegian.com/m...-3253415.shtml

The SDSU men's basketball season is over, and to call it a disappointment may be an understatement. The season was long for both players and fans; the best news for the Jacks is that next year will start soon enough to forget the pain.

The season started out with a strange feeling for the men's hoop squad, optimistic and confident with a large chip on the shoulders to go along with a hunger for victories. As the Summit League Pre-Season Polls were released, you could feel the anger as Nagy's team was picked below the Centenary Gents, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne and the rest of the Summit League in the pre-season prediction list.

Optimism and confidence were a welcome sight for many Jackrabbit fans, as it has been a long Division I transition for the men's program. Before the upper division move, the Jackrabbits were competing as one of the better programs in the Northern Plains region.

The combination of injuries, transfers and unfortunate events made the move to the next level difficult. The Jacks won 33 games while losing 84 in the four years of reclassification. The second worst four-year span is 53 losses from 1985-89.