Fred Oien

[salemjack]

https://twitter.com/argusmattz/statu...948112898?s=21

Thought this article was a very interesting read. As a young fan I don’t have memory of the process of moving to D1. Just curious to what everyone’s thoughts were on this article and Fred Oien in general.


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[SDSUAlum08]

Re: Fred Oien

https://twitter.com/argusmattz/statu...948112898?s=21

Thought this article was a very interesting read. As a young fan I don’t have memory of the process of moving to D1. Just curious to what everyone’s thoughts were on this article and Fred Oien in general.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thought it was ok. Seems like typical Stu trying to start some controversy.

[goon]

Re: Fred Oien

Seems like it's about what I recall. I don't think stuff is trying to stir stuff up but what is fred suppose to do. Just shoe up and expect everyone to pat him on the back. Some times it's just time to move on.

[Nidaros]

Re: Fred Oien

When I first moved to Nebraska in 1985 and made many of my trips to Brookings for SDSU events, I recall a very friendly guy came up to me and asked me: How were the roads coming up? It was the start of a friendship that continues today. The article is very accurate. There were things going on that I really did not know about. Fred always took time to talk to me on the telephone. I used to bug him about our underfunded football program. This funding short gap is still there today. In 2019 our funding of football does not even match NDSU 2017 figures. We are about 0ne million dollars behind NDSU 2017 published figures. Back in the late 1980's we were further behind. I also recall sitting in front of Fred when we played Kearney State at their house, I want to say 1990, and things did not go well. Wayne Haensel was head coach, and you could sense that Fred was about to make a change in head coaches. It was not fun to watch a friend agonize, but I did that day and that fall Wayne an alum was force into a resignation. That had to be difficult but Mike Daly turned it around with more resources such as a complete coaching staff. Before under the previous AD, we had the swimming and baseball coaches doubling as assistant football coaches. I think Fred deserves some credit in that area, despite unfortunate resignation of Mike Daly. Fred told me once that if anyone could revive the football program SDSU, it was John Stieglemeire, and that bears some truth today with several playoff appearances and winning seasons. Stig background is mathematics and is a very logical guy that knows the game. We are winning and Stig and Justin Sell get the credit which is theirs to take.

I did run into Fred at Perkins a few months back, and he does move a little slower than before, I asked him if he had a stroke and he told me no. So I guess we all slow down. I got afib and dont move as quickly as I used to. SDSU is always in my heart as well, but I do choose to be at games as long as it is warn enough, like this past Saturday.

[Nidaros]

Re: Fred Oien

Seems like it's about what I recall. I don't think stuff is trying to stir stuff up but what is fred suppose to do. Just shoe up and expect everyone to pat him on the back. Some times it's just time to move on.

I think you are correct, Stu has done some real good articles since he moved from the Sports Department and he too has done some growing up.

[JackJD]

Re: Fred Oien

I thought Whitney’s article was excellent. It was informative, timely (I’ve often wondered what Fred thought about the success of what he initially set in motion and I thought about that Saturday morning at 7:30 as I worked my way in to the GameDay crowd) and well written. Moving to D1 was a gutsy move by President Miller and AD Oien. They, particularly Fred, took a lot of abuse from some corners in Jackrabbit nation and they held tough. History shows they nailed it. Fred deserves our thanks but he probably doesn’t hear that word often. And, following Pres. Wagner’s sage advice, Fred stays out of the public eye and those of us who would like to tell him thanks don’t have much opportunity to do so.

If you haven’t read Whitney’s piece in today’s Argus, do so.

[slosho]

Re: Fred Oien

I thought Whitney’s article was excellent. It was informative, timely (I’ve often wondered what Fred thought about the success of what he initially set in motion and I thought about that Saturday morning at 7:30 as I worked my way in to the GameDay crowd) and well written. Moving to D1 was a gutsy move by President Miller and AD Oien. They, particularly Fred, took a lot of abuse from some corners in Jackrabbit nation and they held tough. History shows they nailed it. Fred deserves our thanks but he probably doesn’t hear that word often. And, following Pres. Wagner’s sage advice, Fred stays out of the public eye and those of us who would like to tell him thanks don’t have much opportunity to do so.

If you haven’t read Whitney’s piece in today’s Argus, do so.

Thanks to Fred for having the Vison for the Athletics. I'm still against Students footing the bill (via increased Student fees. THAT's JUST BULL you know what) He was right about the exposure for our teams.

What he was wrong about and will never be correct about is that my degree is worth more now that SDSU is Div-1. That's a bigger crock then anything I've ever heard.

[JackJD]

Re: Fred Oien

While the value of one’s degree is always going to be difficult to accurately measure, it’s my opinion that the D1 move was transformative just as Pres. Miller and Oien predicted. And I think improvements to the institution have increased the value of our degrees. I can’t put a dollar figure on it.

[Nidaros]

Re: Fred Oien

Thanks to Fred for having the Vison for the Athletics. I'm still against Students footing the bill (via increased Student fees. THAT's JUST BULL you know what) He was right about the exposure for our teams.

What he was wrong about and will never be correct about is that my degree is worth more now that SDSU is Div-1. That's a bigger crock then anything I've ever heard.

As an older alum, I always had a belief that my degree had value. I had a very average at best career, but having the degree opened doors. In selling the D1 move to hostile people, mistakes were made. The one about your degree being more value as a D1 school is not a good one IMO. Having a degree from Augustana might be more valuable in some fields, I dont know. I do know this and that is what you do with that degree and how you put to work is probably the key to value. Coach Otz comes to mind, in that he got his undergradute degree at Wisconsin-Whitewater but now is sitting in Vegas counting his money. Coaches often use their networks to make advancements and how they progress at any level is the key. If Otz does well at UNLV, he will advance further. If not he will be somewhere else. I think it was wrong to paint the picture that Fred did but at the same time going for D2 National Champion would not have been that big of thrill and our roster would include more athletes from DeSmet, Arlington, Toronto and places like that.

It is apparent that the athletic budget grows every year. It is very expensive, and we are asked for more money and this bothers me some, but at the same time I was one of the average fans that thought the D1 move was the right thing to do. No regrets there. Having a sold out crowd of 19k and change is a very good thing.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: Fred Oien

I thought Whitney’s article was excellent. It was informative, timely (I’ve often wondered what Fred thought about the success of what he initially set in motion and I thought about that Saturday morning at 7:30 as I worked my way in to the GameDay crowd) and well written. Moving to D1 was a gutsy move by President Miller and AD Oien. They, particularly Fred, took a lot of abuse from some corners in Jackrabbit nation and they held tough. History shows they nailed it. Fred deserves our thanks but he probably doesn’t hear that word often. And, following Pres. Wagner’s sage advice, Fred stays out of the public eye and those of us who would like to tell him thanks don’t have much opportunity to do so.

If you haven’t read Whitney’s piece in today’s Argus, do so.

The story WAS well written. Beyond that, I am totally P*****d at the Argus Leader (about had it with them anyway...and things are going to get worse with the recent sale of the parent company) but this was NOT a FRONT PAGE story. The whole premise of the story is around Fred Oien while dragging years-old problems through the mud, once again, years later. Hell of a thing in my opinion to run on the front page the morning after the biggest one-day story ever for SDSU, Brookings and South Dakota. Run the damn story on Monday back on the bottom of the sports page,with a look back at the day, and the switch to D-1, and Fred's absence and the problems he faced. The story talked mostly about his personal persona, with one sentence on the problems he faced in the community and at the university over the strong stand he insisted was necessary for the future of SDSU. He was right. Yes he may have come across as stubborn, and yes, he had some personal problems in his life. BUT, if it had not been for Fred, we would be light years behind, right where USD landed by waiting too long.

[BTownJack]

Re: Fred Oien

The story WAS well written. Beyond that, I am totally P*****d at the Argus Leader (about had it with them anyway...and things are going to get worse with the recent sale of the parent company) but this was NOT a FRONT PAGE story. The whole premise of the story is around Fred Oien while dragging years-old problems through the mud, once again, years later. Hell of a thing in my opinion to run on the front page the morning after the biggest one-day story ever for SDSU, Brookings and South Dakota. Run the damn story on Monday back on the bottom of the sports page,with a look back at the day, and the switch to D-1, and Fred's absence and the problems he faced. The story talked mostly about his personal persona, with one sentence on the problems he faced in the community and at the university over the strong stand he insisted was necessary for the future of SDSU. He was right. Yes he may have come across as stubborn, and yes, he had some personal problems in his life. BUT, if it had not been for Fred, we would be light years behind, right where USD landed by waiting too long.

My sentiments as well Jacks#1Fan. Well written or not, it was a ****ing joke that Stu/Argus would do what they did to smear what was one of the coolest/exciting days in SD history. The Argus can piss off and continue to slide into oblivion. They paper hasn't had any class or reputation since Terry left and we can only hope that another newspaper outlet comes in and takes over in the near future. The entire state of SD would be better for it.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: Fred Oien

My sentiments as well Jacks#1Fan. Well written or not, it was a ****ing joke that Stu/Argus would do what they did to smear what was one of the coolest/exciting days in SD history. The Argus can piss off and continue to slide into oblivion. They paper hasn't had any class or reputation since Terry left and we can only hope that another newspaper outlet comes in and takes over in the near future. The entire state of SD would be better for it.

I can understand where you guys are coming from. Stu didn’t need to drag Fred’s demons back out of the closet. I’m certain everyone including stew has some skeletons they wouldn’t want shared.

What I did appreciate about the article is the history it provided on the DI transition. I was in college when the Jacks made the jump so I was aware of some of the details but not all. I’m sure there are many current Jacks fans in the same boat.

[JackJD]

Re: Fred Oien

I get the online version of the Argus and consequently, I don't pay any attention to which page an article may be located upon. After reading Jacks#1Fan's comments, I can agree that placement of the article was not the greatest. And while I don't like the rehash of personal problems, I didn't think Stu overstated or emphasized the personal problem. i wasn't surprised the personal problems were in the story. Overall, it talked about Fred Oien, the imperfect human like all of us, who absolutely knocked it out of the park on the subject of going D1.

I'm usually not a fan of Stu's style. But in this case, I thought the article was well done and it overall showed Fred having the vision and guts to take a step that many thought would be a disaster. Having accomplished the move to D1, Fred humbly stepped aside and now can privately enjoy seeing his hope and prediction turn out better than MOST could have guessed.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: Fred Oien

I get the online version of the Argus and consequently, I don't pay any attention to which page an article may be located upon. After reading Jacks#1Fan's comments, I can agree that placement of the article was not the greatest. And while I don't like the rehash of personal problems, I didn't think Stu overstated or emphasized the personal problem. i wasn't surprised the personal problems were in the story. Overall, it talked about Fred Oien, the imperfect human like all of us, who absolutely knocked it out of the park on the subject of going D1.

I'm usually not a fan of Stu's style. But in this case, I thought the article was well done and it overall showed Fred having the vision and guts to take a step that many thought would be a disaster. Having accomplished the move to D1, Fred humbly stepped aside and now can privately enjoy seeing his hope and prediction turn out better than MOST could have guessed.

Obviously Fred agreed to the story. He had to have known the personal issues were likely to come up. Unless there was some agreement in place to not bring that up....

[Jackedforlife]

Re: Fred Oien

Can you tell the Oien story without the the personal problems, maybe...but should you tell it that way? It's ugly in it's core but it was his doing and he has accepted that.

Fred was integral in the move to D1 but he was not the catalyst. Dr Miller had that vision, pursued it and encouraged her people to get on board. Fred got on board and did a great job. He supported it, helped refine the vision and we as fans should be grateful. Although I think most ADs in that position would've driven it that way. Some not as successfully and others more successfully.

I have to appreciate Fred and his willingness to stay away out of respect for the Dept and Justin. I am aware of a couple other depts where the old timers do not stay away and they make it stressful for the current faculty.