Mid Con Vacancy?

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I agree with all points however Kupchella did not turn down the job at Marshall he did not get the job. He indicated he no longer had interest once they started negotiating salary with other finalist.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I agree with all points however Kupchella did not turn down the job at Marshall he did not get the job. He indicated he no longer had interest once they started negotiating salary with other finalist.

I haven't followed Kupa race for Pres of Marshall other than what has been posted over in Bisonville. If I implied that he turned the job down, I apologize, but all had heard was he pulled his name and what his reasons where I really did not know.

The fact the new AD at UND has a D1 background is interesting and what that means is also a big question mark. I tend to think Kupachella wants to stay D2. This is getting off subject. I guess the Mid Cont is what we should be discussing, and since I have nothing new to add I will be silent on this specific thread.

[89rabbit]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

At least one coach is happy that Centenary didn't get an invite to the Southland and the surprising part is that it is Centenary's Men's Basketball coach. He says what I have thought for a long time, that the Mid-Con is a pretty good Men's Basketball league and better then many out there. Here are highlights from the Shreveport Times:

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/...09/1001/SPORTS

Southland Conference decides not to pursue Centenary

June 8, 2005
By Jimmy Watson

jimwatson@gannett.com

The third time apparently wasn't the charm for Centenary College when it came to joining the Southland Conference.

The SLC announced on Tuesday it would defer its decision on Centenary, Tarleton State and Texas-Pan American while continuing possible expansion discussions with the University of Central Arkansas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. . . .

Said Centenary Athletic Director Taylor Moore: "We're a little disappointed because we feel that Centenary College and the Shreveport-Bossier City area could have brought some things to the SLC table. But joining the SLC would not have been an easy move for us due to sports sponsorship and budgetary issues and we're in a conference that we're perfectly happy being a member of."

Centenary was rejected by the SLC in both 1998 and in 1999 after leaving the Trans America Athletic Conference. The Gents and Ladies athletic programs struggled in independent status until the school joined the Mid-Con in August of 2003.

The Southland is considering possible expansion in the wake of Louisiana-Monroe's defection to the Sun Belt Conference. ULM will play its final season in the Southland in all sports except football in 2005-06 and begin Sun Belt play in all sports in 2006-07.

Unlike the previous two attempts to join the league, this time Centenary was invited to attend preliminary discussions with SLC officials. . . .

Centenary fan Terry Johnson said that SLC membership would have been a win-win situation for the school, since many of the student-athletes at Centenary come from the south Texas area. But he's ready to move on.

"The big picture is that I'm a little disappointed that the SLC didn't choose to pursue Centenary, but it won't change anything academically at the school," Johnson said. "I'll still attend athletic contests at the school, regardless of conference affiliation and if my son chooses to attend Centenary, I'll do everything that I can to make that happen."

New Centenary men's basketball coach Rob Flaska was relieved to hear that his school was staying put in the Mid-Con.

"The Mid-Con is a better men's basketball league (than the SLC) and the schools are in major media markets," Flaska said. "The academic and educational aspects of the other Mid-Con members are a better fit for Centenary anyway. From a personal standpoint, I'm happy to be a member of this league and to build my program in it."

Moore said that he wishes the dialogue with SLC officials would have continued but that he understands why they made the decision they made.

"They're solving their political issues and they're bringing a football-playing school to the table," Moore said. "I don't even know if it would have fit. They could have said, 'oh, we want you to join but we want you to do this, this and this.' Then that might not be something that fit in our plans and we'd have to say 'no.' It's hard to know if you were disappointed because you don't know what the proposal was (going to be)."


Be patient my fellow Jackrabbit brothers and sisters are time is coming.

Go State! ;D

[sdman]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

89, You made some very eloquent points.  I too am very optimistic in the long run that we will eventually be in the mid continent or even better the mo valley in the next 10 or 20 years or some other established league.  I can see that happening bc we fit the profile of a lot of the valley teams.  I just don't quite see how that is going to happen anytime soon although I hope that I am wrong.   I think in 10 or 20 years the opponents of this move will look back and see they were wrong but I am not so sure that will be the case for a few years.  You know a lot more than I do but we do not have the geog. that unc has and probably won't get as lucky as they did in their finding a league in such a short time. But I like you believe our time is coming - unfortunately I don't think it is going to be as quickly as you do.

[Rabbit74]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

The Argus Leader has a short story today on the Mid-Continent Conference's annual meeting to be held tomorrow. Below is the link and a portion of the article. Nothing really new but you never know when someithing might happen.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...507050309/1002


The presidents of the nine Mid-Continent Conference universities will hold their annual summer meeting Wednesday in Chicago.

If South Dakota State is planned to be mentioned for possible membership, league officials won't say.

Ron Bertovich, the Mid-Continent's commissioner, reiterated last week that the conference policy is to not discuss membership issues.

However, it's no secret that SDSU and North Dakota State - both seeking conference membership since announcing their move to Division I in 2003 - have been interested in being on the list of potential targets should the league decide to expand.

"I think membership always is on the agenda," Bertovich said. "Whether or not that rolls into expansion is a whole different issue."

When asked whether the league had charted the Dakota schools' progress in their first year competing in Division I athletics, Bertovich refused to comment.

[Rabbit74]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

Sorry, I didn't notice that my previous post information had already been posted.

[filbert]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

Nice map showing the D-I football programs. Maps like this really emphasize that we're in a new division now.

Also, it seems to me that we're not quite as geographically isolated as some folks sometimes like to say we are. Looking at the map, we're not much more isolated than, say, Minnesota.

http://home.comcast.net/~jma155/imag...D1_HelmMap.gif

[OKC_Poke]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

After looking at the map, I can honestly see why you all want to join the Mid-Con more so than the Big Sky.

Before I saw the map, I had always thought South Dakota as a part of the West (Black Hills and Deadwood) rather than the Midwest.

Oh, well. You learn something new everyday.

[89rabbit]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I'm going to guess that the guy that wrote this story is overstating the facts as I am unaware of us putting in an application to the Mid-Con, but just in case he is in the know, here are highlights from a Sioux City Journal story.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/arti...3700050842.txt

. . . Officials from the sprawling Mid-Continent Conference met Wednesday in Chicago with one potential agenda item discussion of applications from South Dakota State and North Dakota State to join the Division I basketball league. . . .


Go State! ;D

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

Sioux City Journal has never been a friend of SDSU and their reporters probably never take the time to call us for whats going on at SDSU. I rather think they call someone over in Vermillion for info and as reflected here get a distorted and skewed account of whats going. I sure detected that tone in this column. I dont think we need to pay much attention. We know the facts and its not as grim as Sioux City Journal column would make it seem.

[89rabbit]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I agree with you 100% SDSUFAN. I too detected that underlying tone that you speak of. Of course that is not surprising since many in SE South Dakota take the Sioux City Journal (including our friends in Vermillion). They are just "giving their readers what they want".


Go State! ;D

[SDsportsFan]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

Sioux City Journal has never been a friend of SDSU and their reporters probably never take the time to call us for whats going on at SDSU. I rather think they call someone over in Vermillion for info and as reflected here get a distorted and skewed account of whats going.  I sure detected that tone in this column.  I dont think we need to pay much attention. We know the facts and its not as grim as Sioux City Journal column  would make it seem.

Did I read a different article than you? What did you find to be grim about the article? The article I read was very short and pretty much just said the MidCon was looking at possibly adding SDSU and NDSU and went on to list the teams in the conference. I didn't find it to be optimistic or grim. I only write this because I feel that I may be talking about a different article than the one SDSUfan is talking about. The one I am talking about is the one that 89Rabbit had a link to.

[89rabbit]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I think we are all talking about the same article.  There are several words/phrases that might be interpreted to have negative connotations.  

One that struck me as a little odd the first time I read it was "played in something called the 1-AA Great West Football Conference last year".  This seems to disparage what many in the I-AA community thought was the second best conference in D-I Football's sub classification.  Why not write that SDSU, NDSU and UNC played in the I-AA Great West Football Conference last year.   No real need to add the phrase "something called".  

Also calling the Mid-Con a "basketball league" is at best inaccurate and at worst another subtle dig.  The Mid-Con is more then a "basketball league".  It is in fact a NCAA D-I all sports conference that does not offer football.  Much the same way that the Missouri Valley is a NCAA D-I all sports conference that does not offer football.

This concept should not be to hard for a writer from Iowa to understand since 2 of the 4 D-I teams in Iowa have precisely that kind of set up.  Drake is a member of the Missouri Valley for all sports except football where they are a member of the Pioneer Football League and UNI is also a member of the Missouri Valley for all sports except football where it is a member of the Gateway Football Conference.  

Clearly the writer is aware of both football only conferences since he mentions them by name in his story.  So why devote such a large portion of such a small article to the topic of football, when SDSU already has a football conference and the Mid-Con does not offer the sport?  

Is there a chance that I am reading this article with too critical an eye, or that I am too sensitive.  Perhaps, but as I said, the first time I read it something struck me as odd about the way it was written.

Go State!  ;D

[OK_Jackrabbit]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I also noted that "something called" line and thought it was a little snarky. Other than that, it was a fairly straightforward look at the situation. At least it was mentioned. The Journal rarely takes note of what goes on north of North Sioux City since their subscriber base isn't particularly strong in South Dakota.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Mid Con Vacancy?

I also noted that "something called" line and thought it was a little snarky. Other than that, it was a fairly straightforward look at the situation. At least it was mentioned. The Journal rarely takes note of what goes on north of North Sioux City since their subscriber base isn't particularly strong in South Dakota.

OK:
Your take is very correct. I used to have access to both Sioux City TV and Newspapers and they seemed to cover USD some, but never SDSU dispite the fact that former SDSU players were and are still on the Sioux City Arena football team and we have a many alums living in the Sioux City area. This is a slow time of the year, and maybe that is the only reason SDSU and NDSU were mentioned in the column.  But as you said the subscriber base drives their paper and why would it not.