Tweet
Too long for one post:
NDSU: Climbing the Division ladder
Standing still would have been the comfortable option. The athletic departments, after all, were far from broken at North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
The schools had been part of the North Central Conference since its inception in 1922. Both were regulars in the NCAA Division II playoffs and won multiple national titles. NDSU led Division II in football attendance in 2003, while SDSU did the same in men's basketball in 2003-04.
That, however, is in the past.
This fall, the schools left the NCC and Division II to become independents, taking their first steps toward full Division I status, the NCAA's highest level of competition. They were the final two land grant institutions in the contiguous 48 states to go Division I.
NDSU in Fargo and SDSU in Brookings -- separated by 190 miles on Interstate Hwy. 29 -- won't be full Division I members until 2008-09. But their schedules are already dotted with notable major college programs, most of whom will agree only to play host to the Dakota schools until next season, when the matchups will count as Division I games. The NDSU men's basketball team, for example, opened its season this month with a 70-61 loss at Kansas State, while SDSU will have played seven Division I opponents -- all on the road -- in its first eight games.
The scheduling difficulties were best portrayed by the NDSU women's soccer team, which in the fall played all 17 regular-season games on the road. The team, made up almost exclusively of Minnesota high school products, logged 8,679 bus miles, including two separate trips to the state of Indiana.
The weekly itinerary: hop on a bus Thursday afternoon, drive somewhere for two weekend games, return Sunday night.
"It's been crazy," said Sarah Panzer, a sophomore midfielder from Lakeville. "The bus feels more like home than my dorm room. It's been soccer, eat, sleep and study."
In two states without big-time professional sports, the move to Division I represents progress and advancement to some. But to others, the cost, which included severing ties with in-state rivals, was too great.
The benefits
If you watched carefully on Saturdays this fall, you might have seen an NDSU or SDSU football score scroll across the bottom of your television screen, an event reserved only for playoff games in Division II. The same will be the case with basketball scores this winter. At the national level, a very clear differentiation exists between the divisions. The D-I label attracts more attention from alumni, the media and potential recruits.
"We tried to carry the flag for Division II," said North Dakota State women's basketball coach Amy Ruley, who led the Bison to five national titles in the 1990s. "But you could win a national title in D-II and hardly anyone knew. Philosophically, we fit better in D-I."
That belief is shared by NDSU President Joseph Chapman, who since his arrival five years ago has tried to eliminate the idea that NDSU is just a nice little school. Chapman has challenged every department on campus to look for ways to improve, and to him the Division I move is philosophically similar to the addition of 22 doctoral programs and the opening of the Research and Technology Park adjacent to campus.
"We're a totally different university than we were five years ago," Chapman said. "The athletic department is a window on the institution nationally."
South Dakota State athletic director Fred Oien said: "Whether you like it or not, there's a perceived difference between Division II and Division I. There's something in the event that changes something in the donor's or ticket buyer's mind."
South Dakota State President Dr. Peggy Miller would have preferred that the NCC schools move as a group to Division I, making the transition easier for everyone. When that didn't happen, SDSU joined NDSU and Northern Colorado as former NCC schools moving up a class.
"I like the idea of growth and doing it in a thoughtful way," said Miller, who came to SDSU from Division I Akron.
Even coaches who figure to take their lumps short term favor the move. SDSU men's basketball coach Scott Nagy built his program into a Division II power, averaging 23.3 victories in nine seasons. This year's schedule, including games at Butler, Marquette, Illinois-Chicago and Colorado, is much more arduous than previous seasons.
But Nagy is excited about the future, saying his school already is recruiting players it had no chance of landing in Division II. The best example: Nagy recruited one Minnesotan in his first nine seasons at SDSU, but he has two who are freshmen this season and has already signed two for next season.
"We're already getting kids we never got before," Nagy said. "Obviously, there's going to be some tough things we have to go through. But I think it's a good move for the university."
NDSU: Climbing the Division ladder
Standing still would have been the comfortable option. The athletic departments, after all, were far from broken at North Dakota State and South Dakota State.
The schools had been part of the North Central Conference since its inception in 1922. Both were regulars in the NCAA Division II playoffs and won multiple national titles. NDSU led Division II in football attendance in 2003, while SDSU did the same in men's basketball in 2003-04.
That, however, is in the past.
This fall, the schools left the NCC and Division II to become independents, taking their first steps toward full Division I status, the NCAA's highest level of competition. They were the final two land grant institutions in the contiguous 48 states to go Division I.
NDSU in Fargo and SDSU in Brookings -- separated by 190 miles on Interstate Hwy. 29 -- won't be full Division I members until 2008-09. But their schedules are already dotted with notable major college programs, most of whom will agree only to play host to the Dakota schools until next season, when the matchups will count as Division I games. The NDSU men's basketball team, for example, opened its season this month with a 70-61 loss at Kansas State, while SDSU will have played seven Division I opponents -- all on the road -- in its first eight games.
The scheduling difficulties were best portrayed by the NDSU women's soccer team, which in the fall played all 17 regular-season games on the road. The team, made up almost exclusively of Minnesota high school products, logged 8,679 bus miles, including two separate trips to the state of Indiana.
The weekly itinerary: hop on a bus Thursday afternoon, drive somewhere for two weekend games, return Sunday night.
"It's been crazy," said Sarah Panzer, a sophomore midfielder from Lakeville. "The bus feels more like home than my dorm room. It's been soccer, eat, sleep and study."
In two states without big-time professional sports, the move to Division I represents progress and advancement to some. But to others, the cost, which included severing ties with in-state rivals, was too great.
The benefits
If you watched carefully on Saturdays this fall, you might have seen an NDSU or SDSU football score scroll across the bottom of your television screen, an event reserved only for playoff games in Division II. The same will be the case with basketball scores this winter. At the national level, a very clear differentiation exists between the divisions. The D-I label attracts more attention from alumni, the media and potential recruits.
"We tried to carry the flag for Division II," said North Dakota State women's basketball coach Amy Ruley, who led the Bison to five national titles in the 1990s. "But you could win a national title in D-II and hardly anyone knew. Philosophically, we fit better in D-I."
That belief is shared by NDSU President Joseph Chapman, who since his arrival five years ago has tried to eliminate the idea that NDSU is just a nice little school. Chapman has challenged every department on campus to look for ways to improve, and to him the Division I move is philosophically similar to the addition of 22 doctoral programs and the opening of the Research and Technology Park adjacent to campus.
"We're a totally different university than we were five years ago," Chapman said. "The athletic department is a window on the institution nationally."
South Dakota State athletic director Fred Oien said: "Whether you like it or not, there's a perceived difference between Division II and Division I. There's something in the event that changes something in the donor's or ticket buyer's mind."
South Dakota State President Dr. Peggy Miller would have preferred that the NCC schools move as a group to Division I, making the transition easier for everyone. When that didn't happen, SDSU joined NDSU and Northern Colorado as former NCC schools moving up a class.
"I like the idea of growth and doing it in a thoughtful way," said Miller, who came to SDSU from Division I Akron.
Even coaches who figure to take their lumps short term favor the move. SDSU men's basketball coach Scott Nagy built his program into a Division II power, averaging 23.3 victories in nine seasons. This year's schedule, including games at Butler, Marquette, Illinois-Chicago and Colorado, is much more arduous than previous seasons.
But Nagy is excited about the future, saying his school already is recruiting players it had no chance of landing in Division II. The best example: Nagy recruited one Minnesotan in his first nine seasons at SDSU, but he has two who are freshmen this season and has already signed two for next season.
"We're already getting kids we never got before," Nagy said. "Obviously, there's going to be some tough things we have to go through. But I think it's a good move for the university."
Comment