The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

[89rabbit]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

So the question is what does SDSU have to offer a conference.  A subject that is so broad that I hesitated to tackle it, for fear of not doing the topic justice.  I liked jackmd's idea of poising that question to Dr. Oien.  As I am sure he and his staff already have put together a presentation to address this very question.  The question is so basic and the answers so obvious that it is almost laughable.

Well to start with because SDSU is a Land Grant institution, a FlagShip University, we will offer up South Dakota.  Many schools by their very nature (directional or city campus) offer a limited support base.  As South Dakota's only D-I school SDSU can offer a new conference the entire state as a potential market.  That is not to say that we can deliver the entire state, clearly some folks in SD do not care for SDSU or any University’s athletics program, however we are not limited as a UMKC or Eastern Michigan might be.

Next we offer our name.  Playing a FlagShip University always sounds better then a school you have never heard of.  Let’s test this theory.  As a fan would you rather play Montana State University or Lipscomb University?  Both D-I schools, but what sounds better to the ticket buying public?  How about something a little closer to home Iowa State or Drake.  Again both good D-I schools but to a fan in say California which would they have heard of?  

Next lets talk about Fans.  A quick look at the basketball Arenas of the two Conferences that we are talking about joining should help illuminate this point.  Frost Arena hold something like 8,500 fans (not sure with the new seats) Here is a breakdown of the Big Sky and Mid-Continent member’s arenas

As a comparison here are the Areans of both the Mid-Con and Big Sky.

Weber State - Dee Events Center (12,000)
Montana - Adams Center (7,500)
Montana State - Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (7,250)
Northern Arizona - Walkup Skydome (7,000)
Eastern Washington - Reece Court (5,000)
Idaho State - Reed Gym (3,040)
Portland State - Scott Center (1,500)
Sacramento State - Hornet Gym (1,300)

Oral Roberts - Mabee Center (10,575)
UMKC - Municipal Auditorium (9,827)
Southern Utah - Centrum Arena (5,300)
Western Ill. - Western Hall (5,139)
Valpo - Athletics-Rec. Center (5,100)
Oakland - Athletic Center O’rena (4,005)
Centenary - Gold Dome (3,000)
Chicago St. - Jacoby Diickens Center (2,500)
IUPUI - IUPUI Gym (1,800)

As you can see Frost would be the second largest in the Big Sky and the third largest in the Mid-Con.  As I am sure everyone is aware SDSU lead the Nation once again in Men’s Basketball attendance and captured the same title in Women’s Basketball.  So we bring fan interest.  I think it is interesting that in many cases the smaller Cities have larger arenas.  Chicago, Indianapolis, Portland and Sacramento have very small gyms while Bozeman, Macomb and Missoula have larger ones.

Media Markets I think you can argue that Sioux Falls would be part of SDSU’s media market and so we are talking about a city with a population of 123,975.  If you just want to look at Brookings then the number is 18,504.  Lets look at some of the towns in the Big Sky and Mid-Con.

Ogden 77,226
Missoula 57,053
Pocatello 51,466
Bozeman 27,509
Cedar City 20, 527
Macomb 18,558
Cheney 8,832

How about how good SDSU is at Men’s Basketball.  After all a Conferences ability to take dollars out of the NCAA “Big Dance” pie rests on the ability of member schools to progress through March Madness.  

Here is a look at the Big Sky and Mid-Con according to the Massey Ratings.

http://www.masseyratings.com/rate/cb-m.htm

Big Sky

Eastern Washington 128
SDSU 173
Weber St. 194
N. Arizona 208
Sac State 233
Montana St. 254
Idaho St. 276
Portland St. 281
Montana 292

Mid Con

IUPUI 127
Valpo 133
Oral Roberts 161
SDSU 173
Centenary 189
UMKC 190
Oakland 218
Chicago St. 229
Southern Utah 291
Western Ill. 578

Bottom line SDSU can offer a conference money on many different levels.  I could go on and on, I haven’t even touched on academics, but I will wait and see if this is sufficient.

Go State, South Dakota's only D-I University!  8)

[SDSUFAN]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

Hi folks! Some very interesting comments on here, and very few of them are correct. Yes, I made the "Emporer's New Clothes" statement.

The poster that talks about travel costs from Sioux Falls to Brookings says that even by bus at 2 dollars a gallon for gas, the total cost would be about 10 dollars each way. Have you called a charter bus company lately?


There are a lot of quotes on this board that are wrong. Let me correct a couple. When I went on my tangent last week concerning my original question, I brought up the ACC, the Big East and other conferences for one reason. I was making a point. I was not suggesting that SDSU was going into one of those conferences. That leads me back to the question that got this discussion started.

What does SDSU bring to a conference? There is not one conference out there at any level that is looking to help out a school. They are looking for a school to help them. What does that school bring? A good regional fit? A media market? It is different for every conference.


One other thing. Every single email I have gotten comes from people that have 2 things in common. They are State fans, and they now live out of state.

Oh, and I am keeping my press pass, the same one that I have always had.

I not going to comment on everything Mike has said. I stand on my comments about the trip to Brooking be it by helicopter or by charter expense, its not a relevant cost. If it was would Manhattan signed a home and home with SDSU? I not sure why this is a such a big deal in Mike's mind. I do give credit for his knowledge and past coverage of SDSU move to D1 even though we have to take his word for it. I just did not listen and apparently KWSN does not want to consider archiving past shows, otherwise, newer listerners could back track past programs and all this coverage could be verified.

When one or both hosts were on vacation, they do replays. One day they did replay Coach Stig interview but beyond that you have no way knowing what the past coverage as been.

I dont think SDSU has had any reason nor have they appeared ever to be playing the role of a begger in trying to find a conference. From the Carr study on, the Administration has known that getting a conference is a hard sell, and I suspect they are planning for the opportunity to give a presentation to the Big Sky or the MidContenient. I am very happy the adminstration has accepted the challenge and will continue to look for a conference.

What should SDSU have done? Given up and stayed D2? I dont think so and that is why I told Mike in a private email that I was happy that he(Mike) is not president of SDSU. The coverage is one thing but how helpful is KWSN, in having a show that continues to put doubts out there about SDSU's move. Maybe its not KWSM role to support SDSU but I dont see putting SDSU down is their role either.

There is a reason all these out of state SDSU alums are emailing. The passion for going D1 has value in terms of jobs and job promotions. These people are out in a larger area beyond Sioux Falls, and people are so unfamiliar with South Dakota and SDSU that they have not a clue and to explain that we play in the greatest conference in D2 does not impress people. If you are conversing with someone connected to Notre Dame or some other D1 giant, they give you that goffy look and ask "Gee where is Brookings and how many students do they have their? Years down the road when SDSU has made the Big Dance, the town of Brookings will be much more familar than it is now. Having had to fly into Sioux Falls, you hope they dont get Sioux Falls confused with Sioux City and get lost.

So going D1 in time will help our grads and what kind of image they carry to areas other than Sioux Falls. This is not only a South Dakota thing. It affects alums in all 50 states and several international countries.

I might add that many of our SDSU programs, athletic and academic are generously supported by out of state Grads. So yes we care and we care what some guy on a low watt sports show carried via the internet has to says about SDSU.

[Mike_H]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

I can't disagree with your facts, but remember, you can't just compare yourselves to what the conference currently is. You have to sell yourself on what the conference could be. You have good, well thought out and researched answers based on that. However, several of your selling points are matched or surpassed by NDSU and Northern Colorado. THAT is who you have as competition. For instance: media - Fargo, a market owned by NDSU, versus Sioux Falls, a market that is split with several colleges, university's, and minor league teams. Football attendance and success: I think you know SDSU ends up third on that list for right now. Budget: NDSU has been the highest spending DII program in the country for the last several years. SDSU says it will come up with the money. Not sure where UNC stands right now. These are the things a conference wants to know about.

One other point. I understand your thoughts about name recognition, but I have never EVER heard anyone other than a specific university president refer to the importance of a landgrant university. And be prepared for a battle as to which is the flagship university. To take your theory one step further, who would you rather play? Iowa or Iowa State? Arkansas or Arkansas State?

[filbert]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

I can't disagree with your facts, but remember, you can't just compare yourselves to what the conference currently is. You have to sell yourself on what the conference could be. You have good, well thought out and researched answers based on that. However, several of your selling points are matched or surpassed by NDSU and Northern Colorado. THAT is who you have as competition. For instance: media - Fargo, a market owned by NDSU, versus Sioux Falls, a market that is split with several colleges, university's, and minor league teams. Football attendance and success: I think you know SDSU ends up third on that list for right now. Budget: NDSU has been the highest spending DII program in the country for the last several years. SDSU says it will come up with the money. Not sure where UNC stands right now. These are the things a conference wants to know about.

One other point. I understand your thoughts about name recognition, but I have never EVER heard anyone other than a specific university president refer to the importance of a landgrant university. And be prepared for a battle as to which is the flagship university. To take your theory one step further, who would you rather play? Iowa or Iowa State? Arkansas or Arkansas State?

A reminder, Mike: SDSU lead the unsuccessful effort to get the NCC to move up to DI as an entire conference. So, you might say SDSU's first choice for a DI conference was the NCC.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

I believe there is a bus ride from Denver International  to Greeley, maybe 75 to 80 miles. Surely this is not something to fear. Plus Hankock Hall is not a D1 facility by any means, and a good crowd at Hankock might be 1800. Nottingham Field is nice, but like Coughlin, it has only one side. At Coughlin we have maybe room for 3 to 4 thousand on the visitors side.  UNC has maybe seating for 500 on the vistor's side.  UNC has a big of a challenge if not more than SDSU in terms of facilities and getting butts in the seats.  I really dont fear UNC as competition.

Yes NDSU has the Fargo Forum, but if Randall Beck was doing no more than lip service when  he said he thought SDSU deserve serious coverage since we are not a D1 program, then SDSU has a job to do, and do we really need the Argus? Yes and they seem to have more faith in SDSU than Craig and Mike. Time will tell.

I think Mike is trying to compare SDSU's D1 Move  to the Storm or some the other less known minor sports team that operates out of Sioux Falls.  Here today gone tomorrow. Lets see how many times have the Canaries folded? :-/

As far as SDSU losing the title as the flag ship university of South Dakota, not a worry. USD is all hat and no cattle.  With two past AD being fired and the University being sued by former coaches, I dont see any phoenix rising out of Vermillion any time soon. They had to drop baseball to be TitleIX compliant.

[Jack]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

The fact that there is any question as to which is the flagship school in the state is the BEST REASON why State made this decision. Looked up the definition of flagship and here is is - "the chief one of a related group."

For years SDSU has been the largest school in the state. Not by a little, by a lot. Almost 3,000 students! That's USD and Northern combined. That in itself would make it number one. To get into a debate as to what academic programs best serve the state, well that just gets into cutting hairs I suppose. That gets back into the landgrant thing. Mike pooh poohs this but if agricultural continues to be the number one industry in SD and the college that best serves that industry is SDSU then by damnit then SDSU is the chief. I don't even know why this is debated. At the hearing in SF before the Board of Regents, a guy from SF who is a USD graduate said something like, 'my wife and I always looked at SDSU as the battleship of the colleges.'

As far as I see SDSU has finally stopped looking down at its shoes half way embarrassed to be as big and as important as it is. This is so typical of people in the midwest. "How dare you try to be something! You need to be just like the rest of us." There are so many analogies I could make about small time thinking but I'm not going to go there.

Risk taking requires leaders with vision. There have been plenty of people standing on the shores of time cursing those who had the courage to go places. Even when good things begin to happen the people on the shores continue their cussing and discussing. Pretty soon no one listens to their negative babble. Everyone else has moved on.

[rabbit85]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

I can't disagree with your facts, but remember, you can't just compare yourselves to what the conference currently is. You have to sell yourself on what the conference could be. You have good, well thought out and researched answers based on that. However, several of your selling points are matched or surpassed by NDSU and Northern Colorado. THAT is who you have as competition. For instance: media - Fargo, a market owned by NDSU, versus Sioux Falls, a market that is split with several colleges, university's, and minor league teams. Football attendance and success: I think you know SDSU ends up third on that list for right now. Budget: NDSU has been the highest spending DII program in the country for the last several years. SDSU says it will come up with the money. Not sure where UNC stands right now. These are the things a conference wants to know about.

Mike-

First about "where's the money coming from" , I'm sure you already know about the athletic scholarship endowment that SDSU has already got 10 million in, half the total needed to fund the D-I scholarships. I'm tired of people asking about this, seriously what do they think, Oien and Miller were sitting around drunk, and thought up this crazy D-I scam without considering the finances needed for the move? If they weren't absolutely positive that they would be able to come up with the money for this move then they wouldn't have done it, and I'm sure that there was more than enough research done to figure out that there would be enough money for the move, but everyone outside the school, with no idea of the alum base or where the schools funds come from think that they know that there's not enough money.

As for competing with NDSU, and UNC. Mike, do you really think we are competing with NDSU right now for conference affiliation? What are the chances that the big sky is going to admit only NDSU, or even an NDSU UNC combo? Pretty slim. Yes, NDSU does have many strengths also, but it also happens to have many weaknesses, just as SDSU has. The biggest strength of both schools for a conference affiliation though, is that for the most part where one school is weak, the other is strong, such as football being an NDSU strength and an SDSU weakness, and basketball being an NDSU weakness and an SDSU strength. I think a better question for conferences would be "why wouldn't they take NDSU/SDSU?"

[Mike_H]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

SDSUfan: I am on here now so I can speak for myself. :-)

Jack: I am glad you brought up that point about MAKING them the flagship! That is a great point and a worthy goal.

Filbert: A gross miscalculation by the leadership at SDSU. No one in Minnesota or Nebraska is going D1 other than the major university in those states. D1 Hockey is as far as it will ever get. And the University of North Dakota is going to be at the level Ralph Ingelstad, and now his will, tells them they are going to be.

SDSUfan: Manhatten is making one trip here with a basketball team. A school in a conference will make several trips to Brookings with football, softball, baseball, etc., and the cost will add up. Also, in basketball and football, non-conference schools play for a guaranteed amount of money so they pick up a check on the way out the door. In a conference, that is not the case. Travel is subsidized by the conference at the end of the year from general revenue, assuming there is any left over.

Also, I could email you all of our interviews but your computer would shut down. Feel free to email my buddy Ron Lenz if you need to verify the fact that I am not just making stuff up about our coverage. Ask him about how he has helped me get ahold of Denny Womoldorf (who knew there were actual pharmacists at Wall Drug?), Guy Mackner, Mark Tetzlaff, and others. Or better yet, you could just ask someone who listens to the show.

[filbert]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

. . . snip . . .

Filbert: A gross miscalculation by the leadership at SDSU. No one in Minnesota or Nebraska is going D1 other than the major university in those states. D1 Hockey is as far as it will ever get. And the University of North Dakota is going to be at the level Ralph Ingelstad, and now his will, tells them they are going to be.
. . . snip . . .

I'd consider it more of a noble effort than a gross miscalculation. I don't think there were any illusions about the political strength of UNL and the U of M in blocking the way to D-I status for other state institutions. Given that SDSU's administration determined that the institution's proper classification was D-I, it was a reasonable (if doomed) proposal to try to bring the rest of the NCC along.

To the point of SDSU's "proper" classification:

The way I see it, SDSU's D-I move is all about public relations, getting SDSU's and South Dakota's name out in the national stage. I think the view of SDSU's administration that State is already a D-I class institution in all respects but athletics has a great deal of merit.

Is SDSU in Kansas State's league? Obviously not athletically, but in terms of academics, institutional mission and capabilities, SDSU and Kansas State are extremely similar. The differences are mainly in size (K-State's a bit more than twice as big), in research fundraising (an emphasis of Governor Rounds, if I recall correctly), and--in athletic classification.

Frankly, I've always thought SDSU, USD, NDSU and USD all should have moved up when the Montana schools did. That they didn't says more about politics and the attitude of the state's citizens (the attitude Jack referred to above) than it does about the capabilities of the institutions.

I do want to thank you for taking the time to engage us rabid Rabbit fans. One way or another the D-I move should continue to give you plenty of fodder for your show for years to come.

p.s. I actually caught your Womoldorf interview as I was driving up I-29 from KC to Brookings to a Jacks game...I thought you did a great interview (not sucking up, just my opinion).

[Coyote_Jack]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

Welcome Mike!

Hope you become a regular, controversy builds interest.

Opinion: SDSU has outgrown D2, had for many years.
SDSU has geography issues that have to be overcome financially, how those are addressed will ultimately determine the value of the athletic department to a division 1 conference. The next five to seven years are key in that process. The whole athletic program (with the exception of football,because it currently is in a conference) will flounder due lack of a conference affiliation.

Horse Jumping may also do well. (will she get paid more than the Football Coach?)

Question to Mike:

What does SDSU have to do in order to be a mid-major like Northern Iowa or Southwest Missouri? (Can't happen isn't a valid answer)

[89rabbit]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

I can't disagree with your facts, but remember, you can't just compare yourselves to what the conference currently is. You have to sell yourself on what the conference could be. You have good, well thought out and researched answers based on that. However, several of your selling points are matched or surpassed by NDSU and Northern Colorado. THAT is who you have as competition. For instance: media - Fargo, a market owned by NDSU, versus Sioux Falls, a market that is split with several colleges, university's, and minor league teams. Football attendance and success: I think you know SDSU ends up third on that list for right now. Budget: NDSU has been the highest spending DII program in the country for the last several years. SDSU says it will come up with the money. Not sure where UNC stands right now. These are the things a conference wants to know about.

One other point. I understand your thoughts about name recognition, but I have never EVER heard anyone other than a specific university president refer to the importance of a landgrant university. And be prepared for a battle as to which is the flagship university. To take your theory one step further, who would you rather play? Iowa or Iowa State? Arkansas or Arkansas State?

[89rabbit]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

Hey Mike; let me start by saying welcome to the board.  I hope you feel welcome here.  We are always up for well thought out debate.  Next, let’s talk about Airports and buses.  If a team flies into a town or city they will have to charter buses no matter where the school is located.  I can think of no school that has an airport within walking distance of its athletics facilities.  Although the airport SDSU and its opponents will be using most of the time is located in another municipality (Sioux Falls) the 45 min drive will be no greater then that faced by my schools that have airports IN their city.  It would take every bit of 45 min. for a visiting team to bus from the Kansas City Airport to UMKC.  It takes the Jayhawks of Kansas at least 45 min. to bus from Lawrence to the KCI.  I am sure if I thought about it just a little longer, I could come up with dozens more examples but lets suffice to say that the bus issue really is no issue at all.

Next you talk about NDSU, SDSU and UNC competing with one another for conference invitations.  Beyond that you conclude that SDSU would finish last in this competition.  I reject both premises and here is why.  NDSU and SDSU are partners in our move to D-I.  With our combined synergies we are stronger together then we are alone.  We offer a conference an opportunity to pick up two Flagship Universities within driving distance of each other, travel partners.  So there is no point in getting into the “who is better and why” argument about SDSU and NDSU because we are a team.  I can see no Sanrio where a conference invites one of us without the other. (Big Sky is aped to add two members and the Mid-Con has been talking about adding three).

Now UNC, that is a different story.  So lets look at Northern Colorado.  First they are not a Flagship University (I will deal with the definition of Flagship is a later paragraph).  They would be at best the #4 D-I University in the state of Colorado (Behind the University of Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force Academe, and maybe #5 behind the University of Denver).  They are horrible at Men’s Basketball, the previously established NCAA money maker (SDSU’s strong suit not only in terms of performance but also attendance) and although they have had some football success (two D-II National Championships) they have not been able to turn that on field success into overwhelming fan support.  Last year UNC went 9-2 and finished the season ranked in the I-AA top 25; their avg. attendance was 5,746.  Last year SDSU went 7-4 in D-II and our avg. attendance was 5,547.  That is less then 200 fans.  The difference is that SDSU has room to grow.  Coughlin-Alumni has a cap. of 16,000.  Nottingham Field is sold out at 6,500.  Lastly UNC has no travel partner, once you play your game with them you have to get back on a plane to fly to the next opponent.  I for one would not trade places with UNC under these circumstances.

Finally lets talk about Flagship Universities.  I would define a Flagship University as one that has a statewide mission and thus has a statewide following.  In most states the schools with Flagship status will be the University of (insert name) and or (insert name) State University.  In some states, like Nebraska and Minnesota there is only one.  In other like Iowa, and Kansas and yes South Dakota you have two.  So as you can see SDSU is by definition a Flagship University.  Mike you mentioned that the only people who care about Flagship status are University Presidents, I disagree with that because again I feel the casual fan also cares, however if this is the case you need to remember that University Presidents are the ones who vote as to who will receive an invitation to join a conference.  Mike you ended your post by asking would I rather play Iowa or Iowa State, Arkansas or Arkansas State.  They are all Flagship Universities that compete at the D-I level.  A better question is would you rather play Louisiana State University or Louisiana College.  Until USD moves up, the question of who is the dominant Flagship University will be a moot point.  It will fall to South Dakota’s biggest University by default.

Go State, South Dakota’s Only D-I University!  ;D

[luvthosejacks]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

There's a few things Mr. Mike has learn about this board. Commit them to memory, Mike, accept that this is the way things work within the confines of this medium, and then pray for the wisdom to see the truth as we do.

I submit 10 things most of us believe as well as one bonus thing:

1. The only USD guy we like is John Thune; the only SDSU guy we don't like is Tom Daschle. (This is appropriate of nothing, I know, but I wanted to put it out there because it's true.)

2. We have many folks here who "play lip-service" as we're calling it, to having this be an open forum of ideas, but we tend to get a little scoldy when doubts or issues are brought up that cast the D-I move in less than an overwhelmingly positive light.

3. USD, by and large, sucks in everything it has ever attempted to do. Jackmd learned to save lives there, for crying out loud, and even he doesn't have much good to say about it.

4. This hatred of USD continues on unabated, a little illogically, even though we aren't going to play the Coyotes anymore.

5. Right now the Argus Leader is more popular with us than it usually is because Randy Beck said they're going to cover some of our road games. In addition, keeping the Andy Moeller transfer out of the paper for three months -- then burying it on page 2 -- is a sign that the state's largest newspaper has seen the light.

6. Though he'll never set foot as a player inside Frost Arena ever again, Josh Mueller sucks. For all eternity.

7. Jackmd rubs a fatherly shine on many of his posts. Kind of a combination of Ward Cleaver and Mike Brady, only with a little more vitriol on occasion. He maintains a sense of civility and thoughtfulness, however, even when he's angry.

8. The Jacks fans who are not strong supporters of the D-I move do not  often make posts. The bitterness about the move generally, on this board, comes from outside Jacks Nation.

9. We're not all in Stig's corner all the time but we're willing to see how it goes.

10. NDSU has got it going on because they've seen the DI light just like we have, but otherwise, the Bison athletic program is not  necessarily the Camelot some seem to think it is.

11. We got one guy on here who thinks some visiting teams may choose to take helicopters from Sioux Falls to Brookings in the coming years.


All the best, Mike, in your time with us.

[tony]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

Well, I don't really have a dog in this fight but the Arkansas or Arkansas State question is pretty funny.

Why not ask if you'd prefer to see Ohio State and Penn State versus Ohio and Pennsylvania?

Better yet, stick to SDSU v USD. One of these schools has Purdue, Oklahoma State, and San Diego State on the schedule. The other has schools like Upper Iowa and UW LaCrosse when they used to play Wyoming for gosh sakes.

And it's not like USD didn't want to go DI... they were right there with NDSU and SDSU but dropped out. Personally, I think it was because of the same Title IX problems that caused them to drop baseball and cut their football roster rather than them realizing the "empreror had no clothes."

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: The Craig and Mike Show KWSN SIOUX FALLS

First of all Great Post Tony!!!

I just do not see any debate as to which is the flagship university in the state of South Dakota.  These following items would define a flagship university in my mind, let me list them and then see what you guys think about our choices

1.  The Largest University in the State

2.  The Univeristy with the most Academic Programs, and widest variety of programs

3.  The University with the brightest students in the state

4.  The University that leads the charge on the athletic fields in the state

5.  The University that best serves the states citizens

6.  The University that offers the most to the students within that state

If you look at all those catagories there is only one University in South Dakota that fits, and they don't where colors other than yellow and blue.

SDSU has more students, more freshman students each year(actually the last few years double the number of freshman), more academic programs by almost double, a Higher level of students coming out of high school(even though we are not the Harvard of the Plains ), We are and will be the only D-1 University in the state, I think anyone could say that our mission and programs best fit the makeup of South Dakota, and we offer more to student coming right out of high school (more research opportunities, more scholarship dollars, more choices, more social activities, more doctoral professors, better retention rates, more class offereings etc. etc. etc.  

Does anybody have an argument???
Here is a thread from a while back about this topic if anyone cares to look again:  

http://diaafootball.com/cgi-bin/yabb...num=1084991109