Tweet
Keith Jensen, former Executive Director of SDSU Alum Assoication got his column printed in today's Argus. I think he has expressed many of the feelings we have expressed on this board. Keith is one of the geezers who will be at the pep band gig in ST Joe. ;D :
;D
SDSU sports don't need media OK
READER'S FORUM
By Keith M. Jensen
published: 3/24/2004
It must have been a slow day for the Argus Leader editorial board when the ongoing process of securing conference affiliations for South Dakota State University teams in the move to NCAA Division I was the most important issue deserving of a critical editorial for the March 9 editorial page.
I guess the point of the editorial, judging by the headline, is that football is only a fraction of the formula. Well, holy cow, what a revelation. The members of the editorial board, backed by years of experience in how to proceed when moving between NCAA divisions in athletics, would, apparently, have just let every sport wait until everything was neatly in place.
The fact that in many places in this country outside our state, universities compete in different conferences in different sports (in both D-I and D-II) was apparently not covered in the boards' extensive educational seminars on this subject.
But, guess what? Football season starts in just five months. If the Mid-Continent (which the Argus Leader editorial says wouldn't be a "bad choice"
extended an invitation to join, and it was accepted, we would still need a football conference, since they don't sponsor football. Conversely, if the Big Sky issued the invitation, and it was accepted, SDSU made it clear they would have to withdraw from the new conference.
The schools forming the Great West were there, available and jointly interested. But the editorial board, in its wisdom, would have apparently shelved the process.
Many of the other sports are tied to the larger picture of getting in an existing conference, which, as stated earlier, is an ongoing process.
But now, we turn to the editorial board to guide us on the sport of wrestling. Neither the Mid-Continent nor Big Sky sponsor wrestling. Without the superior wisdom of the Argus editors, and therefore lacking proper guidance, SDSU is in the middle of a process of forming a wrestling conference with other Division I schools. Forming the conference risks another editorial headlined "Football, wrestling fraction of formula."
And so it goes, the institution must wander aimlessly about, waiting for guidance from on high (or south down I-29, I guess). Whatever happened to the old adage, "you have to start somewhere."
There is absolutely no evidence from the past performances of the institution and its athletic department that it doesn't consider all the sports it offers as important, or that it will "forget them." So the Argus Leader editorial board really doesn't need to worry. On second thought, they could spend a little time worrying about the apparent lack of important issues on which to editorialize.
Keith Jensen, 69, is retired and living in Brookings.
Guest columns, maximum 500 words, may be submitted to: Reader's Forum, Argus Leader, Box 5034, Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5034. You also can e-mail the information to editor@argusleader.com or fax it to 605-331-2294.
Copyright 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved
USA Today | USA Weekend | Gannett Co. Inc. | Gannett Foundation | PheasantCountry.com
;DSDSU sports don't need media OK
READER'S FORUM
By Keith M. Jensen
published: 3/24/2004
It must have been a slow day for the Argus Leader editorial board when the ongoing process of securing conference affiliations for South Dakota State University teams in the move to NCAA Division I was the most important issue deserving of a critical editorial for the March 9 editorial page.
I guess the point of the editorial, judging by the headline, is that football is only a fraction of the formula. Well, holy cow, what a revelation. The members of the editorial board, backed by years of experience in how to proceed when moving between NCAA divisions in athletics, would, apparently, have just let every sport wait until everything was neatly in place.
The fact that in many places in this country outside our state, universities compete in different conferences in different sports (in both D-I and D-II) was apparently not covered in the boards' extensive educational seminars on this subject.
But, guess what? Football season starts in just five months. If the Mid-Continent (which the Argus Leader editorial says wouldn't be a "bad choice"
extended an invitation to join, and it was accepted, we would still need a football conference, since they don't sponsor football. Conversely, if the Big Sky issued the invitation, and it was accepted, SDSU made it clear they would have to withdraw from the new conference.The schools forming the Great West were there, available and jointly interested. But the editorial board, in its wisdom, would have apparently shelved the process.
Many of the other sports are tied to the larger picture of getting in an existing conference, which, as stated earlier, is an ongoing process.
But now, we turn to the editorial board to guide us on the sport of wrestling. Neither the Mid-Continent nor Big Sky sponsor wrestling. Without the superior wisdom of the Argus editors, and therefore lacking proper guidance, SDSU is in the middle of a process of forming a wrestling conference with other Division I schools. Forming the conference risks another editorial headlined "Football, wrestling fraction of formula."
And so it goes, the institution must wander aimlessly about, waiting for guidance from on high (or south down I-29, I guess). Whatever happened to the old adage, "you have to start somewhere."
There is absolutely no evidence from the past performances of the institution and its athletic department that it doesn't consider all the sports it offers as important, or that it will "forget them." So the Argus Leader editorial board really doesn't need to worry. On second thought, they could spend a little time worrying about the apparent lack of important issues on which to editorialize.
Keith Jensen, 69, is retired and living in Brookings.
Guest columns, maximum 500 words, may be submitted to: Reader's Forum, Argus Leader, Box 5034, Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5034. You also can e-mail the information to editor@argusleader.com or fax it to 605-331-2294.
Copyright 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved
USA Today | USA Weekend | Gannett Co. Inc. | Gannett Foundation | PheasantCountry.com
Comment