All things D2 and D3 football 2022

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Some Division II news.

The Upper Iowa University Peacocks will be leaving the Northern Sun for the Great Lakes Valley after the 2022-2023 academic year.

From the linked story:
The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced on Tuesday that Upper Iowa University has been admitted to the Conference for full-time membership, following a vote of approval by the GLVC Council of Presidents on November 28.

Upper Iowa has been competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) since 2006 and has been a member of NCAA Division II since 2003 when it reclassified from Division III. The Peacocks have captured six NSIC titles in the sports of wrestling (three), women’s golf (two), and women’s tennis (one), as well as one Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) conference championship in men’s soccer and one NSIC tournament championship in softball.

In a statement, NSIC Commissioner Erin Lind said the following: While a conference never likes to lose a valued member, the NSIC wishes Upper Iowa University the best of luck as they enter this new phase for their institution. Upper Iowa’s candid approach through this process, along with open lines of communication between the GLVC and NSIC has provided us the opportunity to be prepared for this news.”

The move by Upper Iowa will drop the number of schools in the NSIC from 16 to 15, and the number of states it has in its footprint from 5 to 4. It will increase the number of schools in the GLVC from 13 to 14 and the number of states in the conference footprint from 3 to 4.

This year, the winner of the GLVC in football was the University of Indianapolis, which went 9-2, losing in the first round of the playoffs. In basketball, their champion last season was the University of Missouri St. Louis, which lost in the regional final.

This past season, Upper Iowa went 1-10 and in 2021, they finished1-10 as well. In basketball last season, Upper Iowa made it to the second round of the NCAA DII Tournament.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I am way ahead betting D1 football and NFL this year. I am surprised by those results.

St. John’s failed to score from the 3, had a punt blocked and threw 4 INTs. Didn’t see that coming
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Syverson just never got comfortable. hard to overcome 5 turnovers
 

So I wonder, will the NSIC replace UIU?
 

I've seen some rumors online that the University of Jamestown or Dickinson State University might be interested in moving up from NAIA to NCAA D2, but not sure if that will develop.

Other than that, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines are there, but both are so far west that I don't know if it would work out. NSIC could also look out east, University of Wisconsin Parkside is DII, but again, not the closest to the conference.
 


IceBoxGopher said:
I've seen some rumors online that the University of Jamestown or Dickinson State University might be interested in moving up from NAIA to NCAA D2, but not sure if that will develop.

Other than that, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines are there, but both are so far west that I don't know if it would work out. NSIC could also look out east, University of Wisconsin Parkside is DII, but again, not the closest to the conference.
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What about Michigan Tech?

Might actually be physically closer to Duluth than a good chunk of GLIAC members. Bemidji and Mankato are current WCHA (EDIT: now they left to resurrect the old CCHA, cripes sakes) conference mates, and Duluth and St Cloud are former in the old WCHA.
 

Gophers_4life said:
What about Michigan Tech?

Might actually be physically closer to Duluth than a good chunk of GLIAC members. Bemidji and Mankato are current WCHA (EDIT: now they left to resurrect the old CCHA, cripes sakes) conference mates, and Duluth and St Cloud are former in the old WCHA.
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That would be a good option, too. I'd also kind of want Northern Michigan just to see teams play at the Superior Dome.
en.wikipedia.org

Superior Dome - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 

disco said:
So I wonder, will the NSIC replace UIU?
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I don't think Upper Iowa gets replaced. There are no more existing D2 schools in the region that would see the NSIC as advantageous geographically. I always wondered why Upper Iowa chose the NISC in the first place as it was an oddball geographically.

UW Superior competes in lower level D3 in the UMAC except for hockey which is WIAC and they don't have football. They wouldn't be a good fit to move up.

I don't see any of the NAIA schools in the Dakotas wanting to transition to D2 like Mary and Minot did. They are all very small. In fact, I wonder if Mary and Minot regret transitioning to the D2 NSIC as those schools are not competitive in most sports and have some serious travel. If there are any candidates there, it would be Valley City State, but there's no reason to believe they aren't satisfied with playing Dakota schools.

The one intriguing school to me (that would never happen) would be Concordia Moorhead. They are a weird fit with the MIAC geographically, would technically fit well in the NSIC from a travel standpoint, already have D2+ facilities, and restarting the Moorhead State rivalry would be great. They've had enrollment issues over the past decade and D2 costs probably preclude those thoughts.
 

Panthadad2 said:
I don't think Upper Iowa gets replaced. There are no more existing D2 schools in the region that would see the NSIC as advantageous geographically. I always wondered why Upper Iowa chose the NISC in the first place as it was an oddball geographically.

UW Superior competes in lower level D3 in the UMAC except for hockey which is WIAC and they don't have football. They wouldn't be a good fit to move up.

I don't see any of the NAIA schools in the Dakotas wanting to transition to D2 like Mary and Minot did. They are all very small. In fact, I wonder if Mary and Minot regret transitioning to the D2 NSIC as those schools are not competitive in most sports and have some serious travel. If there are any candidates there, it would be Valley City State, but there's no reason to believe they aren't satisfied with playing Dakota schools.

The one intriguing school to me (that would never happen) would be Concordia Moorhead. They are a weird fit with the MIAC geographically, would technically fit well in the NSIC from a travel standpoint, already have D2+ facilities, and restarting the Moorhead State rivalry would be great. They've had enrollment issues over the past decade and D2 costs probably preclude those thoughts.
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Only 4 hour drive from Michigan Tech to Duluth. Hockey ties with Bemidji, Mankato and formerly Duluth and St Cloud.

Would be more travel overall, for sure, but the GLIAC isn't nothing.
 



Panthadad2 said:
The one intriguing school to me (that would never happen) would be Concordia Moorhead. They are a weird fit with the MIAC geographically, would technically fit well in the NSIC from a travel standpoint, already have D2+ facilities, and restarting the Moorhead State rivalry would be great. They've had enrollment issues over the past decade and D2 costs probably preclude those thoughts.
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That could be possible but as you mentioned, the enrollment and D2 costs might be too much. They have the facilities, though. Solid football stadium there.
 

Does the NSIC have conference rules about a minimum number of scholarships?

I know DII has caps ... but do they have a minimum?
 





Alright, here is the manual: https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/reports/getReport/90010

Bylaw 15 only deals with maximum limits.


However, in bylaw 7 we have this:

7.3.1.6 Financial Aid Requirements. (Adopted: 6/1/22 effective 8/1/22)
7.3.1.6.1 Minimum Awards. A member of Division II shall annually provide financial assistance that equals one of the following: (Adopted: 6/1/22 effective 8/1/22)
(a) 50 percent of the maximum allowable equivalencies in four separate sports, at least two of which must be women's sports; (Adopted: 6/1/22 effective 8/1/22)
(b) 20 total full equivalency grants with at least 10 total full equivalency grants in women's sports; or (Adopted: 6/1/22 effective 8/1/22)
(c) A total expenditure of $250,000 in athletically related financial aid with at least $125,000 in women's sports. (Adopted: 6/1/22 effective 8/1/22)
 


Given how high the tuition is there, not sure which would be the cheapest option, but looks like at least $250k a year more to be DII.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Does the NSIC have conference rules about a minimum number of scholarships?

I know DII has caps ... but do they have a minimum?
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I don't know if there's a floor on scholarships. I do recall that the NSIC has or had a cap on scholarships, at least for football, that was lower than the max allowed for D2. This was an issue when the NCC fell apart and Duluth, Mankato and St. Cloud ended up having to go back to the NSIC with their lower scholarship limits. The old NCC funded the max number of scholarships.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Bethel with the opportunity to play in the Cruthedral in next week's quarterfinals. That should be a hard hitting affair. Great win by Bethel today.
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I watched their game on my phone Saturday, they played a really good game. Offensively, they are extremely solid.
Not sure how much further they can go, but GO ROYALS.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Given how high the tuition is there, not sure which would be the cheapest option, but looks like at least $250k a year more to be DII.
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Good find. Seeing how most D3 athletes already receive some pretty substantial aid, the minimum incremental athletic scholarship amount probably isn't even $250,000, though there are other costs such as more and higher paid coaches, compliance, etc. I'm guessing most schools that actually want to compete need to do much more than just the minimum. That said, I've heard through the grapevine that Moorhead State doesn't fund anywhere near the max scholarship limits. Other schools in the conference are probably similar.
 

Panthadad2 said:
Good find. Seeing how most D3 athletes already receive some pretty substantial aid, the minimum incremental athletic scholarship amount probably isn't even $250,000, though there are other costs such as more and higher paid coaches, compliance, etc. I'm guessing most schools that actually want to compete need to do much more than just the minimum. That said, I've heard through the grapevine that Moorhead State doesn't fund anywhere near the max scholarship limits. Other schools in the conference are probably similar.
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Would expect, at the very least in football, that old NCC vs old NSIC is still a decent gap.
 

disco said:
I don't know if there's a floor on scholarships. I do recall that the NSIC has or had a cap on scholarships, at least for football, that was lower than the max allowed for D2. This was an issue when the NCC fell apart and Duluth, Mankato and St. Cloud ended up having to go back to the NSIC with their lower scholarship limits. The old NCC funded the max number of scholarships.
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The old 1990s NCC is mostly D1 FCS now. D2 really fell apart in the 2000s.

1990s NCC
Morningside NAIA Power
North Dakota D1 FCS
ND State D1 FCS
South Dakota D1 FCS
SD State D1 FCS
Neb. Omaha D1
Augustana D2 NSIC - future D1?
MSU Mankato D2 NSIC
N. Colorado D1 FCS
St. Cloud State D2 NSIC
 

Panthadad2 said:
The one intriguing school to me (that would never happen) would be Concordia Moorhead. They are a weird fit with the MIAC geographically, would technically fit well in the NSIC from a travel standpoint, already have D2+ facilities, and restarting the Moorhead State rivalry would be great. They've had enrollment issues over the past decade and D2 costs probably preclude those thoughts.
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That is an interesting thought. Both Concordia and MSU-Moorhead have had enrollment issues the past few years. MSU's enrollment is about half of what it was when I went there in the early 90's.

Would UM-Morris consider moving back up? Would Morningside? It surprised me that both dropped so far down after being D2 programs. Would (should?) Crookston move back down?

Size and location-wise, maybe the best fit would be Dakota State in Madison, SD.

Also, what ever happened to Augustana's D1 hopes? I know they didn't get admitted to the Summit. Is that dead now?
 

Panthadad2 said:
The old 1990s NCC is mostly D1 FCS now. D2 really fell apart in the 2000s.

1990s NCC
Morningside NAIA Power
North Dakota D1 FCS
ND State D1 FCS
South Dakota D1 FCS
SD State D1 FCS
Neb. Omaha D1
Augustana D2 NSIC - future D1?
MSU Mankato D2 NSIC
N. Colorado D1 FCS
St. Cloud State D2 NSIC
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Oh that's right ... Augustana is indeed looking at DI.

Probably can't stand having USF right there.


So then, NSIC wouldn't need to add anyone to get back to even numbers. Or they could look at both Mich Tech and N Mich, perhaps.
 

disco said:
That is an interesting thought. Both Concordia and MSU-Moorhead have had enrollment issues the past few years. MSU's enrollment is about half of what it was when I went there in the early 90's.

Would UM-Morris consider moving back up? Would Morningside? It surprised me that both dropped so far down after being D2 programs. Would (should?) Crookston move back down?

Size and location-wise, maybe the best fit would be Dakota State in Madison, SD.

Also, what ever happened to Augustana's D1 hopes? I know they didn't get admitted to the Summit. Is that dead now?
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If/when SDSU hops on NDSU's bandwagon again, to ride off to the next big thing, then the door will be open for Auggie to the Summit.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Oh that's right ... Augustana is indeed looking at DI.

Probably can't stand having USF right there.


So then, NSIC wouldn't need to add anyone to get back to even numbers. Or they could look at both Mich Tech and N Mich, perhaps.
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If anyone should move up to D1 out of that conference it is MSU-Kato. They are a large school and have been dominant in almost every sport there is. Go Mavs.
 


Go Gophs said:
If anyone should move up to D1 out of that conference it is MSU-Kato. They are a large school and have been dominant in almost every sport there is. Go Mavs.
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Agreed. They could easily be D1 and FCS. At this point, they are to the NSIC as UST was to the MIAC. A major regional university.

The issue as always, is money.
They also desperately need a new stadium. Blakeslee is almost 60 years old, is worse than many high school stadiums, and is in very poor shape. They've had trouble getting that project funded.
 

disco said:
That is an interesting thought. Both Concordia and MSU-Moorhead have had enrollment issues the past few years. MSU's enrollment is about half of what it was when I went there in the early 90's.

Would UM-Morris consider moving back up? Would Morningside? It surprised me that both dropped so far down after being D2 programs. Would (should?) Crookston move back down?
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Yeah MSUM enrollment has dropped from when I went there, too. The enrollment was around 8,000 when I started in 2009, now it's closer to 5,000.

I think the school was stable though thanks to President Blackhurst's tenure, fundraising was good, athletics had some success. When it comes to Concordia, it's probably up in the air, but now that Upper Iowa is out it might free up a non-con game space so MSUM could potentially play the Cobbers again regardless.

I doubt Morris would move back up. They really took a hit in D2.

Go Gophs said:
If anyone should move up to D1 out of that conference it is MSU-Kato. They are a large school and have been dominant in almost every sport there is. Go Mavs.
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I feel like it's still a really big jump for Mankato. As Disco mentioned, it's a lot of money and the stadium needs a replacement.
 

disco said:
Agreed. They could easily be D1 and FCS. At this point, they are to the NSIC as UST was to the MIAC. A major regional university.

The issue as always, is money.
They also desperately need a new stadium. Blakeslee is almost 60 years old, is worse than many high school stadiums, and is in very poor shape. They've had trouble getting that project funded.
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Correct. Maybe they should needle Glen again, the Taylor Center is a beautiful B-ball Arena.
 

IceBoxGopher said:
I feel like it's still a really big jump for Mankato. As Disco mentioned, it's a lot of money and the stadium needs a replacement.
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It would be, but their teams could handle it for sure. It is across all sports that they are extremely competitive. Football, B-ball, Baseball, Softball, etc. Do them all just like St. Thomas.

Not sure it will ever happen, but I hope it does someday for my sake! It is right in my backyard and I would like to watch more D1 sports than Hockey live.
 

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