Nebraska-Omaha jumping to DI; joining Summit League

[overpass]

UNO will join the Summit League in 2012 replacing Southern Utah who is going to the Big Sky.

They are dropping their football and wrestling teams during the move.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=6212338

 

[NateDawgUM]

There are a lot of people upset at the decision to drop wrestling. The wrestling team has won the past 3 DII National Titles and something like six of the last eight.

Gopher soccer coach Mikki Denney Wright's father has been the coach there for the past 30 years.

Then again Trev Alberts is generally good at making people mad.

 

[Rosemountian]

I thought Nebraska Omaha was a pretty solid D2 school for football? Are they and they are dropping anyways?

This in my opinion is proof that a mankato, winona, st cloud, or duluth could at some point drop football to make the jump. I don't think they will, but I also didn't think UNO would drop football.

 

[507Gopher]

I thought Nebraska Omaha was a pretty solid D2 school for football? Are they and they are dropping anyways?

This in my opinion is proof that a mankato, winona, st cloud, or duluth could at some point drop football to make the jump. I don't think they will, but I also didn't think UNO would drop football.

Thats what suprised me as well, i went to UMD and they are always a respectable team in a good conference. They also have what is most likely the best facilities north of the mason-dixon line for football. Everyone always thought that they would make the jump to D1, and D1-AA in football, respectively(a common view point on the D2 message boards). They already had the facilities and decent fan base for the jump in football. However, most D1-AA football programs aren't money makers, bottom line. Really hope that if UMD ever does go D1 they don't drop football, for being a hockey school, it seems as though recently the student base has gotten more behind the football team even more so than the hockey team lately even though they have been decent at hockey recently.

 

[Eagan]

Would the University of St Thomas ever consider going Division I in their sports? There's room for another Div I school in Minnesota. I could see them playing basketball at a remodeled Target Center and joining the WCHA after the Gophers join a Big 10 hockey conference. Perhaps football at a new Vikings stadium. This isn't likely anytime soon, but maybe in a couple of decades.

 

[panndder]

Would the University of St Thomas ever consider going Division I in their sports? There's room for another Div I school in Minnesota. I could see them playing basketball at a remodeled Target Center and joining the WCHA after the Gophers join a Big 10 hockey conference. Perhaps football at a new Vikings stadium. This isn't likely anytime soon, but maybe in a couple of decades.

They should try DII first.

 

[Rosemountian]

Would the University of St Thomas ever consider going Division I in their sports? There's room for another Div I school in Minnesota. I could see them playing basketball at a remodeled Target Center and joining the WCHA after the Gophers join a Big 10 hockey conference. Perhaps football at a new Vikings stadium. This isn't likely anytime soon, but maybe in a couple of decades.

No. When they were doing the facilities upgrade they contemplated building them to the point where be ready for a jump. They did not. They will continue to dominate the MIAC in all sports they participate except football. They will be top 2 in football as long as Caruso is the coach.

 

[lakesbison]

UNO is a joke, i admit it, i am really pissed, but they replace Centenary who was 0-27 this year.

Summit league got a #13 seed today in Oakland, and Missouri Valley got a #14 seed and Big Sky got a #15 seed.



Hockey is a joke and just ruining these regional schools, I mean seriously Merrimack, Union and Renessler are in the top 10, and bemidji st and ferris state hit the frozen 4 recently. Hockey is a joke, and over, D1 basketball and football is where its at, period.


NDSU will be getting race track'ed to FBS soon with Montana and leaving behind the FCS football, and will continue to grow in basketball.

bringing in UNO and USD is just watering it down....sorry. facts.

 

[disco]

Pretty sure they had to drop football, as Nebraska-Lincoln likely forced it, not wanting another D1 team in the state.
St. Cloud was talking about dropping football earlier this year, and decided not to, but it would have made sense to do so, and move to D1 in the other sports. This would be similar to UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, neither of which have football teams.

Problem is, with schools like St. Cloud, Duluth and Mankato, they don't have the alumni support to raise the money to go D1. It costs a lot of money to make the move, and as an alumnus of a MnSCU school myself, I can tell you that the interest in sports in terms of fundraising simply isn't there, even with those three schools having D1 hockey (which is an outlier anyway, since hockey is really not a national game).

St. Thomas actually makes a lot of sense in this regard. They're big enough (bigger than many D1 schools actually) and they have loads of cash and wealthy alumni to donate. I'm a bit surprised they didn't decide to make the move.

 

[Rosemountian]

Pretty sure they had to drop football, as Nebraska-Lincoln likely forced it, not wanting another D1 team in the state.
St. Cloud was talking about dropping football earlier this year, and decided not to, but it would have made sense to do so, and move to D1 in the other sports. This would be similar to UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, neither of which have football teams.

Problem is, with schools like St. Cloud, Duluth and Mankato, they don't have the alumni support to raise the money to go D1. It costs a lot of money to make the move, and as an alumnus of a MnSCU school myself, I can tell you that the interest in sports in terms of fundraising simply isn't there, even with those three schools having D1 hockey (which is an outlier anyway, since hockey is really not a national game).

St. Thomas actually makes a lot of sense in this regard. They're big enough (bigger than many D1 schools actually) and they have loads of cash and wealthy alumni to donate. I'm a bit surprised they didn't decide to make the move.

The school doesn't have the finances to support an eventual jump to D1 football. The school will not drop football. I think if they did dump football they could be pretty successful in other D1 sports.

 

[disco]

Play non-scholarship D1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Football_League

 

[howeda7]

This whole things would have been a lot cleaner if the North Central Conference had just gotten everyone on the same page and jumped together as full conference. There's now 6 schools that could have been a part of it and they probably could have dragged a couple like SCSU or UMD along for the ride.

 

[RodentRampage]

I agree, the NCC could have moved up to D-I together and formed a decent conference. I suppose it's not impossible to "get the band back together" and reform the NCC if they really wanted to. I can't imagine that Nebraska is worried about whether or not UNO has football, it's probably more of a budgetary reason. Hockey costs a lot of money, it's probably what has kept Minnesota only having 1 D-I school.

 

[Swede]

This whole things would have been a lot cleaner if the North Central Conference had just gotten everyone on the same page and jumped together as full conference. There's now 6 schools that could have been a part of it and they probably could have dragged a couple like SCSU or UMD along for the ride.

There's quite a bit of purgatory for a whole conference to move up and get autobids. Besides, only three schools really wanted to move. The first, No. Colorado, had until recently a nightmare transition. the xDSU's have had smoother transitions with early successes. The UxD's have made the move, in part because of the shadows left by their in-state rivals, the other part that the NSIC is a joke for a conference. Augie is in no shape or form a DI athletic program. The talk was always that UNO could make the move but would have to leave football behind to protect the walk-on program in Lincoln. The Minnesota schools never really stand a chance. As another poster pointed out, the alumni dollars don't exist for those programs. If any school had the financial ability to do so, it would be Mankato, and that ability would be dependent on the beneficence of Glen Taylor and the cable television fellow who dropped all the money for their facilities. But can anyone really say that there's any kind of interest in MSU sports? UMD was a Johnny-come-lately to the NCC and if anybody thinks they have the finest football facilities north of the M-D line, then I assume they're talking about mid-sized high school football programs.

It would be interesting one or two dates per year to have a second DI program in the state, but we struggle to support the program we have, and struggle even further to get noticed in a crowded sports market.

 

[GopherGod]

I agree, the NCC could have moved up to D-I together and formed a decent conference. I suppose it's not impossible to "get the band back together" and reform the NCC if they really wanted to. I can't imagine that Nebraska is worried about whether or not UNO has football, it's probably more of a budgetary reason. Hockey costs a lot of money, it's probably what has kept Minnesota only having 1 D-I school.

Getting rid of the football program was due to financial reasons like you stated. The attendance had really dropped off the last few years and was losing a ton of money. The wrestling team was self-supporting through donations and fund raising. However, since wrestling is not a recognized sport by the summit league and to be in compliance with title IX, they would have had to have added two additional female sports to keep the wrestling program around. They had to add golf and soccer to meet the 4 sport membership agreement with the summit league since wrestling couldn't count as one of those 4 sports.

 

[howeda7]

There's quite a bit of purgatory for a whole conference to move up and get autobids. Besides, only three schools really wanted to move. The first, No. Colorado, had until recently a nightmare transition. the xDSU's have had smoother transitions with early successes. The UxD's have made the move, in part because of the shadows left by their in-state rivals, the other part that the NSIC is a joke for a conference. Augie is in no shape or form a DI athletic program. The talk was always that UNO could make the move but would have to leave football behind to protect the walk-on program in Lincoln. The Minnesota schools never really stand a chance. As another poster pointed out, the alumni dollars don't exist for those programs. If any school had the financial ability to do so, it would be Mankato, and that ability would be dependent on the beneficence of Glen Taylor and the cable television fellow who dropped all the money for their facilities. But can anyone really say that there's any kind of interest in MSU sports? UMD was a Johnny-come-lately to the NCC and if anybody thinks they have the finest football facilities north of the M-D line, then I assume they're talking about mid-sized high school football programs.

It would be interesting one or two dates per year to have a second DI program in the state, but we struggle to support the program we have, and struggle even further to get noticed in a crowded sports market.

USD and UND going had everything to do with keeping up with their hated rivals. There's nothing wrong with the NSIC, though having to absorb everything that was left of the NCC made it bloated. The NCC was never going to survive once the first 3 left. Trying to get schools like Northern State to join was never going to happen.

I'm not saying it would have been easy, but if the conference wanted to survive (and it should have, it was probably the best D-II conference) it would have been best to get 6-8 schools to jump at once. Said conference would have instantly been better than some of the existing ones and may have been able to pick off some decent schools.

 

[disco]

USD and UND going had everything to do with keeping up with their hated rivals. There's nothing wrong with the NSIC, though having to absorb everything that was left of the NCC made it bloated. The NCC was never going to survive once the first 3 left. Trying to get schools like Northern State to join was never going to happen.

I'm not saying it would have been easy, but if the conference wanted to survive (and it should have, it was probably the best D-II conference) it would have been best to get 6-8 schools to jump at once. Said conference would have instantly been better than some of the existing ones and may have been able to pick off some decent schools.

The biggest difference between the NCC and the NSIC had to do with scholarships. The NCC allowed the maximum number for D2 schools, and the NSIC holds scholarship numbers below that (and some schools, even below that number). This was why Duluth left for the NCC initially, and wasn't particularly happy about having to move back when the NCC dissolved (of course that looks a bit silly now, considering their success in football).

UND is a mess now. They're still going through transition, and their ugly battle with the NCAA on the nickname issue likely kept them out of the Summit, with their natural rivals NDSU, USD, and SDSU. They're supposedly going into the Big Sky, which is a better conference, but those schools don't really want to have to go to Grand Forks, which is a long way off. Who knows what's going to happen with them.

 

[507Gopher]

There's quite a bit of purgatory for a whole conference to move up and get autobids. Besides, only three schools really wanted to move. The first, No. Colorado, had until recently a nightmare transition. the xDSU's have had smoother transitions with early successes. The UxD's have made the move, in part because of the shadows left by their in-state rivals, the other part that the NSIC is a joke for a conference. Augie is in no shape or form a DI athletic program. The talk was always that UNO could make the move but would have to leave football behind to protect the walk-on program in Lincoln. The Minnesota schools never really stand a chance. As another poster pointed out, the alumni dollars don't exist for those programs. If any school had the financial ability to do so, it would be Mankato, and that ability would be dependent on the beneficence of Glen Taylor and the cable television fellow who dropped all the money for their facilities. But can anyone really say that there's any kind of interest in MSU sports? UMD was a Johnny-come-lately to the NCC and if anybody thinks they have the finest football facilities north of the M-D line, then I assume they're talking about mid-sized high school football programs.

It would be interesting one or two dates per year to have a second DI program in the state, but we struggle to support the program we have, and struggle even further to get noticed in a crowded sports market.

In an earlier post when talking bout facilities, i was talking about UNO, not UMD, however i made that very unclear. However since UMD's new press box, suites and club rooms a couple years ago at least it doesnt look like a small town hs staduim anymore...

 

[Swede]

UND is a mess now. They're still going through transition, and their ugly battle with the NCAA on the nickname issue likely kept them out of the Summit, with their natural rivals NDSU, USD, and SDSU. They're supposedly going into the Big Sky, which is a better conference, but those schools don't really want to have to go to Grand Forks, which is a long way off. Who knows what's going to happen with them.

What's wrong with the NSIC is that schools that are not alike, such as St Cloud, are in a conference with Mary, Crookston, Upper Iowa and soon to be USF. Might as well allow Worthington JC in. SCSU and Mankato State are playing in a conference which once provided the ooc fodder so many teams like to pad the schedule with.

UND married the first pretty girl that came along. They've been accepted and have accepted the Big Sky invite. Although the xDSU's first choice was the Big Sky, unanswered prayers can be a blessing in disguise. Speaking strictly in terms of football, UND's closest game will still be farther away than either xDSUs' or USD's farthest trip. What's more, Missouri Valley football is better overall than the Big Sky. Beyond Montana, who are no lock to stick around in FCS, and Eastern Washington's flash in the pan this year, there's a big dropoff in the Big Sky. In terms of the Summit league for other sports, the quality of the league is improving with the likes of Centenary leaving, and schools you can find on a map joining. The quality of hoops is probably about equal, even if the names of many of the conference schools are unexciting. What's more, it's not too hard to imagine some sort of merger, or exodus of the Dakota schools and UNO to the Missouri Valley all sports conference in 5 years or so as the schools are established. They'd be natural fits and already enjoy rivalries with many of those same schools on the gridiron. So, while UND is spending double the travel budget, starting games when folks in Grand Forks are going to bed, and finding their box scores in the paper two days later, the xDSUs, USD and UNO will be finding themselves remaining regionally relevant. Don't be surprised if UND is knocking on the door come time that they're able to leave the Big Sky without a buyout.