(02-10-2018 05:20 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 03:15 PM)NoDak Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 02:50 PM)Nerdlinger Wrote:  

(02-10-2018 12:05 PM)Stugray2 Wrote:  The delay of two years is primarily for UND to avoid exit fee penalty from the Big Sky. It's all about reducing expenses, which is why they have dropped Baseball and Women's Hockey recently as well. The increasing costs of playing at D-I level, combined with flat revenue (student growth spurt is over ... their primary funding is via tuition and fees not gate) has led to several cost cutting measures.

Paying an exit fee (don't remember how much exactly but somewhere between $250K and $500k) would run counter to reducing expenses. The math must work out such that the travel cost differential of playing 4 road games in the Big Sky for two years is considerably less than paying an exit fee. Hence the wait until 2020 for Football.

Sure, that's the "logical" explanation, but doesn't it make more sense to come up with an outlandish conspiracy theory?

There has been documented political blocking of schools all over, but you reject that when you have absolutely no clue about the local politics. Makes zero sense, but all righty then. The Fargo media is the only one that matters in the state for college sports and some have their interview privileges blocked by Ndue when they ask questions that the NDSU President doesnt want asked. He delated emails against the law after all in violation of the FOIA.

As I said before, you're seeing things that aren't there. You seem unable or unwilling to view the situation objectively due to your emotional investment in the schools in question. You also appear to be ignoring or discounting out of hand the simple and reasonable explanations people here are giving for innocuous happenings such as the delay in UND joining the MVFC. There's zero actual evidence for the imminent formation of an FCS conference consisting of the Montana and Dakota schools (let alone an FBS version of it). Wild conjecture is insufficient to support your claim.

The one reputable sportswriter in Fargo has serious questions about the future of the Summit League.

bisonmedia.areavoices.com/now-what-for-the-summit-league/

Every decision, including cost cutting ones, our current President has made has been done with a plan to build up UND. E .g The swimming facility and old basketball arena are scheduled to be demolished and a new STEM facility built in its place, hence M&W Swimming was cut. A new business school will also be built, even though the old medical school lies mostly vacant. The Summit League won't be the same as our President has a grand plan (his words) to build up the finest U in the northern plains. We are not joining the Summit only to see it fail and low academic schools like W Illinois and IPFW won't be part of it.

When a $110 million hockey arena was donated and built, it came under heavy fire from SJW for not being academically focused. The plan is already in place for a new football stadium on nearby UND owned but now closed golf course as well as other buildings that will be paid for with one massive donation. There is too much remodeling, demolition, and current plans for something grander not to happen. Our President is not reckless, as he was treasurer at a Fortune 500 company before getting into politics and education.