(04-04-2018 07:11 PM)NoDak Wrote:  SdSU and USD and even NDSU should be against this, as Sioux Falls is an important media market for them that they wouldn't want split further. But if Sanford is offering a big endowment, those Dakota's have also drunk from that tank as most of their facility improvements have been paid for by Sanford`s money, and Sanford may be PO'ed if those Dakota's come out against Augustana membershp. Only UND has resisted his gifts, which have naming stipuations. Sanford, who is a billionaire thanks to his getting SD to change their credit card laws, has stated he wants to give his fortune away before he dies. The hospital organization which he stipulated take his name after he helped fund it is now the largest by far in the Dakotas is taking over many of the largest hospitals in the two states. UND is on the opposite side of that near monopoly as Sanford wanted his name on UND's Med School too. Minnesota has gotten donations from him too.

Augustana is a mbb school, and they can draw better than the Sd's, which are in tiny towns. Hockey would be an immediate success as Sioux Falls has record breaking attendance for their U20 USHL squad, but Augie would not go for that as it is unfamiliar ice.

I nominate this entry by NoDak for Oxymoron of the year

(12-14-2018 04:24 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(04-04-2018 07:11 PM)NoDak Wrote:  SdSU and USD and even NDSU should be against this, as Sioux Falls is an important media market for them that they wouldn't want split further. ...

I nominate this entry by NoDak for Oxymoron of the year

Now hold on there, Sioux Falls / Mitchell is listed by Nielson as the 109th DMA in the US (263K), right up there with heavy hitters like Tallahassee (#107, 268K), Fort Wayne (#110, 263K) and Reno (#112, 261K). Why, as I recall, I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die, and that alone ought to be enough to establish how important Sioux Falls is.

(12-13-2018 09:14 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(12-13-2018 09:11 PM)HawaiiMongoose Wrote:  Confirmation that the Augustana board of trustees has approved the move to a Division I conference:

https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports...307262002/

Neither the conference nor a timetable is specified but the writer says "it’s widely assumed the Summit League is willing to add the Vikings."

Minnesota St. and Northern Colorado next?

Putting the Northern Sun back together. With Augustana, its 6 former members.

Ok, from what I read on AGS, what this is equivalent to is this: a private school in Albuquerque, NM, currently D2, going D1, and taking a lot of UNM’s and NMSU’s corporate $$’s with them. Think this would sit well with either of the New Mexico schools?? The answer should be no, IMO, which is why SDSU and USD are very much against this, and NDSU doesn’t particularly care for it either, even though it might save them some travel $$’s and time.

Have they demanded a path to the CFP yet?

(12-14-2018 04:24 AM)Stugray2 Wrote:  

(04-04-2018 07:11 PM)NoDak Wrote:  SdSU and USD and even NDSU should be against this, as Sioux Falls is an important media market for them that they wouldn't want split further. But if Sanford is offering a big endowment, those Dakota's have also drunk from that tank as most of their facility improvements have been paid for by Sanford`s money, and Sanford may be PO'ed if those Dakota's come out against Augustana membershp. Only UND has resisted his gifts, which have naming stipuations. Sanford, who is a billionaire thanks to his getting SD to change their credit card laws, has stated he wants to give his fortune away before he dies. The hospital organization which he stipulated take his name after he helped fund it is now the largest by far in the Dakotas is taking over many of the largest hospitals in the two states. UND is on the opposite side of that near monopoly as Sanford wanted his name on UND's Med School too. Minnesota has gotten donations from him too.

Augustana is a mbb school, and they can draw better than the Sd's, which are in tiny towns. Hockey would be an immediate success as Sioux Falls has record breaking attendance for their U20 USHL squad, but Augie would not go for that as it is unfamiliar ice.

I nominate this entry by NoDak for Oxymoron of the year

Sioux Falls might be the most important media market for the SD schools. It not only houses the most successful mid-major tournament, it’s where USD, SDSU, etc. get corporate support from. There is concern Augustana will split their Sioux Falls corporate pie.

SDSU board:

Quote:THATS THE PROBLEM. Augie is going to leech away funds from the other two schools. This is a small state, and the area is certainly too small for three DI schools needing funds for their budgets within 75 miles of Sioux Falls.

Quote:This move is all about Sioux Falls, and pretty well explains why we struggle with attendance. If the SF community ends up making this work for Augie, they would essentially be saying that they'd rather have a D2 move up in town than support their state schools 45 minutes away.

Quote:You think they’re going to get their entire budget funded by Sanford every year and it WOULDN’T hurt our own fundraising efforts from our largest donor? You serious, Clark?

Quote:Creighton wasn't always the big deal they are today. It takes time, but they had a large market to work with just like Augie will.

You guys are so desperate to stick it to NoDak, you just made NoDak look like a star.

(12-14-2018 07:54 AM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Ok, from what I read on AGS, what this is equivalent to is this: a private school in Albuquerque, NM, currently D2, going D1, and taking a lot of UNM’s and NMSU’s corporate $$’s with them. Think this would sit well with either of the New Mexico schools?? The answer should be no, IMO, which is why SDSU and USD are very much against this, and NDSU doesn’t particularly care for it either, even though it might save them some travel $$’s and time.

That is a really good analogy. Rural state where the two major state schools might lose some money from a private school in the largest media market.

(12-13-2018 11:59 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  

(12-13-2018 11:02 PM)MWC Tex Wrote:  So where are they going to put their foorball? Certainly not in the MVFC.

Tne Summit must be making plans to sponsor football.

Safe money says the non-scholarship Pioneer League.



And someone mentioned Northern Sun. That's an existing conference. The defunct conference he was thinking of was the old North Central Conference(NCC).

Yes. That was what I meant. Powerhouse Division II conference only a decade or so ago.
N. Dakota
N. Dakota St.
S. Dakota
S. Dakota St.
N. Colorado
Nebraska Omaha
Minnesota St. Mankato
St. Cloud St.
Augustana
Morningside

(12-13-2018 10:11 PM)Rube Dali Wrote:  I'm not sure Minnesota State(or any other school in Minnesota for that matter) has the desire or backing to go D-I at this point. In fact, this move by Augustana seems to be door that closes those possibilities.

Probably no interest. But it doesn't close the door. This only brings the Summit up to 10 and if Augustana joined them in fb, that's only 6 in football.

As a Denver fan, I am very disappointed by this development. I know that the Summit League sees Augie as additive - helping stabilize the league and adding a school in the center of the footprint in the Dakota-centric reality of the league, and lowering travel costs for some of the schools.

But outside that Dakotas, I think this move dilutes the Summit brand with a tiny, no-name school that brings no significant markets or fanbase to the league that it didn't already have.

Most of the schools in the Summit went D-I to get away from schools such as Augie...

(12-14-2018 11:06 AM)puck swami Wrote:  As a Denver fan, I am very disappointed by this development. I know that the Summit League sees Augie as additive - helping stabilize the league and adding a school in the center of the footprint in the Dakota-centric reality of the league, and lowering travel costs for some of the schools.

But outside that Dakotas, I think this move dilutes the Summit brand with a tiny, no-name school that brings no significant markets or fanbase to the league that it didn't already have.

Most of the schools in the Summit went D-I to get away from schools such as Augie...

You know, in basketball, Augustana outdrew Denver by about 1000 fans per game last season. In fact, Augie would have finished second in the Summit in attendance. In football, they did outdraw Western Illinois. But, it may be a bigger challenge to compete with the Dakota schools on the gridiron, though.

In any event, I don't think you should be casting stones. Augie looks like a good fit for the Summit. Leagues like the Summit aren't going to get big tv deals. Low D1 leagues need to keep their costs down and have members that are competitive with each other to draw interest. Having a school like Augie in the conference will increase interest and probably attendance in the Dakotas, which is a very good thing.

Could they be replacing Ft Wayne? Any word on Ft Wayne finding a more regional conference?
This would make more sense.

I think Augie has 2 things that the Summit values:
-cash money (thank you Sanford)
-a baseball team (along with basketball and soccer).

If Ft. Wayne were to leave, it drops baseball teams to only 5 and throws the conference into a panic.
Auggie is an insurance policy.

I think this guy (So Dak State Univ beat writer for Sioux Falls' paper) hits the nail on the head as to why Augie wants to move up:

Matt Zimmer twitter@argusmattz

"I was Christmas shopping today at Scheels. There was wall to wall Jacks and Yotes gear. One rack of Augie/USF stuff. D2 is becoming irrelevant in this community. That’s what this is about. Augie feels left behind."

(12-14-2018 11:06 AM)puck swami Wrote:  As a Denver fan, I am very disappointed by this development. I know that the Summit League sees Augie as additive - helping stabilize the league and adding a school in the center of the footprint in the Dakota-centric reality of the league, and lowering travel costs for some of the schools.

But outside that Dakotas, I think this move dilutes the Summit brand with a tiny, no-name school that brings no significant markets or fanbase to the league that it didn't already have.

Most of the schools in the Summit went D-I to get away from schools such as Augie...

It dilutes the brand inside the Dakotas. I know of no one who wants this to happen. When SDSU and NDSU chose to go D1 a long time ago, it was due to schools like Augustana. Tiny, no money, sucked in all sports, it was embarrassing. I have no idea what SDSU and NDSU will do (nor USD and UND). But the two big XDSU schools cannot be happy if this is the route the Summit intends to take.

(12-14-2018 12:54 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  I think Augie has 2 things that the Summit values:
-cash money (thank you Sanford)
-a baseball team (along with basketball and soccer).

If Ft. Wayne were to leave, it drops baseball teams to only 5 and throws the conference into a panic.
Auggie is an insurance policy.

They don't have money. They will get a one time Krabbenhoft infusion from his personal fortune (not Sanford, he is the CEO of Sanford) plus Sanford may pay to upgrade some facilities.

Overall, they cannot afford the move long term. They do not have the donor base to get it done. They will see some corporate money, but the SDSU and USD have far more alumni in Sioux Falls and in the state of South Dakota. If you are a corporation looking to brand yourself you go after the schools with the largest fan base. We are talking about a tiny, expensive school that graduates a lot of teachers, nurses, etc., low wage jobs.

This is a school that just bailed on fully building an indoor track because they didn't have the paltry $3 million to finish it properly. Instead they put in a 300 METER outdoor track because that is all they could afford. This will not end well for them.

I've read where USD and SDSU fans are concerned that Augie is going to peel off corporate support for their athletic programs from the Sioux Falls business community.

I think Augie's real goal is to peel off about 1400 tuition paying students and grow their enrollment to 3,000.

1400 x $9000 per year = $12,600,000. If I were the presidents of USD and SDSU, that's the number I would be looking at.

(12-14-2018 12:59 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  I think this guy (So Dak State Univ beat writer for Sioux Falls' paper) hits the nail on the head as to why Augie wants to move up:

Matt Zimmer twitter@argusmattz

"I was Christmas shopping today at Scheels. There was wall to wall Jacks and Yotes gear. One rack of Augie/USF stuff. D2 is becoming irrelevant in this community. That’s what this is about. Augie feels left behind."

That is true. D2 schools basically get ignored by the local media in a lot of places. Going D1 also helps the image of the school to recruits. There have probably been 15-20 schools that have moved up because of that.

Augustana doesn’t have a large alumni base outside of South Dakota, and they probably believe going D1 and getting more exposure will help that.

Enrollment-- 1750. I know this has not stopped others--but still...

(12-14-2018 02:35 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Enrollment-- 1750. I know this has not stopped others--but still...

This a D-III profile, not a D-I profile.

Some tiny D-III schools can be effective at D-I in certain sports (such as Colorado College in D-I men's hockey or St. Lawrence in men's hockey or Hobart in men's lacrosse, etc.) but a full D-I sports program is a huge stretch for a school with a sub-2000 enrollment. It's hard enough with 5,000 students...

(12-14-2018 01:26 PM)jacksfan29 Wrote:  

(12-14-2018 12:54 PM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  I think Augie has 2 things that the Summit values:
-cash money (thank you Sanford)
-a baseball team (along with basketball and soccer).

If Ft. Wayne were to leave, it drops baseball teams to only 5 and throws the conference into a panic.
Auggie is an insurance policy.

They don't have money. They will get a one time Krabbenhoft infusion from his personal fortune (not Sanford, he is the CEO of Sanford) plus Sanford may pay to upgrade some facilities.

Overall, they cannot afford the move long term. They do not have the donor base to get it done. They will see some corporate money, but the SDSU and USD have far more alumni in Sioux Falls and in the state of South Dakota. If you are a corporation looking to brand yourself you go after the schools with the largest fan base. We are talking about a tiny, expensive school that graduates a lot of teachers, nurses, etc., low wage jobs.

This is a school that just bailed on fully building an indoor track because they didn't have the paltry $3 million to finish it properly. Instead they put in a 300 METER outdoor track because that is all they could afford. This will not end well for them.

Curious who’s voting them. Can’t imagine Fort Wayne, WIU, or ORU pushing it through. Doesn’t 7/9 guarantee admission?

Fans of Almighty Northern Iowa lobbied yesterday the “realistic option” of MWC targetting their esteemed directional campus in the popping Waterloo market for a Gonzaga/BYU/Wichita/UNI package so maybe SDSU slides in their place.