https://letsgodu.com/2020/05/04/augustan...his-month/

(05-05-2020 12:46 PM)NoDak Wrote:  https://letsgodu.com/2020/05/04/augustan...his-month/

Close, but not quite. Augie is getting a vote. St Thomas was already voted on and accepted several months ago. The only question with St Thomas is when they will join the conference, and that is up to the NCAA.

It sounds like they have no qualms about going to 11. It’s been an awfully long time since anyone has said the Summit has too many members.

Let's say both get in. The Summit will look like the following:

North Dakota
North Dakota St
South Dakota
South Dakota St
Augustana
St. Thomas
Western Illinois
Missouri - Kansas City
Nebraska - Omaha
Oral Roberts
Denver

That's 11 members which allows for a solid 20-game basketball schedule. Denver and Oral Roberts aren't great fits but neither is any other conference for those schools. Denver is a bit far from the WCC (and not very basketball-focused) and Oral Roberts doesn't want to be in the Southland which is already bloated.

(05-05-2020 02:14 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Let's say both get in. The Summit will look like the following:

North Dakota
North Dakota St
South Dakota
South Dakota St
Augustana
St. Thomas
Western Illinois
Missouri - Kansas City
Nebraska - Omaha
Oral Roberts
Denver

And compare that to the membership 15 years ago:

Oakland
Valparaiso
IUPUI
Chicago St
Western Illinois
UMKC
Oral Roberts
Centenary
Southern Utah

Or 25 years ago:
Troy
Central Connecticut St
Buffalo
Youngstown
Valparaiso
Chicago St
Northeastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois
Western Illinois
UMKC
Oral Roberts

(05-05-2020 02:44 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 02:14 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Let's say both get in. The Summit will look like the following:

North Dakota
North Dakota St
South Dakota
South Dakota St
Augustana
St. Thomas
Western Illinois
Missouri - Kansas City
Nebraska - Omaha
Oral Roberts
Denver

And compare that to the membership 15 years ago:

Oakland
Valparaiso
IUPUI
Chicago St
Western Illinois
UMKC
Oral Roberts
Centenary
Southern Utah

Or 25 years ago:
Troy
Central Connecticut St
Buffalo
Youngstown
Valparaiso
Chicago St
Northeastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois
Western Illinois
UMKC
Oral Roberts

And some of us think the WAC is wild. Central Connecticut St in the same conference with Oral Roberts and Troy is a crime.

(05-05-2020 12:57 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 12:46 PM)NoDak Wrote:  https://letsgodu.com/2020/05/04/augustan...his-month/

Close, but not quite. Augie is getting a vote. St Thomas was already voted on and accepted several months ago. The only question with St Thomas is when they will join the conference, and that is up to the NCAA.

That DU article and the comment at the end of the article were all anti-Augustana. Is it just the writer's opinion or is it an actual representation of how the school feels?

I know the Summit presidents and athletic directors are not enthused about Augie(to say it mildly), so I'm not sure what to make of it. On the one hand, I wonder if they've already decided to vote against them but are just going through the motions to appease some big-money Augie supporters in Sioux Falls(donors that have contributed many millions to several Summit schools). On the other hand, I wonder if there have been some developments behind the scenes that would make Augie the 10th school and not the 11th. Maybe the NCAA is not going to move on the St Thomas legislation as quickly as expected. Maybe COVID has pushed WIU past the breaking point. Or maybe UMKC. Or maybe NDSU has finally gotten that Big Ten offer we were all expecting. Maybe not that last one.

In any case, the May vote will be very interesting for those of us who are fans of a Summit school.

(05-05-2020 03:20 PM)AZcats Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 12:57 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 12:46 PM)NoDak Wrote:  https://letsgodu.com/2020/05/04/augustan...his-month/

Close, but not quite. Augie is getting a vote. St Thomas was already voted on and accepted several months ago. The only question with St Thomas is when they will join the conference, and that is up to the NCAA.

That DU article and the comment at the end of the article were all anti-Augustana. Is it just the writer's opinion or is it an actual representation of how the school feels?

Both. I don't know if there's a single school in the Summit that actually wants Augie. But that DU writer REALLY doesn't want them.

(05-05-2020 03:22 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 03:20 PM)AZcats Wrote:  That DU article and the comment at the end of the article were all anti-Augustana. Is it just the writer's opinion or is it an actual representation of how the school feels?

Both. I don't know if there's a single school in the Summit that actually wants Augie. But that DU writer REALLY doesn't want them.

This passage from that article seems like a serious allegation...

Quote:We’ve frequently written about the chummy relationship between Douple and Kelby Krabbenhoft, CEO of Sanford Health, in the past. Krabbenhoft is a major sponsor of the Summit League, a booster of Augustana University, landlord of the Summit League offices, owner of numerous Sioux Falls sports properties, and a close personal friend of Commissioner Tom Douple. Asked about the conflict of interest as well as Sanford’s recent ‘gift’ of $250,000 to member schools, Douple labeled the accusations of undue influence by good buddy Krabbenhoft as ‘hogwash’. Adding that the ultimate decision on league membership was made by league presidents. (perhaps aided by Krabbenhoft and his ‘gift’).

(05-05-2020 03:32 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 03:22 PM)Hammersmith Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 03:20 PM)AZcats Wrote:  That DU article and the comment at the end of the article were all anti-Augustana. Is it just the writer's opinion or is it an actual representation of how the school feels?

Both. I don't know if there's a single school in the Summit that actually wants Augie. But that DU writer REALLY doesn't want them.

This passage from that article seems like a serious allegation...

Quote:We’ve frequently written about the chummy relationship between Douple and Kelby Krabbenhoft, CEO of Sanford Health, in the past. Krabbenhoft is a major sponsor of the Summit League, a booster of Augustana University, landlord of the Summit League offices, owner of numerous Sioux Falls sports properties, and a close personal friend of Commissioner Tom Douple. Asked about the conflict of interest as well as Sanford’s recent ‘gift’ of $250,000 to member schools, Douple labeled the accusations of undue influence by good buddy Krabbenhoft as ‘hogwash’. Adding that the ultimate decision on league membership was made by league presidents. (perhaps aided by Krabbenhoft and his ‘gift’).

It's not the Sanford/Krabbenhoft/Douple connection that would be the deciding factor. And it's not even really the $250k. If it happens it will be because of bigger strong-arm tactics or the league really needing another school.

Consider some of the newer facilities at Summit schools:
SDSU has the SJAC large practice and competition facility. That stands for Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex.
NDSU has the SHAC athletics building and basketball arena. That stands for Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
USD has the SCSC basketball arena. Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

All of those naming rights donations were between $5M and $10M.

The Summit League tourney is held in the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
The Summit League offices will be in the Sanford Sports Complex, right next to the Sanford Pentagon and the Sanford Fieldhouse.

Sensing a trend?

Well before joining the Summit, UND had the opportunity for money for their indoor practice facility, but they decided to keep their partnership with their local health system, Altru, instead of switching to Sanford Health. (the donations were the same)

Sanford Health also wants to get into the Minneapolis market, so a big donation to St Thomas isn't out of the question.


The May vote will be interesting.

I guess it’s a question of whether or not Sanford Health bought enough votes.

Frankly, I think it’s bad business to let the Augustana thing go this far if you’re not going to let them in.

(05-05-2020 04:02 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  I guess it’s a question of whether or not Sanford Health bought enough votes.

Frankly, I think it’s bad business to let the Augustana thing go this far if you’re not going to let them in.

Regarding your first sentence: Exactly. The DU author was trying to say that Krabbenhoft(Sanford Health pres) would influence Douple who would then influence the Summit presidents. In my post, I was trying to say that, if anything, Krabbenhoft would be trying to influence the presidents directly.

As for your second sentence, I get it. If Augie doesn't get an invite, I think it only got this far because of an attempt to appease Krabbenhoft. But are they actually willing to vote Augie in? I just don't know. I think there would have to be some major money thrown around on top of what has already been donated, and I'm not certain Sanford Health can do it. It's one thing to spend money on naming rights on facilities within the Sanford Health footprint, but what about Denver, Tulsa, Kansas City, Macomb, and Omaha? And Sanford Health isn't allowed to take over in Grand Forks because of monopoly reasons(or they already would have bought out Altru). Can Krabbenhoft actually find away to funnel enough money to the Summit universities during a time when everyone is looking at health care and spiraling costs? Like I said, I just don't know.

There is nothing that leads me to believe that Augustana can have any success in D1. The article about the new T&F facility released in the same week the school announced its desire for D1 says a lot. They had to scale back plans because the $6M price tag was too high and really angered athletes and disappointed coaches.

Change in track blueprints results in miscommunication and upset athletes

(05-05-2020 02:14 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Let's say both get in. The Summit will look like the following:

North Dakota
North Dakota St
South Dakota
South Dakota St
Augustana
St. Thomas
Western Illinois
Missouri - Kansas City
Nebraska - Omaha
Oral Roberts
Denver

That's 11 members which allows for a solid 20-game basketball schedule. Denver and Oral Roberts aren't great fits but neither is any other conference for those schools. Denver is a bit far from the WCC (and not very basketball-focused) and Oral Roberts doesn't want to be in the Southland which is already bloated.

Congratulations for creating a terrible conference.

(05-05-2020 04:30 PM)AZcats Wrote:  There is nothing that leads me to believe that Augustana can have any success in D1. The article about the new T&F facility released in the same week the school announced its desire for D1 says a lot. They had to scale back plans because the $6M price tag was too high and really angered athletes and disappointed coaches.

Change in track blueprints results in miscommunication and upset athletes

You don't have faith in their 12 student enrollment?

(05-05-2020 04:30 PM)AZcats Wrote:  There is nothing that leads me to believe that Augustana can have any success in D1. The article about the new T&F facility released in the same week the school announced its desire for D1 says a lot. They had to scale back plans because the $6M price tag was too high and really angered athletes and disappointed coaches.

Change in track blueprints results in miscommunication and upset athletes

I know of a lot of D-II schools that look like Augustana (enrollment, endowment) that wouldn't have a prayer in D-I.

They've been a good D-II program, especially since the UxDs and xDSUs moved to D-I and they moved over to the NSIC. From what I've read, they were a cellar dweller in the NCC.

But, if they have donors (Sanford Health, ahem) that are willing to help them, then they're going to follow their historic NCC conference mates into D-I. Good luck with all that. More power to them.

I think Sanford’s money would be better spent making them a top notch D-2 program, rather than a cellar dweller D-1 program

(05-05-2020 05:18 PM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  

(05-05-2020 02:14 PM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Let's say both get in. The Summit will look like the following:

North Dakota
North Dakota St
South Dakota
South Dakota St
Augustana
St. Thomas
Western Illinois
Missouri - Kansas City
Nebraska - Omaha
Oral Roberts
Denver

That's 11 members which allows for a solid 20-game basketball schedule. Denver and Oral Roberts aren't great fits but neither is any other conference for those schools. Denver is a bit far from the WCC (and not very basketball-focused) and Oral Roberts doesn't want to be in the Southland which is already bloated.

Congratulations for creating a terrible conference.

That’s actually an example of stellar conference leadership. Douple’s taken a conference with outposts in Connecticut, Alabama, Louisiana, & Utah, and now confined it to a geographical region with a geographic identity.

Douple also identified valuable schools either below the D1 ranks (NDSU, SDSU, St Thomas) or stranded in another league (Denver) to mold into a core.

Denver and Kansas City both suck and have never been to the NCAA Tournament. When was the last time ORU made it?