North Dakota Preps

Is there a college football program in the state that is worse than Minot State's? They consistently get blown out (I know they only lost by 1 to Northern) and I cannot remember the last time they even approached a .500 record. Is it a recruiting problem? A funding problem? I know they have tried numerous coaches in the last few years and the results are the same - terrible. As an alum, it is embarrassing to watch year after year after year. I know losing Bolinski at QB to a broken collarbone hurts, but this losing has been going on for years.

How good has U of Mary been lately? I think they've always been equal to or lower than Minot State over the past 5-6 seasons

WalkingStick wrote:How good has U of Mary been lately? I think they've always been equal to or lower than Minot State over the past 5-6 seasons

I think that the U of Mary is still trying to recover from about 6-7 years ago when they tried to become "ND's University" by recruiting a lot of local kids for football. They found out the hard way that ND does not produce anywhere near enough talent to be the majority of a DII's recruiting class. I personally think that going DII was extremely stupid for Minot and U of Mary.

Mayville State would be in that conversation as well.

The Schwab wrote:Mayville State would be in that conversation as well.

Yep, but they have their own separate thread!!!!!

Both Minot State and UMary play in one of the toughest Division II conferences in the country, but both have had a lot of turnover at the head coaching position since they moved up. UMary surprises me the most. I would think Bismarck wouldn't be that bad of a place to go to college for some of the kids in the neighboring states.

Sportsrube wrote:

WalkingStick wrote:How good has U of Mary been lately? I think they've always been equal to or lower than Minot State over the past 5-6 seasons

I think that the U of Mary is still trying to recover from about 6-7 years ago when they tried to become "ND's University" by recruiting a lot of local kids for football. They found out the hard way that ND does not produce anywhere near enough talent to be the majority of a DII's recruiting class. I personally think that going DII was extremely stupid for Minot and U of Mary.

I kind of agree, that it was not a good decision.

Mary, at least, was a national tournament participant in almost every sport when they moved up, even though they weren't piling up the national championships. So I can somewhat see their argument in moving up.

Minot was not doing that great, though, other than I think a cross country national championship? Certainly not that great that anyone outside the school thought moving up was a good idea.

I could say the same about Black Hills St and South Dakota Mines too. The lure of the NCAA shines bright and school in cities the size of Bismarck, Minot and Rapid City think they need to move up to increase the status of their school.

What is the benefit of being D2 over NAIA? I really don't know.

Bigger operating budgets and probably some difference in scholarships; idk exact numbers on these but they are the main differences I’ve heard

WalkingStick wrote:Bigger operating budgets and probably some difference in scholarships; idk exact numbers on these but they are the main differences I’ve heard

Those are the biggest differences, but if you can't raise the money to increase your operating budget or to cover the scholarships then what? You end up having a majority of your sports programs being bottom feeders year after year after year after year, that's what.

OK, now I'm going to rant about Minot State men's basketball. They are off to a very strong start and they ended a 19 game losing streak to Northern State today which is nice, but my rant is - what is up with the fans? I have watched Minot play on BEK twice this year - against U of Mary and Northern. Both times the attendance was horrible. Tonight's official attendance was under 600. I remember during the 80's when D. Limke was coaching the Dome would be absolutely rocking for games. But back then most of the players were recruited from within a 120 mile radius of Minot. One more reason why MSU should never have gone DII in my opinion.

I can't speak for the Minot State fan base, but I would assume it might have something to do with only two ND (Minot) guys getting minutes for them there aren't a lot of ties to the area on that team. I do think that they got a solid signee in Trey Brandt who's a local area kid and maybe that'll bring more fans to the dome. I would assume they'll have better turnout from local fans when they play Crookston and Bemidji in a couple of weeks (especially if they win at least 2 of the next 3), but the student section will be lacking with students out for break.

The students have better things to do on Friday and Saturday nights than watch a below average D-II basketball team play. Win consistently and fans will show up.

bison football73 wrote:The students have better things to do on Friday and Saturday nights than watch a below average D-II basketball team play. Win consistently and fans will show up.

That statement shows me that college has definitely changed in the last few years.

The Schwab wrote:

bison football73 wrote:The students have better things to do on Friday and Saturday nights than watch a below average D-II basketball team play. Win consistently and fans will show up.

That statement shows me that college has definitely changed in the last few years.

Minot has been pretty much irrelevant in the major sports since they moved to D-II. In good years they are barely average. Kids aren't going to Minot State for the awesome athletic experience of going to sporting events. Kids going to Minot State are mostly local kids and Canadian. They'd rather go watch the successful hockey program than watch a fledgling basketball program.

bison football73 wrote:

The Schwab wrote:

bison football73 wrote:The students have better things to do on Friday and Saturday nights than watch a below average D-II basketball team play. Win consistently and fans will show up.

That statement shows me that college has definitely changed in the last few years.

Minot has been pretty much irrelevant in the major sports since they moved to D-II. In good years they are barely average. Kids aren't going to Minot State for the awesome athletic experience of going to sporting events. Kids going to Minot State are mostly local kids and Canadian. They'd rather go watch the successful hockey program than watch a fledgling basketball program.

I think you are spot on. Going DII was a horrible decision for Beaver Athletics (and U of Mary as well). They will never admit it though.