eulesseagle

Posted on Thu, Jun. 15, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license thisNorth Dakota to sue NCAA over university's nicknameDALE WETZEL Associated Press WILLISTON, N.D. - State officials voted Thursday to sue the NCAA for penalizing the University of North Dakota over its "Fighting Sioux" nickname and Indian-head logo. Following a meeting with state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, the North Dakota Board of Higher Education voted 8-0 to authorize the lawsuit, which would be handled by Stenehjem. The NCAA last year announced a ban on ethnically or racially "hostile" or "abusive" nicknames, mascots and imagery at championship events. It found 18 schools, including UND, in violation of the policy. Several of those schools have since changed team names and mascots or won appeals after local tribes came to their defense. In UND's case, though, the NCAA rejected the appeal and told the school it may not use the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian-head logo during NCAA postseason tournaments, nor host a tournament if it continues to use them. Stenehjem complained that the NCAA's decision was delivered by a committee that used constantly changing standards. Teams that have continued using Indian nicknames with the NCAA's blessing include the Florida State University Seminoles, Central Michigan University Chippewas and the University of Utah Utes. NCAA President Myles Brand has said the NCAA will defend its policy "to the utmost." The lawsuit will be paid for out of private funds, not taxpayer money, officials said. A number of Indian tribes and students want the university to drop the nickname and logo. One official with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe wrote a letter supporting the university, but another opposed the nickname. ON THE NET http://www.und.edu http://www.ncaa.org

go to: Detailed Conference Comparisons shows the W-L records of all the conferences by teams in a really cool matrix

I thought the statement by the president of UND was a very eloquent middle finger to the ncaa.

http://www.colleyrankings.com/ for some reason I can not get this to work.....but go to the site!

Let it be known that I am not mad at ArkStFan. My analogy was between the two presidents of UND and ASU. The UND president is going to fight the NCAA while the ASU president did nothing more than to give up without a fight. My reference was toward the ASU logo than a personal attack at ArkStFan. At least I did not call ArkStFan a lying SOB like he did to the president of UND.....if it be true or not. Besides, after UNT get through with them they WILL feel like a neutered wolf with his/her/its tail stuck between it's legs.

ArkstFan- You are right.....the NCAA are hypocrits who cater to the "haves" and not the "have nots." UND has stated their case very clearly and has shown that the NCAA is only politically correct when it serves their financial needs. Perhaps your anger comes from Arkansas State "bowing" to the NCAA like they were some magical power like some people bow to the ACLU. Since you feel that the UND president is a "Lying SOB" he has enough guts to stand up to the NCAA where the president of Arkansas State did not. Perhaps your logo can have your neutered wolf's tail between his legs and a hung head.

GreyEagleOne- You are correct. There were other SWC schools that kept NTSU from joining the SWC. SMU just had one of the several votes that kept NTSU independent. The same will hold true if UNT tries to get into C-USA. We will, probably, never know who said what and what the final votes will be on this issue in the future with C-USA. Bottom line is that we need fans in the seats for not only football but also basketball. 30 years is too long to hold a grudge against SMU so IMHO it is time to move on. The "conference shuffle" is not complete as evidence of what the Big East would like to do. Just like Reagonomics UNT will eventually get the "trickle down effect" from other conference fallout. As the Boy Scouts of America say, "Be Prepared."

MG61, Since Badgerwolf quoted ticket sales so did I. I saw the other figures.

UNT Football ticket sales...........$299,515 UNT Basketball ticket sales.......$108,742

I believe "IF" the University of Central Florida or ECU or both jump to the Big East that will leave one or maybe two openings for North Texas to jump to C-USA. Regardless of our athletic budget being "sub-par" to other C-USA institutions UNT still needs ATTENDANCE at the games. With all the "rumblings" that are coming out of the B.E., the last several months, and the B.E. only having eight football playing schools in a BCS conference they will expand. Expansion, IMHO, will be in the next year or two. No matter how everyone feels about "our" current situation with the level of play or the coaches it is MORE important to concentrate on ATTENDANCE!!! UNT may be viewed as an "ugly" sister of D-1A, in the SBC, but having "big breasts" may help pursuade the C-USA powers that be to choose UNT over other similar schools.

http://bonesville.net/Articles/DennyOBrien...0906_OBrien.htm another interesting article on the BE expansion looking at a couple of C-USA teams.

Interesting article.....The B.E. have 8 FB playing schools and looking around to expand. Eric Crawford is the main beat writer for the University of Louisville. Eric Crawford 2006-06-07T10:22:00-04:00 2006-06-08T01:33:03Z 2006-06-07T15:13:54Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16082095.post-114969323474888265 Big East Q&A Name: Rob Question: With all the talk about adding Central Florida or Navy as football members and the Big East bowl situation, how come the C-J isn't looking into these things? It's an interesting question. A couple of things. First, just because no story appears doesn't mean things aren't being "looked into." But let's look first at "all the talk." A Sporting News columnist suggested adding Central Florida. A West Virginia columnist recently suggested that Georgetown or Villanova might ramp up to Division I-A. And there's been some talk-radio discussion and message board speculation. None of that, however, constitutes news. And here's why: There is no actual expansion talk among Big East members. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese says flatly that there has been no talk about it. The focus of Big East football at the moment seems to be stabilizing and strengthening the existing group of teams, not adding new ones. It would take a national player to break into the football conference at this point, and Notre Dame and Penn State don't appear to be looking for new affiliations. Journalistic questions From a journalism standpoint, however, it raises an interesting question. At what point does Internet buzz, even from national sources, rise to the level of needing to be addressed by media outlets? I found out very early on this beat that if I jumped to run stories to straighten the record on these kinds of stories, we'd be burning a lot of space just to follow up on other people's reporting or speculation. Perhaps, someday, that will become a role of the media. For now, I still have to follow up on rumors and reporting from the Internet -- I'd be crazy not to. But that doesn't mean it always will result in a story. A recent example. During the Big East Conference Tournament, a national online sports columnist said a source had told him that Indiana University had been told that U of L coach Rick Pitino would be interested in talking with the school if contacted. The guy's source was wrong. When asked about it, Pitino laughed. No one had asked him about it before reporting it. Officials at IU said they didn't know where the information came from. It was just wrong. Pitino had no interest. The question then became, do we run a story to counter someone else's reporting, or just run nothing, since there really was nothing to report. I think we wound up referring to it in print in a notebook, when the coach made a funny comment about it. I guess the point is that I can't get too much into the business of speculation. The tough thing is that speculation is half of sports journalism today. Still, in the newspaper setting, that's more the realm of columnists than reporters. I can get into it when the speculation starts to come from official quarters, coaches, athletic directors, etc. But just because a pundit somewhere says something, it doesn't necessarily make it news. Bowl talk Finally this. The Big East bowl lineup is what it is. The Big East has six bowl tie-ins and only eight football members (with Notre Dame also lumped into its bowl mix). League members I've talked to haven't expressed any concern or displeasure, and that includes U of L athletic direct Tom Jurich. Interestinly, some at U of L suggested that it might be a good idea to get a passport if you don't have one. If the Cards don't make a BCS Bowl, they could very well be headed to Toronto for the International Bowl to face a Mid-American Conference opponent, depending on what happens with Notre Dame. You need a passport to get into Canada now, and that process takes 6-8 weeks. If, as happened last year, someone else gets the BCS berth and Notre Dame gets a BCS bid, U of L would be headed to the Vitalis Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The financially strapped Houston Bowl is a question mark, as you can see from this story yesterday by the Houston Chronicle. At the same time, even with the loss of this bowl, the Big East would still have as many bowl tie-ins in the coming season as it did last season. The problem, of course, is that some of the bowls aren't so attractive. But that's what re-establishing yourself as a football conference is all about. http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/crawford/atom.xml

It is a bit long and will put all of PMG's posts to shame but the President of University of North Dakota defends their mascot and hits about a law suit against the NCAA. http://www.universityrelations.und.edu/log...er_6-07-06.html

Steele rates the SBC recruiting classes as follows: 1. Troy (#73 nationally in the top 75 classes) 2. FIU 3. UL-Monroe 4. Ark. State 5. MT 6. Louisiana 7. FAU 8. North Texas

Phil Steel has Sun Belt teams ranked as follows: #95 Louisiana #105 Middle Tennessee #109 Troy #111 North Texas #113 Arkansas State #114 FAU #116 FIU #117 UL-Monroe all this is from the MUTS board.....sorry....

Lindy's ranking all 119 1A teams have the Sun Belt teams ranked as follows: #83 Louisiana #103 Troy #105 North Texas #107 Ark. State #108 UL-Monroe #111 FIU #112 Middle Tennessee #117 FAU

picked up a Lindy's Southeastern 2006 Preview today in the local bookstore. Each Sun Belt team has a page in the magazine. Monte Hale did the individual team previews. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lindy's SBC picks for 2006 are as follows: #1. Louisiana #2. Troy #3. North Texas #4. Arkansas State #5. UL-Monroe #6. FIU #7. Middle Tennessee #8. FAU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lindy's All-Sun Belt 1st team QB is Babb of Louisiana, and the 2nd team QB is Padrick of FIU. MT players making first team are Gross (all-purpose back), Germayle Franklin, J.K. Sabb, Bradley Robinson, Colby Smith (as punter). 2nd team MT players: Chicola, Colby Smith (as place-kicker), Erik Walden. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the category of Sun Belt top ten NFL talent, the only MT player is Chicola. Babb is projected as preseason MVP NT RB Thomas is projected as preseason Off. POY FIU's Keyonvis Bouie is preseason Def. POY Troy's juco QB Omar Haugabrook is preseason Newcomer of the Year In a listing of superlatives, the only MT player in the 12 categories is Clint Marks as "Most Accurate Passer"

Perhaps she can recruit some Russians that look like Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikovia. Attendance would improve

NTSU/UNT has had different rivals throughout the years. IMHO: The 60's and part of the early 70's I would say Tulsa (MoValley) and to some extent NMSU. In the 70's I would say NMSU (Ind.) In the early 80's I would say SFA (SLC) In the BWC days I would say NMSU The closest thing we have to a rival in the SBC is MTSU. There are teams that we would like to say that we have a rivalry with such as SMU or TCU but we do not play them enough on a regular basis like the Iron Skillet rivalry between SMU and TCU or something like Texas & Texas A&M.

Is Steve repeating the formula with Matt? School shows big time commitment to coach June 6, 2006 By Adam Caparell Assistant Editor, CSTV.com At age 59, George O'Leary admits he doesn't know if he can see himself coaching another decade. "A 10-year commitment is a lot of years," the UCF coach said. But after signing a new 10-year contract extension with Central Florida two weeks ago, the message being sent is loud and clear: O'Leary will be at the school until 2015, much to the delight of both parties. "With the number of years they allowed in that contract, they have great faith that we're doing the right things," he said. UCF has not only equated that faith in years, but also in dollars. O'Leary will earn a base salary of $1 million starting this year and could earn up to $1.5 million based on incentives. That puts him among the higher paid coaches in the country, and certainly in Conference USA. O'Leary lead UCF to an 8-5 record last year, a berth in the Conference USA championship game and the school's first ever bowl game. All of this came after a 0-11 inaugural season in 2004, meaning O'Leary helped lead UCF to the fourth best turnaround in NCAA history. The success, in big part, prompted UCF officials to approach O'Leary - C-USA's 2005 Coach of the Year - about an extension last November. It's a big commitment for a school whose football stature is still growing, but one they were willing and able to make. "It was just a feeling that he was the guy we wanted and George had said on a number of occasions that he hoped to finish his coaching career at UCF," UCF President John Hitt said. "It seemed like a good idea that if it was everyone's desire that George be able to coach through the end of his career with us that we find some contractual way to express that intention." The departure of then-athletic director Steve Orsini to SMU delayed the initial process, causing some to speculate problems had arisen during negotiations. But in due time, the deal was finalized. "I think it shows a commitment both from the school and myself to the football program here," O'Leary said. "I think it's a win-win situation as far as stability and consistency in the program." Consistency and stability are two things Central Florida had been lacking before O'Leary. Off of a 3-9 season in 2003 that saw a coaching change after 10 games, one of the first things O'Leary noticed was a lack of player trust in the coaching staff. They had worked hard under the previous regime, but hadn't seen the results they had hoped for. O'Leary knew some things would have to change before he signed. There were specific requirements he asked be met. "They've done everything I've asked them to do," O'Leary said. "It's a place that has great potential and great opportunities. It's just a matter of getting all the right pieces in place." UCF has been a pretty good match for O'Leary, who came to Orlando from Minnesota where he was the Vikings' defensive coordinator. Originally signing a five-year contract, he's transformed the program, raising the school's profile and now significantly raising expectation levels in just two short years. "I'd rather have it that way than any other way," O'Leary said. "I think we're getting closer and closer to being very competitive with everyone we'll face." It's not only expectations O'Leary has raised. UCF's academic profile has improved considerably since he arrived on campus, inheriting a team with a GPA of 2.01. UCF finished with 2.81 GPA at the end of 2005. "We put a lot of emphasis on doing things right," O'Leary said, "not just on the field but off the field." Its O'Leary's "rights" at Central Florida that are helping make one of the biggest wrongs on his career seem like a distant memory. In December 2001, O'Leary left Georgia Tech to accept Notre Dame's head coaching position. Five days later he announced his resignation after several inaccuracies were found in his resume. "No one brings it up anymore," O'Leary said. "It's something that I've done everything I can do with the mass media, the local radio media, the paper." While the episode will always follow O'Leary, five years later, it's a dead issue to him. "There's nothing else I can do," O'Leary said. "I think you move on. It's very rarely brought up anymore." O'Leary's new contract has also helped UCF's recruiting efforts. Just last weekend, UCF brought in a number of high school juniors and their parents for a campus visit. The one thing the parents kept talking about was the new contract, O'Leary said. Knowing the coach would be there for the duration of their son's college career was reassuring to many parents. But can O'Leary really fulfill the contract? "I don't know," O'Leary said. "I tell my wife we go year to year. You can never say never. But I know I won't be taking another college job, pro job. I'm very happy here. If my health stays the way I hope it will, hopefully I can fulfill the commitment." There's a $5 million buyout option for both parties should O'Leary decide to leave for another job or be terminated. "He doesn't have to coach for 10 years if he doesn't want to," Hitt said. "He's guaranteed the right to and we're guaranteed that he won't go somewhere else in all likelihood in that period of time either." But O'Leary really feels as if UCF will be his last job. "I would say with a 10-year contract it is," O'Leary said. "I want to see this program get to where it has the ability to get to." It's getting there. UCF has a new 45,000-seat stadium set to open for the start of the 2007 season with Texas as the first scheduled opponent. That's on top of all the ingredients O'Leary feels UCF has to be a real player in college football. It's thanks to all the extra practices, national exposure and success his team experienced from last year's bowl run. Hitt said the school is "thoroughly satisfied" with O'Leary and excited about the direction the program is heading. Now it's all about finding a medium. "The key to me is once you start to win, it's to be consistent," O'Leary said. "Not be up and down." In his quest to accomplish that goal, time - 10 years worth - seems to be on O'Leary's side. _________________ "Seek the truth . . . then listen, serve and lead with honor"

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/06/08/soccerpoll.shtml this is interesting

All hypothetical until September.

http://www.sportsline.com/worldcup/standings

A blurb on the German team http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2042484,00.html