MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Greek Tragedy]

I posted this a while ago but maybe it would be helpful now?

I'm full of all sorts of stats & metrics: Here is what each program is losing to graduation.

% of points lost to graduation

Augsburg 57%
St. Olaf 53%
SJU 49%
Bethel 48%
UST 33%
Carleton 33%
Concordia 27%
Hamline 12%
Saint Mary's 10%
Macalester 9%
Gustavus 1%

% of minutes lost to graduation

Bethel 46%
SJU 44%
St. Olaf 44%
Augsburg 37%
Carleton 35%
UST 25%
Concordia 25%
Macalester 15%
Hamline 15%
Saint Mary's 14%
Gustavus 1%

Nice work. St John's loses a ton. St. Thomas, not so much. So, we'll give the Tommies one last title before they get booted? Will the Johnnies finish 2nd? Augsburg and Bethel, the two teams that finished behind the leaders, also lose a ton, and they were 5 and 6 games behind. St. Mary's was 9 games back. The Johnnies seem to reload, not rebuild, so will they finish behind St. Thomas and fight for a Pool C spot? Asking for a friend...

[SJUrube]

If you're looking for a sports fix and are an MIAC basketball fan SJU posted the full 2019 MIAC playoff championship game vs Augsburg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NpqS6SVJMY&feature=youtu.be

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

If you're looking for a sports fix and are an MIAC basketball fan SJU posted the full 2019 MIAC playoff championship game vs Augsburg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NpqS6SVJMY&feature=youtu.be

I will stick with watching my 2011 & 2016 national championship & semifinal games. MUCH better viewing!

[Smitty Oom]

A statement from Concordia should be coming out today about the new Head Coach of the program. Keep an eye out for that, assuming most of you Miac fans don’t have too much going on today.

[Pat Coleman]

https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2020/04/alumnus-returns-to-coach-cobbers
This one!

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

A statement from Concordia should be coming out today about the new Head Coach of the program. Keep an eye out for that, assuming most of you Miac fans don't have too much going on today.

https://www.miacathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200402o7nm75

Those in the Cobber hoops alumni family that I've spoken with are very pleased & excited about the hire.  I think it bodes well for CC as Bormann should be able to recruit solidly from the Fargo metro area, North Dakota and NW Mn

[Greek Tragedy]

https://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2020/04/alumnus-returns-to-coach-cobbers
This one!

Do you know the other finalists?

[Smitty Oom]

A statement from Concordia should be coming out today about the new Head Coach of the program. Keep an eye out for that, assuming most of you Miac fans don't have too much going on today.

https://www.miacathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200402o7nm75

Those in the Cobber hoops alumni family that I've spoken with are very pleased & excited about the hire.  I think it bodes well for CC as Bormann should be able to recruit solidly from the Fargo metro area, North Dakota and NW Mn

I am pleased with the hire as well. I think that your last sentence is very important. CC could have a monopoly on the players in this area with very little private, liberal arts competition in quite the large radius around the school. Bormann having connections to these areas from his previous coaching stints is definitely a positive. From what I have heard, it sounded like they really wanted to hire a coach that is familiar with the area, familiar with Concordia (he graduated in 06) and someone who is understands what it means to be a "D3 coach," and the finalists reflected this.

[tomt4525]

2020 G Joey Kidder (6-3) of New Richmond has committed to Bethel College. Kidder shared Player of the Year honors in the Middle Border Conference with Parker Nielsen of Prescott this season.

[GoldandBlueBU]

2020 G Joey Kidder (6-3) of New Richmond has committed to Bethel College. Kidder shared Player of the Year honors in the Middle Border Conference with Parker Nielsen of Prescott this season.

Nice! Found an article about him - sounds like he intends to play both football and basketball at BU.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

The NCAA is postponing making a decision on UST's move to DI. Sounds like June at the earliest fo r adecision date:

https://www.tommiemedia.com/news/breaking-news-ncaa-postpones-st-thomas-division-i-decision/?fbclid=IwAR2mEftutgGbWBMlMZgUXbTdoOCQpCNxzK-ltr7KibxcQ22uvSNwu1hbBKc

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I've said in other places that maybe a few parties could start rethinking things about UST to D1. I have no one indicating that to me, but just my gut.

First off, with how COVID-19 has shut down things and caused many schools to do some soul searching in terms of losing money or even keeping their doors open I wouldn't be surprised if UST is looking at a jump to DI and thinking ... is that money well spent with an uncertain future? I don't see UST in general being a school that is in danger of closing, but I think with how badly people have been hit in their bank accounts of late that colleges will see a significant decrease in students in the near future. On top of that, while there are always rich alumni who will pour money into a school, the amount of alums who can donate to a school or a cause is going to be significantly hit as well I would think. Discretionary money is not going to be something a majority of people are going to have ... nor did they really have it to begin with. So paying tuition, room, board, etc. is going to be tougher and giving back to an alma mater is tougher. That then makes having funds for anything on campus - but especially significant spending to upgrade facilities, travel, recruiting, scholarships (an endless list) - hard to come by.

I would think UST would have to really think if this move makes any sense at least in the near future and at least compared to maybe six months ago.

Secondly, D1 is likely to be a bit wary of another school getting a pie that suddenly shrunk big time recently. Certainly, one school may not make a difference in terms of numbers, but I would think D1 has to re-think and re-tool everything. Is this the right time for them to open a door for a DIII to jump to DI (without going through DII first)? Are other schools who are getting a smaller piece of the pie going to be as interested in losing even pennies to another institution?

And another thing I think needs to be considered: UST athletics is running into a significant problem when it comes to scheduling. I topic I have talked to people about a lot for the last four-plus months is the fact that at some point UST has to make a decision on scheduling for seasons that start 14 months from now. They are running out (or are already out) of time to schedule. Even in DIII, out-of-conference schedules are being put together two years in advance for most sports other than football - that sport especially in DI is many years in advance. I am under the impression that UST coaches may be looking at the 2021-22 schedules and putting things together, but with opponents they can cancel if they move to DI. Ok ... that might make it reasonable if they stay in DIII, but if they don't they then have to scramble with very little time and very little knowledge to book DI opponents (and conferences have say in how programs schedule out of conference so it helps conferences; unheard of in DIII). Even then, I am sure there are some DIII opponents passing up UST for 2020-21 because they feel there is a reasonable chance the game will be canceled and that institution is now looking to fill a hole.

I do wonder if UST is considering holding off a year, even if this DI jump is approved, and play 2020-21 as an independent DIII institution before then leaping to DI. That or just staying in DIII and finding a new home. I am just starting to think the longer this goes and more it gets delayed (could be June at the earliest before they hear word) the more UST is in no-man's land and that is going to cause more harm than good.

[tomt4525]

York (PA)6'5" F, Gabe Guidinger, has committed to play basketball at St Johns.  Gabe spent most of his life in Wisconsin and his father actually played in the NBA.

[SagatagSam]

I've said in other places that maybe a few parties could start rethinking things about UST to D1. I have no one indicating that to me, but just my gut.

First off, with how COVID-19 has shut down things and caused many schools to do some soul searching in terms of losing money or even keeping their doors open I wouldn't be surprised if UST is looking at a jump to DI and thinking ... is that money well spent with an uncertain future? I don't see UST in general being a school that is in danger of closing, but I think with how badly people have been hit in their bank accounts of late that colleges will see a significant decrease in students in the near future. On top of that, while there are always rich alumni who will pour money into a school, the amount of alums who can donate to a school or a cause is going to be significantly hit as well I would think. Discretionary money is not going to be something a majority of people are going to have ... nor did they really have it to begin with. So paying tuition, room, board, etc. is going to be tougher and giving back to an alma mater is tougher. That then makes having funds for anything on campus - but especially significant spending to upgrade facilities, travel, recruiting, scholarships (an endless list) - hard to come by.

I would think UST would have to really think if this move makes any sense at least in the near future and at least compared to maybe six months ago.

Secondly, D1 is likely to be a bit wary of another school getting a pie that suddenly shrunk big time recently. Certainly, one school may not make a difference in terms of numbers, but I would think D1 has to re-think and re-tool everything. Is this the right time for them to open a door for a DIII to jump to DI (without going through DII first)? Are other schools who are getting a smaller piece of the pie going to be as interested in losing even pennies to another institution?

And another thing I think needs to be considered: UST athletics is running into a significant problem when it comes to scheduling. I topic I have talked to people about a lot for the last four-plus months is the fact that at some point UST has to make a decision on scheduling for seasons that start 14 months from now. They are running out (or are already out) of time to schedule. Even in DIII, out-of-conference schedules are being put together two years in advance for most sports other than football - that sport especially in DI is many years in advance. I am under the impression that UST coaches may be looking at the 2021-22 schedules and putting things together, but with opponents they can cancel if they move to DI. Ok ... that might make it reasonable if they stay in DIII, but if they don't they then have to scramble with very little time and very little knowledge to book DI opponents (and conferences have say in how programs schedule out of conference so it helps conferences; unheard of in DIII). Even then, I am sure there are some DIII opponents passing up UST for 2020-21 because they feel there is a reasonable chance the game will be canceled and that institution is now looking to fill a hole.

I do wonder if UST is considering holding off a year, even if this DI jump is approved, and play 2020-21 as an independent DIII institution before then leaping to DI. That or just staying in DIII and finding a new home. I am just starting to think the longer this goes and more it gets delayed (could be June at the earliest before they hear word) the more UST is in no-man's land and that is going to cause more harm than good.

[I re-post the story I put up on the MIAC football boards about a week ago for the benefit of this discussion]

This could make things really interesting for our friends on the corner of Cretin and Summit:

"A letter from the commissioners of the American Athletic Conference, Mountain West, Mid-American Conference, Sun Belt and Conference USA to NCAA president Mark Emmert asked for temporary relief from financial aid requirements, along with average football attendance. The request was made on behalf of all 350 Division I schools. The commissioners also asked that a moratorium be placed on schools moving into Division I for the length of the waiver."

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29037022/five-fbs-conferences-including-aac-c-usa-ask-ncaa-relax-division-requirements

First the UST to D1 vote gets moved back because of COVID-19, now some schools are looking for a moratorium on transitions to D1.

[SagatagSam]

I do wonder if UST is considering holding off a year, even if this DI jump is approved, and play 2020-21 as an independent DIII institution before then leaping to DI. That or just staying in DIII and finding a new home.

UST will stay in D3 and the MIAC for the 2020-21 season. The big problem presents itself when the 2021-22 school year rolls around, especially if there is a moratorium that is as short as January 1, 2021. Anything longer than that time frame really screws with UST's plans.