FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[USTBench]

Interesting UST getting 2 athletic directors from Penn State...this makes me believe that they are extremely serious about moving up not staying in division 3...Thoughts?

http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/penn-state-athletics-assistant-ad-cory-chapman-set-to-leave-department,1480662/

Is there something confirming that this guy is actually coming to UST? I wouldn't be surprised but this looks to be speculation, not confirmation.

If it's true, the hockey connections are really interesting.

This also just happened (from Bowling Green press release):

Seven prominent NCAA Division I men's hockey playing institutions have announced the exploration of a new Division I men's hockey conference that would begin play with the 2021-2022 season. The seven institutions include: Bemidji State University; Bowling Green State University; Ferris State University; Lake Superior State University; Michigan Technological University; Minnesota State University, Mankato; and Northern Michigan University.

The group is comprised of institutions rich in history and tradition with a strong commitment to academic and athletic excellence. They are like-minded in their goals and aspirations for the potential new league with a focus on improving regional alignment and the overall student-athlete experience while building natural rivalries within a more compact geographic footprint.

So, essentially, it's the current WCHA teams, less Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska-Fairbanks and Alabama-Huntsville. My guess is the schools mentioned above would most likely welcome another regional school that could support itself financially (unlike the three I just mentioned).

[faunch]

Interesting UST getting 2 athletic directors from Penn State...this makes me believe that they are extremely serious about moving up not staying in division 3...Thoughts?

http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/penn-state-athletics-assistant-ad-cory-chapman-set-to-leave-department,1480662/

Is there something confirming that this guy is actually coming to UST? I wouldn't be surprised but this looks to be speculation, not confirmation.

If it's true, the hockey connections are really interesting.

Well Charley Walters did report that U$T was hiring two assistant AD's.

[Inkblot]

Noticed this tidbit in the June D1 Council Report:

Review of Reclassification Process. (Fairness/Well-Being/Operational) The Strategic Vision and Planning Committee will continue to discuss whether an institution should have an opportunity to reclassify from Division III to Division I, without first requiring that institution be a Division II member, noting the importance of ensuring preparedness for Division I membership.

[faunch]

Chew on this: https://www.twincities.com/2019/07/27/charley-walters-higher-payroll-with-more-wins-is-part-of-the-deal-for-twins-pohlad/

A little birdie says St. Thomas, ousted by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Association, could end up in the Division I Pioneer League for football and the Division I Summit League for its other sports. The university recently hired two assistant athletics directors.

Speaking of MIAC football, the only school interested in playing St. John's in a nonconference game in 2020 is national Division III power Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) in a home-and-home series, but travel expenses would be $50,000.

Carleton College has signed a multiyear athletics apparel deal with Under Armour for its 20 varsity teams.

[TheChucker]

Noticed this tidbit in the June D1 Council Report:

Review of Reclassification Process. (Fairness/Well-Being/Operational) The Strategic Vision and Planning Committee will continue to discuss whether an institution should have an opportunity to reclassify from Division III to Division I, without first requiring that institution be a Division II member, noting the importance of ensuring preparedness for Division I membership.

Great find. Might explain the timing and secrecy of this whole MIAC saga.

[Ralph Turner]

+1 Inkblot and The Chucker

and a belated welcome to the boards!

[formerd3db]

Ralph T,please check your PMs.

[art76]

+K for the dating analogy, Hazz - made me smile.

I got my season tickets for Bethel home games late last week, along with the annual update letter on player depth. In the letter I saw something that got me to wondering how the student athletes at St. Thomas are reacting to the news that the Tommies are leaving the MIAC. What I saw was that at least one Tommie was transferring to Bethel. I don't recall that happening in the recent past. One has to wonder if other players at St. Thomas are looking at moving to other schools to stay in the region/MIAC. Anybody else have some anecdotal info to share? Maybe some of the players know they'll never see the field as the Tommies move up and are gettin', while the gettin' is good. Are the Tommies going to be "decimated" by the outflow of talent, or will they be able to stay cohesive as a squad and actually challenge for the conference title this next season? I'm thinking they struggle to maintain an 8 and 2 record, and could even lose to Concordia and drop to 7 and 3 this season. It's going to be a real interesting season this year in the MIAC.

[faunch]

+K for the dating analogy, Hazz - made me smile.

I got my season tickets for Bethel home games late last week, along with the annual update letter on player depth. In the letter I saw something that got me to wondering how the student athletes at St. Thomas are reacting to the news that the Tommies are leaving the MIAC. What I saw was that at least one Tommie was transferring to Bethel. I don't recall that happening in the recent past. One has to wonder if other players at St. Thomas are looking at moving to other schools to stay in the region/MIAC. Anybody else have some anecdotal info to share? Maybe some of the players know they'll never see the field as the Tommies move up and are gettin', while the gettin' is good. Are the Tommies going to be "decimated" by the outflow of talent, or will they be able to stay cohesive as a squad and actually challenge for the conference title this next season? I'm thinking they struggle to maintain an 8 and 2 record, and could even lose to Concordia and drop to 7 and 3 this season. It's going to be a real interesting season this year in the MIAC.

I haven't heard anything related to this but i agree that if U$T announces they are moving up they could lose some kids. I'm sure it's impacting recruiting as incoming freshman and current high school seniors really have no idea what conference or division U$T will be playing in 3-4 years.
If U$T waits another 6-10 months to announce where they're going it's going to make recruiting the class of 2024 difficult to say the least.

I've also wondered how a move to D2 or D1 could impacting coaches. Guys like Caruso and Tauer (U$T basketball) are good coaches but do they really want to be a D1 coach?

[GoldandBlueBU]

+K for the dating analogy, Hazz - made me smile.

I got my season tickets for Bethel home games late last week, along with the annual update letter on player depth. In the letter I saw something that got me to wondering how the student athletes at St. Thomas are reacting to the news that the Tommies are leaving the MIAC. What I saw was that at least one Tommie was transferring to Bethel. I don't recall that happening in the recent past. One has to wonder if other players at St. Thomas are looking at moving to other schools to stay in the region/MIAC. Anybody else have some anecdotal info to share? Maybe some of the players know they'll never see the field as the Tommies move up and are gettin', while the gettin' is good. Are the Tommies going to be "decimated" by the outflow of talent, or will they be able to stay cohesive as a squad and actually challenge for the conference title this next season? I'm thinking they struggle to maintain an 8 and 2 record, and could even lose to Concordia and drop to 7 and 3 this season. It's going to be a real interesting season this year in the MIAC.

I haven't heard anything related to this but i agree that if U$T announces they are moving up they could lose some kids. I'm sure it's impacting recruiting as incoming freshman and current high school seniors really have no idea what conference or division U$T will be playing in 3-4 years.
If U$T waits another 6-10 months to announce where they're going it's going to make recruiting the class of 2024 difficult to say the least.

I've also wondered how a move to D2 or D1 could impacting coaches. Guys like Caruso and Tauer (U$T basketball) are good coaches but do they really want to be a D1 coach?

I think that's a fair assessment - but I'm guessing there's probably some upside to it, too?  IE - kids who are interested in potentially being in a higher division, and would like to go along for the ride and be able to say that they were a D1 athlete? 

[MUC57]

Ramblings by an outsider (although I think I have lots of friends on this board.)

OAC Media Day is Tuesday August 6 at The Pro Football Hall of Fame (usual site).
I bet Mount Union gets picked to win the conference. (really going out on a limb). Not that exciting.

Now. When is the MIAC Media Day? That could turn out to be more entertaining than usual. Would love to be there and hear Caruso give his pitch. Would also love to hear the behind closed door discussions. Does anybody on this board go to that? In any case, look forward to some feedback on the happenings.

The MIAC is such a standout conference. I know everyone here has nothing but respect for the conference and the teams. I personally hope everything gets worked out to everyone's benefit.

Dlll is the greatest. Let's get back to educating the students and offering the best possible venue for their sports programs!

How about a big "Go MIAC and Go OAC." The season is near! 

[faunch]

Ramblings by an outsider (although I think I have lots of friends on this board.)

OAC Media Day is Tuesday August 6 at The Pro Football Hall of Fame (usual site).
I bet Mount Union gets picked to win the conference. (really going out on a limb). Not that exciting.

Now. When is the MIAC Media Day? That could turn out to be more entertaining than usual. Would love to be there and hear Caruso give his pitch. Would also love to hear the behind closed door discussions. Does anybody on this board go to that? In any case, look forward to some feedback on the happenings.

The MIAC is such a standout conference. I know everyone here has nothing but respect for the conference and the teams. I personally hope everything gets worked out to everyone's benefit.

Dlll is the greatest. Let's get back to educating the students and offering the best possible venue for their sports programs!

How about a big "Go MIAC and Go OAC." The season is near! 

I don't know if that's a thing.

[Ron Boerger]

+K for the dating analogy, Hazz - made me smile.

I got my season tickets for Bethel home games late last week, along with the annual update letter on player depth. In the letter I saw something that got me to wondering how the student athletes at St. Thomas are reacting to the news that the Tommies are leaving the MIAC. What I saw was that at least one Tommie was transferring to Bethel. I don't recall that happening in the recent past. One has to wonder if other players at St. Thomas are looking at moving to other schools to stay in the region/MIAC. Anybody else have some anecdotal info to share? Maybe some of the players know they'll never see the field as the Tommies move up and are gettin', while the gettin' is good. Are the Tommies going to be "decimated" by the outflow of talent, or will they be able to stay cohesive as a squad and actually challenge for the conference title this next season? I'm thinking they struggle to maintain an 8 and 2 record, and could even lose to Concordia and drop to 7 and 3 this season. It's going to be a real interesting season this year in the MIAC.

I haven't heard anything related to this but i agree that if U$T announces they are moving up they could lose some kids. I'm sure it's impacting recruiting as incoming freshman and current high school seniors really have no idea what conference or division U$T will be playing in 3-4 years.
If U$T waits another 6-10 months to announce where they're going it's going to make recruiting the class of 2024 difficult to say the least.

I've also wondered how a move to D2 or D1 could impacting coaches. Guys like Caruso and Tauer (U$T basketball) are good coaches but do they really want to be a D1 coach?

Going from D3 to D1 would involve a huge increase in both pay and prestige for coaches.  Would have to think Caruso would jump at the chance and at least that Tauer has his eyes open about the possibility. 

[MUC57]

Ramblings by an outsider (although I think I have lots of friends on this board.)

OAC Media Day is Tuesday August 6 at The Pro Football Hall of Fame (usual site).
I bet Mount Union gets picked to win the conference. (really going out on a limb). Not that exciting.

Now. When is the MIAC Media Day? That could turn out to be more entertaining than usual. Would love to be there and hear Caruso give his pitch. Would also love to hear the behind closed door discussions. Does anybody on this board go to that? In any case, look forward to some feedback on the happenings.

The MIAC is such a standout conference. I know everyone here has nothing but respect for the conference and the teams. I personally hope everything gets worked out to everyone's benefit.

Dlll is the greatest. Let's get back to educating the students and offering the best possible venue for their sports programs!

How about a big "Go MIAC and Go OAC." The season is near! 

I don't know if that's a thing.

Wow! That would be a surprise! 

[USTBench]

+K for the dating analogy, Hazz - made me smile.

I got my season tickets for Bethel home games late last week, along with the annual update letter on player depth. In the letter I saw something that got me to wondering how the student athletes at St. Thomas are reacting to the news that the Tommies are leaving the MIAC. What I saw was that at least one Tommie was transferring to Bethel. I don't recall that happening in the recent past. One has to wonder if other players at St. Thomas are looking at moving to other schools to stay in the region/MIAC. Anybody else have some anecdotal info to share? Maybe some of the players know they'll never see the field as the Tommies move up and are gettin', while the gettin' is good. Are the Tommies going to be "decimated" by the outflow of talent, or will they be able to stay cohesive as a squad and actually challenge for the conference title this next season? I'm thinking they struggle to maintain an 8 and 2 record, and could even lose to Concordia and drop to 7 and 3 this season. It's going to be a real interesting season this year in the MIAC.

I haven't heard anything related to this but i agree that if U$T announces they are moving up they could lose some kids. I'm sure it's impacting recruiting as incoming freshman and current high school seniors really have no idea what conference or division U$T will be playing in 3-4 years.
If U$T waits another 6-10 months to announce where they're going it's going to make recruiting the class of 2024 difficult to say the least.

I've also wondered how a move to D2 or D1 could impacting coaches. Guys like Caruso and Tauer (U$T basketball) are good coaches but do they really want to be a D1 coach?

If the news about allowing reclassification from DIII to DI being discussed is true, and the rumors of UST potentially joining the Pioneer League have any semblance of accuracy, then UST isn't too far from being able to compete in that conference right now. I've seen UND/NDSU play many Pioneer League teams, and while they are well-coached and usually quite disciplined (read: can keep the score respectable), they're just a different kind of athlete than what you'd find at the top levels of the FCS.

I think Caruso is more than capable of handling that transition, he'd have the Twin Cities mostly to himself for recruiting (considering UND, NDSU, SDSU, USD would probably be pitching different guys) and would be competing with Drake/Valpo in Chicago. If the overall intention is to ease into FCS during the transition in the non-scholarship Pioneer League, I think that's a decent plan. Less stress of navigating a scholarship behemoth like football, and puts less pressure on the administration to find an equal number of women's scholarships.

If the ultimate goal being potential membership with the MVFC, I think Caruso knows that landscape too. He has recruited against SDSU, USD, UND, NDSU and Augustana. I think the big problem then becomes, deciding which men's sports to cut and which women's sports get funded.

As for hoops, I think if UST gets a Summit League invite that will be a whole new animal for Tauer. Every AAU tournament, ABCD camp, Nike Camp, in the area will have 5 or 6 Summit League coaches, and they all recruit Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois: HARD. Recruiting Division 1 against guys who've been highly successful at Division II and Division 1 is bloodsport.

It will be interesting.