Possibility: UNOmaha to FCS

[Twentysix]

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/311711/

[darell1976]

A lot of questions about this one. Where would they go? The MVFC said 11 would not work (remember they gave UND that answer when USD got in), so Indy league is not a good option even though the Summit is a very obvious choice. Big Sky Conference? Good traveling partners for UNC, and UND.

[Twentysix]

If they can make financials work and the Summit offers them, UNO will make something happen. Obviously they cannot afford FBS.

[darell1976]

If they can make financials work and the Summit offers them, UNO will make something happen. Obviously they cannot afford FBS.

Would they drop football or hope their life in the Indy League would be very short lived. May have to throw this scenario out there but add UNO and UND in the MVFC, and UND back to the Summit. Although I don't know if Douple wants to deal with UND after all that has happened, plus the big wigs at UND (Kelley, and Faison) are excited about the BSC to give that up. I loved the games against UNO and hope they do move up to D1.

[JBB]

UND wasnt welcome in the MVFC for a number of reasons but the biggest was location. UNO is ideal for the MVFC. 2 divisions with 6-5 would work as would a scheduling set up like we are now seeing in the geographically expansive BSC.

[UNI Pike]

UNO would be able to get quite a few games as an independent FCS, given its location. South Dakota, Northern Iowa, Missouri St, South Dakota State, & Drake would jump at relatively short distance/low cost road games (assuming some sort of home & home arrangement). Plus a number of the OVC teams would be close.

Not saying it would be the best solution over all, but definately a possibility.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

So it sounds like there are a lot of potential landing points: the Missouri Valley or OVC, not to mention the possibility of Summit breaking off and making its own football conference.

[darell1976]

UND wasnt welcome in the MVFC for a number of reasons but the biggest was location. UNO is ideal for the MVFC. 2 divisions with 6-5 would work as would a scheduling set up like we are now seeing in the geographically expansive BSC.

No it wasn't the biggest was the number of conference teams. 10 would work NOT 11. That is a quote from Patty herself.

[FargoBison]

So it sounds like there are a lot of potential landing points: the Missouri Valley or OVC, not to mention the possibility of Summit breaking off and making its own football conference.

The Patriot League will join the FBS before that happens.

[NoCoDanny]

Well the Summit has schduled a site visit so that settles that, well not for football though... xeyebrowx

[JBB]

It might be that the Summit has sway over the MVFC because of the threat to start their own football league which in turn would decimate the MVFC. The MVFC is more in league with the Summit than the MVC.

[slostang]

nt

[RabidRabbit]

BTW - Tom Douple, without specific request, stated that he was open to UND being a Summit member. This was stated to the Argus Leader during their pre-Summit interview.

The Summit membership isn't as much an issue as the MVFC issue. However, if UNO moves up, and UND rejoins the other Dakota schools, the Summit has 6 schools playing FCS football, the MVC 5. The MVFC becomes the Summit football conference. Plus, more of UND sports have the same conference home (swimming, baseball).

[darell1976]

BTW - Tom Douple, without specific request, stated that he was open to UND being a Summit member. This was stated to the Argus Leader during their pre-Summit interview.

The Summit membership isn't as much an issue as the MVFC issue. However, if UNO moves up, and UND rejoins the other Dakota schools, the Summit has 6 schools playing FCS football, the MVC 5. The MVFC becomes the Summit football conference. Plus, more of UND sports have the same conference home (swimming, baseball).

Talk about drama during the offseason.

[GABison]

How is this going to pass muster with the NE legislature? I thought that was an issue back when we were looking at moving up to DI. UN-L kind of liked their monopoly on DI football.xeyebrowx

[UAalum72]

How is this going to pass muster with the NE legislature? I thought that was an issue back when we were looking at moving up to DI. UN-L kind of liked their monopoly on DI football.xeyebrowx
Simple, nobody in Nebraska realizes FCS is Division I.

[doolittledog]

UNO planning to move to D1 and drop football and wrestling.

http://omaha.com/article/20110313/NEWS01/703139891#uno-will-move-to-division-i-drop-football-and-wrestling

UNO just won the D2 wrestling national championship and regularly make the D2 football playoffs. We'll see if this is a ploy to bring out the donors to open their check books. Though I suspect football and wrestling are dead at UNO.

[JMUNJ08]

Simple, nobody in Nebraska realizes FCS is Division I.

I have been to Omaha plenty of times in the past few years and never knew there was UNO football. UNO hockey was advertised otherwise those 'huskers only an hour away rule the roost. Omaha basically leaves for the weekend and take a trip to Lincoln.

There is definitely a thirst for football but I'd be interested to see if they can get big crowds for FCS ball.

[darell1976]

Since Omaha is dropping football can we have your coach former UND coach Pat Behrns back.xnodx

[Hammerhead]

It was the third consecutive D-II wrestling championship. xsmileyclapx I doubt many schools could find big donors to save a wrestling program. Football in Omaha might always have a hard time competing with the Huskers for butts in the seats and money in the bank.



UNO planning to move to D1 and drop football and wrestling.

http://omaha.com/article/20110313/NEWS01/703139891#uno-will-move-to-division-i-drop-football-and-wrestling

UNO just won the D2 wrestling national championship and regularly make the D2 football playoffs. We'll see if this is a ploy to bring out the donors to open their check books. Though I suspect football and wrestling are dead at UNO.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

While Alberts had come to UNO with visions of one day taking UNO football to Division I, he said it soon became clear such a move would create even greater financial hardships.

Requiring large numbers of participants, football is by far the department's most expensive program, its budget currently exceeding revenues it generates by $1.3 million, Alberts said.

With increased costs of scholarships, coaches, travel, recruiting and support services, moving up would only increase the program's net deficit and subsidy requirements, he said.

On average, schools competing at the Football Championship Subdivision level spend $1.7 million more in revenue than they generate. That's even considering their “money games,'' when they collect a big paycheck — and typically take a pounding — from stronger Division I teams.

And those costs don't take into account significant new women's athletic investments that would be required for gender equity.

Many schools that have made the jump to Division I football with financial success have done so with big infusions of institutional support. They typically are in small states where their teams represent the state's highest level of football, Alberts said.

By the time the review was done, Alberts said, it was clear UNO could not move up in football.

This is incredibly sad: a team with a good football history, a solid wrestling history, and a great hockey history, forced to fold two men's sports in large part thanks to Title IX. While the article mentions it and tiptoes around it, that's what the reason really is.

They want football; but Title IX prevents it.

[DJKyR0]

This is incredibly sad: a team with a good football history, a solid wrestling history, and a great hockey history, forced to fold two men's sports in large part thanks to Title IX. While the article mentions it and tiptoes around it, that's what the reason really is.

They want football; but Title IX prevents it.

I'm not sure that's entirely accurate LFN; Big Red (Huskers) is the show in Nebraska and I can imagine legislators weren't too happy to hear the rumor that UNO was moving up and wanted to take football with it. My guess is there would be significant opposition to another D-I football program in the state and with the state of the program's finances it was probably the most attractive of a lot of bad options (not that it's a "good" choice). It sucks to see but the reality is that there is a certain amount of politicking that goes into this level of competition and while it's unfortunate, it's probably a good move in the long term for Maverick athletics.

[Big Al]

This is incredibly sad: a team with a good football history, a solid wrestling history, and a great hockey history, forced to fold two men's sports in large part thanks to Title IX. While the article mentions it and tiptoes around it, that's what the reason really is.

They want football; but Title IX prevents it.

Yeah, but why is football entitled to so many scholarships? I suspect a lot of colleges around the country would have a much easier go of it if the number of football scholarships was halved.

Think about it: 85 scholarships in FBS & 63 scholarships in FCS only serves the interests of the Big 6 conferences. By keeping the barrier of entry so high, the amount of competition -- both for recruits and colleges fielding football -- is reduced.

There is no reason that I can think of where colleges should be fielding more than 30-40 scholarships for football.

[NDB]

the application for Division II is available at ncaa.org.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110313/SPORTS/703139835/1003154

Really well-written article explaining things just a bit more.

Appears to be lots under the covers at UNO.


UNO has had a long line of athletic directors. One guy was here a few months and left to go sell cars. Seriously. Legend Don Leahy came back and solidified things, then handed off to another UNO son, Bob Danenhauer, but even he left, to go work at OPS. Then there were a couple other guys. On top of the lack of vision and courage, there was a scandal in the chancellor’s office. Christensen was brought in to clean it up. He hired Alberts, a former Husker with no experience at the A.D. job. He looked like a figurehead who would probably last one football season.

UNO athletics was a mess, financially and with NCAA Title IX compliance. UNO added four women’s sports in 1997, but it still wasn’t close to having the balance of scholarships for women to the percentage of women enrolled on campus. Say what you want about Title IX and whether football should be compared to women’s sports, but this imbalance was passed along through the years. And UNO feared that the NCAA was going to hammer it for it.

The four women’s sports came about because UNO added Division I hockey in 1997. And while it made sense, the school didn’t have the plan or the D-I budgetary mentality to handle it. So what did it do? It signed a lease to play at Qwest Center Omaha, which increases its debt. Many said it was the thing to do; look at Creighton. Meanwhile, UNO revenues aren’t increasing. They’re staying the same.

UNO, a booming commuter school in the city, tried to have it all without the means — state subsidy or local boosters — to do it. The tab is here. And Christensen and Alberts aren’t running away. They are here like Dave Ramsey, tightening the belt and putting UNO on a new financial direction. They are here to pay the tab. They are cutting football to get the finances right and get the NCAA off their Title IX trail. They said it was this or else athletics as a whole were going away in five years.

Title IX is part of the problem, but I see now a huge part of this is insanity. No state subsidy?

[Model Citizen]

UNO feared that the NCAA was going to hammer it for it.

Hammer it for it, huh? What exactly would the NCAA do?

[Redhawk2010]

Why do people think this would be a good fit for the OVC? The closest two schools in the current OVC to UNO would be Eastern Illinois (8 hours and 48 minutes) and Southeast Missouri State (8 hours and 57 minutes). Also, now SIU Edwardsville who is joining the OVC (but lacks football) is 7.5 hours from UNO.

To Murray 11 hours
To TN-Martin 10 hours and 48 minutes
To Tennessee State 12.5 hours
To Eastern Kentucky 13 hours and 5 minutes
To Jacksonville State 16 hours and 15 minutes
To Tennesee Tech 13 hours and 43 minutes
To Morehead State 13 hours and 39 minutes
To Austin Peay 11 hours and 52 minutes


Why would UNO choose the OVC with this kind of travel? And why would any of these conference schools choose to add UNO with this kind of travel? If the OVC wanted to add a school from a current DII school, North Alabama would make sense. UNO not so much.

[RabidRabbit]

The Summit League invited UNO because of their location, and their long history with the Dakota schools in the NCC. UNO needs more of the Summit sports, so they are sacrificing the two most competitive men's programs, football and wrestling, neither of which is sponsored by the Summit League.

UNO is largely a female dominated enrollment, so to meet title IX, there need to be more women's than men's athletic scholarships awarded.

This proposal is well received by the Summit schools, and addresses Summit interests of remaining at a ten team league, even as Centenary and SUU depart.

[darell1976]

Sioux Football Insider just tweeted this:
Rumor has it that if UNO kept football, the MVFC was coming after UND to complete the 12 team conference. That would have been fun.

Well so much for that idea if Omaha drops football, but I wonder if UND would even think about leaving the BSC especially with the massive exit fee.

[NDB]

especially with the massive exit fee.

How much is this "massive' exit fee?

[darell1976]

How much is this "massive' exit fee?

I believe it was $1,000,000

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sports/bobcats/article_a76f88ac-e871-11df-b0ea-001cc4c002e0.html


If UND decides it isn't rock solid with the agreement it signed Monday, which doesn't require the school to be a Big Sky member for a minimum number of years, Fullerton said there could be a financial penalty. But only if UND goes about it "the wrong way."

Fullerton didn't explain what that way would be, but said if North Dakota was up front about all its dealings before an exit from the conference there would be no buyout fee.

If the school chose to seek a new conference home behind the Big Sky's back, Fullerton said, it would be charged a buyout fee of $1 million.