Today, the University of North Dakota announced that it’s athletics department will expand the awarding of full amended grant-in-aid to all student-athletes on athletic aid beginning with the 2016-17 academic year.
This is a very smart move by UND athletic director Brian Faison. UND fans should be very happy about this revelation. Faison continues to go out and make the right moves.
What does this mean? UND is joining its rival to the south in offering cost of attendance stipends. And why shouldn’t they? UND is competing against BSC schools and the other Dakota schools, too. To remain relevant, UND had to make this move.
Apparently, some aren’t all that enamored with UND’s decision in the both the Big Sky Conference and the college hockey world. Or maybe they were just caught off guard. Now the other BSC schools will probably have to follow suit, or at least give the move some serious consideration. If they haven’t already. Check out Sky Line Sports response:
UND joined the Big Sky as a full-fledged member in 2012. While the results in competition have been mixed, the school’s ability to pour money into the campus as a whole and the athletic department specifically is turning heads.
Wednesday’s announcement got the attention of Montana State athletic director Peter Fields, Montana athletic director Kent Haslam and Eastern Washington AD Bill Chaves. Each of the three are the heads of the three most powerful, successful and influential athletic departments in the Big Sky outside of Northern Arizona.
While UND’s football program is on the rise with head coach Bubba Schweigert, it has stumbled mightily in it’s first three seasons. Last season was a rebuilding season for a new head coach. Schweigert didn’t have much time to put together a roster. I am going to cut him some slack. With coach Schweigert at the helm, UND should be a force in FCS football.
UND’s other BSC sports have given their fans hope. Or at least a glimpse of what the futures holds. Football aside, I don’t think it’s all that fair to classify UND’s results on the playing field as mixed. Just off the top of my head, this is what I came up with.
The University of North Dakota joined the Big Sky Conference prior to the 2012-13 season. So, basically this is the fourth year of UND’s membership in the BSC.
This is one of the reasons I take issue with that short sighted statement. In UND’s second season in the BSC, the UND women won the 2014 Big Sky Conference regular season & tournament championships. UND head coach Travis Brewster also took his women to the 2014 NCAA tourney. If I was Faison, I would get coach Brewster locked into a long-term deal soon. In his four seasons as head coach, Brewster has a 50-43 record.
Mixed reviews. Yes, I am scoffing and rolling my eyes.
The Men’s Basketball team finished tied for second in the BSC during the 2013-14 season. In three seasons, head coach Brian Jones teams have compiled a 28-30 record. This record includes two 12-8 seasons. Let’s not forget that some UND fans wanted coach Jones gone because he had one sub-par season. UND fans expect winners and won’t accept losing in their high-profile sports.
The Woman’s volleyball team has had some decent success. 2013 Big Sky Conference co-champs and the 2014 Big Sky-North Division champs. I don’t think those are mixed results for a university that is just finally getting up to speed as a full Division I member. Some of the other member schools have been in the BSC for 40+ years.
College Hockey Not Immune
Last March, UND announced that it would give out the cost of attendance stipends the men’s hockey team. This shouldn’t be a mystery to anyone. This past week, the Grand Forks Herald released the details of this move (Copy Right Schloss). The announcement included the UND women’s team, too.
Whether people want to recognize it or not, UND is a Division I hockey powerhouse. They have to look out for their own interests. When they do, it’s considered selfish and self-serving. I guess the other seven schools didn’t benefit from being in the NCHC the last two seasons? I think the cost of attendance stipends are a good thing.
When college hockey was going through re-alignment, these were the same people that were blaming UND for blowing up the college hockey landscape. After two years, I don’t see this catastrophic damage that some predicted. However, there are some that just can’t get past the creation of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. You know who these bloggers are. If the NCHC was such a bad thing for college hockey, why were schools begging to get in? Crickets.
Today, College Hockey News weighed in on UND’s announcement.
Now, recall that the NCHC was created because those member schools — North Dakota being a major ringleader — believed they needed to “keep up with the Big Ten,” which had split off to form a new conference, and didn’t want to saddled with the leftover bottom-rung chaff in the old WCHA.
Suddenly, that plan was thwarted by the creation of these “Power 5” rules.
But the NCAA allowed for any other school to match the Power 5 if it wanted to. So far, North Dakota and fellow NCHC school Miami have announced they would give “full cost of attendance” scholarships. Others will probably follow in due time.
“This is a necessary step that empowers our coaches to continue recruiting high-caliber student-athletes,” UND athletic director (and chair of the Men’s Ice Hockey Committee) Brian Faison said. “It puts our coaches on equal financial footing when competing against regional peer institutions for the best recruits.” (Adam Wodon, College Hockey News)
UND is smaller midmajor competing against much larger institutions for a piece of the pie. Others in college hockey are doing the same thing. I don’t see the college hockey media pundits calling out Minnesota State-Mankato or Bowling Green State University for doing the same thing. Just saying.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
