The NEW Official Thread of the Augustana Vikings

[njmav1]

It's one thing for players to go to Emporia, but at least they're mostly out of sight, out of mind. It really sucks balls to have to watch Kirkman at Mankato for the next three years.

No guarantees in the portal era.

[Stanger86]

It's one thing for players to go to Emporia, but at least they're mostly out of sight, out of mind. It really sucks balls to have to watch Kirkman at Mankato for the next three years.

Touche

[MrAugustana]

Wow, Caden Kirkman is going to Mankato:

https://twitter.com/caden_kirkman/st...ahmcFAZCA&s=19

Margs is unscrupulous... Taking transfers from in conference rivals. Kirkman is a good one. It's like your sister dating a perverted acquaintance of yours. Mavs fans will enjoy his play.

Some thoughts....

I’d be curious to hear you elaborate on how MSU winning the Regional (or worse, the National Championship) ultimately benefits Augie. I personally see the negative results of that (better recruiting ammunition for Mankato, growth in fan support, increase in booster donations) but I genuinely struggle to see how Mankato’s success is a positive for Augustana University.

And...

Bringing this back up, as I’ve now seen about 50 tweets of the game-winner (including from people with significant followings like Adam Thielen, etc.) and read it was the #1 play on SportsCenter last night… I’d still love to understand how any of this actually benefits Augustana University (or any other NSIC school that isn’t MSU-Mankato) and warrants cheering for the Mavs rather than a non-NSIC team that doesn’t compete directly in the same geographical footprint. Right now, Mankato is getting more hype and buzz everywhere than it’s gotten in the last 4-5 years combined. Why would a fan of another team that directly competes with MSU be happy about that?

As of now, I’m a Ferris State fan. I genuinely want to hear feedback on why non-Mankato fans are cheering for the Mavs. Other than just “it’s fun because we play against them,” or the aforementioned argument that it’s somehow better for the conference in some not-particularly-quantifiable way.

Even the “stronger league breeds better competition” argument doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. Is a kid from Mitchell, SD or Springfield, MN actually saying, “Well…Augustana seems like a decent school, but since an MIAA won the National Championship for several years, I’d rather go play for a team in that conference. Better competition, after all.” ? I personally doubt it, but maybe I”m wrong on that. I think the league is known for being good either way, and MSU losing in the Regional Championship probably wasn’t going to change that. So unless someone wants to explain that argument more thoroughly, I’m not exactly sold on it either.

And also...

My point is that, if you’re a fan of one team specifically (like I am with Augie, like simple used to be with St. Cloud, like zimmy21 is with Mankato), the success of other in-conference foes is detrimental to the future success of the team I support.

For example, let’s say Mankato wins the National Championship this year, and the next Ryan Bruggeman or Aeron Stevens is being recruited by Brad Bigler. And toward the end of his recruitment, Margenthaler jumps in because one of his transfers doesn’t work out, and fictional future Ryan Bruggeman is a good fit for his Maverick squad. I would contend that it is not beneficial—that it is, in fact, detrimental—for the Mustangs if Margs can say to Newbruggeman, “Why choose SMSU, where you may be competing for a Regional bid (if that), when you can come play for me, where we win National Championships? Oh, did I mention we have a new state-of-the-art locker room because our donors ponied up $X0,000 to renovate since they want to see us win a few more National Championships? Oh, and because of our raised profile, we’ve got some really great NIL options for you here in Mankato because all of the businesses are getting on board thanks to all the buzz in town.”

I personally would have to think that line of thinking will influence a potential recruit. So if I’m an NSIC fan, why would I want that for an opposing program?

To me, it’s less about blind loyalty to my team, and more about the logical conclusion of a rival achieving that level of success and taking advantage of it in a way that is detrimental to the success of the program I support.

It's one thing for players to go to Emporia, but at least they're mostly out of sight, out of mind. It really sucks balls to have to watch Kirkman at Mankato for the next three years.

[Augieholic]

At least it's not USF.

[vikingfaithful]

I just followed him on Twitter. I wonder if he likes chocolate milk?

Kirkman entered the portal on his own accord, Matt just did the smart thing and offered him a scholarship. He played really well as a true freshman.

[laker]

Margs is unscrupulous... Taking transfers from in conference rivals. Kirkman is a good one. It's like your sister dating a perverted acquaintance of yours. Mavs fans will enjoy his play.

I just followed him on Twitter. I wonder if he likes chocolate milk?

[vikingfaithful]

Figures. Eagins started a trend for the Mavs.

Margs is unscrupulous... Taking transfers from in conference rivals. Kirkman is a good one. It's like your sister dating a perverted acquaintance of yours. Mavs fans will enjoy his play.

[laker]

Figures. Eagins started a trend for the Mavs.

Just saw that on Twitter.

[Stanger86]

Wow, Caden Kirkman is going to Mankato:

https://twitter.com/caden_kirkman/st...ahmcFAZCA&s=19

Figures. Eagins started a trend for the Mavs.

[AU Vikings]

Wow, Caden Kirkman is going to Mankato:

https://twitter.com/caden_kirkman/st...ahmcFAZCA&s=19

[Augieholic]

Cody keeps cookin'.

Think about the size Cody will be able to throw out there each minute of the game. The only two guys in a theoretical rotation under 6'5 are the Fergusons.

Obviously there are no guarantees in the portal era but every single signee has at least two years of eligibility left. It feels a lot more like a reload than a rebuild.

[Blue Ridge Viking]

In the event that Kirkman doesn’t pull a Brady Helgren and come back to the Vikings, Kraft will be a big-time addition for Coach Schilling’s first season.

Welcome to Augie, all you SDSU transfers. In a past life, I might have been torn about adding a bunch of Jackrabbits to the roster. Now I’m just excited for the season to start.

Props to Coach Schilling as well, making this happen on what is currently a staff of zero as far as I’m aware.

Schilling certainly has earned his first paycheck, and then some. To get the caliber of transfers (at least on paper) that he has is quite the accomplishment and bodes well for future recruiting/portal periods.

Much more optimistic for next year than I was two weeks or so ago. Now, what is Caden Kirkman waiting for? A private jet to Emporia, Kan.?

[MrAugustana]

Augie gets Conner Kraft from SDSU as well:

https://twitter.com/connerkraft1/sta...Q4dNWLe5Q&s=19

In the event that Kirkman doesn’t pull a Brady Helgren and come back to the Vikings, Kraft will be a big-time addition for Coach Schilling’s first season.

Welcome to Augie, all you SDSU transfers. In a past life, I might have been torn about adding a bunch of Jackrabbits to the roster. Now I’m just excited for the season to start.

Props to Coach Schilling as well, making this happen on what is currently a staff of zero as far as I’m aware.

[AU Vikings]

Augie gets Conner Kraft from SDSU as well:

https://twitter.com/connerkraft1/sta...Q4dNWLe5Q&s=19

[AU Vikings]

Arhman Lewis officially commits to Emporia State and Casey Schlatter updated his Twitter profile that he's an assistant coach at Emporia State as well.