Should Jamestown be accepted into the NSIC?

[Millsy]

It's fun to laugh these things off, but they are 100% valuable from a conference perspective. The conference has to think about more than just wins and losses. They think about travel....how long are STUDENT-athletes out of class. How much does a school's travel budget need to be. How many nights are they staying in hotels. These things matter. They are not fun to think about as fans, but they are absolutely talked about in league meetings.

Very valid points. All one has to do is look at D-I college hockey and look at what happened to Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska-Fairbanks and Alabama-Huntsville during the last round of conference realignment. While they had decent/established hockey programs, all were left without homes due to those issues noted above.

EDIT: I know Alabama-Huntsville is now defunct, so one could argue if it was actually a decent/established program. When they had the backing of the Alabama Board of Trustees, they were a solid program (I saw them A LOT with Bemidji). But when Alabama-Tuscaloosa football wanted even more money for stadium and player experience upgrades, UAH hockey and the athletic budget at Alabama-Birmingham took the financial hits.

[Stanger86]

Jamestown will likely end up similar to Mary and Minot, trying to bring in players (for football) from all over hoping some will work out and/or stick.

If Jamestown gets to a point where they are 4th in the all-sports standings like University of Mary has been each of the last two years, that is absolutely a win for the conference. I know football is the only thing people like to talk about on this forum, but they are making these decisions for the athletic department as a whole, not just for football.

[njmav1]

If Jamestown gets to a point where they are 4th in the all-sports standings like University of Mary has been each of the last two years, that is absolutely a win for the conference. I know football is the only thing people like to talk about on this forum, but they are making these decisions for the athletic department as a whole, not just for football.

I get your point, but does Mary being 4th in all sports really doesn't benefit the conference overall? Unfortunately, it is all about football and basketball (men's and women's). I think that AU and MSU basketball championships as well as Northern's finals appearance were due to the increased competitiveness within the conference. If the addition of Jamestown to the conference is to be a win, they have to make football and basketball more competitive, not just be another game on the schedule that's an easy win for the top schools.

Again, just my opinion.

[vikingfaithful]

I get your point, but does Mary being 4th in all sports really doesn't benefit the conference overall? Unfortunately, it is all about football and basketball (men's and women's). I think that AU and MSU basketball championships as well as Northern's finals appearance were due to the increased competitiveness within the conference. If the addition of Jamestown to the conference is to be a win, they have to make football and basketball more competitive, not just be another game on the schedule that's an easy win for the top schools.

Again, just my opinion.

As a fan I understand your opinion completely. If Au wins a baseball, Mary, W XC, Wayne volleyball National Championships, it's an monumental achievement for those student athletes as the men's bb teams winning a natty. As fans we focus on the big 2 sports, it's still about the student athletes in college and their experience.

[Purple Mav Man]

I get your point, but does Mary being 4th in all sports really doesn't benefit the conference overall? Unfortunately, it is all about football and basketball (men's and women's). I think that AU and MSU basketball championships as well as Northern's finals appearance were due to the increased competitiveness within the conference. If the addition of Jamestown to the conference is to be a win, they have to make football and basketball more competitive, not just be another game on the schedule that's an easy win for the top schools.

Again, just my opinion.

This is part of the whole, “what value does Jamestown bring?” question. They bring geography. Which isn’t the worst thing, but they do not make the conference better. Just more convenient.

[zimmy21]

This is part of the whole, “what value does Jamestown bring?” question. They bring geography. Which isn’t the worst thing, but they do not make the conference better. Just more convenient.

The answer is wins for Minot/UMC/Mary in athletic events

[njmav1]

The answer is wins for Minot/UMC/Mary in athletic events

Minot's basketball isn't bad. Actually it's been good for the conference.

[Stanger86]

And they won't. Jamestown will be the Crookston of the west.

I disagree. (I know, shocker)

I legitimately believe that they will not spend a single year at the very bottom of the all-sports standings. Even just the very fact that Jamestown offers more NSIC-sponsored sports (these are not the ones in jeopardy of being cut) than UMC gives them an immediate step up from the Golden Eagles.

[Purple Mav Man]

Minot's basketball isn't bad. Actually it's been good for the conference.

They certainly aren’t. Fairly decent in fact, of late. So it’ll likely be more wins for them, as zimmy stated 🙂

[Purple Mav Man]

I disagree. (I know, shocker)

I legitimately believe that they will not spend a single year at the very bottom of the all-sports standings. Even just the very fact that Jamestown offers more NSIC-sponsored sports (these are not the ones in jeopardy of being cut) than UMC gives them an immediate step up from the Golden Eagles.

I agree. No one will touch Crookston there since they basically offer 3 sports.

[oldyellaHer69]

Mary game #1, first D2 win one year early coming up #JIMS

[SW_Mustang]

Odd thing is Crookston has had a solid baseball team for the last several years. Maybe the only thing they have going for them.

NSIC baseball is great. Kinda wish more people cared about it, but it is what it is.

[Stanger86]

Odd thing is Crookston has had a solid baseball team for the last several years. Maybe the only thing they have going for them.

NSIC baseball is great. Kinda wish more people cared about it, but it is what it is.

I've always thought it takes someone with local ties to a school or region, or at least a commitment to recruiting regionally, to really develop a program at these smaller schools. What do ya know, arguably the two winningest coaches UMC has had in the last decades are Mike Roysland in WBB (local legend up there) and Steve Gust in baseball (both grew up and coached in region).

[SW_Mustang]

I've always thought it takes someone with local ties to a school or region, or at least a commitment to recruiting regionally, to really develop a program at these smaller schools. What do ya know, arguably the two winningest coaches UMC has had in the last decades are Mike Roysland in WBB (local legend up there) and Steve Gust in baseball (both grew up and coached in region).

I agree. When it comes to small college sports, I like a mix of coaches who know the local stuff and administrators that know the greater world beyond it.

Obviously that's an ideal situation to get a mix of perspectives and the application of such is somewhere in the middle.

[Purple Mav Man]

I've always thought it takes someone with local ties to a school or region, or at least a commitment to recruiting regionally, to really develop a program at these smaller schools. What do ya know, arguably the two winningest coaches UMC has had in the last decades are Mike Roysland in WBB (local legend up there) and Steve Gust in baseball (both grew up and coached in region).

It’s especially true at high schools with University in their name. A la Crookston.

And in remote areas where people don’t trust a name they don’t know.