UNO Maverick Athletics

[omaha79]

The Utah schools not joining makes sense due to geography but being told no by W Illinois and Lindenwood is definitely concerning. Personally I think Augustana would be a great fit for the Summit, however I could see USD and SDSU blocking it.

What does Augustana add? How do they align with the other schools in the Summit?

They have a noted enrollment of 2,500. The next smallest would be Oral Roberts at 7k.

A new media market? I think Sioux Falls is pretty well covered by SDSU and USD.

All they offer is Denny Sanford backed money and some stability for baseball and men's soccer. Their basketball gym holds 1,900. I'm sure they'd get Denny to open the wallet though to build a new facility, but I don't see the fit outside of geography.

[Louie]

The Utah schools not joining makes sense due to geography but being told no by W Illinois and Lindenwood is definitely concerning. Personally I think Augustana would be a great fit for the Summit, however I could see USD and SDSU blocking it.

What does Augustana add? How do they align with the other schools in the Summit?

They have a noted enrollment of 2,500. The next smallest would be Oral Roberts at 7k.

A new media market? I think Sioux Falls is pretty well covered by SDSU and USD.

All they offer is Denny Sanford backed money and some stability for baseball and men's soccer. Their basketball gym holds 1,900. I'm sure they'd get Denny to open the wallet though to build a new facility, but I don't see the fit outside of geography.

Yeah I agree with you

[Linkin5]

Those are fair points. I would say when your conference is getting turned down by W Illinois and Lindenwood you might not have the best options, though.

Augustana would fit regionally. I believe they play some of their basketball games at the Pentagon which is a top tier facility. As you stated they have access to very deep pockets with Sanford. They already have a D1 hockey team so they are somewhat familiar with the landscape.

The other option which seems like would be a great fit is UNK, although I’m not sure what the politics is with them staying D2 all this time.

[omaha79]

Those are fair points. I would say when your conference is getting turned down by W Illinois and Lindenwood you might not have the best options, though.

Augustana would fit regionally. I believe they play some of their basketball games at the Pentagon which is a top tier facility. As you stated they have access to very deep pockets with Sanford. They already have a D1 hockey team so they are somewhat familiar with the landscape.

The other option which seems like would be a great fit is UNK, although I’m not sure what the politics is with them staying D2 all this time.

Or, the option is for Omaha to continue to grow the program, make themselves attractive and leave before the decision gets made for them. At this point, all it would take is for St. Thomas to bolt for the A-10. Then, dominoes would fall quickly. At some point, I think it will be an inevitability that NDSU takes the other sports to the Mountain West. Maybe SDSU gets antsy if NDSU has success and wants to move FBS and takes their other sports with them. Or, they stay FCS and go to the Big Sky. At that point, what stops North Dakota and South Dakota from going to the Big Sky with them? Oral Roberts and UMKC aren't happy either.

At some point you just have to look at it for what it is and determine if the Summit League is actually fixable with D-II schools or not?

UNK is not going D-1. no way, no how. not in a million years. The University system is broke. UNO cost a ton of money to get them to D-1. Do you think there is enough money in this state university system to take another athletic department to D-1? and, that would mean UNK cuts football and wrestling too. this is a hypothetical though as UNK is more likely to cut athletics entirely than go D-1. UNO was taken to D-1 because it's in a major metropolitan center with a large alumni base. UNK is in the middle of rural Nebraska. It'll never happen in our lifetimes. Do you see the state or donors financing an, at minimum, 7,000 seat arena in Kearney?

[Greg S]

Coach Porter stepping down. Could not respect him more for the reasoning:

[omaha79]

Definitely. I don't think he truly ever got to hit his stride as coach. I'll always feel bad about that. UNO had that great 2019 run and started off 2020 looking like one of the best mid major programs in the country. Then, Covid hit and killed the season. they never quite recaptured that momentum even with the new facility, which is unfortunate. Kinda felt like it was probably time for some type of change because the program has felt stagnant for a bit. Great guy and a great maverick. He also had to deal with UNO's struggles moving into full cost of attendance and NIL world along with even though they had the new facility, no locker rooms or training areas specific to baseball. I think UNO baseball has the potential to be a mid major power, but, it's tough as he never quite got the momentum they deserved.

[nebugeater]

Omaha softball just got upset in the first game of the Summit League tournament. 0-1 to South Dakota

Double elimination, so they are not out, but the road got a lot more difficult
Omaha is 34-11, and S Dakota is 18-33-1

[CBJason]

Omaha bounced back to make it to the conference championship tomorrow. Will face South Dakota again to exact revenge!

[CBJason]

Well they won the first game today but unfortunately lost the second. No automatic bid, no tournament.

[CBJason]

Well they won the first game today but unfortunately lost the second. No automatic bid, no tournament.

[jjjjhskr]

I sure hope the Mavs are working hard to get in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Summit continues to shrink.

[Louie]

What is going in South of the stadiums?

Expansion of the bio building: viewtopic.php?p=427003#p427003

[omaha79]

I sure hope the Mavs are working hard to get in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Summit continues to shrink.

I missed this post. While I have concerns about the Summit and have expressed them here, NDSU has not announced a departure from the Summit. The Mountain West is just for football....at this time. Long term, I'd imagine they would be exploring all options, but financially, the Summit is in their best interests right now for everything but football.

[riceweb]

UNO will be fine. They have absolutely zero aspirations and there'll always be a home for them. UNO would be a poor fit for the Missouri Valley in terms of competitiveness and budget and I really don't think they can justify any additional spending. The ROI simply isn't there, and in terms of perceived threats to UNL, UNO really can't ever appear to be aspirational in any way lest they see their entire athletics program shut down.

[omaha79]

UNO will be fine. They have absolutely zero aspirations and there'll always be a home for them. UNO would be a poor fit for the Missouri Valley in terms of competitiveness and budget and I really don't think they can justify any additional spending. The ROI simply isn't there, and in terms of perceived threats to UNL, UNO really can't ever appear to be aspirational in any way lest they see their entire athletics program shut down.

I disagree with this on every level imaginable.

UNO is looking to grow. UNO is not married to the Summit League. It's every member for themselves in that league. Those that are in the know and have had conversations with members of Omaha athletics administration know that they will continue to evaluate their situation and do what's best for Omaha and that Lincoln has very little to do with those decisions and the board of regents are generally on board with Omaha's growth in athletics.

The Omaha business and philanthropic community has invested heavily in Omaha athletics. It's almost too big to fail in the university system at this point with hundreds of millions spent on Baxter Arena, Tal Andersen, Connie Clausen, and Al Caniglia Fields.

The basketball practice facility with attached women's arena along with the baseball softball locker room/training/administrative facility is further proof of this ongoing investment into Omaha athletics.

This take is an extremely uninformed and just surface level recycled average Joe sports talk radio takes from 15 years ago with no basis in the current reality.

Do better or go sit on the bench.

[BIGO88]

Yeah I think the main issue with the Summit League right now is that they dont seem to be that pro active with all the current college realignment going on. Denver is leaving this year and would imagine with NDSU football leaving that the rest of the sports will follow in a few years. All it would take is for SDSU or St Thomas to get poached by another league and the whole league folds. This happened this year with Tennis when Denver left there was not enough teams so UNO was forced to join the MAC conference and most of the other teams had to fold there Tennis Programs. MVC came and looked at UNO a few years ago during there last realignment and would imagine they gave them feedback on what facilities needed to be improved, which I believe is what we are seeing now with the current facilities upgrades. Wouldn't be surprised to see UNO and UMKC join the MVC in a few years.

[omaha79]

Yeah I think the main issue with the Summit League right now is that they dont seem to be that pro active with all the current college realignment going on. Denver is leaving this year and would imagine with NDSU football leaving that the rest of the sports will follow in a few years. All it would take is for SDSU or St Thomas to get poached by another league and the whole league folds. This happened this year with Tennis when Denver left there was not enough teams so UNO was forced to join the MAC conference and most of the other teams had to fold there Tennis Programs. MVC came and looked at UNO a few years ago during there last realignment and would imagine they gave them feedback on what facilities needed to be improved, which I believe is what we are seeing now with the current facilities upgrades. Wouldn't be surprised to see UNO and UMKC join the MVC in a few years.

I agree with most all of this.

The problem with the Summit is that they made themselves Dakota Centric by design. They created a block of schools who decided they would make themselves the focal point of the league and would ensure whatever happened was in the best interest of North and South Dakota. Everyone else should take it or leave. It is basically a poor mans version of the old Big XII with the Texas schools throwing their weight around.

You had the total lockdown of the basketball tournament in Sioux Falls. I get it on some levels, because it's about money and attendance and it wouldn't have drawn as well in other cities, but created a home game advantage for the Dakota Schools especially SDSU, USD, and NDSU. UND was a later addition that barely cares about anything that's not hockey.

You had Denny Sanford pulling strings behind the scenes for the betterment of the Dakota schools with his wallet.

You have a poor TV situation because the Dakota schools have been resistant to do anything that is not Dakota based Midco Sports.

But honestly, outside of NDSU and only because of the football, the Dakota schools do not have the value they think they do. And, this is why they have been stuck with each other and anyone else that has been able to leave has done so. Denver, IUPUI, IPFW, Oakland, and Western Illinois.

I'd go as far as to say that Omaha has way more value based on school size and metro area than any Dakota school that's not NDSU. SDSU has way less value than people give them credit for outside of football. But, the league really is an island of misfit toys. Omaha can absolutely up their athletic profile, but anyone that follows the school knew they had to up their game on facilities, administration, NIL opportunities, etc.

St. Thomas won't be around long. Everyone knows that. Oral Roberts could bolt too. UMKC has never been happy in the league and has left multiple times. They are upping coaching salaries and facilities. They want out again too.

Will be interesting.