St. Thomas(MN) to the Summit

[Hammersmith]

Pending a waiver from NCAA to go straight from DIII to DI. Have to believe the Summit has received unofficial word from the NCAA that the wavier will be approved or it wouldn't have gotten this far. Hopefully this means Augustana is off the table for now.

http://www.startribune.com/st-thomas-to-get-invite-to-join-division-i-summit-league/562174952/

 

[ORUalum]

Quote

The NCAA requires a waiver to go directly from Division III to Division I without a stop at Division II. If the waiver is approved, the school will join the Summit League in 2021. The Tommies would then have two more years in the MIAC, which voted St. Thomas out of the conference earlier this year.

__________________

Here's a read why they got booted from their conference.........too much winning

https://www.twincities.com/2019/05/22/st-thomas-kicked-out-of-miac-tommies-football-university/

[Dr. Cornelius]

This would be pretty big for the Dakota Schools to gain entry to the Minneapolis footprint...

[ORUalum]

looks like they have baseball....i'm sure that was about the only thing in the + column for ORU

i would hope there was a some type of promise to build a new hoops venue

[Dr. Cornelius]

Southwest has 5 daily flight TUL - MSP so travel isn't too bad.

[Hammersmith]

23 minutes ago, ORUalum said:

looks like they have baseball....i'm sure that was about the only thing in the + column for ORU

They also have men's soccer, so they help shore up both autobids that are in danger. 

I'd have to believe adding Minneapolis to the ORU recruiting footprint has to be a mild positive. I know you guys aren't typical when it comes to recruiting, but a presence in a top-16 population and media market can't be a bad thing.

[Old Titan]

I have no problem with this development:  solidifies ORU's presence as a private religious school in the conference, it's a relatively easy trip from Tulsa to Minneapolis for all sports, and it beats the heck out of adding another extension campus of a land-grant state school, or another freaking Dakota town with no airport.

This is far-sighted vision of the highest order - great move if it pans out.

[Old Titan]

1 hour ago, Dr. Cornelius said:

This would be pretty big for the Dakota Schools to gain entry to the Minneapolis footprint...

How about for the southern-most school in the league footprint, as well?

"Hey, kid - sign with us, and not only can your family see you play in Minny, at the Dakota schools, and at the tournament in Sioux Falls, but you can also leave the parka and snowshoes at home."

 

[Old Titan]

2 hours ago, Hammersmith said:

Have to believe the Summit has received unofficial word from the NCAA that the wavier will be approved or it wouldn't have gotten this far.

I'm not making the same mistake twice - if you say so, I'm buying it!  lol

[Dr. Cornelius]

33 minutes ago, Old Titan said:

How about for the southern-most school in the league footprint, as well?

"Hey, kid - sign with us, and not only can your family see you play in Minny, at the Dakota schools, and at the tournament in Sioux Falls, but you can also leave the parka and snowshoes at home."

 

 

You mean some players might want to leave Frostbite Falls?

[Old Titan]

I'm just saying:  girls are still wearing shorts around campus this time of year, and they break them back out in February.

[Old Titan]

>>>>>>>>>   GOLDEN EAGLE FOOTBALL IN 2025!   <<<<<<<<<<<<

[Old Titan]

Already moving the needle nationally - intentional or not, this is great publicity:

 

[Dr. Cornelius]

 

[Hammersmith]

1 hour ago, Old Titan said:

I'm not making the same mistake twice - if you say so, I'm buying it!  lol

Just a guess. A logical guess, but only a guess.

[Hammersmith]

1 hour ago, Old Titan said:

>>>>>>>>>   GOLDEN EAGLE FOOTBALL IN 2025!   <<<<<<<<<<<<

This one I don't think so(the Summit League football, not the obvious ORU FB joke  ). 

I've tossed around the idea with some UNI and WIU fans that keep up to speed on their respective schools and are very realistic in their outlooks. They are adamant it won't happen. The WIU fans say WIU would never willingly give up the MVFC for Summit football. They value the connection with the MVC schools too much to give it up for any reason. And they say the reports of WIU's imminent DI demise are greatly exaggerated. I'm tempted to believe them because look at what it takes for a school to be forced to move down. Centenary, anyone? A disaster like Savannah State? Heck, even Chicago State hasn't dropped down yet or dropped out considering how much of a dumpster fire they are. WIU may not be doing well, but they're nowhere near the disaster level that forces a school to DII or DIII. IMO, of course.

The other option I brought up to some UNI and other MVFC fans was to just bring the existing MVFC under the Summit umbrella and move to divisions. On paper it seems like a nice, innocuous move. The MVC schools that play scholarship football would mostly make up the eastern division; the football-playing Summit schools would mostly make up the western. Each school would play all five members of their division and only half(three) of the opposite division. Travel costs would go down for everyone, and most of the MVC schools would not have to play NDSU & SDSU every year(easier schedule for them). But the common response is that there is no way this would happen. The reasons aren't completely rational, but sometimes you just have to accept it.

The MVC schools are very happy being in control of their own sub-conference and are completely unwilling to allow it to come under the Summit banner and be indirectly influenced by the non-football Summit schools. And UNI in particular would try and block it(and UNI is the key player who's support is needed to make it work). UNI would likely be slotted into the western division, and they don't want to give up yearly games with their MVC rivals.

So as logical as it might seem to be on the surface, there are too many moving parts and at least two spanners already stuck in the works.

[Old Titan]

It was just a joke; the very idea of ORU fielding a football team ranks right up there Snoop Dog performing as part of ORU’s homecoming festivities. 

[Hammersmith]

On 10/6/2019 at 2:30 PM, Old Titan said:

It was just a joke; the very idea of ORU fielding a football team ranks right up there Snoop Dog performing as part of ORU’s homecoming festivities. 

Agreed. If you notice, I tried to acknowledge that with my first sentence above.

I only went through the rest because Summit football gets brought up fairly often on the NDSU/SDSU/UND/USD message boards as well as general FCS boards like AnyGivenSaturday and the conference realignment board over at CSNBBS. Honestly, it gets talked to death, and the talk is usually filled with the same misunderstandings and false assumptions. I guess I was just trying to head those off before the topic grabbed too much traction.