New Year’s resolutions for NDSU athletics to consider
The year 2006 is finally over. The most successful year of athletics in recent school history is done. WOOHOO!
Pardon my enthusiasm, but when you cover the NDSU athletic programs all year long, you can only have so many, “greatest wins in school history” before you want it to end.
First Wisconsin in men’s basketball ... then Ball State in football ... then UC Davis in football ... then Marquette in men’s basketball ... then Minnesota in women’s basketball.
Whew. Oh yea, and the “greatest-almost-win in school history” when the football team lost 10-9 to Minnesota. Forgot that one.
Point is, ’06 was an incredibly successful year for NDSU athletics and fans might be in for a big disappointment in 2007. Not because the teams will struggle, but because it is nearly impossible to pull off feats of the same caliber that the programs did in ’06.
And we all know when something is done first, it’s never quite as exciting.
Here are a couple of New Year’s resolutions that will help NDSU athletics to avoid a hangover from ’06 and continue to draw interest to itself. 1) Begin construction on Fargodome expansion.
Right now, there is great interest in the men’s basketball team. And the women’s team, well, is beginning to regain some of the interest it lost when it moved to Division I. They will both be joining the Mid-Continent Conference next season but the arena they currently use would be more suitable for a NAIA program than a Division I team.
The proposal made by Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker would include a 7-8,000-seat addition to the Fargodome. As stressed before, this makes the most sense because it is on campus and creates an intimate setting to watch Bison basketball.
It seems unlikely, but if the core players on the current men’s basketball team want a shot at playing in this new facility, things need to get rolling.
The time is now for Gene Taylor and Co. to work their moneymaking magic and raise some cash for this facility. The city of Fargo will help, but it is going to take a lot of support for NDSU athletics to make this possible. 2) Don’t sweat losses.
Ever since teams at NDSU started pulling off this collection of upsets, there is a remarkable amount of displeasure from everyone after the teams lose to “mid-major” Division I programs.
How soon we forget.
This is the school’s third year playing against Division I competition. There will be many losses, but the focus needs to be on bigger things, like long-term success.
Concentrate on recruiting solid student-athletes. Kids that are great athletes and great students, that are committed to the success of the program, not just themselves.
There is little chance that ’07 will match ’06 with excitement, but this year will be one that shapes NDSU athletics for many years to come.