Nebraska-Omaha to move to Division 1

[shocker3]

So will they play in CU's house?

plan to play at the civic auditorium with plans on building a new arena for basketball down the road. not sure if it will also house the hockey rink they plan to build.

(and now that i posted that i might have to actually read the weird herald article instead of just skimming it.)

Wow that will be a big change for UNO. They usually draw in the hundreds for their basketball games (HOCKEY is THE sport at UNO).

The UNO hockey team currently plays at the Qwest Center (CU's basketball home).

900 people won't look good in the 8900 seat civic auditorium.

i guess they plan on stealing fans from creighton. about the only place i can see them getting more fans from. the stupid thing is they are planning on basketball to pay the bills in the future. part of their thinking is getting the buy games then possibly winning the summit (i snickered at that.) to get into the dance.

there also was talk of the whole conference they were in moving up to D-1 together a few years ago.

I think you are right. If I were Creighton I would be very afraid of this move.

Right now Omaha sports fans support UNL. Creighton has managed to break through in Basketball and UNO has been able to break through in hockey.

If UNO is going to try to make basketball a revenue sport it has to come at Creighton's expense.

I do think there is a little politics involved with the dropping of football and wrestling. Back when I still lived in Omaha, the Nebraska Board of Regents tried to get UNO to drop football.

Football and wrestling are both big sports at UNL. I have a feeling that at least some of the Nebraska Board of Regents felt a threat to UNL if UNO went division 1 in those sports.

I would bet that dropping football and wrestling was part of a deal to get the Regents to support UNO moving up to division 1.

[lostshocker]

I would bet that dropping football and wrestling was part of a deal to get the Regents to support UNO moving up to division 1.

nicely covered up by the summit not having those sports.

[DwShock]

I live in Omaha and people are not happy about them dropping Wrestling and to some extent football. But I think I would support UNO D1 basketball. I hate Creighton after all. GO SHOX

[Aargh]

That means 13 basketball players that are not currently D1 players will become D1 players. UNO isn't going to get all 13, so several other schools will end up diluting their talent as the currently non-D1 players get added to the ranks of D1.

UNO is likely to recruit Nebraska and Iowa, areas that are currently recruited heavily by the MVC. The dilution of D1 talent could easily affect the Valley.

The NCAA has pretty much gone the way of MLB. Expand until the pool of players is exhausted and then expand some more. In my lifetime, what is considered a decent MLB ERA has gone up two full points. One of the causes is thought to be that there aren't enough pitchers with true MLB talent to fill all the roster spots. The same thing is happening in D1 ball.

In both MLB and the NCAA, the wealthy teams are not affected. The NCAA might want to take a look at the models of MLB and the NFL. The NFL uses the salary cap to keep the playing field level for the large and small market teams and splits revenues in ways that help even the playing field. Fan interest and revenues have soared with that approach. MLB lets the few wealthy teams control everything and fan interest and revenues are dropping.

[shox1989]

That means 13 basketball players that are not currently D1 players will become D1 players. UNO isn't going to get all 13, so several other schools will end up diluting their talent as the currently non-D1 players get added to the ranks of D1.

UNO is likely to recruit Nebraska and Iowa, areas that are currently recruited heavily by the MVC. The dilution of D1 talent could easily affect the Valley.

The NCAA has pretty much gone the way of MLB. Expand until the pool of players is exhausted and then expand some more. In my lifetime, what is considered a decent MLB ERA has gone up two full points. One of the causes is thought to be that there aren't enough pitchers with true MLB talent to fill all the roster spots. The same thing is happening in D1 ball.

In both MLB and the NCAA, the wealthy teams are not affected. The NCAA might want to take a look at the models of MLB and the NFL. The NFL uses the salary cap to keep the playing field level for the large and small market teams and splits revenues in ways that help even the playing field. Fan interest and revenues have soared with that approach. MLB lets the few wealthy teams control everything and fan interest and revenues are dropping.

The NFL is basically socialistic. The owners share nearly all of the revenues equally. It is a very wierd set up and it always amazed me that it was so easily accepted by all of the owners (I would think the owners in large markets might want to go out on their own and make more money).

But I guess when everyone is making so much money, even the owners in the big markets don't care about sharing.

[DoubleJayAlum]

I think you are right. If I were Creighton I would be very afraid of this move.

Right now Omaha sports fans support UNL. Creighton has managed to break through in Basketball and UNO has been able to break through in hockey.

If UNO is going to try to make basketball a revenue sport it has to come at Creighton's expense.

I do think there is a little politics involved with the dropping of football and wrestling. Back when I still lived in Omaha, the Nebraska Board of Regents tried to get UNO to drop football.

Football and wrestling are both big sports at UNL. I have a feeling that at least some of the Nebraska Board of Regents felt a threat to UNL if UNO went division 1 in those sports.

I would bet that dropping football and wrestling was part of a deal to get the Regents to support UNO moving up to division 1.

I don't think Creighton fans are afraid of UNO. They will essentially be like our version of UMKC.

One thing that may be of interest to Shocker fans is what happened to UNO football. UNO has been playing football forever. A couple of years ago, most of their conference mates (ND, South Dakota St., etc) made the jump to D1 and their small fanbase got even smaller. Now, with the opportunity to jump up to D1 themselves, they've instead decided to drop football entirely because they wouldn't be able to make it financially due to all the extra scholarships plus the Title IX requirements.

[shox1989]

I think you are right. If I were Creighton I would be very afraid of this move.

Right now Omaha sports fans support UNL. Creighton has managed to break through in Basketball and UNO has been able to break through in hockey.

If UNO is going to try to make basketball a revenue sport it has to come at Creighton's expense.

I do think there is a little politics involved with the dropping of football and wrestling. Back when I still lived in Omaha, the Nebraska Board of Regents tried to get UNO to drop football.

Football and wrestling are both big sports at UNL. I have a feeling that at least some of the Nebraska Board of Regents felt a threat to UNL if UNO went division 1 in those sports.

I would bet that dropping football and wrestling was part of a deal to get the Regents to support UNO moving up to division 1.

I don't think Creighton fans are afraid of UNO. They will essentially be like our version of UMKC.

One thing that may be of interest to Shocker fans is what happened to UNO football. UNO has been playing football forever. A couple of years ago, most of their conference mates (ND, South Dakota St., etc) made the jump to D1 and their small fanbase got even smaller. Now, with the opportunity to jump up to D1 themselves, they've instead decided to drop football entirely because they wouldn't be able to make it financially due to all the extra scholarships plus the Title IX requirements.

There is no reason to fear UNO basketball right now, they have no fan base. But if they move up to division 1, make it a revenue sport, and play in the Civic Auditorium -that pretty much has to cut into Creighton.

Right now I know a lot of people who have CU season basketball tickets and UNO hockey tickets. They manage to go to both (the games are never at the same time since they both play at the Q).

I wonder how many of those people might switch to UNO basketball?

[shocker3]

I would bet that dropping football and wrestling was part of a deal to get the Regents to support UNO moving up to division 1.

nicely covered up by the summit not having those sports.

It is a nice little cover up they are using, but I don't buy it.

First, the Summit doesn't have hockey either, but UNO isn't dropping that sport (nor should they).

Second, Several Summit members play either football or wrestling or both. While the league doesn't officially sponsor those sports, some members do participate in them. UNO could do the same or maybe with UNO joining the conference wrestling could become a conference sport (I don't think they would add football).

With 5 University of Nebraska Regents immediately saying they support the move for UNO to go division 1, I have to believe a deal was cut ahead of time for UNO to drop football and wrestling in exchange for that support.

[shocker3]

One of UNO's biggest financial supporters believes UNO is dropping football to help UNL:

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110315/NEWS01/703159891/0#sokol-mavs-sacrificed-for-huskers

It is a very long article, here are a few interesting highlights:

David Sokol said Athletic Director Trev Alberts told him last year there was talk that the University of Nebraska Board of Regents would never approve a step up to lower Division I for the Mavericks, out of concern that the move would undercut the Huskers.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Director Tom Osborne, who coached Alberts during his All-America football career in Lincoln, also had told Alberts he couldn't support such a move, Sokol said.

And then there are the denials:

In the discussions of UNO's athletic future, there was never any contemplation that its football team would play on the same level as UNL's Cornhuskers. If UNO football had gone to Division I, it would have played in the Football Championship Subdivision, the group of smaller Division I schools formerly known as I-AA. Osborne told The World-Herald on Monday that he can't recall ever registering opposition to a UNO step up to that subdivision.

Osborne acknowledged that if UNO had made such a move he “wouldn't be jumping up and down about it.'' He said having a Football Championship Subdivision school in the state might be attractive to some players who otherwise might have chosen UNL. But such a change wouldn't have upset him, he said.

And then there is the dis-belief of the denials:

Despite the denials, Sokol refused to believe that regents politics weren't involved. “(Christensen) was told and knows full well if you ever get there, the answer is no, so don't go there,'' said Sokol, chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. and other Berkshire Hathaway divisions.

That is it in a nutshell. A very long story condensed for quick reading.

[SHOCKvalue]

I don't think Creighton fans are afraid of UNO. They will essentially be like our version of UMKC.

I'd have to disagree.

If UNO is able to move up to D1 and find success (the latter still a massive "if" at this point), I'd wager that the CU reign of Omaha could come to a slow close. UNO is a public school that's twice as big as CU, with a beautiful campus and a strong identity amongst the Omaha white collar population who are born, raised, and stay in town. I'm not sure where you'd find the stats on it, but I'd have to presume their alumni base in Omaha is an order of magnitude larger than CU's. Their achilles heel has always been a lacking athletics footprint due to the D2 situtation.

On the other hand, CU is a small, private catholic school with a student body who - for the most part - have no allegiances to the City of Omaha or the State of Nebraska. Their 4 years at CU are just a glorified long vacation from Mom and Dad, and wherever home may be, before they take up a career rooted in nepotism. You still have a strong alumni base, but really, what percentage are geographically able to attend games on a regular basis?

Now, considering that the majority of current CU basketball fans have no real psychological attachment to CU the school, and if they are to choose between UNO and CU as equal choices, CU is likely to pull the short straw in that decision. All day, every day. If UNO find success in D1 (again, a given "if"), it could be like a dam break with regards to the scale CU fan support in Omaha.

[SHOCKvalue]

On another note, this situation is just another example of why - like our government entities - various boards of regents just need to eff off and get back to focusing on fundamentals.

Hearing the overtones on the football situation at UNO just uncovers scabs from old sores given to us by our own KS Board of Regents. Thankfully, we're not stepped on to the same degree that it appears the Nebraska public universities not located in Lincoln are. I guess when you're trying to maintain the monster that is Husker Football in a state of 1.8 million people, it tends to make you a little paranoid.

[shox1989]

I don't think Creighton fans are afraid of UNO. They will essentially be like our version of UMKC.

I'd have to disagree.

If UNO is able to move up to D1 and find success (the latter still a massive "if" at this point), I'd wager that the CU reign of Omaha could come to a slow close. UNO is a public school that's twice as big as CU, with a beautiful campus and a strong identity amongst the Omaha white collar population who are born, raised, and stay in town. I'm not sure where you'd find the stats on it, but I'd have to presume their alumni base in Omaha is an order of magnitude larger than CU's. Their achilles heel has always been a lacking athletics footprint due to the D2 situtation.

On the other hand, CU is a small, private catholic school with a student body who - for the most part - have no allegiances to the City of Omaha or the State of Nebraska. Their 4 years at CU are just a glorified long vacation from Mom and Dad, and wherever home may be, before they take up a career rooted in nepotism. You still have a strong alumni base, but really, what percentage are geographically able to attend games on a regular basis?

Now, considering that the majority of current CU basketball fans have no real psychological attachment to CU the school, and if they are to choose between UNO and CU as equal choices, CU is likely to pull the short straw in that decision. All day, every day. If UNO find success in D1 (again, a given "if"), it could be like a dam break with regards to the scale CU fan support in Omaha.

I think they have a lot to fear. UNO is a much larger school with a much larger alumni base in Omaha. Right now those alumni don't pay attention to UNO sports because they are division 2. But move up to division 1 and CU has some real competition.

Hockey is a good example, it is the only division 1 sport UNO has and it does draw well.

Some CU fans are poo pooing UNO being in the Summit League, but at least this year the Summit League's lone representative in the big dance is a 13 seed. That is one seed better than the Valley's lone rep.

The Valley has fallen so low, I am not sure Omaha fans will see much difference (especially after a couple of drinks).

[lostshocker]

I don't think Creighton fans are afraid of UNO. They will essentially be like our version of UMKC.

One thing that may be of interest to Shocker fans is what happened to UNO football. UNO has been playing football forever. A couple of years ago, most of their conference mates (ND, South Dakota St., etc) made the jump to D1 and their small fanbase got even smaller. Now, with the opportunity to jump up to D1 themselves, they've instead decided to drop football entirely because they wouldn't be able to make it financially due to all the extra scholarships plus the Title IX requirements.

thought only one school decided to jump to d-1 at that time. the original plan i read was all schools would go at the same time because then they'd meet the scheduling requirement from conference games. but last i had heard the plan crumbled and only one school jumped.

was also living in arizona at the time so i didnt catch everything about it. kind of surprised that others followed to d-1 without the conference safety net.