St. Thomas headed to Summit League

WTF? So college is just for the experience? What sort of entitled families do you come from? Who has $50-$150k to pay for an “experience”?

Of course college is preparation for a career, and that has a lot to do with your major and what effort you put into it. College is a great experience no matter where you go. It is a perfect transition into adulthood in a semi-controlled atmosphere (have a place to live, food to eat and some requirements to meet, etc...). When you graduate with a degree, you better have a very good idea of how you are going to make a living or else you Fckd up big time!


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Did I say “just for the experience”?

College is a great experience wherever you go? Patently false. Some places are far better fits for some people, than others.

Would be a good idea for you to actually comprehend what you’re talking about, before posting.
 

I think UST going D1 will hurt the Gophers minimally. Maybe they get an athlete like Eric Decker or Blake Cashman (can't think of a basketball equivalent) who isn't highly rated coming out of high school and matures to become a professional athlete. I like what an earlier poster said, perhaps it will motivate the U to stay on their toes and improve everything from fan experience to marketing to whatever.

I think it will hurt NDSU, SDSU, USD, UND much more because they are recruiting essentially the same caliber athlete and then it is a lot easier flying recruits into MSP than it is Brookings, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Vermillion.
 

I think it will hurt NDSU, SDSU, USD, UND much more because they are recruiting essentially the same caliber athlete and then it is a lot easier flying recruits into MSP than it is Brookings, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Vermillion.

100% correct!!
 

In basketball. Which makes sense, as this is the basketball forum.

UST has a great DIII b-ball program and I could definitely see them quickly building a fantastic program that competes for the Summit title.
 

WTF? So college is just for the experience? What sort of entitled families do you come from? Who has $50-$150k to pay for an “experience”?

Of course college is preparation for a career, and that has a lot to do with your major and what effort you put into it. College is a great experience no matter where you go. It is a perfect transition into adulthood in a semi-controlled atmosphere (have a place to live, food to eat and some requirements to meet, etc...). When you graduate with a degree, you better have a very good idea of how you are going to make a living or else you Fckd up big time!


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don't want to derail the thread, but - for your information, this is the kind of "entitled" family I come from.

My father died when I was 17. My mother worked a full-time job while also owning and operating a small business. She put four kids through college. that is the "entitled" family I come from. I got financial aid at college (Augsburg) and did work-study in the SID office to help earn my scholarship.

In the future, try not to judge people when you don't know anything about them.
 



I think UST going D1 will hurt the Gophers minimally. Maybe they get an athlete like Eric Decker or Blake Cashman (can't think of a basketball equivalent) who isn't highly rated coming out of high school and matures to become a professional athlete. I like what an earlier poster said, perhaps it will motivate the U to stay on their toes and improve everything from fan experience to marketing to whatever.

I think it will hurt NDSU, SDSU, USD, UND much more because they are recruiting essentially the same caliber athlete and then it is a lot easier flying recruits into MSP than it is Brookings, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Vermillion.

Word.
 


They are becomming everything that is bad about college athletics, it's all about money now, my 91 year old father dutifully ordered his season tickets which he has been doing for eons, after getting the tickets in the mail and going over the game he realises it didn't include the st john's game, the game was already sold out by that time, so much for being a loyal fan
 



The University of St. Thomas announced Friday that the school has been invited to join the Division I Summit League, pending NCAA approval of the school’s wavier claim.

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.

“Joining the Summit League would be a unique and exciting opportunity for St. Thomas, allowing us to significantly expand our impact and reach,” St. Thomas president Julie Sullivan said in the announcement. “It is a strong Midwest Division I conference that includes both public and private competitors."

Under the direction of Commissioner Tom Douple, the conference has grown in strength and success over the past several years. “If the NCAA ultimately grants the waiver request, St. Thomas will begin competing in the Summit League in fall 2021, after two full final years in the MIAC.”

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

I suggested they'd go D1 and go Big East, kind of half right. Saves them from having to build lots of bigger facilities, but they will have to do some major fundraising and recruiting over the next 10-15 years.
 

I think they’ll want a new on-campus arena and a new b-ball practice facility. Summit League schools have those, even as low-major DI programs.
 

per Shooter:

There’s whispering that Division III University of St. Thomas, hoping to land in the Division I Summit League, is considering building a basketball-hockey arena on the site of the Tommies football stadium. If that happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if the football team, probably headed for the non-scholarship Pioneer League, moves to Alliance Field for home games.

Meanwhile, St. Thomas has talked to the WCHA about joining for men’s and women’s hockey.

By the way, don’t count out the revenue-sharing Big East Conference for St. Thomas.

https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/...on-likes-him-for-manager-of-year-100-percent/

Go Gophers!!

I was hammered by someone on this board for suggesting Big East back in April, interesting take and a long term plan is probably in place and under wraps.
 

I was hammered by someone on this board for suggesting Big East back in April, interesting take and a long term plan is probably in place and under wraps.

I have no issue with UST having a long term vision of being Marquette. I have an issue of people thinking it’ll happen so soon. They have a ways to go. Why would they be taken above a Fordham or St Louis or numerous other private Mid major schools. Be good in the summit first.
 



They are becomming everything that is bad about college athletics, it's all about money now, my 91 year old father dutifully ordered his season tickets which he has been doing for eons, after getting the tickets in the mail and going over the game he realises it didn't include the st john's game, the game was already sold out by that time, so much for being a loyal fan

It would be a shame if UST did not find a spot for your father to sit at in Allianz Field for the game if the situation was as described.

Did anyone call UST and directly speak to anyone to resolve this? What was there response? I cannot believe your response would be to just post on this board.

UST probably had a lot of "comp" tickets at their disposal, and I'd be shocked of some of the Ath. Dept. or Development Dept. people would not have a solution for a 91 year old ST holder.

Hell, if I called the right person and got lucky (not a heavy hitter, just know a few people) I might have gotten in for free. ( I was watching the Rutgers game, had zero interest)

If they really just ignored your plea, that is a problem.
 
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I have no issue with UST having a long term vision of being Marquette. I have an issue of people thinking it’ll happen so soon. They have a ways to go. Why would they be taken above a Fordham or St Louis or numerous other private Mid major schools. Be good in the summit first.

ST has a long ways to go to become a Marquette. As one data point, Marquette's basketball budget is about $12M, whereas ST's total athletic budget is less than $5M. That's just the annual expense. They'd have some significant capital expenses for facilities as well. Moving to the Big East would be nice, but it's expensive.
 

ST has a long ways to go to become a Marquette. As one data point, Marquette's basketball budget is about $12M, whereas ST's total athletic budget is less than $5M. That's just the annual expense. They'd have some significant capital expenses for facilities as well. Moving to the Big East would be nice, but it's expensive.

The Marquette BB budget is 12M because they had the good fortune to get admitted into the "new" Big East, which also elevated De Paul and Butler.

Absent Al McGuire Marquette would probably be like Augsburg right now (OK, over the top, I know).

St. Thomas has more resources than a lot of D1 programs in Basketball at least, and they have the good fortune of being in a big market as well, that happens to under served as far as D1 Basketball.
 

I have no issue with UST having a long term vision of being Marquette. I have an issue of people thinking it’ll happen so soon. They have a ways to go. Why would they be taken above a Fordham or St Louis or numerous other private Mid major schools. Be good in the summit first.

St Louis is a no brainer to the Big East, in my unsolicited opinion. Decent market, with fairly strong Catholic school presence. Would be a geographical bridge from the Great Lakes schools over to Creighton.

Dayton is a stronger bball program, no doubt, but they already have Butler and Xavier in the area.
 

The Marquette BB budget is 12M because they had the good fortune to get admitted into the "new" Big East, which also elevated De Paul and Butler.

Absent Al McGuire Marquette would probably be like Augsburg right now (OK, over the top, I know).

St. Thomas has more resources than a lot of D1 programs in Basketball at least, and they have the good fortune of being in a big market as well, that happens to under served as far as D1 Basketball.

Yes, and keep in mind that Marquette's on-campus arena isn't huge by any means. It's just that they play men's bball in the Milwaukee Bucks arena.

If it was the case for some reason that St Thomas to the Big East was being fast-tracked -- I don't think it is, but just for hypothetical -- they could play men's bball in the Xcel Center or Target Center.
 
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Yes, and keep in mind that Marquette's on-campus arena isn't huge by any means. It's just that they play men's bball in the Milwaukee Bucks arena.

If it was the case for some reason that St Thomas to the Big East was being fast-tracked -- I don't think it is, but just for hypothetical -- they could play men's bball in the Xcel Center or Target Center.

Interesting post. I do not think that St. Thomas can swim in water that deep that fast but would be cool to see both St. Louis and St. Thomas in that awesome conference. Just Incredible what Butler did with a remarkable run of coaches, limited resources etc.. what Jay Wright has done at Villanova. Behind the scenes St. Thomas is building in roads with a coach who is seen as a next level winner.
 

Rumor has it St. Thomas has two out of three doners lined up who are willing to donate each $100 million dollars to build either a dual basketball/hockey or two separate basketball and hockey arenas in St. Paul. The current on campus football stadium will be remodeled/upgraded to have suites and other amenities for non scholarship football. The baseball stadium will also be upgraded.

They like to look at themselves as a Marquette but they feel the school has more students, doners and a prettier city.

Different source. They are not going to purchase the land for Town & Country. It's not ever happening!
 

Rumor has it St. Thomas has two out of three doners lined up who are willing to donate each $100 million dollars to build either a dual basketball/hockey or two separate basketball and hockey arenas in St. Paul. The current on campus football stadium will be remodeled/upgraded to have suites and other amenities for non scholarship football. The baseball stadium will also be upgraded.

They like to look at themselves as a Marquette but they feel the school has more students, doners and a prettier city.

Different source. They are not going to purchase the land for Town & Country. It's not ever happening!
Do you mean from Town and Country? As if they may tray to build where the golf course is? I would agree with you then, I don't see that happening. I can't imagine how much that land is worth.
 

I wonder what year it will be when the St. Thomas fans start complaining that their coach is not signing enough MN kids? 2023?
They will land more than the u. U see the u is the only diverse school in the big ten.
 


Do you mean from Town and Country? As if they may tray to build where the golf course is? I would agree with you then, I don't see that happening. I can't imagine how much that land is worth.
Correct. Some people believe the CC will be sold to the school. It's not happening.
 

Rumor has it St. Thomas has two out of three doners lined up who are willing to donate each $100 million dollars to build either a dual basketball/hockey or two separate basketball and hockey arenas in St. Paul. The current on campus football stadium will be remodeled/upgraded to have suites and other amenities for non scholarship football. The baseball stadium will also be upgraded.

They like to look at themselves as a Marquette but they feel the school has more students, doners and a prettier city.

Different source. They are not going to purchase the land for Town & Country. It's not ever happening!
Are you saying there are two or three donors that are each willing to donate $100 million to St. Thomas athletics? I think that is incredibly unlikely.
 

I could see 2-3 guys who are willing to come up with $100M total, between them.

U of North Dakota, back when it was still a DII school, got a $100M out of one guy, for the hockey team, and the building of their arena, which to this day I believe is still the largest and nicest college hockey arena that is mainly intended for college hockey (not a pro arena).
 

Correct. Some people believe the CC will be sold to the school. It's not happening.
Thoughts on if St Thomas and St Kate's might eventually merge? Hasn't that been thrown around as an idea, too?
 

Are you saying there are two or three donors that are each willing to donate $100 million to St. Thomas athletics? I think that is incredibly unlikely.
This person said the school has $200 to $300 million dollars lined up to build an arena. I'm not disagreeing but when ever STU asks for money people step up there. Obviously, we will see what happens in the months ahead.
 

Thoughts on if St Thomas and St Kate's might eventually merge? Hasn't that been thrown around as an idea, too?
Over the years St. Thomas wanted to merge but St. Kate's declined. During the disscussions the schools decided to have a reciprocal relationship with letting students take classes at each others schools.
 

Very excited for all of this. St. Thomas has a passionate base that pays and they love to win. Great news for young players for more opportunity.
 




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