Congrats to NDSU and Next Steps

[arvcat2]

A big next step would be - prioritize the indoor facility all day every day. Taking the human element (coaches) out of the equation, being able to practice without the Bozeman crappy weather element in March, April, August (forest fire smoke chances), November & December (playoffs permitting) will attract higher level talent & facilitate productive practices.

[Bobcat4Ever]

A big next step would be - prioritize the indoor facility all day every day. Taking the human element (coaches) out of the equation, being able to practice without the Bozeman crappy weather element in March, April, August (forest fire smoke chances), November & December (playoffs permitting) will attract higher level talent & facilitate productive practices.

I totally agree. Almost all out-of-state recruits, about half the team, come from better weather. As often as it is mentioned by the guys that come here and stick it out, I have to believe it’s a big factor with players who do not come here. Playing two or three games a year in cold or snowy weather isn’t that big a deal. But getting up to go to practice every day or to strength and conditioning or to class in the winter is a big deal. Lots of people live in tornado or flood or hurricane or earthquake country and just shake it off — but winter weather is the one thing that causes people to just up and move. (I know, I did it myself and it’s the best thing I ever did). The other facilities expansion that is currently being done is important and will be good for all sports, but so would have been an indoor practice facility. I just have to believe that assuring a recruit from anywhere (even Montana) that they would be practicing in a comfy indoor facility would be playing a very strong card in the recruiting game.

[nanacat]

So isn't this in the short term plan? I agree it should be. They must be able to handle playing out in the elements but being able to get inside to practice when it's nasty outside would be a huge benefit.

[91catAlum]

We just finished raising $18 million for the football complex which hasn't even broke ground yet, and is a 16 month project. It's gonna be a while before we start raising money for the indoor facility, let alone start building it.

[Catsrgrood]

We just finished raising $18 million for the football complex which hasn't even broke ground yet, and is a 16 month project. It's gonna be a while before we start raising money for the indoor facility, let alone start building it.

Agreed, everybody is excited about the program and wants this stuff now (myself included), but realistically we’re not looking at the next phase for another 5-6 years at best.

I’m sure they’re taking donations now and maybe working on a few things in the background, but they’re not going to make any big, public push for fundraising until the operations building is up. At that point if all goes well it’ll probably take 2, 3, maybe 4 years to fundraise, then another year and a half to build.

This athletic plan is going to take patience. It’s exciting, but nothing about it will be immediate.

[KittieKop]

We just finished raising $18 million for the football complex which hasn't even broke ground yet, and is a 16 month project. It's gonna be a while before we start raising money for the indoor facility, let alone start building it.

Agreed, everybody is excited about the program and wants this stuff now (myself included), but realistically we’re not looking at the next phase for another 5-6 years at best.

I’m sure they’re taking donations now and maybe working on a few things in the background, but they’re not going to make any big, public push for fundraising until the operations building is up. At that point if all goes well it’ll probably take 2, 3, maybe 4 years to fundraise, then another year and a half to build.

This athletic plan is going to take patience. It’s exciting, but nothing about it will be immediate.

Unless more than a few hundred of the Bobcat faithful want to open the checkbook. It's great to complain about the pace of multi million dollar projects, but when your donor list is only a few hundred people, yeah it's going to take awhile. But we've beat that horse before.

[WalkOn79]

Loved our corners and safeties this year, but we need to get more athletic if we want to complete. #1 is there for 3 more years? That's scary!

[WalkOn79]

Keep building the best lines possible. Everything else falls into place after that. Sure...easy to just say "find an NFL caliber QB" but they don't exactly fall from trees. Also, Case Cookus is a NFL caliber QB and he played on a bad NAU team this year. I'm excited we got McKay to compete with Rovig this spring but Choate just needs to stay the course with building and developing this team from the middle-out. NDSU has multiple All-Americans on the offensive and defensive lines every year. That is something the Bobcats can definitely strive for.

Oh...and guess how our buddy to the West built his team's for success during the 2000's? Just saying it doesn't have to be complicated guys.

How do we get to the point where we are landing multiple All-Americans on our offensive and defensive fronts? You seem to have a pretty good grasp on the realities of college ball and recruiting and with that said, what do you think the timeline looks like before we achieve what the Bison have on the lines? Is it realistic to expect we can have that level of success in recruitment?

On a related note, I have always wondered if NDSU actually recruits significantly better than anyone else in the FCS. Another poster alluded to it above when talking about quarterbacks (EWU and NDSU always seem to have great QBs)...is their coaching and development such that it makes it appear as they are recruiting absolute dudes at every position every year?

Oh I think they do recruit better up front. We're getting closer though and our strength and conditioning and nutrition programs are all getting better. New facility will also help in that regard.

[WalkOn79]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

[Clinton T]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

[WalkOn79]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

Oh I agree with being a miles away from NDSU and JMU. But consistently in the top 5 is not very far off.

[Clinton T]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

Oh I agree with being a miles away from NDSU and JMU. But consistently in the top 5 is not very far off.

I hope you are right my friend!!! EWU, Montana, Weber St. on the road next year will be an indicator of our ability to handle lofty expectations.

[bobcat99]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

Who's better in our conference?

I know the record didn't play out this way, but I think this year's MSU team at their best was better than anybody else in the conference.

[HelenaCat]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

Who's better in our conference?

I know the record didn't play out this way, but I think this year's MSU team at their best was better than anybody else in the conference.

Especially at the end of the year. Who was better? Weber had a good defense but really no offense. We would have held them to 7 points or less. We know we were 34 points better than the griz and Sac State was not very good the last 3-4 weeks of the year.

[bcats]

Facilities will always improve recruiting. Indoor practice facility would probably help the most with recruiting as others have said. NDSU flat out recruits better athletes and those guys know they are playing for a winner. I don’t think the Fargo Dome is an advantage over Bobcat Stadium in the slightest however. We have a top 5 stadium and game day experience. NDSU has nicer day to day operation facilities but we are upgrading now and I’m sure they will be fantastic. It really comes down to the indoor facility and being able to draw in some of those faster Florida, Texas, California kids. The Full Cost would be great as well but would probably be the last thing the Board of Regents would ever approve.

[Lydell]

Everybody keeps talking about the indoor practice facility. I seem to remember a recent post saying that Costello is now calling phase 2 to be the eastside stands. That puts indoor facility to #3?

1 - Can anyone confirm this?

2 - I'd like to know what Choate thinks about that prioritization.

I sit in the east stands and I don't have a problem with them. If we need the "indoor" to recruit the sunbelt kids, then I'm all for it being built ahead of the east stands. Choate is a great recruiter. We need to maximize his strength.

[TomCat88]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

Who's better in our conference?

I know the record didn't play out this way, but I think this year's MSU team at their best was better than anybody else in the conference.

Especially at the end of the year. Who was better? Weber had a good defense but really no offense. We would have held them to 7 points or less. We know we were 34 points better than the griz and Sac State was not very good the last 3-4 weeks of the year.

MSU was without a doubt the best team in the Big Sky at the end of the year. Not by a gigantic amount, but clearly the best team. MSU will get better in the off-season. It'll be a bigger, stronger, faster version of what was out there this year. Choate is using the right methods to improve his team, including the depth that's been built. The biggest hit is at safety, but that will get cleaned up with one simple move. DT is next, but it's not a huge void. You could see transfers come in at DT and S this spring/summer, but it's a solid looking group across the board and they've shown a great commitment to work.

[Catfanatic84]

As fans...best thing we can do is keep opening the checkbook....we need to be sure our facilities are on par or better than any other FCS program...BAC is next...hopefully the indoor next...but we'll see...great time to be a Bobcat!

[utucats]

Simple, we continue doing what we are doing. We have our own facilities about to be upgraded and we have a coach who has made us better every season. First trip to the semis and 2nd trip to Frisco.

We are closing the gap, admittedly not as much as I’d hoped but we are getting better every season.

If I’d have told anyone in August that we play in the semis I think we’d all take it. We need to try and not get to low over this one and remember all the great things this program is accomplishing.

First semi appearance since 84. A lot of great players and coaches couldn’t accomplish what this team did this year.

We are definitely closing the gap - our improvement each year is a great indicator of our progress. I feel that even at our current rate of improvement, we still have quite a ways to go to even sniff the bar NDSU has set. Do you feel four years a realistic timeline to expect our program to be in a place where we will land top recruits and spend most of our time ranked in the top five?

Do you mean 4 more years? I think we're very close now.

Yes, I meant four more years. I hope we are as close now as you think, but as a Vikings and Cats fan, it is in my nature to be pessimistic. We aren't even the top team in our conference.

Look at the progress Choate has made in his first 4 years. I expect will spend the majority of the coming years in the top 5.

[wapiti]

Everybody keeps talking about the indoor practice facility. I seem to remember a recent post saying that Costello is now calling phase 2 to be the eastside stands. That puts indoor facility to #3?

1 - Can anyone confirm this?

2 - I'd like to know what Choate thinks about that prioritization.

I sit in the east stands and I don't have a problem with them. If we need the "indoor" to recruit the sunbelt kids, then I'm all for it being built ahead of the east stands. Choate is a great recruiter. We need to maximize his strength.

I assume the east side rebuild/remodel will include suites.
I thought that suites earn more $$ per square foot than the stands do. We need these suites to get that revenue stream going.