TerryVandrovec

Web expansion

In April, the South Dakota State athletic department inked a three-year contract to keep NeuLion as its Web host. But there will be changes - already have been, in fact.

For starters, TheJackrabbitWay.com was created as a way to get in line with something other NCAA Division I schools like Nebraska are doing. It’s a recruiting-based site, a way to give prospective student-athletes and their parents an inside look at the teams within the department. The men’s basketball page, for example, has a video showing highlights, samples of national exposure and coach Scott Nagy talking about the things the program values. Eventually, all 21 varsity programs will have their own pages with information about facilities, conferences and support services. 

“The coaches can put their own unique spin on it,” senior associate athletic director Leon Costello said.

There’s also an iPad app on the way, an extension of the previously established iPhone app. The GoJacks.com site will be redesigned later this summer. And a new adaptive streaming feature should improve future Web video broadcasts, pushing quality near high definition. Previously, SDSU used the web to launch a new site aimed at boosting donations for the forthcoming indoor practice facility. 

Don’t be surprised to see these types of broad changes or minor tweaks every couple of years; it’s part of the contract and the way things are going in technology and college sports.

SDSU is the largest university in its home state and gained relatively large amounts of national exposure in the last year due to Division I tournament berths in football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball. It invests considerable time, effort and money into making sure people - recruits and fans - are aware of the product. But there’s no way to reach everybody, and there’s no way to know who might be interested. Some percentage of the people have to come to you.

That’s where the Web comes in. It’s there all the time … just in case.

“You hate to say it, but a lot of what we’re really doing is trying to sell the program,” Costello said. “What this does is put out a positive image of what our programs are and what our department is. I think we try to improve on some of those services we can provide. It’s selling, but it’s also ver informative.”

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Elite company

Here’s a left-field angle on the upcoming South Dakota State vs. Oregon baseball game: A matchup of two of the most successful athletic departments in NCAA Division I.

Really?

Sort of. It turns out that only 11 D-I schools qualified their three marquee men’s teams - football, basketball and baseball - for the NCAA postseason. And the Jacks and Ducks both made the list.

Oregon is no surprise given its location (Tracktown USA), ties to Nike and general cool factor. But SDSU is in its ninth year at the D-I level and based in a small town on the edge of the last state to jump into major-college sports.

The Jacks are one of two on the list from outside the power leagues and the lone I-AA reps. (Quick aside: It’s hard to find out how many I-AA schools have ever pulled this trifecta, but it’s not unprecedented - Georgia Southern did it in 1986-87). They’re also, by far, the most financially efficient. 

The reported 2011-12 athletic expenses from each of the schools as reported by USA Today: 

Florida: $105.1M
Oklahoma State: $96.8M
Oklahoma: $96.3M
Oregon: $89.7M
Louisville: $84.1M
UCLA: $71.7M
North Carolina State: $56.3M
Ole Miss: $51.7M
Kansas State: $51.0M
San Diego State: $39.0M
South Dakota State: $14.1M

To reiterate: The Jacks aren’t on par with these programs. But they’re faring well in a variety of visible sports and getting plenty of bang for the buck. This is a unique accomplishment whether it’s the start of a run or a one-time thing.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Too Much TV: Herbster

Now that David Herbster is - officially - sitting in the athletic director chair at the University of South Dakota, he gets to deal with all sorts of questions about college sports in general.

That’s what we do this week on Too Much TV: Ask Herbster about the conference shuffle, the prospect of Big Ten schools avoiding Football Championship Subdivision games and his view for the future in Vermillion.

Here’s the link. And another.

Also, stop back at 4 p.m. Thursday - note the time change - for the weekly live chat. 

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Live chat 9/13

The weekly live chat has found its gait again after a long summer break, and is rolling right along. Here’s a link to the replay.

If you liked that, you’ll love the Saturday game chat. That’s where I give you up-to-the-snap coverage of South Dakota State football games. This week, the Jacks open the home portion of the schedule against UC Davis. I’ll be up and running by 1:30 p.m.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Tuesday Tidbits

School started in Sioux Falls on Monday. Just thought you should know that:

SDSU has finalized several hires in the past two weeks. Among them:
Ed Posaski is the new associate AD for budget and finance. He comes from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and has also worked at Radford, William & Mary, Western Carolina and Morehead State.
Jason Holtz is the new facilities manager. He had been in the same position at Fresno State since earning his master’s degree from Gonzaga.
Meanwhile, Laurie Johnston - wife of women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston – has stepped down as associate AD for academics in order to spend more time at home. (The couple is expecting a second child.) She’ll be replaced on a one-year interim basis by two people: Ashley Joachim and Jennie Sell. Joachim had been working elsewhere at the school, while Sell – the wife of AD Justin Sell – held a similar position at Northern Iowa.

As I wrote in the Sunday edition, the SDSU staff is thrilled to have Seth Daughters back and healthy. But he’s not the only promising player at tight end. Redshirt freshman Cam Jones (6-5, 245) has the potential - potential - to be as good or better than Daughters, Chris Wagner or Colin Cochart, according to position coach Shannon Moore. A former high school quarterback, Jones will be used in multiple capacities this year and benefited greatly from the extra reps that became available when Daughters got hurt.

A couple additional notes about the Summit League inking a deal to put 20 basketball games on Fox College Sports:
Conference media relations director David Brauer said it’s a one-year contract, but FCS holds an option for a second year and has an exclusive negotiating window.
The specific games were mutually agreed upon by the conference, Midco and FCS. The league wanted to ensure that every team be featured at least once.
This package combined with the new weekly show on Midco Sports Net is the largest TV package the league has ever had. And it was important enough for the Summit to purchase camera equipment and accessories for all nine member schools, as they’ll provide some of the content.
The weekly show debuts this week at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Midco Sports Net and at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on FCS. It’ll also be available on the league web site after those airings.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference has decided to move its weekly coaches teleconference to Tuesday mornings after long holding them on Wednesday mornings. I bring that up because it’ll mean a slight change to my blogging pattern beginning next week. Didn’t want you to be alarmed.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Tuesday Tidbits

Last one for July. Yuck:

Tickets for the first SDSU vs. USD football game since 2003 – along with all Jacks home games – go on sale to the general public Wednesday. SDSU ticket manager Christi Williams said that about 1,000 reserved tickets are available along with an unlimited number of standing-room only tickets.

SDSU point guard Nate Wolters leaves Thursday for his second elite camp experience of the summer: the adidas Nations Global tournament in Los Angeles. Along with roughly 30 other current college standouts, the senior will serve as a counselor to prep stars from around the world.
Previously, the 6-foot-4 Wolters attended the Kevin Durant Skills Academy.

A team from Norway attended a women’s soccer camp put on by SDSU last week. The club came to the States to play in the USA Cup and were being hosted by a Dakota Alliance, according to Jacks assistant Brock Thompson. They added the camp to their itinerary as a way to soak in some of the college soccer scene.

Dell Rapids senior linebacker Cole Langer said that he has scholarship offers from SDSU and USD. Those are his only NCAA Division I offers so far, although he did attend individual camps at Nebraska and Minnesota.
Langer is the son of former SDSU baseball player Tracy Langer and the grandson of former SDSU baseball and football player Jim Langer, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He said that he grew up rooting for the Jacks, but that family ties won’t impact his decision.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Tuesday Tidbits

Is it really almost August? Yikes. I’m OK with that as long as the weather remains summery:

South Dakota State men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy has had more access to his players than usual this summer thanks to a new NCAA Division I rule. What has he seen so far?
“Our older kids have all made big jumps. Taevaunn (Prince) has just made a huge jump and looks like one of our main guys. I feel like Nate (Wolters) has gotten better, Brayden (Carlson) and Chad (White). And Marcus (Heemstra), too. That makes it really tough on the young guys. … This might be our most veteran team I’ve ever had, quite frankly, in terms of the minutes these kids have played and how long they’ve been here.”

And how is the men’s basketball schedule coming along?
“We thought we were done and a team backed out. And we were hoping to pick up Kansas and they picked up somebody else. We’re waiting on another high-major team.”

Men’s hoops III: The Dakota Schoolers, a Sioux Falls-based program that housed a bunch of current Jacks, will be hosting an NCAA-certified event at Tea Area High School on Saturday and Sunday. At least two players who have been offered by SDSU, Lane Severyn of Pierre and Skyler Flaaten of Clark/Willow Lake, are expected to play in the tournament.

First-year Jacks coach Chris Bono said that 12-16 wrestlers have been attending voluntary workouts this summer. Bono also noted that he’s done looking for late additions and has moved on to recruiting for 2013.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Tuesday Tidbits

You’re doing some summery stuff this week, right? Right?!:

What impact would the Football Bowl Subdivision going to a four-team playoff have on the Football Championship Subdivision?
“There’s no doubt it will become more difficult to get (major-conference) games,” according to SDSU senior associate AD Rob Peterson, who handles football scheduling. “I’ve had offers from FBS schools, but the BCS are waiting to see how this all plays out.”

What does SDSU men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy think of his three incoming true freshmen after seeing them in action (some) during the summer?
On PG Jake Bittle: “Physically, Jake is ready and is one of those guys that even in practice can give (star) Nate (Wolters) a little bit of a challenge because of his size and his strength.”
On post Connor Devine: “Physically, he has a way to go, but he’s made big strides even this summer. With this size and length, it’s going to be something new for us to have a guy who can block shots and has great timing.”
On wing Matt Donlan: “He is a lot better of an offensive player even than I anticipated. He really shoots it. His biggest deal is he just needs to add strength, but his skill level is already very high - he’s a tremendous shooter. It’s just very easy and it looks like it’s going in.”

According to the Summit League web site, the 2013 baseball tournament will be hosted by Oakland. There was some question about that in light of regular-season champion Oral Roberts leaving the conference. In recent years, the regular-season champ has had the first right of refusal on hosting.
The site also has a look at the revamped conference schedule, which has teams facing off six times - four in one location and two at the other – instead of four.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

Tuesday Tidbits

Summer is going way too fast:

South Dakota State senior middle blocker Kelli Fiegen helped Team Blue – coached by Wayne Kreklow of Missouri and Nicole Lantagne Welch of Miami (Fla.) – place third in the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball A2 tournament last week in Columbus, Ohio.
The 6-foot-3 Fiegen finished plus-16 in scoring over five matches. (Don’t ask me what that means.)
The tournament marked the end of the camp for A2, which is a feeder program for the U.S. National Team. Fiegen was selected to attend for the second year in a row.

Remember when I mentioned that Jesse Sawyer and Zach Rhodes are playing baseball for the Lethbridge Bulls in Canada’s Western Major Baseball League? Well, so is their former SDSU teammate Joel Blake. Now a catcher, the former first baseman is batting .365 with 16 RBI in 28 games this season.
Previously, Blake was playing for the Wanneroo Giants in the Australian State League. He hit .386 with 11 doubles and 16 RBI in 21 games.

Two noteworthy changes took place this summer regarding NCAA Division I men’s basketball: 1) Coaches can now call and text prospective recruits an unlimited number of times after their sophomore years and 2) coaches can have up to eight hours of contact per week with current players provided they are taking summer classes.
But neither applies to women’s basketball … yet.
SDSU coach Aaron Johnston believes changes could start happening as soon as next year.
“(The NCAA) really is (moving toward regulation),” he said. “There’s probably some good with that and there’s some real mistakes with that. We’ll see what happens when it comes out.”

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.

On one-year contracts …

Interesting news out of Grand Forks earlier this week (mercifully) not related to the nickname controversy.

The University of North Dakota gave three-year contract extensions to football coach Chris Mussman and men’s basketball coach Brian Jones. Mussman was given a base salary of $114,612 and Jones $86,334.

The dollar figures are what caught my attention in that both rank last in their respective sports out of the four NCAA Division I schools in the Dakotas. Closest to Mussman: USD’s Joe Glenn at $127,260. Closest to Jones: USD’s Dave Boots at $122,780. Meanwhile, the guys on the high end are making almost double.

Let’s stop there, for a second. Certainly, Mussman doesn’t have the same background, years of experience or level of success as NDSU counterpart Craig Bohl. Ditto for Jones compared to say, SDSU’s Scott Nagy. These are relatively young guys and UND began its D-I transition later than the Bison and the Jacks. And this doesn’t take into account incentives. Why? Because I don’t have quick access to all of those stats plus it’s hard to imagine the guys in Grand Forks having more incentives than Bohl, who could realistically earn another $100K per year.

But the numbers are surprising in the sense that UND has the largest athletic budget in the Dakotas and the most D-I experience given that its hockey team has long been a national power. This reinforces the idea that football and basketball continue to trail hockey by a considerable margin in terms of importance in Grand Forks.

However, it also demonstrates that SDSU and USD have done a respectable job of boosting coaches pay, getting it in line with peers. That was one of the more awkward and complex parts of the transition – suddenly paying the same people way more money to do (essentially) the same job.

And that is necessary in light of the state policy that prohibits multi-year contracts. Would you rather be Nagy making $152,000 this season with no guarantee for the future or Jones making $86,334 per (plus assumed raises) for three years? As someone who has never had any sort of contract, I know which one I’d choose. (Hint: It’s the one with almost twice as much money.)

Marked differences like that might allow South Dakota to put off dealing with the one-year contract issue for a while longer.

Terry Vandrovec also posts regular updates on his Twitter page.