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Today should be a day of celebration at UNO. But it will feel like a wake.

This is a day for which we've long waited. UNO intends to go Division I. But there won't be a parade or confetti.

I applaud the plan but do so with a heavy heart. The Mavericks will be growing up, but the powers-that-be are recommending that two great friends of Omaha, UNO football and Mav wrestling, be left behind.

It's all pending the backing of the NU Board of Regents, but finally, after years of indecision, UNO has announced its identity. Dodge Street High has decided what it wants to be when it grows up.

UNO will be a hockey school and a Division I basketball school. It will be a Summit League school, with a shot at the NCAA tournament, playing in an intriguing mix with former North Central Conference members and schools from Indianapolis, Tulsa and Kansas City.

UNO is not the state's school. UNO can never be UNL. It can't be North Dakota, which is the UNL of its state, with all the subsidized benefits of being the big dog.

For years, people — including myself — have wanted UNO to figure out what it wanted to be. Before hockey came in 1996, it was easy. Don't blame hockey. Hockey was a brilliant idea. Back then, UNO was the nice little Division II school down the street. But it was looking for an identity in Omaha, its slice of the pie. Creighton had basketball. UNO had hockey.

But the byproduct of hockey was having one foot in Division I and the other in Division II. For the most part, the hockey people and other coaches made nice. But the combination wore thin. The hockey people were competing against other Division I schools and budgets and wanted to raise the budgetary and marketing ante. But UNO had a Division II mentality, too. Eventually, you had a water-and-oil mix of treating hockey big-time — going into the Qwest Center Omaha — with a Division II athletic budget.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110312/S ... 03129742/0

Nope, that is wrong. JBB told us long ago that UNO was joining the MVFC for football.

DJH wrote:Nope, that is wrong. JBB told us long ago that UNO was joining the MVFC for football.

...should have told the NU Board of Regents before they voted
the deal is done as of 7/1
football and wrestling have already been removed from the Sports Website
http://www.omavs.com/index.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is a DAMN shame that UNO "had" to get rid of football and wrestling...UNO football was a very respectable program and the wrestling program would have become top ten in DI IMO...don't forget to mention that directly after the UNO wrestling team won their 2nd or 3rd straight national championship, the coach got a call from trev alberts (AD) saying wrestling was no more. Literally, right after they had won.

the huskers couldn't handle sharing the spotlight. disgrace.

NDSUFREAK wrote:It is a DAMN shame that UNO "had" to get rid of football and wrestling...UNO football was a very respectable program and the wrestling program would have become top ten in DI IMO...don't forget to mention that directly after the UNO wrestling team won their 2nd or 3rd straight national championship, the coach got a call from trev alberts (AD) saying wrestling was no more. Literally, right after they had won.

the huskers couldn't handle sharing the spotlight. disgrace.

3rd straight title. They got back to Omaha and found all wrestling facilities locked up by chain and padlock

clenz wrote:

NDSUFREAK wrote:It is a DAMN shame that UNO "had" to get rid of football and wrestling...UNO football was a very respectable program and the wrestling program would have become top ten in DI IMO...don't forget to mention that directly after the UNO wrestling team won their 2nd or 3rd straight national championship, the coach got a call from trev alberts (AD) saying wrestling was no more. Literally, right after they had won.

the huskers couldn't handle sharing the spotlight. disgrace.

3rd straight title. They got back to Omaha and found all wrestling facilities locked up by chain and padlock

UNO gets to deal with this for a few years!



The Jacks learned all about it last year

Twentysix wrote:UNO gets to deal with this for a few years!



The Jacks learned all about it last year

Who knows, maybe a few more of those can turn into a few more W's too

Good luck UNO in DI. I hope UND can get you guys on the schedule.

Any idea what conference they'll be joining?

ODUalum11 wrote:Any idea what conference they'll be joining?

Summit

dbackjon wrote:

ODUalum11 wrote:Any idea what conference they'll be joining?

Summit

I've heard they will join in 2012. But that seems really fast, correct me if I'm wrong.

Thundering Herd wrote:

dbackjon wrote:

Summit

I've heard they will join in 2012. But that seems really fast, correct me if I'm wrong.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/pub ... mit+League" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For 2011-2012 UNO will NOT be a DI counter.
2012-2013 Begin Summit competition
2015-2016...Full DI member!