2021-22 Non Conference Schedules

[TOPSTRAIGHT]

WHAT? No MURRAY St. on the schedule?

[VUGrad1314]

I know our schedule isn't the best by a long shot but at least we're not a team that expects to contend for an at large bid this season. Why does UNI a team that should have at large aspirations keep wasting multiple slots on non D1s? Vermont is a good get but they couldn't do better than these non D1s for other games? I don't know why fans aren't a bit harder on Coach Jake for this sort of thing. They do it every year.

https://twitter.com/UNImbb/status/14476 ... 73/photo/1

[squirrel]

I know our schedule isn't the best by a long shot but at least we're not a team that expects to contend for an at large bid this season. Why does UNI a team that should have at large aspirations keep wasting multiple slots on non D1s? Vermont is a good get but they couldn't do better than these non D1s for other games? I don't know why fans aren't a bit harder on Coach Jake for this sort of thing. They do it every year.

https://twitter.com/UNImbb/status/14476 ... 73/photo/1

You play non-DI's because they don't hurt your metrics the way wins against the bottom third of DI does. Beating bottom third DI teams actually hurts your numbers, even when you win. That's why these games happen.

[VUGrad1314]

I know our schedule isn't the best by a long shot but at least we're not a team that expects to contend for an at large bid this season. Why does UNI a team that should have at large aspirations keep wasting multiple slots on non D1s? Vermont is a good get but they couldn't do better than these non D1s for other games? I don't know why fans aren't a bit harder on Coach Jake for this sort of thing. They do it every year.

https://twitter.com/UNImbb/status/14476 ... 73/photo/1

You play non-DI's because they don't hurt your metrics the way wins against the bottom third of DI does. Beating bottom third DI teams actually hurts your numbers, even when you win. That's why these games happen.

Couldn't they just find another Vermont\Richmond type team to play? At our level we need all the opportunities we can get and it just doesn't make sense in my mind to waste them like this.

[BCPanther]

I know our schedule isn't the best by a long shot but at least we're not a team that expects to contend for an at large bid this season. Why does UNI a team that should have at large aspirations keep wasting multiple slots on non D1s? Vermont is a good get but they couldn't do better than these non D1s for other games? I don't know why fans aren't a bit harder on Coach Jake for this sort of thing. They do it every year.

https://twitter.com/UNImbb/status/14476 ... 73/photo/1

Two things--

1) It takes two to tango. I know UNI isn't alone in this but it takes dozens and dozens of contacts to even start discussing the possibility of a game or series, let alone getting it scheduled. In the last three years we've had games/series with Boise, Buffalo, Charleston, Winthrop and Nevada fall through after the contracts have gone out. You can only wait so long.

2) Money. You have to have home games to sell season tickets. Also, we spent P5 level money on Vermont ($90k) which eats up most of the buy game pool with one game. After buying Nicholls and Jackson State there just isn't much left and we can pay those two $5k plus a charter bus to come play.

UNI still, easily, has a Top 25 schedule. There's plenty of meat on the bone to get an at large. Win all the home games, split St Bonaventure and Arkansas, beat Marshall there and get Stanford, BYU or both at Diamond Head and we're in that spot headed into league play.

[VUGrad1314]

I know our schedule isn't the best by a long shot but at least we're not a team that expects to contend for an at large bid this season. Why does UNI a team that should have at large aspirations keep wasting multiple slots on non D1s? Vermont is a good get but they couldn't do better than these non D1s for other games? I don't know why fans aren't a bit harder on Coach Jake for this sort of thing. They do it every year.

https://twitter.com/UNImbb/status/14476 ... 73/photo/1

Two things--

1) It takes two to tango. I know UNI isn't alone in this but it takes dozens and dozens of contacts to even start discussing the possibility of a game or series, let alone getting it scheduled. In the last three years we've had games/series with Boise, Buffalo, Charleston, Winthrop and Nevada fall through after the contracts have gone out. You can only wait so long.

2) Money. You have to have home games to sell season tickets. Also, we spent P5 level money on Vermont ($90k) which eats up most of the buy game pool with one game. After buying Nicholls and Jackson State there just isn't much left and we can pay those two $5k plus a charter bus to come play.

UNI still, easily, has a Top 25 schedule. There's plenty of meat on the bone to get an at large. Win all the home games, split St Bonaventure and Arkansas, beat Marshall there and get Stanford, BYU or both at Diamond Head and we're in that spot headed into league play.

fair enough on all points. That is a very impressive roster of near misses I have to say. I wish more schools were only looking for the best matchups for their programs like that. I'm surprised Vermont allowed themselves to get bought. That's a good home and home target and they are a good enough program that they don't (or at least shouldn't) need to do that especially with another high caliber mid. But whatever. That just stacks the deck in UNI's favor in pursuit of a quality win so that's good.

[BCPanther]

I know our schedule isn't the best by a long shot but at least we're not a team that expects to contend for an at large bid this season. Why does UNI a team that should have at large aspirations keep wasting multiple slots on non D1s? Vermont is a good get but they couldn't do better than these non D1s for other games? I don't know why fans aren't a bit harder on Coach Jake for this sort of thing. They do it every year.

https://twitter.com/UNImbb/status/14476 ... 73/photo/1

Two things--

1) It takes two to tango. I know UNI isn't alone in this but it takes dozens and dozens of contacts to even start discussing the possibility of a game or series, let alone getting it scheduled. In the last three years we've had games/series with Boise, Buffalo, Charleston, Winthrop and Nevada fall through after the contracts have gone out. You can only wait so long.

2) Money. You have to have home games to sell season tickets. Also, we spent P5 level money on Vermont ($90k) which eats up most of the buy game pool with one game. After buying Nicholls and Jackson State there just isn't much left and we can pay those two $5k plus a charter bus to come play.

UNI still, easily, has a Top 25 schedule. There's plenty of meat on the bone to get an at large. Win all the home games, split St Bonaventure and Arkansas, beat Marshall there and get Stanford, BYU or both at Diamond Head and we're in that spot headed into league play.

fair enough on all points. That is a very impressive roster of near misses I have to say. I wish more schools were only looking for the best matchups for their programs like that. I'm surprised Vermont allowed themselves to get bought. That's a good home and home target and they are a good enough program that they don't (or at least shouldn't) need to do that especially with another high caliber mid. But whatever. That just stacks the deck in UNI's favor in pursuit of a quality win so that's good.

I was pretty near shocked that Vermont wasn't a home and home. Made a lot of sense to go that way and could have coupled it with the game at Richmond next year if we'd needed to but that's also a nice check for them so I get what they were doing.

We're already behind the 8 ball for 22-23 because St Bonaventure is the only home game we have on the books.