Banging the same drum

I harp on this all the time. It’s stupid that Minnesota only has one D1 college. I’ve heard people talk about their reasons, but the simple fact is that there aren’t any good ones. There are two local events that bring this to my attention this weekend, one on the field, and one at home.

Down in Iowa, the Iowa State Cyclones are playing the Hawkeyes for the annual Cy-Hawk trophy. The game will get national attention because of the heated rivalry between the two in state schools. In Minnesota, the only in D-1 rivalries in the state are in hockey. There are no multi-sport rivalries, and hockey doesn’t have the national attention necessary to attract attention, cash and interest from lucrative out of state students.

So that irked me. Iowa has a big rivalry game, and Minnesota doesn't. And then this morning, my wife and I were discussing out children's college, when it comes time for that (only 18 years to go!), and my wife and I each reflected on our personal journey towards picking a college. 

For me, I had two goals. One, I wanted to go somewhere with meteorology program, and I wanted to go somewhere where the athletics could be a major part of the student life (AKA, I wanted D-1). In Minnesota, the only school available was St. Cloud, and the next door options (with reciprocity) were North Dakota (not D-1 at the time, and in North Dakota) and Wisconsin. So I broadened my horizons and ended up at Purdue. 

My wife had an educational that was more broadly available, and a charge from her parents that she keep it affordable by staying in state. The breadth of opportunity with her major allowed her some options in state, which was different from me, but also, if she had the desire to go to a school with division one athletics, she was in Wisconsin, and had choices like Wisconsin, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Marquette. 

The fact that the there is only one D-1 option in state, with it's finite selection of educational programs, has to force some kids to look elsewhere. It did me. Maybe it will my kids too. In conclusion, it remains profoundly stupid that the state of Minnesota can't muster a second D-1 college.