Miller: UND in unique position with sports offerings
May 1—GRAND FORKS — When UND announced it would be cutting men's and women's tennis on Thursday, the explanation from athletic director Bill Chaves was in general terms. "Over the past five years, Division I athletics has experienced more change than the previous 30 years combined," Chaves said. "This has required us to adapt to a new landscape by reinventing the way we operate our athletic department as well as analyzing the existing resources we have and reallocating those resources moving forward.
" Or, put this way: In an NIL and revenue-sharing NCAA landscape, it costs a lot more now to support the spotlight sports and that's going to put anyone on the fringe in jeopardy. In a way, this isn't unique to UND. These are conversations and decisions happening at every university in the country.
However, UND is also in a very unique pickle. As the cost of doing business in men's basketball, women's basketball, football and college hockey rapidly climbs, who else is sitting in a situation like UND? You have to take care of the big three sports.
UND needs to financially back men's hockey, football and basketball at a Division-I level but without the financial weight of a massive league television contract supported by a Power 4 FBS conference. Look at college hockey, for example. Of the 16 teams in the NCAA tournament in 2026, four athletic departments have the financial backing of the television money associated with Big Ten football, one has Big East basketball money, three athletic departments don't sponsor football and three play Division-II football.
The only college hockey programs in the NCAA hockey tournament in 2026 with FCS in the athletic department portfolio are a pair of Ivy League schools (Dartmouth and Cornell), an FCS independent (Merrimack) and UND. UND plays football in the toughest FCS league in the country in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, has a basketball program in the toughest geographic location perhaps in Division I — which requires resources to offset that challenge — and a college hockey program that is the centerpiece of the university. UND's rivals in every non-hockey sport don't have this three-headed hurdle.