NKU To the A-10? Is It Possible?

 

 

 

Is a move to the Atlantic 10 a realistic thought for both Northern Kentucky University and the Atlantic 10? Why not? The A-10 will be looking for schools to add and NKU might be a viable option for the conference. Not only that, but what a great way for NKU to get its name out to the National spotlight?

 

There will be four teams exiting the Atlantic 10 conference next year, Xavier, Temple, UNC at Charlotte and Butler.  Xavier and Butler will be joining the New Catholic 7 Big East while Temple will be joining... lets just call it Big East TBD and UNC at Charlotte will be re-joining Conference USA. What does that mean? Four teams will e leaving, four teams will need to fill the void in the A-10.

 

Why Would the A-10 Look At NKU?

 

One thing that conferences look at when adding a new school is the their facilities.  Check. NKU has a brand new soccer stadium, the Bank of Kentucky Center.  Academically they have the new state of the Arc Griffin Hall. So Northern has the facilities to compete.

 

Another aspect that conference's look at is the level at which you can compete athletically.  The basketball program has proven that they can compete fiercely within in their conference already this year.  Also, don't discount the fact that they beat West Virginia last season and almost won against UC, all the while being a D11 school.  The same goes for the women's basketball team, they can compete with the best as well.  The men's and women's soccer teams are both top shelf respectively, and also the baseball team is looking to prove themselves in their first year in D1.  One other little thing that could help NKU is that they don't have a football team.

 

 As mentioned A-10 will be losing Xavier. Xavier of course is located in Cincinnati, which is a big TV market, the Atlantic 10 would not want to lose that big of a market. Cincinnati and Xavier bring a lot of money and ratings for the conference. As many of you know, NKU is about 5 miles from Cincinnati and is essentially in the Cincy market. Now, I'm not saying that NKU would have the same effect as Xavier money and rating wise, because it wouldn't, but you can't just ignore NKU and them being in greater Cincy. 

 

Why the A-10 Would Not Look at NKU

 

Northern Kentucky University hasn't exactly been around that long. Founded in 1968, NKU hasn't had the time to build tradition like the other schools have.  Along the same thought NKU has only been in the the Division 1 ranks for a little over 7 months now.  That may, and probably would be the biggest reason why the A-10 wouldn't extend a bid t join their conference. 

 

The attendance for most basketball games has been weak. I have not been t a soccer game in awhile, so I am not aware of the attendance situation there.  But, in basketball the attendance has not been the best.  I'm sure that when a team like UMass, VCU or Dayton come to town that the place will be packed, but you have to have good regular attendance.

 

Other than those points, that's really the only way I see NKU being a negative for the A-10.

 

Why A-10 Would Be A Good Move for NKU

 

Better teams coming to town equals better attendance, which in turn equals more money.  With, the attendance going up would mean, better game atmosphere, and a more enjoyable experience when coming to a game.  Chance to see better players from the other teams. 

 

 

Better competition means at better RPI, for a chance to get an at large bid to the NCAA tourney, if they don't win the conference tournament.  Lots of opportunity to prove yourself to the selection committee.

 

What better way to get your name out to the national media and spotlight than making a big move like this? It would bring in tons more money to the school than being in the Atlantic Sun. It wold be easier for coach Bezold to recruit big time recruits. Traveling to the New York, Boston and Philadelphia areas would help the recruiting a ton, not just for basketball but for all sports. Tons of talent in those areas. 4 of the teams in the A-Sun are in Florida, why would a recruit want to leave the Florida sun to come up to the Kentucky cold?

 

Why Joining the A-10 Would Be Bad for NKU

 

I must say, there really isn't any argument for why it would be a bad thing for NKU to join.  Only one I can think of would be, that with the tougher competition comes a tougher time to get into the NCAA tourney, ad esstentially it would take longer to make a rise.  Other than that I can't think of reason why it would be bad. Maybe you can.

 

Voice your opinion and vote on the poll and/or comment below with your view.

 

 

 

 

 





Norse fall to Northwestern University Wildcats, 4-3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Northern Kentucky University baseball team fell to the Northwestern University Wildcats, 4-3 Saturday afternoon. 

Northwestern (3-1) punched first in the top of the 3^rd inning with a three run home-run by Zach Morton. The Wildcats added one more run with a RBI single by Luke Dauch, which gave Northwestern the lead 4-0. 

NKU (1-5) answered back in the bottom of the 3^rd with two outs; Brad Clement hit a single with Ryan Hinz following up with a single of his own. Josh Myers put the Norse on the score board with a three-run blast over the left field fence which cut the lead to 4-3. 

After the 3^rd inning the Norse offense was silenced. They were unable to cash in stranding a total of six base runners for the remainder of the game. 

Starting pitcher Matt Jefferson fell to 0-2 on the year after a strong 8 1/3 innings pitched, striking out six while only walking two. Cody Cooper (0-0) recorded the final two outs of the 9^th.  

Northern Kentucky will finish up its three game series Sunday against St. Louis at 2 p.m. 

Norse wins a thriller in 14 for their first D1 win!!!

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Northern Kentucky University takes advantage of three crucial errors by St. Louis to earn a 5-3 victory in extra innings Friday afternoon. The win marks NKU’s first win at the Division 1 level.

St. Louis University punched first in the second inning scoring 3 runs on 5 hits. The Norse answered with a run in the fifth inning on an error by Alex Sole, which allowed Josh Myers to reach base and Pat Hyde to score, cutting the Billikens lead to 3-1. 

NKU scored two more runs in the following inning to tie the game. Zac Asman reached base on an error by Alex Sole, Connor Ledger reached base on a fielder’s choice. Cody Kuzniczci singled to right field which advanced Ledger to second, and Pat Hyde followed up with a two-run double. 

With one out in the top of the 14^th inning, Josh Myers singles to right field and then steals second on the next pitch. Brad Clement hit a single to left field that advanced Myers to third. Ryan Hinz was at bat when a mix up of signals between Myers at third, who attempted to come home but was caught in a run down. Braxton Martinez bobbled the ball, and Myers came home to give the Norse their first lead of the game. 

After Hinz went down on strikes, Asman reached base on a walk. Asman advanced to second on a wild pitch which moved Clement to third. Ledger followed with a single up the middle which scored Clement and gave the Norse a two run lead. 

St. Louis (2-2) was unable to answer in the bottom of the 14^th inning, sealing the victory for the Norse (1-4). 

Starting pitcher Brett Cisper went 7 1/3 innings giving up three earned runs on eight hits while striking out four. Brett Loeding (1-1) picked up his first win of season after going 6 2/3 innings in relief. He didn’t allow a run and scattered only five hits. 

NKU will face off with Northwestern University on Saturday at 1 p.m.Tune into www.nkunorse.com to follow the action!

Norse looking for first Division 1 win

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY- After dropping 4 straight games to Lamar University (4-0), the Northern Kentucky University baseball team are looking for a victory this weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Norse (0-4) takes on the Billikens (2-1) of St. Louis University in a 3 game series. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday February 22 with a start time of 3 p.m. ET. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday February 23 with a start time of 1 p.m. ET and Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday February 24 with a start time of 1 p.m. ET. 

Probable Starters:

 Game 1: Jr, RHP Brett Cisper (0-0, 6.75 era)

Game 2: Sr, RHP Blake Bagshaw (0-1, 3.00 era)

Game 3: Jr, LHP Matt Jefferson (0-1, 8.53 era)

 Tune into www.nkunorse.com to hear John Asalon on the call.

Baseball arrives at Lamar University

BEAUMONT, TX- The Northern Kentucky University baseball team arrives in Beaumont, TX to take on the Lamar University Cardinals in a four game series.

The Norse will play one game Friday February 15^th starting at 7:30pm, a DH on Saturday February 16th with the first game starting at 2pm, and one game on Sunday February 17^th starting at 12pm.

**ALL GAMES WILL BE ON THE RADIO AND CAN BE FOUND AT: www.nkunorse.com

Probable starting pitchers: 

Game 1- Jr. RHP Brett Cisper

Game 2- Jr. LHP Matt Jefferson

Game 3- Sr. RHP Blake Bagshaw

Game 4- Sr. RHP Mike Nastold

Stetson Cruises in 2nd Half to victory

This game was truly a tale of two sides. NKU jumped out on Stetson and at one time led 27-20 eventually slipping in the waning moment in the 1st half to allow Stetson to crawl back within a 4 point deficit 31-27. Chad Jackson for NKU was the star of the 1st half as well as the game for the Norse. He posted a impressive stat line of 15 points and 8 rebounds nearly missing a double double. Joel Naburgs for Stetson stole the show and led the Hatters to a impressive 71-59 win. Naburgs had 17 points while dishing out 8 assists. This led to a route in the 2nd half where Stetson outscored NKU 44-28. 

NKU falls to 4-10 and 2-4 in the A-Sun, they play again @ Florida State Gulf Coast this Saturday at 5:15

NKU                        Stetson

Watson - 5               Graham - 13

Jackson - 15            Pegg - 13

Faulkner - 12           Naburgs - 17

Jones - 8                 Perez - 17

Interview With Dean Danos



Arguably the best thing to come to NKU's campus since Chipotle, Dean Danos an NKU commit for the class of 2013 was nice enough to give us an interview with him. We had a recruit profile on him last week, you can check it out here. Danos is from Chicago and plays his high school ball in Wisconsin. Danos is also one of three commits for NKU so far for the class of 2013 that includes Cole Murray and Deontae Cole. 

 Tyler Cox(Norse Sports): Who do you have on your playlist on your iPod?

Dean Danos: I go from listening to some Kendrick Lamar to The Fray and songs like that. I like variety though.

TC: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions? What are they?

DD: No superstitions, I just do my pre-game shooting workout, pray and I'm ready to go.

TC: If you could play 1 on 1 with any basketball player, dead or alive, and talk with them, who would it be? And what would you talk about?

DD: It would either be Steve Nash or John Stockton. I would just ask them questions like how they made it to the top. Also ask what were some key things that they did to simplify the game and really make the game easier.

TC: What do you think is the most important virtue that a basketball player could posses?

DD: I think the most important virtue that a basketball player could posses is confidence

TC: Do you think you have this virtue?

DD: I believe I do simply because of the amount of time I put into this game.

TC: What are your Strengths?

DD: Some strengths are winning games, working hard, staying positive, and making my teammates better every single day

TC: What do you need to work on before you step on campus?

DD: Before I go to NKU I need to work on my accent.On my visit I definitely felt out of place when I was talking because of the funny looks I got. It made realize what to improve on before I stepped foot on campus.

TC: Other than NKU, what other schools were you considering?

DD: Other schools besides NKU was LIU Brooklyn, St. Bonaventure, Wisconsin Milwaukee, Miami (Ohio), Northeastern, Eastern Illinois, Georgia State, American and North Dakota State.

TC: What made you say, that's it, that's the reason why I'm going to NKU?

DD: The coaching staff, the education, the atmosphere, and the facilities obviously helped sway the decision.

TC: What will you be majoring in?

DD: I'm leaning more towards Biology

TC: What would you like to say to Norse Nation?

DD: I would just liketo thank Norse Nation, the school and the coaching staff for allowing an opportunity for me to be apart of something so great. It is my goal and vision to continue the winning and successfull tradition that NKU has both as a basketball team and as a community. I am looking forward to finally stepping foot onto campus and being a part of a family that is welcoming me with open arms.

 GO NK!