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| The $7 million,
50,000-square-foot Betty Engelstad Sioux Center
is the new home of women’s volleyball
and men’s and women’s basketball,
and also provides offices and locker facilities
for women’s soccer. Designed to retain
the close fan involvement of the old Hyslop
Sports Center, the “Betty” can
accommodate up to 4,000 spectators, with 2,600
in upholstered seats with armrests. It can
be converted to athletic camp use with either
four full-size basketball or volleyball courts.
Named in honor of the wife of the late Ralph
Engelstad, builder of UND’s nationally
recognized hockey arena, the “Betty”
opened for use Aug. 27-28 with a women’s
volleyball tournament. |
|
While
the long and sterling athletic success of the University
of North Dakota continued in high gear during the past
year, UND continues to monitor and assess its place
in the grand scheme of NCAA athletics.
The Sioux have been one of the prime competitors
at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Division II level for many years. Their power and prowess
was again reflected in the final standings of the 2003-04
United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, in
which UND finished fourth out of 224 schools. It measures
overall regular and post-season performances in men’s
and women’s sports.
The Directors’ Cup program also cites UND
for playing in six NCAA championship finals and winning
three of them in the last six years. UND ranks third
in total points won among NCAA Division II schools over
the 11-year history of the cup. The cup ratings are
computed and announced annually by the National Association
of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the United
States Sports Academy, and USA Today.
Five first-place conference finishes were registered
by UND teams in the 2003-04 season, along with other
high finishes (see the sidebar article on Page 25).
And the Division I men’s Western Collegiate Hockey
Association league championship in 2003-04 added to
the luster, while not counting toward the Division II
Directors’ Cup compilation.
UND student-athletes have excelled in the classroom,
too. For the 12th time in the 13 semesters through spring
of 2004, they maintained a grade point average of over
3.0. They also have received 24 of the prestigious NCAA
postgraduate scholarships since 1979.
UND’s athletic facilities are only a dream
to many programs, even at some higher NCAA division
level schools. These already outstanding venues were
further enhanced in the fall of 2004 with the opening
of the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, a 4,000-seat arena
that is the new home of men’s and women’s
basketball, volleyball, and soccer teams. The “Betty”
is attached to the state-of-the-sport Ralph Engelstad
Arena, the $104 million hockey complex that opened in
2001.
“I renew my pledge here to
make all necessary efforts to keep our intercollegiate
athletic programs competitive, nationally visible,
and connected to the core mission of the University
— to the goals we have for all our students.”
President Kupchella, State of the University address |
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