On the Road with ISU Soccer: Prepartion for the Big Sky Tournament

The Bengal soccer team will play in its sixth Big Sky Conference tournament this Friday, November 6 at the PCC-Rock Creek at 2:30 pm MT. Idaho State left for the tournament on Wednesday morning. For fans who don't want to miss a minute of the action here is a recap of what the Bengals have been up to since they left Pocatello.

Idaho State pulled out of the Davis Field parking lot at 9:30 a.m on Wednesday and headed West to Boise. The Bengals pulled into Meridian High School in the afternoon and held practice on their field. It was a special treat for Alishia Cairl because she is a graduate of Meridian High and was able to partake in a little bit of a homecoming. The field was also a nice advantage for all the Bengals as Meridian High houses an artificial turf similar what the Bengals will be playing on in the Big Sky tournament.

It was a good practice as the Bengals are ready to fight for the championship. Everyone was in high spirits. After a quick lunch from Subway ISU hit the road again with Pendleton, Oregon as the destination (the hometown of ISU's graduate assistant Jaime Schroeder. Who is extremely jealous that she could not make the trip. The Bengals rolled into town with enough time to grab dinner at Shari's before heading to bed.

ISU hit the road again in the morning on Thursday arriving in Portland around noon. The girls grabbed lunch in town before heading to the Portland State football/soccer practice field. The Bengals had a light practice, but it was full of intensity. I heard several players comment about how they couldn't wait to play Eastern Washington or how the players wanted to get redemption from their previous loss to the Eagles in a 1-0 matchup in Cheney, Wash.

Junior Lauren Hough seemed especially fired up about the game and showed it by being able to "write" ISU in the practice field turf when she drew the letters with her foot on the artificial field. I was able to take several photos of ISU's practice at Portland State today so fans could follow along which are scattered throughout this blog post. Fans can also follow the Bengals progress during the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament on Portland State's live stats.

During the practice I was able to talk to Matt Scheerer, the Portland State Sports Information Director (SID) and was assured that he will do all he can to get game photos as soon as the matches are over. Thought Matt is able to provide live stats, he will be the only one with Internet capability as he will be directly connected, while I on the other hand will be forced to wait until we return to the hotel to post my story.

Currently the Bengals are tucked in their beds as they attempt to get a good night's rest before the semifinal game. Surely the Bengals will be having sweet dreams of victory that will pump them up for tomorrow's match.

--Katie Zigars
ISU Assistant SID

Past, Present and Future...

...First the past...as many folks know, I am on facebook (my wife is baffled by the 747 friends, but I digress). I use that facebook tool to present ISU articles and things to different folks, and sometimes these things go viral. For instance I posted the softball poster last year...bam, it went everywhere. I also use facebook to post something kind of goofy every day or so (my links are seriously priceless sometimes...)

However, every now and then I hear from an old friend with some news...such was the case this morning where former KIDK sports anchor Nick Griffiths emailed me on facebook this morning. Nick is in the KC area, and sent over this piece he did on former Bengal Matt Gutierrez...check it out.

Now the present...it's a huge week for ISU soccer...sitting at 1-1 in the conference, they host Northern Arizona today at 4:00 pm (you can listen to it here). Sadly, Davis Field's press box isn't wired, and the university folks that do that want an outrageous sum of money, so no video or live stats. Still, listen in, and folks can email during the broadcast (mercfran@isu.edu), or facebook me...I get all that stuff on my phone. Soccer also hosts Northern Colorado at noon on Saturday in a big game. Of course, if Weber State would actually play on Sunday's like everyone else, we could play on Sunday and unclog that busy Saturday, but I digress.

Of course both football and soccer have free youth clinics today...football at 5:30 and soccer at 6:00 pm.

Also, my day got started today with the Idaho State Journal 10th Annual Business Awards, of which in a weird twist of fate, both Jeff Tingey and myself were finalists in the "Overachievers Under 40" category. While we both didn't win, it sounds cliche but it was truly an honor to be nominated. I sort of felt out of place there, I'm not gonna lie, but it pretty cool. I sat next to Stephanie Palagi of Old town Pocatello, who I've seen in pictures and in news reports, but I'd never seen her in person. So I'm sitting next to her and could never figure out who she was until she went up and presented an award, and I was like "duh....". I'm sure everyone has those moments...that was mine. Anyways, sorry I didn't recognize you Stephanie....

Now to what you guys wanted to read about...the future. Couple of things...yes, we are hosting a press conference today, and it's just for the media. Due to the soccer game I don't know when I can get it up on youtube, but I'll work on it. I might just get the audio out in a hurry to the media, and then figure that other stuff out later. The details of the press conference I can't really get into right now, but it does deal with football.

It has been interesting reading things in my inbox and in other places, and I'll mirror something Brad Bugger stated...I love the passion of ISU fans. They desperately want to win, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Anyways, that's at 3:00 pm, and the news will pop onto the webpage around 3:05 pm or so. Stay tuned for that. Come on out to any or all the events this week....should be something for everyone.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

So as many folks know, one of the things I do is scour the net with Google Alerts and things for stuff about Idaho State. Sometimes I find out things from the ISU message board, the Bengal Den (no big shocker there). It was there I was tipped off to this dumb editorial by the Twin Falls Times-News....here it is from Monday...

Please Make it Stop: Send Bengals to Division II

Idaho State University won't do it on its own, so maybe it's time the State Board of Education forcefully suggested that the Bengals aren't a NCAA Division I-caliber athletic program anymore.

The football team, which has lost 45 of its last 59 games, is 0-4 this season and has been outscored 195-42. The men's basketball team has had one winning season in the past 20.

Students - in the form of fees - pick up much of he cost, but the coaches are paid mostly by the taxpayers.

Which means Idahoans are subsidizing arguably the weakest Division I athletic program in the country.

What's the purpose of continuing this? ISU would save money by downsizing (NCAA Division II schools can award up to 36 football scholarships, as opposed to 63 in the Football Championship Subdivision in which the Bengals now compete.) ISU would fit comfortably in either the Colorado-Springs based Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference or the Spokane, Wash.-based Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

ISU has been through six football coaches since the last successful one - Dave Kragthorpe - and four since the school last won a Big Sky Conference men's basketball championship in 1987. None of them have been able to talk enough Division I-quality athletes into spending four years in Pocatello. And the fans have noticed: 6,200 of Holt Arena's 12,000 seats were empty for Idaho State's home opener against Division II Central Washington University. The Bengals lost 33-22.

This is a college sports program quite literally out of its league. It's time for ISU to become big fish in a much smaller pond.

I'm not against a newspaper having an opinion (I am all for free speech, even when it is truly bizarre, like this or this. However, if you are going to offer up an opinion, and print it in a newspaper...well, please, please, please....make it informed. Get ALL the facts straight, and best of all, print the Letter to the Editor that I sent over as well. That's right....three days, no letter printed. Did I call them out on their shoddy journalism and lack of factual information? Maybe. Did I prove the point that they are painting the entire athletic program because of football's recent struggles? Hellz yes I did. And since this is the blog of the department, and since apparently the Times-News isn't interested in running this in a timely manner, here is what I sent them. I kinda like it.

On Tuesday, September 29^th, the Twin Falls Times-News published an editorial calling Idaho State University “arguably the weakest Division I athletic program in the country.” The Times-News argued this based on very limited facts, mostly because of the poor record in recent years by the ISU football team, but the Times-News did a terrible job of fact checking, because it would have taken just a few minutes to realize that ISU competes very well in the Big Sky Conference and nationally.

Idaho State has been tremendously successful in many sports of the past few years. For example:

*ISU women’s basketball has won Big Sky Conference titles in 2006 and 2007, and they advanced to the NCAA Tournament or the NIT four times in the past six years , including three All-American and a finalist for the national player of the year in Natalie Doma.

*ISU women’s soccer has won four Big Sky titles in the last eight years, and advanced to the round of 32 in the 2006 NCAA College Cup

*Idaho State track and field won three Big Sky titles in the last five seasons, and they have had national qualifiers in indoor and outdoor track in nearly every season in the 2000s.

*Idaho State men’s basketball has won 25 conference games in the last three years, the best three-year stretch since 1976-78, and ISU has not finished below .500 in conference play under Joe O’Brien. Last year, ISU’s win 72-68 win over Utah came of the #3 ranked team in the RPI, ISU’s highest RPI ranked win ever. The basketball team has also been very competitive despite playing non-conference schedules ranked #7, #14, and #1 in the nation the last three years, taking two nationally ranked teams to overtime, and losing at nationally-ranked Wisconsin by two.

*ISU football has had just three winning seasons in the last 10 years, but the team has sent 14 players to NFL camps, and six of those players have seen action in a regular season NFL game. The last two Super Bowls had former ISU Bengals represented on the rosters (Matt Gutierrez with New England and Pago Togafau with Arizona). The Bengals also had 2003’s National Player of the Year in Jared Allen, who in 2008 became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, and Jared has generously donated both his time and resources back to Idaho State.

*Over the last five years, Idaho State athletes have spent thousands of hours participating in community events through the P.A.W.S. program (Proud Athletes Working and Serving), including PaintFest, Sacking Hunger with the Idaho Food Bank, the Pocatello Marathon, Wal-Mart’s highway cleanup program, reading to elementary schools, and meeting with children in the Portneuf Diabetes Camp.

*Idaho State softball won 20 games in 2009 in just their third year, and will start play in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference in 2010.

Also, stating that ISU has not had a successful football coach since Dave Kragthorpe is not fair to Jim Koetter, who took ISU to the playoffs in 1983, and to Larry Lewis, who led ISU to a share of the 2002 Big Sky title and is the only coach in school history to lead ISU to back-to-back eight win seasons.

In recent months, private funding and donations have allowed for ISU football to refurbish the entire locker room, to add a high definition video board in Holt Arena, and an electronic display board outside of Holt Arena. Construction will start this winter on Miller Ranch Stadium for softball. Improvements to other ISU athletic facilities are due to be announced in the upcoming months, all through private donations.

While it is true that the Idaho State football team has struggled for the past four years in accurate, the football team has had to also deal with budget holdbacks and playing five guarantee games against FBS teams in the last three years, including games with Oregon State, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Boise State, in order to help raise funds for the entire department. With just six wins over that time span, to state that the entire ISU athletic department is out of its league is just not accurate, especially when a full-time writer from the Times-News has performed one interview or covered one ISU home event in the last 10 years.

It works for me, and I probably left stuff out. Still it shows what a shallow argument they presented, and honestly, they should cover a game or interview someone here before presenting an opinion like that, but sadly, that's where journalism seems to be heading sometimes. We'll see if they ever print that.

Streaking Soccer!

No, not that type of streaking, but here's a little soccer trivia for you...when was the last time the soccer team lost? Would you believe September 6? ISU has won three straight after taking down rival Utah State 1-0 in Logan, with the Bengals scoring on a corner kick (and Annamarie Hofstetter tying the Big Sky career assist record in the process), and sophomore Bailey Williams getting her first shutout of the season as well. The Bengals also have won four of the last five on the road, which is impressive, especially in light of this stat. From November 5, 2006 to August 21, 2009, ISU went 2-16-4 on the road. Two wins on the road in 1,020 days. and now they have four in the last 37. Just goofy.

Volleyball on the road again...

...which might be good as the team went 0-2 last week in their first home matches, although they played the defending regular season champions and the defending tournament champions. Now they head to the Montanas looking to get back on track, with both matches on Big Sky TV.

Homecoming

No, not the football team playing Eastern....the football team going to Georgia. That's a Homecoming for me, as I lived in Augusta for four years prior to coming to ISU. Interesting side note to going there...when I applied for this job, I had never been to a college football game, so I went with my wife to the Georgia-Kentucky game in the rain in 1997 just so I could say I had at least been in a college stadium. And now I get to go back...sweet.

See you all from the press box this weekend!

Frank

Game Week...and Own Goals

Ah the road of the crowd. The roar of Arizona State fans giving me grief because I mistakenly put "Wildcats" instead of "Sun Devils" on the website in the little story I do for the weekly game notes...er...Game Notes. Yes a fan called both me, and Jeff Tingey, and yes, I fixed it. While I'd love to blame someone...I just goofed up. Less you think I don't stand up when I screw up, I actually posted apologies at Devils Digest and Sun Devils Message Board. Yeah, I manned up...I'm saying it.

However, just to get you all in the mood for a little pigskin, and a big weekend in general in road athletics (soccer at the Governor's Cup, and volleyball also at Arizona State) here are some good links and stuff.

First of all, checking the local news stations websites should be required viewing. Brad Shellgren and Paul Shahen at KPVI have video from Arizona, Oklahoma, and of course ISU press conferences...Paul was in Tempe....nice. Check out their sportscasts from 8/31 and 9/1. Over at KIFI, there's almost too much video to link to, but check out Alyssa Chin's piece on the offense (the defense and special teams will be up later this week), and there are also good pieces on Coach Z talking about Babe Caccia, and some of the newcomers on the volleyball team.

Nothing new in the Journal today, but Kelvin Ang is working on a huge John Zamberlin piece about his playing career for this weekend, and his last big piece was the Tuiasosopo Niusulu piece which was awesome, so this should be fun. He of course adds to his blog daily.

Now, fun times in Tempe, where Dennis Erickson has suspended "5 or 6" players. The media down in Tempe is scrambling because....well..that's all they said. They didn't say who the five or six are. Nice right? Don't you love big time football? Maybe John Zamberlin should have said in the press conference that one or three guys might not make the trip due to eligibility issues, but not say who they were. That would have been fabulous LOL. The East Valley Tribune, DevilsDigest, and many others are trying to figure out the names. The might need these guys to help figure it out.

Dennis Erickson didn't address in much in his press conference, but he did talk a little about knowing John Zamberlin, and his thoughts on Idaho State. Of course, you can watch all of ISU's press conference proceedings on the official site as we posted them on Monday afternoon.

By the way, of the 39 FBC/FCS games this week....the Washington Times doesn't think too highly of our chances...

Governor's Cup Conundrum
Forgive my little rant here, but when you get ready for soccer this week and the Governor's Cup, don't read Boise State's version of the tournament history. It's wrong. Doug Link and I argue about this all the time, but as I've mentioned to him before, I've been here for every single one of these deals. The Governor's Cup is the accumulation of the results between the three Idaho schools. The first three years it was done in a format were one school hosted the other two, so that everyone got to have two home games every third year, since home games for new programs are hard to come by. In 2001, Boise State won the cup, but they don't even acknowledge that, as they said all the games weren't played, but that year our game with Idaho got cancelled and because of a date problem and we couldn't work it back into the schedule, and then 9/11 happened, and whatever.

Then it went for a few years were each team would host one, and travel to the other (ISU, UI, and BSU), and now they are back to the everyone at one site format.

Boise State doesn't recognize one of the ties in which we retained the cup (the original rules of the cup....again, I was a part of this, was whoever had the better record won the cup, and if there was a tie, it was goal differential, then it was goals scored, and it it was tied after that, whoever had possession of the cup retained the cup. That happened with us, and we always state we retained it after a tie.) and BSU even mentions that Seattle was the Idaho Governor's Cup. That can't happen...they ain't a part of Idaho....

So anyways, Doug Link and I have agreed to disagree on this, and they go with their version, and we go with our version. Of course, I think my version is the right version, and BSU thinks there's is correct...either way, a little soccer controversy never hurt anyone, and makes the proceedings more fun. FYI, Boise State won it last year...

Speaking of controversy
Getting ready for Oklahoma and Arizona State, I just love dealing with soccer controversy, but here I am again in the middle of it...and poor Annamarie Hofstetter. When is a goal not a goal? Apparently when she scores it. Here's the deal...on Friday, she takes a free kick, which deflects off a defender and into the net. Southern Utah had no SID present....just a student working his first game apparently from what I was told. He didn't know how to score it and credited it to Hofstetter. Great right? Well, they changed it to an own goal after he talked with the referee.
Now, all the ref said was that the ball hit the defender and went in, and had it not hit the defender, it would have been saves (Allison and Hof both said the exact same thing) and that it was an own goal. Um....see, that's why refs ref and I do what I do. I have to read the scorer's rulebook....I'm guessing the ref didn't, because that isn't an own goal. It's pretty clear in the scoring section of the rulebook that if a player's shot is deflected into the goal, then the player who shot the ball gets credit for the goal. If a player shoots or passes a ball back into their own net....that's an own goal.

The guy I feel sorry for is Kyle Cottam, who is SUU's SID for soccer, who wasn't there and has to go on here say from his coach (who admitted he didn't have a good look at it) and his student, who doesn't really know soccer. We are awaiting the game film and I'm gonna watch it for myself, and if it's pretty obvious this is scored wrong, I'll have to go over folks head to get this changed. What sucks is poor Annamarie hasn't scored since the second game of her career...she is a senior now. Jon Kasper has my back on this...for now it is staying as an own goal (we had switched it already in the notes for this week figuring this was a no-brainer....boy was I wrong).

I love crap like this...we had this at Boise State in fact in 2006...Jason Erickson was there, and we were playing Idaho and an obvious goal was mistakenly ruled an own goal. We got that one switched pretty quick, but not without some hassle...and here I am three years later with the same thing.

I agonized last year when I credited an own goal against UC Davis, but the ball wasn't going in, and our player tried to clear the ball away and hit it into our net by mistake...that's an own goal. Honestly, soccer should get with the rest of America and credit the goal to the last player to touch it. Maybe I'll try to get that changed.

Familiar Face Returns

It seems that Kilee Quigley is not the only familiar face that will be gracing the Bengal soccer team this season. Jana Davis-Boehler will also be returning, however she will not be watching from the sidelines as Quigley will. Davis-Boehler will be returning to compete.

Originally she decided not to play in her final season of eligibility as she was finishing her undergraduate degree after the 2008 season and had plans to attend a physicians assistant program at either Idaho State or a school in Utah. After talking with her last season she related the idea that even though she had redshirted in 2006 due to an injury, she felt like she had played her four years.

Well, apparently the soccer bug has bit her again as she is back at Idaho State in the physicians assistant program and and back on the field for the Bengals. However, she won't be wearing her #12 jersey because freshman Ashley Jones has already made her stamp on the number scoring her first career and game winning goal in her second match as a Bengal against New Mexico State.

She is a player that truly loves the game and though her schedule is similar to a full-time work schedule, she will make time to train with Quigley and the team if possible and compete in a few games for the Bengals as school is her main priority. Even with that being said, Davis-Boehler will be a welcomed addition to the Bengal squad as she has posted six goals and five assists over her career as well as recording three game-winning goals in 2007.

In 2008, Davis-Boehler competed in 11 games for ISU after hurting her knee in the Bengals season opening 2-1 victory over Utah State. She worked hard at her recovery and was back in the starting lineup by October to finish out the season strong. She also led the Bengals during a 3-1 victory over Sacramento State at home as she scored the first goal from a penalty kick.

Head coach Allison Gibson is still uncertain of the number that Davis-Boehler may be wearing (the #21 has been kicked around as it is her former#12 backwards), it seems that she may be able to compete in ISU's home opener against Maine on Sunday, August 30th at 1 p.m. so keep an eye on the Bengal soccer roster and the field!

--Assistant Media Relations Director
Katie Zigars

Quigley Back on the Pitch in a New Role

The Bengal soccer team has a familiar face on the pitch as Kilee Quigley returns to Davis Field. However, this time Quigley is helping out head coach Allison Gibson in more ways than simply hitting the field as a player. As she continues to complete her sports management degree at Idaho State, which she plans to do in the spring of 2010, she will be with the Bengal soccer team for class credit. Quigley is taking a five credit internship course at Idaho State with the goal of learning from first hand knowledge coaching strategies, tactics and practical application.

Over the summer Quigley spent her time in the Bay Area coaching a youth club soccer team with former Idaho State assistant coach Lindsay Massengale who plays for the FC Gold Pride Women's Professional Soccer team. Quigley also spent her time playing soccer for the California Storm a women's premier soccer league (semi-pro) team. Quigley, who wore the number 23 for the Storm competed in three games. She also played scrimmage matches against Massengale's FC Goldpride team. The Storm serves as a feeder for the Women's Professional Soccer League which Quigley would like to return to playing.

In the meantime, while Quigley finishes her education (she plans to coach or work as a personal trainer after receiving her degree) she will no doubt throw out tidbits and comments to her former teammates as well as the wet-behind-the-ear freshman. Always a leader, Quigley co-captained the Bengals in the 2008 season and was looked up to by her teammates. She was a solid midfielder and in her time with Idaho State she played in 73 games, posted eight career goals and 11 assists for 27 points. Basically, the Bengals couldn't have a better former Bengal observing practice, interacting with players and organizing workouts for teammates that are unable to make the travel squad. Even if her observation and notation is her main goal, her ferocious attitude on the field and desire to support will be felt by the Bengals.

--Assistant Media Relations Director
Katie Zigars

And Away We Go....

Finally, after scrimmages, exhibitions, you name it, we officially, officially start the 2009-10 athletic year with the soccer team traveling to New Mexico to take on the Lobos. I personally have a soft spot for the Lobos as the first football game I ever worked was the ISU at New Mexico game in 1998. Ironically, my predecessor the esteemed Glenn Alford worked HIS first football game at New Mexico for a Bengal-Lobo encounter in 1967. If we ever schedule New Mexico in football for a season opener again I'm gonna start looking behind me though....

Soccer Stuff
Tim Flagstad previewed today's match in the Journal, and then he really goes in-depth on the blog about the freshmen and his thoughts on the season ahead...a must read for the soccer fanatics in all of BengalLand. Also, you can get ISU's match notes here, and New Mexico's here.

Volleyball Scrimmage Tonight at 6:30 pm
Pretty self explanatory headline...that scrimmage is taking place at Reed Gym. I have to score the thing....it could get ugly.

Scooter Hanging in There
Sometimes Kelvin Ang gets this odd rap for being a bad guy which is always funny to me, but he's been covering football now for a while, and for the most part, his stories, such as this fantastic piece on Tubotein Taylor's recovery that ran today, and how the team has come to his side, are just fantastic reads. Kelvin tries to look for stories, and maybe that's it, but he's proving to be a very good writer. That Taylor piece is a great read on a story many reporters might have just forgotten about and dismissed.

Football Scrimmage Inside Holt Arena on Saturday
Holt Arena is fairly busy today and tomorrow, with the old lockers getting torn out today, and then the scrimmage tomorrow. Bengal Foundation members should have received their invitation to the BF BBQ tomorrow at Holt, and all freshmen students will be at Holt Arena for Holt Hurrah, where the incoming freshmen will learn the fight song and get to meet the various teams, take part in drills and such, and generally speaking, have a good time before watching the scrimmage.

The SID and statguy in me prefers the scrimmages inside by the way, because I don't have to guess at the numbers, and I can see the stuff better then from the sidelines.

The New Kids In Town...
Not only are the student arriving, but all the department graduate students as well. Brandy Crum in the training room is already here, but Kristin Kehrer formerly with the University of Detroit is here as a G.A. in the strength and conditioning office with Mark Campbell (she and Joe Cullen can swap stories about moving from Detroit to Pocatello), and even the new G.A. in our office, Jaime Schroeder, straight from Washington State University, will get in town today. In a case of who you know, when I worked at the NCAA Tournament in Boise, Jaime was part of the Wazzu student crew assigned to me. When Mitch Worthington left the G.A. spot to head to air traffic controller school (way more money for equal stress LOL), we ended up getting Jaime, who was the star of the student staff at Wazzu and will handle track, cross country, golf, and assist with other stuff. Of course, Katie Zigars is still around, and it's funny, this is officially year two for her, but she also has a year as a G.A. here, and then the interned for three years, so it's more like six years (heck, this is just my 12th here).

I'm personally hoping Jaime ends my run of one-year G.A.s...and she has no relation, but her last name is pronounced just like David Schroeder.

Facebook Me
Funny that that is now a verb, but you can befriend Idaho State Athletics on Facebook, and there's photos and lots of news there. Good addition to the Blog and the website. I'm on there too, and I tend to post funny videos links there (because I'm a highly entertaining guy)

Speaking of Funny Videos
So the Marching Band has been practicing RIGHT OUTSIDE MY OFFICE DOOR for a week now, and without giving the whole thing away, they have been working on reproducing some classic video game themes, which is cool, but, and this is not a slight on the band in any way, but it will never top this. Have a great Friday!

Hoops and Kicks....Finally, It Starts

We officially get going today with women's soccer hosting Northwest Nazarene in an exhibition game at 11:00 am at Davis Field (FREE ADMISSION FOR THE BUSINESSPERSONS SPECIAL!).

ISU won their exhibition opener 4-0 last year, and if you can't make it, you can listen live at 91.1 FM KISU, or online at www.isubengals.com (just click the listen live microphone on the front page, or the KISU link on the soccer page).

Also, sometime this afternoon I will release the men's basketball schedule, which is travel heavy early to say the least, but it does have 14 home games. Two exhibitions are Colorado Springs and Rocky Mountain (defending NAIA Champions). Non-conference road games are at Iowa State, Bradley, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Oregon (those are the guarantee games), Utah, Utah State, Brigham Young (the end of the contracts on those), and UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City), which is a home-and-home contract. Home non-conference games are Colorado Christian (at Reed Gym early), Montana Tech, Boise State, and Cal State Bakersfield (Senior Night). ISU will have one December conference game at Sacramento State on December 19, and you can ring in 2010 with the Bengals hosting Montana on December 31 at 3:05 pm.

There is one home Sunday game, and it's January 3 at Altitude's time of choosing, which is neither here nor there, as Saturday would be up against the NFL Playoffs anyways, and a bowl game or two, so we'll take the $10,000 ... plus, we didn't have a Sunday Altitude game last year, and it was doubtful to get away with that one two years in a row.

Full schedule later on today....head out to Davis, or tune in!

Soccer is a Kick in the Grass....

The first week of practice for the Bengals has been filled with a mile run, tough work outs, rain and plenty of sweat. Photographic services took a peek at the Bengals during a practice so that we can share it with the fans. In a team with ten freshman the Bengals have been working on cohesion and unity amidst a strong offensive strike. Freshman standouts include Ashley Jones and Laura Perez who have posted several goals during scrimmage drills. Returners who will surely see more time on the field include senior defenders Christina Beseris and Kacey Ball. Their hard work has shown on the field with their increased fitness level and stamina. This season the Bengals will be led by midfielder and all-time career assists leader Annamarie Hofstetter, forward Lauren Ryan, who was ISU’s lead scorer last season, as well as defender Karissa Henage-Fisher who was named to the Big Sky All-Conference First Team last season.

Kat Ford and Bailey Williams will be ISU’s goalkeepers for the 2009 season. Though Bailey competed in 12 games for 986:56 at goal the spot for this season’s keeper position is still up in the air. Williams who posted a 2-7-2 record last season, complete with two shutouts, had a goals against average of 1.46 and a .771 save percentage. Ford did not see much playing time last season as she competed in two games for a total of 78:39, however she allowed just one goal against Northern Colorado when the Bears were on a hot streak defeating ISU 6-2 in October. Ford posts a 1.14 goals against average and an .800 save percentage having amount four saves in her time at goal. Pictured in goal during an ISU practice is Kat Ford.

Previous assistant women’s soccer coach Lindsay Massengale is still competing in the Women’s Professional Soccer League for the FC Gold Pride in the Bay Area. Massengale earned a spot on the team after showing her skills during the team’s preseason camp. She has played four games and started in two as a defender for the FC Gold Pride and has played 193 minutes. Massengale has been replaced by assistant coach Becky Hogan, (see her in the photo on the left). It rained during practice and was unusually cold for the end of summer thus the beanie and rain jacket. Hogan comes to ISU with a great deal of knowledge having served as the head coach for the Utah Rush Soccer Club and Skyline High School in Salt Lake City. She also played professionally for the RushSLC (WPSL). In a fun connection both Hogan and Massengale played for the Boston Breakers of the WUSA.

Replacing Nakada in charge of the goalkeepers is assistant coach, and former ISU Bengal, Shannon Boyle. The team couldn’t be in better hands as Shannon is considered one of the best keepers in Idaho State history. In her time with ISU saw the Bengals earn three-straight Big Sky Conference Tournament titles and was named the Big Sky Tournament MVP in 2002 under the direction of Nakada.

Fans will be able to see the Bengals in action for the first time in an exhibition game against Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday, August 18 at 11:00 am at Davis Field.

---Katie Zigars, Asst. SID

New Desktop Wallpapers for Soccer and Football

Well gang, with the release of the football and soccer media guides comes the release of more desktop wallpapers for those two sports. I gotta hand it to Ziggy (Katie Zigars), my assistant, who came up with the design concept that allows the back covers of the guides to double as pretty good wallpapers. We are including eight sizes here, so there should be one for everyone, unless you have a REALLY wide screen, of which we have only two choices...

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The Newest Bengal Legend from the ISU Upset of UCLA is......Jeff Balmer?

There are great names in Idaho State's athletic history ... Mike Machurek...Jared Allen....Steve Hayes....Les Roh....Natalie Doma...well, now the fans can add the name Jeff Balmer to the mix. Did he ever play at Idaho State? That would be no...and that's good, because Jeff's contribution to ISU athletics is greater than being a player.

About six months ago, Jeff got in contact with me, and sent me a DVD of the 1977 Idaho State/UCLA game. Now, it's pretty cool, but it was just the coach's film, so there was no audio or anything like that. Seemingly, the audio is lost. Should I put that as "was" lost? I should, because Sir Balmer (I would knight him if I could), has sent over the ISU audio of the game. I have not listened to it yet, but now the goal is to get everything merged together into one package. Could be a heck of a fundraiser, no?

Anyways, all the thanks on this go to Jeff Balmer. He got it done....big time.

Open Mic Night Tonight...
Tonight we are having an open mic night to find our new public address announcer for women's basketball. It's a paid gig, with tickets and gear (a nice Nike shirt....like $60) and I've had some interested parties contact me already. We are going start as soon as the women's basketball team ends practice at 8 pm, and no, I won't be like Simon Cowell making comments, but what an opportunity for someone to get involved...and get paid to boot. It's also open to the public, so come out and listen in. The official announcement was posted here.

Where Has Frank Been?
I've been finishing up the men's basketball media guide for the last few weeks, so I have not been posting as much here as I tend to normally, but big props to Brad Bugger for all of his posts, which are a highly entertaining read from someone really well versed in Bengal and Big Sky history.

Onto a major amount of links...

Basketball is practicing...yeah!
A lot of eyes are on both the men's basketball program, but the women's one as well. Kelvin Ang had an article in the Journal on the Natalie Doma replacement sweepstakes, and he also touched on some other things in his blog. Also, the men's basketball team was picked third by both the coaches and the media...how 'bout them apples?

Why Walk-Ons Shouldn't Work on the Weekends...
Jaclyn Hone was originally going to redshirt to keep a commitment to her employer as a restaurant, so give Chad Teichert credit for getting her on the court this year. Kelvin Ang, who I think did almost everything in the paper yesterday (including a horrifically easy Jumble), covered that story as well.

Football Saturday
Remember football? Well, It's been well documented that ISU's last win was against Portland State, and look who is on the schedule for this week....Portland State. However, Dan Thompson has his Big Sky Notebook today, and John Smithers (who?) of the Missoulian has his Big Sky Notebook up as well, and suffice to say, John isn't getting any Christmas cards from me. Charles Pulliam of the Montana student paper the Kaimin previews the upcoming week, and he proves that you can live in Missoula and not take potshots at ISU. Thank you Chuck!

Big Soccer Weekend
The online link isn't up, but the Bengals have a big game today against Portland State, the first place team in the Big Sky. The Bengals have not won a game since August, but they've been right there for most of the season, and they still can make the Big Sky Tournament, but it won't be easy. The game is at 4:00 pm at Davis Field, and it will be on the radio on KISU 91.1 FM.

If you need a Chuckle...
I was interviewed by Jason Marsteller for the SIDShow podcast ... my portion is a painfully long 31 minutes, so book some time out. The media relations folks have a message board (like the BengalDen, but we all use our own names), and the SIDShow is a part of that.

Ross Cunningham Will Just Die...
It's true, Idaho State is partnering with the Montana schools for an energy degree. But not those two Montana schools...it's Montana State - Billings, MSU-Great Falls College of Technology and MSU-Northern. And I might as well admit it here now...Ross's picture of him waving that big giant flag on the court after the Montana win in the tournament....yeah, that made the media guide.

If I can get it done, I plan on taking a lot of pictures from this road trip for you folks...while putting together the cover for the basketball guide. Stuff never ends sometimes....

Traveling Blues

I have to tell you, for those of you that think traveling is fun....this weekend wasn't. I probably need to do some sort of photo essay so folks can see exactly how ISU football travels, but there is only one 5 o'clock that I recognize, and it isn't the one at 5 am, which I saw Friday and Sunday. Yes, the team had to leave Holt Arena at 5:30 am to get to Salt Lake City to fly to Denver, and we had to leave Greeley at the same ungodly hour to get to Denver on Sunday to get home. That officially sucks, but you know what....you do what you gotta do.

I will say this...the team represents very well. I can't tell you how many compliments I get from random airport people and passengers about how courteous the players are, and how they look (all are in a tie and collared shirt). They might be struggling on the field right now, but they are doing the right things...

Also, basketball starts on Friday night at 7:00 pm at Reed Gym, as the men's team has a pair of open practices (they also have one on Saturday at 1:00 pm). Some folks might want to catch their first glimpse of a team that Street & Smith picked to finish second (that would be a first in my 11 years here....)

Also, undoubtedly, you saw the disciplinary action that coach Z took today with regards to Rashaad Richards and Demetrius Amos. What the fans should get out of that is is doesn't matter if you are a senior, freshman, starter, whatever ... there are certain ways you conduct yourself, and if you don't want to do things the right way, well...you see the answer. I can also use this as a cautionary tale about the Bengal Den Message Board. Someone yesterday mentioned this in their post around 3:30 .... "With the recent dismissal of Demi and Rashaad, this will again put pressure on other players to fill in." Obviously, Demitrius was not dismissed from the team. Just remember that is a fan board, and while many, many, many people post on there as if they truly know everything that is going on, they aren't always quite in the loop.

Onto the links....

HOMECOMING FOOTBALL
Idaho State's release is here, Northern Arizona's is here, and the Big Sky's is here. With the late kickoff, fans have TONS of time to tailgate after the parade, so make sure if you plan on tailgating that you sign up for the Terrific Tailgate IV contest (the form is with the link above).

Tim Flagstad came to the press conference, and covered it in his Monday notebook, and the extra stuff that didn't fit went into the blog. Jayson Bird by the way had his MRI this morning, but the results aren't in yet.

Also, Jon Kasper got stuck in Bozeman (talk about traveling nightmares), so he blogged from the Best Western.

GREEN DAY IS NOT OUR OFFICIAL BAND
The inter-office SID joke was that Green Day was going to be the official house band for ISU, and they could only sing "Wake Me Up When September Ends", as it just wasn't a good month. Soccer and football both went winless in the month (soccer went 0-6-2, football 0-3), and volleyball was just 3-8 in the month. However, things are looking up, at least for the cross country team, as the women snagged themselves a title down in Cedar City.

Remember, volleyball tonight against Utah Valley at 7:00 pm, and football Saturday at 6:35 pm (go hunting and then come to the game) ...

Quick Thoughts

Couple of quick things from last Saturday's football game after digesting things....

#1. It was not pass interference. It didn't cost ISU the game, but after seeing it from three different cameras, it wasn't pass interference, and honestly, it's not even close...Jaron Taylor never touched the guy. He just tripped. Bad break for ISU on that one.

#2. Neal Larson, our P.A. announcer, just felt horrible about getting Eddie's name mixed up with Sale' on the record breaking catch. I had just announced that Eddie passed Sale' in the press box, and I think Neal still had the name Sale' in his head when he announced it, but I'll take the blame anyways, as I should have really had something written out for him, as I usually do. I had it for the North Dakota game, and I just didn't do it for this one, so I can take the heat there.

#3. We are as banged up as I've ever seen us, and it's almost freakish at this point. But at least we aren't beat up to the point that Washington State is apparently beat up.

#4. The coaching staff is doing things the right way...Zamberlin and company opted not for the quick fix, but to build the program. I think you will see dividends here and there, but the growing pains are tough. I'm not sure what's worse...how our season has gone, or how Northern Colorado's, who have almost invented new ways to lose games lately. In the last three week, UNC fumbled at the goal line in the final seconds of a 38-35 loss, fumbled a two-point conversion (they tried the Arkansas swinging gate play, seen here about 1:20 into the video). Last week, the allowed UC Davis to throw a 38-yard Hail Mary with no time left.

If you are headed to Greeley, you might want to bring an umbrella, just in case.

Couple of quick links, but Dan Thompson, who played fine poker all night long, has a blog take on the game, along with quick links to the rest of the Big Sky games. Of course, it's always fun to see silly comments, and calling the A.D. "Jeff Dingey" is just so simple when hiding behind an anonymous email post. I hope that guy feels a little bigger today for giving grief to an interim A.D. Brilliant.

The Missoulian also ran their weekend recap as well. Also, Jon Kasper has his usual round-up as well.

Little Kids Everywhere

That's what we had yesterday after practice....little kids everywhere. ISU football hosted a free youth clinic on Thursday, and well over 200 kids came out, including girls, to learn some basic techniques, get taught by their favorite player, and just have a good time.

It was great to see the players interacting with the little kids (and some bigger junior high school kids). My favorites were the offensive line guys, showing kids that playing the line and blocking is cool. News Channel 6 was there filming at one point and Mitch Rudder started pumping one little guy up, yelling "Channel 6 baby, they want you little man...they want to see you throw a big block!" Now that little guy was pumped.

Great job by John Zamberlin and Jeff Tingey in setting that up. There was a huge poster signing after the day was over, and every kid got a voucher for a free ticket for Saturday. Many of the parents went around with the kids and got to talk with coaches and players as well, so there was lots of good communication lines going on. It was really a sight to see.

You Do Realize Returning Kicks Isn't Always Easy
While I don't necessarily disagree that we have to do a better job returning kicks, Kellis might be slightly off base a bit here, because I'm pretty sure they will take their chances with JD as opposed to a touchback. The unit did spring JD Ponciano for some huge returns against Idaho, and getting big returns this week might be really tough facing a solid coverage team in Montana State.

Barn-Burner
Ryan Collingwood talks about ISU's improvements on defense, and the close nature of the ISU-MSU series.

I Would Think They Would Want the Attention
The University of Idaho cheerleading saga continues, as the new, less risque uniforms will debut against Nevada on Saturday. It was nice of the cheerleaders to change the uniforms to focus more attention on the team, but Idaho hasn't won an FBS game since 2006.

Remember, soccer today at 4:00 pm at Davis Field....be there!