UND will be hosting their annual Spring Game this Friday, April 14th at 5pm. The scrimmage/game will be played in the High Performance Center (HPC) on campus.
You may have noticed that Bubba Schweigert has decided to transition the game away from the Alerus Center. For years, UND held the game indoors at the Alerus Center and made a big day of it with a cook-off contest, tailgating, and activities beforehand for kids, etc.
When asked about the move to the HPC, Schweigert felt they wanted their Junior Day activities (more on that below) to be on campus and to have the HPC be the focal point of the day for both fans and recruits. Hard to argue with that reasoning.
Attendance at last years game in the HPC was outstanding considering there isn’t much for seating. Most people stood and seemed to have a good time doing it. I would say the attendance was comparable to the Alerus Center days.
UND will also be hosting their annual Junior Day on Friday. Not a coincidence that they are holding it the same day as the Spring Game.
Junior Day is a valuable tool for a college coaching staff. This is their first chance to get current juniors who are heading into their senior year on campus to show them what they have to offer. They also get face-to-face contact with the prospective student-athlete and their parents, which is invaluable.
We are told UND will have around 90-100 juniors in attendance on Friday.
I’ll argue with Bubba’s reasoning in regards to holding the spring game in the HPC: I understand that the HPC is tremendous, but he should embrace UND’s gameday homefield, which is the Alerus Center. Why not show off the place where the very games are played? Embarrassed of the Alerus? I know that will never be admitted or considered by you guys or anyone else, but they shouldn’t waste an opportunity to grow the fan base more with a game-like event at the home of UND football.
We can see both sides of it. Could finances be a part of it? The Alerus isn’t cheap to rent. Maybe they just decided to save the money, show off their new HPC, keep the recruits on campus all day instead of shuttling them around further than they have to. Just an idea.