Dom Izzo's Missouri Valley/Summit notebook on football scheduling and Summit League movment

FOOTBALL SCHEDULING

With the addition of Murray State to the MVFC, the 2023 conference schedules will all have to be thrown out. Commissioner Patty Viverito told me last week that "we want to protect and grow regional rivalries. Games like the Dakota Marker and the North Dakota State - North Dakota game are not going anywhere."

Associate commissioner Mike Kern added that the league is re-drawing opponents and the six year scheduling model, with a new schedule coming out next month.

League schools are about to start a new schedule rotation this fall. NDSU will not play Northern Iowa and Missouri State this season. That will likely change for the 2023 season, with another team dropping off the schedule. It will be interesting to see what team comes off the Bison schedule. NDSU is scheduled to play road games at UND, Youngstown State, Illinois State and SDSU that season, along with opening the year at U.S. Bank Stadium against Eastern Washington.

INDOOR FACILITIES

If you have traveled to the north side of Fargo lately, you will see the framework of the NoDak Insurance Company Indoor Practice Facility has gone up.

The 50 plus million dollar facility is on track to be completed in late summer with the Bison able to practice there when fall camp begins. They are in the final days of the Dacotah Field bubble, but there is another bubble coming to the Valley.

Sunday, Illinois State broke ground on a four million dollar indoor practice facility. It will be located just to the north of Hancock Stadium, and will be used by all Redbird teams. ISU football coach Brock Spack has long lamented needing an indoor facility, especially last year during the spring FCS season when the Redbirds were practicing outside in February.

This will be a 100-yard practice football field will feature a single end zone with run off areas and artificial turf to match the current surface at Hancock Stadium. The school expects it to be completed by the spring of 2023.

BASKETBALL MOVEMENT

As Mike McFeely reported last week, former NDSU associate head coach Kyan Brown is heading to Omaha to join new coach Chris Crutchfield as the top assistant with the Mavericks.

It will be a spring of change for Dave Richman, who will need to hire another assistant coach, along with fill at least three scholarships on his roster. The late signing period for basketball opens on Wednesday, the Bison are expected to sign Louisiana high school standout Lance Waddles, who committed last month.

The rich get richer in Brookings. Yankton, South Dakota native Matthew Mors announced Friday that he will be transferring to South Dakota State.

Mors went in to the transfer portal last month, leaving Wisconsin after redshirting last season with the Badgers. Mors initially said he wanted to get closer to home. The 6-7 forward was a five-time all-state selection in high school and joins a loaded lineup in Brookings. The Jackrabbits will return Zeke Mayo, Luke Appel, Charlie Easley, Alex Arians and potentially Baylor Scheierman to a team that didn't lose a conference game this season.

Staying in South Dakota, the Coyotes announced the hiring of a new women's basketball coach in Kayla Karius. Karius replaced Dawn Plitzuweit, who took the head job at West Virginia earlier this month. Karius is a former Coyote assistant, who coached with Plitzuweit from 2016-18. She will be formally introduced tomorrow at a press conference in Vermillion.

The Bison women will be adding a couple of recruits for the 2022 class. Oregon high school standout Abby Graham will sign on Wednesday. Graham was an all-state selection from St. Mary's Academy. Head coach Jory Collins told me the plan is to add at least two more players for this class. Junior forward Olivia Skibiel announced late last week that she is leaving the team to transfer to Minnesota State University Moorhead. That brings the total to six players that are leaving the team, counting graduation. (Emily Dietz, Ryan Cobbins, Kylie Strop, Kadie Deaton, Skibiel and Reneya Hopkins)

UND was busy over the weekend, offering two 2023 North Dakota prospects in Bismarck Century's Anthony Doppler and Minot's Darik Dissette.

Doppler is a 6-4 junior guard who was an first team all-state selection for Darrin Mattern this season. Doppler averaged 21.5 points, 7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Dissette is fresh off a state championship with the Magicians and being named tournament MVP. Dissette also is 6-4 and racked up 81 points in the three state tournament games, including 22 in the title win over West Fargo.

The Fighting Hawks have six scholarship offers out to members of the Class of 2023. Paul Sather already has Bismarck's Treysen Eaglestaff signed for next season, Eaglestaff won Mister Basketball in North Dakota last month.

Look for another update later this week at Inforum.com.