Not every issue facing North Dakota requires legislative intervention. Reviving the athletic rivalry between the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University is such an issue. A bill introduced this week in the Legislature would force the schools to revive their football rivalry.
It's unnecessary. Moreover, the legislation exposes a surprising lack of knowledge about how athletic conferences work and how game schedules are developed.
Most UND and NDSU fans miss the rivalry. There's little doubt that getting the Sioux and Bison back together on the football field would be a great thing. Games between the two universities, especially on the football field, were among the biggest sports events in the state every year for generations.
But when NDSU moved to Division 1 status - and UND delayed making a similar move - the grid classic was ended. The hope is that when UND completes its transition to Division 1 football (and other sports), the contest with NDSU will be on again. As NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said, "it's not a matter of if, but when."
In other words, the process is under way within the framework of NCAA regulations and conference scheduling limitations. A legislative order for a date certainly, even with caveats, doesn't help and could complicate an already complex transition for both schools. An exhibition game, for example, sounds like a way to circumvent conference and NCAA prohibitions, but athletic school officials know that limited game dates mean every game counts toward postseason play. A wasted exhibition tilt could be a coaching nightmare with great risk of injury and no reward of a game that counts in the standings.
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In all likelihood, sponsoring lawmakers introduced the bill at the request of constituents. But a bad idea is a bad idea, wherever it comes from. Legislators certainly have the responsibility to respond to the folks back home. But leadership requires lawmakers to tell constituents legislative time is valuable and should not be squandered on vacuous proposals.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board
