Dakota Journal - Day 1

BRYANT BASKETBALL – THE ROAD TO NORTH DAKOTA
A Look Into Bryant’s Trip To the NCAA Elite Eight
by Jason Sullivan, Asst. A.D. / Communications

Day 1 – Sunday, March 20

The 2005 NCAA Northeast Regional Champion Bryant University Bulldogs started their journey to Grand Forks, North Dakota – site of the 2005 NCAA Division II Elite Eight – this morning.  The team did a final walk-through in the gymnasium, going over a few plays that the coaches saw scouting Mount Olive on video tape.  After a good half hour, the team loaded up the waiting bus outside the Chace Athletic Center and departed for T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I.  at about 10:30 a.m.

With a quick stop to J’s Deli for some sandwiches, the team arrived at T.F. Green around 11 and drove onto the tarmac to the team’s charter plane.  That’s right, no checking into the terminal and the hassle of waiting in line, the team was able to comfortably step off the coach bus and walk right into the 30-passenger plane.

The twin-prop plane was a comfortable trip out to Grand Forks.  Nice and smooth and no turbulence, much to the delight of Coach Good.  The four-hour trip to the upper Midwest was met with a brief stop in Travers City, Michigan for some gas for the plane. The guys managed to find a television in the tiny airport hanger, just in time to see T.J. Sorentine drain a few three-pointers as the Vermont Catamounts were early in their game against Michigan State.

The brief stop lasted about five minutes and the plane was ready to complete the second leg of the trip to Grand Forks.  The team would have to wait until later to find out Vermont would fall to the Spartans.

A few hours later, the Bulldogs finally touched down in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The temperatures, while in the mid 30’s, felt a bit warmer. Likely due to the fact there was plenty of sunshine.  While flying in, we had a good look at the city of Grand Forks. A town of about 50,000, Grand Forks, is an agricultural town resting right on the border of Minnesota. 

We also got a good glimpse of the Ralph Engelstad arena from the air and I am sure there will much more to write about on the arena later on.

Not far from the airport is the team’s hotel, the Holiday Inn. Complete with a very large indoor pool plus a ping pong table, there’s seems to be plenty of things to do for the guys during their stay. 

However, the most important is focusing on basketball, which is precisely the mindset right now. After a steak and rib dinner across the street from the hotel, the team settled into their rooms around 10 with a busy day coming up on Monday.

Go Bulldogs !