Scoggins: Minnesota State Mankato keeps NCAA thrill ride rolling

MANKATO – Kevin Buisman's eyelids felt heavier than dumbbells Monday after a four-hour sleep and way-too-early flight concluded a blissful stretch that saw him pack in 4,898 miles of air and car travel in 18 days.

The Minnesota State Mankato athletic director would gladly take that travel schedule every year.

He was counting miles, not complaining about them.

"It's a great time to be a Maverick," Buisman said.

His expense report reflects the currency of success.

Few athletic departments at any collegiate level have celebrated as much winning this year as the one that resides in Mankato.

Since March, six Mavericks teams have posted Top 5 national finishes in Division II, including two national championships and a national runner-up.

Success is nothing new for Buisman's department. The Mavericks have finished Top 25 nationally in the Directors' Cup (which measures overall performance) for 21 consecutive years.

Their run from March to the present is extraordinary, even by those standards:

MSU-Mankato became only the second Division II school in history to win both women's and men's basketball national titles in the same season.

The women's track and field team placed third in indoor, fifth in outdoor. Two track athletes — Denisha Cartwright (Bahamas) and Jabez Reeves (Liberia) — competed in the Paris Olympics.

This month, the women's soccer team advanced to the national semifinals for the first time in program history, losing 2-1 to Cal Poly Pomona in the championship game on Sunday.

The Mavericks football team notched three consecutive last-second victories in the playoffs to reach the national semifinals, losing on Saturday to Valdosta State 35-21.

The outcomes in soccer and football last weekend kept them off the top podium, but the year in totality highlights the overall strength and health of the department.

"It's just remarkably good fortune," said Buisman, who's in his 23rd season as athletic director.

Good fortune sprouts from a sturdy foundation, and the Mavericks are well-positioned for success.

The school invests in facilities. Mankato billionaire Glen Taylor, who owns the Minnesota Star Tribune, is a strong supporter of the university and donated more than $10 million to the construction of the multi-purpose basketball arena and athletic complex that bears his last name.

The men's Division I hockey program is supported financially by Maverick Line Change Collective, which facilitates name, imagine and likeness opportunities. Other MSU-Mankato athletes are reaping financial benefits too. Since the start of the NIL era, the school's athletes have received 727 deals through Opendorse, a technology platform that serves as a conduit to endorsements. That figure leads all NCAA Division II schools, according to Opendorse data.

Buisman has been involved in college athletics long enough to know that conversations about resources never end with a punctuation.

"There's never enough," he said. "You're always chasing resources."

Success in any business starts at the very top with leadership. The Mavericks have alignment in vision and commitment between Buisman and university president Edward Inch, who assumed his post in 2021.

"He understands that, leveraged in the right way, Maverick athletics can be a beacon," Buisman said of his boss.

Said Inch: "When our students are performing at the highest levels in national competition, regardless of what the disciplinary area or activity is, I think to the best of my ability I should be there to help support their effort."

That's not just lip service. The women's and men's basketball teams made their respective runs from quarterfinals to national championships on alternating days in St. Joseph, Mo., and Evansville, Ind.

The drive between the two cities was seven hours. The AD and university president rented a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and drove back and forth every day as both teams kept winning and advancing, Monday through Saturday.

"You can't go to St. Joseph, Missouri, without them letting you know that's the home of the Pony Express," Buisman said. "So we dubbed the Jeep Wagoneer the Pony Express."

One problem: They had to get back to Evansville for the men's championship game after returning the Pony Express in St. Joseph.

They hitched a ride on the bus carrying the school's pep band.

Inch doubled down this past weekend. He presided over two commencement ceremonies on Saturday at 9 a.m. and noon. Then he hosted a holiday party for his senior staff until 4 p.m. when he politely asked everyone to leave.

He had a flight to catch.

He had to get to North Carolina to attend the soccer team's national championship game the next day. Buisman and senior associate athletic director Scott Nelsen picked him up at the Charlotte airport at midnight.

Buisman was busy himself, shuttling back and forth between Charlotte, N.C., and Valdosta, Ga., to watch the football team's semifinal game. He even caught a ride to the airport from an NCAA site representative whom he had never met before that day, saving himself a long Uber ride. Buisman ended up FaceTiming the man's family in the airport after buying him dinner and a beer.

The travel itinerary felt like a re-enactment of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," but Buisman can't imagine a more thrilling seven months for his entire department.

"We talk about 'MavFam,'" he said. "That's not just a branding slogan. It's not just a hashtag. We support each other. We cheer for each other. That was pretty heartening to hear [coaches and players] say that Minnesota State is a special place and that 'MavFam' is real."

Now he needs some rest.