Not very appealing to for Fans . . . to what? Lose, play bad teams? What is it Alvarez?
So its OK to play 174th rated New Mexico State, 169 Akron, 165 Idaho (bringing no fans), but not 79th rated SDSU or 35th rated NDSU (bringing fans)? Really? The B1G is now making policy when there is no need for policy? B1G is getting a little full of itself I'd say. B1G will stop playing ACC next I suppose.
Lord, who is full of themselves? You guys sell shirts for running the table on the Woffords, Ga. Southerns, and Sam Houston States of the world - a B1G team would have to apologize for that. Sagarin ratings? Really? You conveniently left out that in that same "rating" system - your strength of schedule was 135th!!! You finished 125th in the country last year - congratulations, and I mean that, and go win another one in 2013. But it is was it is - and all you can ever be.
Here is what the next lower division's fans don't get . . . . Minnesota averaged 46.6K attendance per game last year. The extra 4.2K that the Buffaloes bring at say, $40/ticket = $168K in ticket revenue. Even if future non-Division 1-AA opponents don 't fill the place up (there is a good chance they will, AND, the Gophers are improving) . . . we could earn nearly that same amount on the INTEREST WE GET ON OUR $7.0 MLN BTN PAYMENT for ONE year (it will likely go way up from there).
We . . . don't . . . need . . . you . . .
We will be fine financially, and better for it on the field in the long run. Please don't judge yourselves on playing that Brewster "led" 1-11 Minnesota squad in 2006, or that newly coached, established-QB-less 3-9 squad in 2011 - with your best team ever. In reality, you guys are Trevor Berbick.
If this troubles the NDSU fans of the world, join a big boy conference, and this "great affront" will go away.
Incredible.
Beyond NDSU, thank God our days of playing New Hampshire, Indiana State, and Western Illinois are done. Bully for the B1G, I say!!!