Non-Conference Scheduling

[minnyrules11]

I get why the Gophers don't play Iowa St regularly, largely due to their regularly scheduled rivalry game with Iowa.

They should at least play at each other's stadium once per decade. That would just make too much sense.

Even playing at the Zygi Dome once every 4-5 years and split the gate seems like a win-win.

They are not going to play two non conference B1G schools in the same year.

 

[Ope3]

They are not going to play two non conference B1G schools in the same year.

If the money is right, "never" could be "occasionally", like once or twice a decade.

The Cyclones went Dublin this year. I presume the dough made it worth their while.

Iowa State has played both the Gophers and Hawkeyes as recently as 1997.

1997 Football Schedule - Iowa State University Athletics

The official 1997 Football schedule for the Iowa State University Cyclones

cyclones.com

Hypothetically, in future FBS Playoff formats, it might behoove Iowa St to schedule multiple Big 10 opponents to bolster their Strength of Schedule

 

[Some guy]

I think the fan enthusiasm diminished because the team was not very good. If the team is an 8.5 win team and still competitive but for the loss to a Dakota, you think the bleachers are still empty?

People still complain about the 2019 team playing a close game against South Dakota state to this day

 

[GopherGrit]

Yesterday served a purpose.

• It allowed 76 players game action
• It allowed the coaches to evaluate all those players
• It was family weekend and allowed people to bring young fans to the game for a reasonable price.
• It show cased the band and spirit squads to numerous HS kids providing them a great opportunity to be on the field

These experiences all offer opportunities and engage the state in Gopher football. Seeing your team win 66-0 doesn’t hurt.

My opinion:

that kind of a purpose should not be a regular season game. It should be a pre-season game

 

[GopherGrit]

Long game, I'd like to see the P4 implement:

- 1 pre-season game against whomever you want, FCS whatever
- 12 regular season games against P4 teams only! 6home/6away each year

The pre-season game obviously is at home, and in terms of the bean counters acts as the necessary 7th home game for revenue purposes. You require season ticket holders to purchase it as part of the ticket package just like the NFL does for their pre-season games.

 

[GopherGrit]

I get why the Gophers don't play Iowa St regularly, largely due to their regularly scheduled rivalry game with Iowa.

They should at least play at each other's stadium once per decade. That would just make too much sense.

Even playing at the Zygi Dome once every 4-5 years and split the gate seems like a win-win.

There's also the whole thing where Iowa State says Gopher players murdered the namesake on their stadium because he was Black.

That didn't go over well


Back in modern day reality, I agree with your post. Would seem like a great 10th P4 game, at least every so often

I don't think Iowa State would say no. It would make them feel even more like they were in their fantasy dreamworld of being in the Big 10

 

[MaxyJR1]

Long game, I'd like to see the P4 implement:

- 1 pre-season game against whomever you want, FCS whatever
- 12 regular season games against P4 teams only! 6home/6away each year

The pre-season game obviously is at home, and in terms of the bean counters acts as the necessary 7th home game for revenue purposes. You require season ticket holders to purchase it as part of the ticket package just like the NFL does for their pre-season games.

Would have to go to 24+ teams in playoff to get to this. Any mishap in a pre-season game would cost a team in polls of public opinion.

Pro sports don't have rankings.

 

[Ope3]

There's also the whole thing where Iowa State says Gopher players murdered the namesake on their stadium because he was Black.

That didn't go over well


Back in modern day reality, I agree with your post. Would seem like a great 10th P4 game, at least every so often

I don't think Iowa State would say no. It would make them feel even more like they were in their fantasy dreamworld of being in the Big 10

Since the Trice tragedies in the 1920s, they did play 3 regular season games from 1989-1997. So, it has been put aside multiple times since it occurred.

Playing again would provide a good opportunity to shed light on the incident, as it did in 1989. Back then as a student, I read an article about it in the Minnesota Daily.

 

[Ope3]

Season tickets are a choice. I have them also. Many people just buy tickets the day of the game and go for cheap.

Pro sports include preseason in their ticket packages.

Because it's an accepted practice in Pro sports (as well as College Hoops & Hockey) does not mean I have to like it. I choose to endure it. Currently.

Scheduling such contests which have significantly less scholarships, NIL, revenue sharing, budget make them even more of a farce.

I like my guaranteed seat to each game and enjoyed every bit of yesterday.

Enjoyment is all relative.

I have never seen the parking lots so empty. Got to the Fairgrounds at 9:15 AM. Parked literally in front of the shuttle pick up. Never seen that. Tailgating next to the Stadium was also rather subdued. The lot right next to the stadium for the big donors was far less than half full.

A significant percentage of fans were leaving in the 2nd quarter. Probably less than a 3rd left after halftime.

Is your enjoyment from Saturday going to be tempered if Taylor misses significant time in what was a meaningless contest and he was not needed?

I'm not critiquing the coaching decision to play him. That type of injury could have happened any game or likely practice. Still, potentially a real big bummer.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Because it's an accepted practice in Pro sports (as well as College Hoops & Hockey) does not mean I have to like it. I choose to endure it. Currently.

Scheduling such contests which have significantly less scholarships, NIL, revenue sharing, budget make them even more of a farce.



Enjoyment is all relative.

I have never seen the parking lots so empty. Got to the Fairgrounds at 9:15 AM. Parked literally in front of the shuttle pick up. Never seen that. Tailgating next to the Stadium was also rather subdued. The lot right next to the stadium for the big donors was far less than half full.

A significant percentage of fans were leaving in the 2nd quarter. Probably less than a 3rd left after halftime.

Is your enjoyment from Saturday going to be tempered if Taylor misses significant time in what was a meaningless contest and he was not needed?

I'm not critiquing the coaching decision to play him. That type of injury could have happened any game or likely practice. Still, potentially a real big bummer.

I left my house at 10:05AM, parked at the Fair Grounds which was full of cars, but lacked tailgating. I was in my seat at 10:52AM. I don't tailgate and with Band/Cheer and family day, you aren't going to get a ton of tailgating. There was a record number of kids held up for the Lion King however. Great for people to be able to save a baby sitter $$ and bring littles to the game.

Fleck talked about it a bit in presser today. He would support change if all go to it and they would adapt. Talked about how college is different than the NFL where it's the same for all teams. Added that it's also the first week of classes for players and that is a factor in why schools schedule these games in week #2. Added that Spring portal and player movement makes games and experience like this for players important.

We now play 10 straight P4 programs over 11 weeks.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Devil's Advocate, not idiotic if you want to sell more tickets or provide value to those that already have purchased season tickets and provided mandatory scholarship "donations".

Like others have pointed out, Vikings have games that don't count. They have seat licenses that fans pay for those games a long with the price of admission.

 

[Scottsdale Gopher]

I left my house at 10:05AM, parked at the Fair Grounds which was full of cars, but lacked tailgating. I was in my seat at 10:52AM. I don't tailgate and with Band/Cheer and family day, you aren't going to get a ton of tailgating. There was a record number of kids held up for the Lion King however. Great for people to be able to save a baby sitter $$ and bring littles to the game.

Fleck talked about it a bit in presser today. He would support change if all go to it and they would adapt. Talked about how college is different than the NFL where it's the same for all teams. Added that it's also the first week of classes for players and that is a factor in why schools schedule these games in week #2. Added that Spring portal and player movement makes games and experience like this for players important.

We now play 10 straight P4 programs over 11 weeks.

I hadn't considered that the start of class would be a consideration in scheduling, but that makes sense to me. However, hasn't Minnesota historically started classes later than other schools? Yet somehow this past week is the most common week for P4 schools to play FCS schools.

 

[swede2]

Like others have pointed out, Vikings have games that don't count. They have seat licenses that fans pay for those games a long with the price of admission.

Tops of 2 home exhibition and likely moving to 1. Then 8 or 9 games against NFL teams.

Compared to a couple of nonpeer CFB games and maybe one OOC peer game + 4-5 B1G games.

When B1G/SEC + breaks away, I hope revenue games are done and it's an NFL style grouping and scheduling.

 

[Ope3]

K state pulled beating UND out their asses

There is only about 10-15 FCS teams id avoid
But to the common fan there is no difference between northwestern state and western Illinois.

Agree. If you lose to anyone you aren’t going to be a 10 win team?
Not sure that was the point anyone was making?

If you’re a 8-4 team and you play NDSU instead of northwestern state you risk 7-5 for absolutely zero upside

10k tickets times 10 bucks….i guess 100k…less than 1% revenue to risk embarrassment

I think the Gophers could soak NDSU Bison Fans for more than $10 per ticket.

Whatever Kills first year was, I sold my pair (chairbacks/lower bowl inside the 20) for $120 because I was out of town.

Perhaps the novelty has worn off.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

If the money is right, "never" could be "occasionally", like once or twice a decade.

The Cyclones went Dublin this year. I presume the dough made it worth their while.

Iowa State has played both the Gophers and Hawkeyes as recently as 1997.

1997 Football Schedule - Iowa State University Athletics

The official 1997 Football schedule for the Iowa State University Cyclones

cyclones.com

Hypothetically, in future FBS Playoff formats, it might behoove Iowa St to schedule multiple Big 10 opponents to bolster their Strength of Schedule

College sports have changed quite a bit since 1997. That isn’t recent.

 

[Some guy]

I think the Gophers could soak NDSU Bison Fans for more than $10 per ticket.

Whatever Kills first year was, I sold my pair (chairbacks/lower bowl inside the 20) for $120 because I was out of town.

Perhaps the novelty has worn off.

I think novelty has worn off
Absolutely stupid to book NDSU. There is a reason they aren’t having success scheduling FBS games

 

[Ope3]

College sports have changed quite a bit since 1997. That isn’t recent.

Of course it's changed. The Big 12 has lost a ton of marquee programs. Perhaps the chance to schedule a 2nd Big 10 opponent is attractive to Iowa St ONCE or TWICE per decade.

If the payola is right.

Or maybe not.

Worth pursuing.

 

[Kitzmann57]

I want a power-4 game every yr and they have been real good at doing that. Then 2 games againt MAC, Sun Belt or Conf USA. Im not a big fan of FCS schools, but most schools do schedule FCS schools.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Of course it's changed. The Big 12 has lost a ton of marquee programs. Perhaps the chance to schedule a 2nd Big 10 opponent is attractive to Iowa St ONCE or TWICE per decade.

If the payola is right.

Or maybe not.

Worth pursuing.

Who is paying who?

 

[Ope3]

Who is paying who?

If it was a neutral game then it would be a revenue split, from the gate, sponsors and promoters.

Home & Home then it would be a cost benefit analysis for scheduling such a game instead of for example Arkansas State or South Dakota (the Cyclones other 2 opponents this year).

 

[Ope3]

Like others have pointed out, Vikings have games that don't count. They have seat licenses that fans pay for those games a long with the price of admission.

Not a good comparison, IMO.

NFL Fans in General as well as Vikings have to put up with that nonsense of paying for 1-2 Pre-Season games due to the limited ticket availability for the 8-9 the games that matter. For the Gophers there's plenty of ticket inventory. Every game.

Additionally even though the Pre-Season games are a joke at least they are contested between teams that play under the same rules of acquiring and maintaining their roster. They are also ultimately pursuing the same goal of winning a Super Bowl.

FBS teams have more scholarships, NIL, budget, media exposure, home field advantage, don't travel and on and on huge advantages over FCS teams. In 2024 head-to-head the record was 115-6. They are not pursuing the same Championship.

 

[tjgopher]

Of course it's changed. The Big 12 has lost a ton of marquee programs. Perhaps the chance to schedule a 2nd Big 10 opponent is attractive to Iowa St ONCE or TWICE per decade.

If the payola is right.

Or maybe not.

Worth pursuing.

Every P4 team needs 7 home games to make the revenue work. Iowa State cannot get to seven home games every year if they play Iowa and Minnesota in the same years. So, the payola will never be right.

So, if Minnesota is to play Iowa State, then it would have to be in cooperation with Iowa. The Hawkeyes would have to drop off Iowa State's schedule for the years the Gophers would be on it. I actually think Iowa would be willing to do that two years per decade, just so they could spice up their own schedule. So, maybe it is possible with some cooperation and some creativity.

That said, I honestly don't see the attraction of Minnesota playing Iowa State in football. We already play in the state of Iowa every other year. That's good enough. Go other places.

 

[Ope3]

Every P4 team needs 7 home games to make the revenue work. Iowa State cannot get to seven home games every year if they play Iowa and Minnesota in the same years. So, the payola will never be right.

So, if Minnesota is to play Iowa State, then it would have to be in cooperation with Iowa. The Hawkeyes would have to drop off Iowa State's schedule for the years the Gophers would be on it. I actually think Iowa would be willing to do that two years per decade, just so they could spice up their own schedule. So, maybe it is possible with some cooperation and some creativity.

That said, I honestly don't see the attraction of Minnesota playing Iowa State in football. We already play in the state of Iowa every other year. That's good enough. Go other places.

Well not EVERY team needs 7 Home games. In fact the Cyclones are only playing 6 at Jack Trice Stadium this season.

2025 Iowa State Cyclones football team - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Also this year as a hypothetical, instead of traveling to Arkansas State, perhaps it would have been more lucrative to travel to Minneapolis to play the Gophers (either as a neutral game at the Zygi Dome or Dinkytown).

The Hawkeyes-Cyclones does not have to be altered to accommodate either a 1 off or 2: game series (which doesn't necessarily need to be consecutive seasons) with Minnesota and still have 7 Home games.

Heck, the Cyclones could play 8 Home games if they really wanted to make the payola work in seasons when they get to host 5 Big 12 games which seems to coincidence with when Iowa goes to Ames.

As for the attraction, it's a an additional game in which both fan bases can travel easily to attend (day trip) thus more ticket revenue. Also inexpensive, as the schools traveling parties can get take nice charter coach buses (as opposed to flying to Berkeley, CA).

 

[Scottsdale Gopher]

The more I've thought about Minnesota playing Iowa State with any regularity (even "once or twice a decade") the more I see no upside from the Minnesota perspective. The Gophers have claim to three of the best trophy games in all of college football, including two that are bitter rivalries. (Sorry to exclude Michigan, but it's not as reciprocal as WI and IA)

Adding one of our biggest rivals' biggest rivals to our non-conference schedule diminishes Minnesota. The Gophers simply do not need to attempt to create a new tradition with Iowa State, it'd be like starting a trophy game with Rutgers.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Well not EVERY team needs 7 Home games. In fact the Cyclones are only playing 6 at Jack Trice Stadium this season.

2025 Iowa State Cyclones football team - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Also this year as a hypothetical, instead of traveling to Arkansas State, perhaps it would have been more lucrative to travel to Minneapolis to play the Gophers (either as a neutral game at the Zygi Dome or Dinkytown).

The Hawkeyes-Cyclones does not have to be altered to accommodate either a 1 off or 2: game series (which doesn't necessarily need to be consecutive seasons) with Minnesota and still have 7 Home games.

Heck, the Cyclones could play 8 Home games if they really wanted to make the payola work in seasons when they get to host 5 Big 12 games which seems to coincidence with when Iowa goes to Ames.

As for the attraction, it's a an additional game in which both fan bases can travel easily to attend (day trip) thus more ticket revenue. Also inexpensive, as the schools traveling parties can get take nice charter coach buses (as opposed to flying to Berkeley, CA).

First, IA ST played a special neutral site game in Ireland, so I feel you are being a bit disingenuous bringing it up. Second, show me how the scheduing would work for the conference if IA ST decided to try to schedule eight home games.