The Mountain West is in serious dialogue to add FCS powerhouse North Dakota State as a football-only member starting this coming season

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Then again, Sacramento State is trying to buy its way into FBS (proposing to pay a $10M entry fee) ... so if that happened, then adding South Dakota State as another football only maybe makes sense.

 

everybody knows my name said:
No, it's interesting. I've been anticipating this for years. It's a biggish school, the flagship school for its state, lots of football success, with a rabid and irrational fanbase. I've thought for years that their natural eventual fit is the Big 12.
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But it's not a natural fit. They can't even sell out their 19k seat stadium and South Dakota St and the rest have caught up. Add in NIL and transfer portal probably just another team.
 

minnyrules11 said:
But it's not a natural fit. They can't even sell out their 19k seat stadium and South Dakota St and the rest have caught up. Add in NIL and transfer portal probably just another team.
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Correct.
NDSU is kind of a natural fit to dominate conference USA or possibly the MAC

The new mountain west makes sense maybe?


A bad but fun FBS conference would be:
Montana
Montana State
Wyoming
South Dakota state
North Dakota state
Air Force
Colorado State
Boise State


Call it the Big Sky on Steroids
 

skauma said:
My MiL (from ND) is so delusional. She once was at my place while I was watching a Bama game about a half decade ago. Bama was ranked 2 or 3 at the time, and she kept talking about the Bison being #1. Zero awareness of the difference between FBS and FCS, and there was no hope in explaining it to her. She would just refute my claims by showing me the Bison #1 ranking on her phone...outside of my MiL, there's not many Bison fans who think they could ever compete for a CFP. Theres definitely some, but I'd say that percentage of fans is maybe at 3%.

As a Twin Cities transplant living in Fargo, I would be very happy with NDSU moving to FBS. Might even get me interested. I've never been to a game, I've maybe spent a total of 3 hours watching them on TV since moving here 10 years ago, and own no Bison apparel. But having an FBS team in my neighborhood would be great. The fanbase here has grown very bored with the success at the FCS level, and I think a move to FBS would reignite the fanbase. I do think they are a good enough program to live in those lower divisions and make a couple top 25 appearances.
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I gotta say I like your MiL
 



This is really great for the Big Ten West schools now they have a perfect farm school to recruit from or send them to Fargo.
 






everybody knows my name said:
No, it's interesting. I've been anticipating this for years. It's a biggish school, the flagship school for its state, lots of football success, with a rabid and irrational fanbase. I've thought for years that their natural eventual fit is the Big 12.
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I think it is true and Ill actually go to one or two games a year. I haven't been to a Bison football game since the late 90's when they were division II.
 

everybody knows my name said:
When they were D2 you would have thought the same thing about going to FBS.

Wait and see.
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Lol okay, Fargo is not nearly a big enough market, there stadium is about 30000 seats too short and their facilities are no wear near P4 level and they don't have the donors there is no scenario grounded in reality where Fargo Moorhead becomes a P4 market
 

skauma said:
My MiL (from ND) is so delusional. She once was at my place while I was watching a Bama game about a half decade ago. Bama was ranked 2 or 3 at the time, and she kept talking about the Bison being #1. Zero awareness of the difference between FBS and FCS, and there was no hope in explaining it to her. She would just refute my claims by showing me the Bison #1 ranking on her phone...outside of my MiL, there's not many Bison fans who think they could ever compete for a CFP. Theres definitely some, but I'd say that percentage of fans is maybe at 3%.

As a Twin Cities transplant living in Fargo, I would be very happy with NDSU moving to FBS. Might even get me interested. I've never been to a game, I've maybe spent a total of 3 hours watching them on TV since moving here 10 years ago, and own no Bison apparel. But having an FBS team in my neighborhood would be great. The fanbase here has grown very bored with the success at the FCS level, and I think a move to FBS would reignite the fanbase. I do think they are a good enough program to live in those lower divisions and make a couple top 25 appearances.
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Off topic: sounds like my wife's step-dad who said the reason why his Green Bay Packers have trouble luring free agents is because the shareholders need to approve it and pony up the cash.
 




everybody knows my name said:
No, it's interesting. I've been anticipating this for years. It's a biggish school, the flagship school for its state, lots of football success, with a rabid and irrational fanbase. I've thought for years that their natural eventual fit is the Big 12.
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You’ve been anticipating for years they’d go to a dying conference that isn’t what you consider their natural fit?
 

howeda7 said:
Not much of a conference now that the Pac 12 gutted it.

If a deal is reached with North Dakota State, the Mountain West will have 10 football-playing members for 2026 — two football-only programs in NDSU and Northern Illinois, as well as Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, Wyoming and other new full members Hawaii and UTEP.
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I'm confused. Why would Northern Illinois kneecap themselves by going to the Mountain West?
 


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