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?
 



washgopher said:
sure they want a football school. they need 8 teams to qualify for CFP
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They will have 10 full members (ie. members that are all sports other than football):

Air Force, Grand Canyon, Nevada, UNLV, New Mexico, San Jose State, Wyoming + new full members Hawaii (was football-only), UC Davis, and UTEP

Plus, Northern Illinois football-only and sure seems like NDSU football-only is in advanced discussion.


Grand Canyon (no football) and UC Davis (staying FCS in the Big Sky) will be non-football full members.
 

Both UC Davis and Sacramento State are located in the Sacramento area, so would be pretty wild for a lower level conference to have both (not like USC and UCLA, for example).

But just seems like it won't make sense for the Pac-12 to sit at nine members, seems like they're going to want to take at least one more. It's not like Texas State is anything special as a school ... so maybe California political pressure is enough for them to take Sac.

Don't think they can take any more MWC schools due to a new Grant of Rights.


Was just trying to think if it somehow made sense for MWC to take Sac and therefore also take South Dakota State football-only.
 



If you're a college football fan living a town with an FBS school go to a game or two right? Even if you aren't a fan of the team. I'm going to pick the best games against FBS opponents.
 

skauma said:
Its a bit of a toss up, but most would probably give it to NDSU for their athletics success.

UND has slightly larger enrollment. UND also has maybe a slight nod in academics, but both are very good in that area, just in separate fields. NDSU for STEM, UND for aerospace and law.
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Only MD school in ND is in Grand Forks.
 

The Deliberate Stranger said:
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
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I appreciate your perspective and I respect your opinion, but the Fargo/Moorhead metro is about 275,000 and growing rapidly. Industry and commerce are bursting; unemployment is virtually nil. The entire metro is rabid Bison country, as is all of SE North Dakota and the greater part of west central Minnesota.

There's no place in North America better positioned to graduate into a major market.
 

everybody knows my name said:
I appreciate your perspective and I respect your opinion, but the Fargo/Moorhead metro is about 275,000 and growing rapidly. Industry and commerce are bursting; unemployment is virtually nil. The entire metro is rabid Bison country, as is all of SE North Dakota and the greater part of west central Minnesota.

There's no place in North America better positioned to graduate into a major market.
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Nice try lol.
 



This is a great deal for the MWC. NDSU is paying $12.5m to the conference in addition to the $5m to NCAA to reclassify. The MWC media deal stinks, and it has promised legacy members no less than the prior deal ($3.5 million). It has also promised a ransom to UNLV and AFA to stay in the fold (upwards of $20m each) from the contested exit fees now being litigated with the PAC. The current GOR is through 2032. No doubt AFA and UNLV will be gone by then, if not sooner, if MWC is not successful in it's PAC litigation. NDSU ensures the conference will have 8 teams.

This is a wild amount to pay to move to a crappy conference. The financial investment will not be insignificant. Will a fan base that grew bored with games against regional peers and winning national championships stomach jacked up ticket prices and seat license fees to pay not only for increased scholarships and NIL, but also Title IX compliance, to see San Jose and play in a no name bowl against Kennesaw State? Will a board of higher Ed facing enrollment challenges and stingy legislative support agree to JMU like student fees specifically for athletics ($2500/yr)? How much media revenue will NDSU get from MWC? Certainly not $3.5m and likely very much less, if any at all initially. How many P4 teams, already weary of scheduling FCS NDSU, will schedule an FBS NDSU? Where will the money come from to get FBS teams to Fargo for non- conference games.

I have no doubt that NDSU can compete in the MWC but this is a huge gamble and the likelihood of emulating JMU very improbable.
 



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