NDSU to FBS almost confirmed?

[JimboCat]

The door is open for MSU to be the next NDSU and stack some Natty's

[catkidd95]

So now the MWC has to fo a shuffle and reschedule for this 2026 season to add NDSU.. will MSU lose the Nevada game?

[CodyCat]

So now the MWC has to fo a shuffle and reschedule for this 2026 season to add NDSU.. will MSU lose the Nevada game?

The MWC has not published a 26 conference schedule yet.

[tjbison]

MWC had a contigent schedule, already that included NDSU, this has been an ongoing negotiation not just this past month.

There are rumblings that the door will be closed on FCs to FBS and this was our shot to get in, hence also why Sac St is willing to pay. NDSU in the Fargo area has many large businesses that had money, just wasn't spending on FCS.

Anyway...we had some good games, hopefully we meet again, best of luck in the future!

[MTnative]

MWC had a contigent schedule, already that included NDSU, this has been an ongoing negotiation not just this past month.

There are rumblings that the door will be closed on FCs to FBS and this was our shot to get in, hence also why Sac St is willing to pay. NDSU in the Fargo area has many large businesses that had money, just wasn't spending on FCS.

Anyway...we had some good games, hopefully we meet again, best of luck in the future!

Rumblings from who exactly?

Let us know where you find all that money to buy your way into the MWC.

[4KornerKat]

I think we will still see you in 2027

[MTnative]

Maybe the BSC should invite SDSU to join the conference….

[catgrad05]

Maybe the BSC should invite SDSU to join the conference….

I wouldn’t say no to this but from their perspective they should stay with UND and USD as a closer rivalry

[GoldstoneCat]

MWC had a contigent schedule, already that included NDSU, this has been an ongoing negotiation not just this past month.

There are rumblings that the door will be closed on FCs to FBS and this was our shot to get in, hence also why Sac St is willing to pay. NDSU in the Fargo area has many large businesses that had money, just wasn't spending on FCS.

Anyway...we had some good games, hopefully we meet again, best of luck in the future!

Nobody has a clue what these leagues or even the NCAA will do. Maybe this works, or maybe you just paid 17.5 million to get into a zombie conference. Am I doing it right? Just throwing "rumblings" against the wall?

[MSU Doc]

I think we will still see you in 2027

Could they do a buyout to get revenge on the buyout we did with them?

[CodyCat]

I think we will still see you in 2027

Could they do a buyout to get revenge on the buyout we did with them?

It should be re-negotiated for a pretty large MSU payout. What did New Mexico pay MSU, $350,000?

[aucat]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

[GoldstoneCat]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

I think they're going to be good in 2026. My questions are more about their sustainability 5 years from now. They don't have near the enrollment of the bigger schools in the MWC, less donors, less kids to soak for athletic fees ala JMU if it comes to that, etc. The MWC champ will need to be 12-0 with picking off at least a decent P4 in the non conference to get a sniff of the CFP because the league and schedule are ass at this point. How does the NDSU ecosystem handle being just another team in a sea of meaningless bowl games after the novelty wears off? Obviously if there's some sort of split down the road, where the p4 splits and G6 realigns with a guaranteed slot for all conference champs, that's a different story but that's all conjecture at this point.
Paying 17.5m to get into this iteration of the MWC is nuts and I'm with you, ultimately, I hope they flop.

[hokeyfine]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

I think they're going to be good in 2026. My questions are more about their sustainability 5 years from now. They don't have near the enrollment of the bigger schools in the MWC, less donors, less kids to soak for athletic fees ala JMU if it comes to that, etc. The MWC champ will need to be 12-0 with picking off at least a decent P4 in the non conference to get a sniff of the CFP because the league and schedule are ass at this point. How does the NDSU ecosystem handle being just another team in a sea of meaningless bowl games after the novelty wears off? Obviously if there's some sort of split down the road, where the p4 splits and G6 realigns with a guaranteed slot for all conference champs, that's a different story but that's all conjecture at this point.
Paying 17.5m to get into this iteration of the MWC is nuts and I'm with you, ultimately, I hope they flop.

With this watered down version of the mountain West they are set up to have an easier transition to early success.

[MTnative]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

Same. They will probably be competitive for the first two years though.

Pretty hilarious to me that the Fargo Dome will be an FBS stadium. There’s no way they get a bigger dome built anytime soon with all the moving up expenses they are paying.

[GoldstoneCat]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

I think they're going to be good in 2026. My questions are more about their sustainability 5 years from now. They don't have near the enrollment of the bigger schools in the MWC, less donors, less kids to soak for athletic fees ala JMU if it comes to that, etc. The MWC champ will need to be 12-0 with picking off at least a decent P4 in the non conference to get a sniff of the CFP because the league and schedule are ass at this point. How does the NDSU ecosystem handle being just another team in a sea of meaningless bowl games after the novelty wears off? Obviously if there's some sort of split down the road, where the p4 splits and G6 realigns with a guaranteed slot for all conference champs, that's a different story but that's all conjecture at this point.
Paying 17.5m to get into this iteration of the MWC is nuts and I'm with you, ultimately, I hope they flop.

With this watered down version of the mountain West they are set up to have an easier transition to early success.

But what is success? 10-2? From the watered down MWC that doesn't sniff the CFP. Can a fan base whose entire identity and brand is built on winning national championships live with never winning another one? That's on the table. Can they live with competing for a conference championship as the ceiling? Does the brand hold up in recruiting if that is the case? I guess I'm just dubious.

[SLC_Cat]

So they paid $5 million to move from FCS to FBS and $12 million to MW for membership.

Has anyone seen what they had to pay MVFC as a penalty for leaving on such short notice?

[MSUcat44]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

I think they're going to be good in 2026. My questions are more about their sustainability 5 years from now. They don't have near the enrollment of the bigger schools in the MWC, less donors, less kids to soak for athletic fees ala JMU if it comes to that, etc. The MWC champ will need to be 12-0 with picking off at least a decent P4 in the non conference to get a sniff of the CFP because the league and schedule are ass at this point. How does the NDSU ecosystem handle being just another team in a sea of meaningless bowl games after the novelty wears off? Obviously if there's some sort of split down the road, where the p4 splits and G6 realigns with a guaranteed slot for all conference champs, that's a different story but that's all conjecture at this point.
Paying 17.5m to get into this iteration of the MWC is nuts and I'm with you, ultimately, I hope they flop.

With this watered down version of the mountain West they are set up to have an easier transition to early success.

But what is success? 10-2? From the watered down MWC that doesn't sniff the CFP. Can a fan base whose entire identity and brand is built on winning national championships live with never winning another one? That's on the table. Can they live with competing for a conference championship as the ceiling? Does the brand hold up in recruiting if that is the case? I guess I'm just dubious.

I also agree. I hope they get stomped to humble all those horrible bison fans. The only problem is, if NDSU gets smacked and they are the best FCS program in history, does that affect the Montana’s and SDSU from making the jump? Will FBS conferences not want to take us if NDSU fails? I can never root for NDSU but at the same time, it may not be a good look if they are ass.

[Bocephus]

There is a now a possibility that Vigen’s next job could be with NDSU now that they are FBS.

[tetoncat]

I personally hope that NDSU falls flat on its face. It's at least gratifying that their last year in FCS they didn't make it to the championship game.

Same. They will probably be competitive for the first two years though.

Pretty hilarious to me that the Fargo Dome will be an FBS stadium. There’s no way they get a bigger dome built anytime soon with all the moving up expenses they are paying.

I think they will be less competitive early. Not as much depth. MVFC was a grind but an FBS schedule will be as well. How long will donors pony up to be good but never sniffing championships. It's one thing to beat CO or Iowa but another to do that to the elites of FBS.