Are the Bison ready for FBS football???

[dancingNMSUaggie]

Hey guys. What did you think about this report? Just curious. Not trying to start anything other than a discussion, not a controversy:

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/63709/

[CaBisonFan]

Hey guys. What did you think about this report? Just curious. Not trying to start anything other than a discussion, not a controversy:

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/63709/

It's a poorly written article with some good points made. Taylor is correct in saying that we can't allow the top programs in the FCS to leave while we stay where we are.

The FBS is headed toward some type of playoff system. The FCS won't stay like it is now.

We want to continue to be the premiere football program in the tri-state area.

Do what UC-Davis and Cal Poly have done. Start plans for a new stadium so that we're not 20 years behind in the process when we need to move.

[4mcruenomore]

It's Lakes new log in.

[KSBisonFan]

This article was:

a) proofreaded by someone at the Forum

b) written on an olde typewritere withoute correctione tape

c) typed using Dom' left big toe while riding a sheeeeep

d) all of the above

C'mon, man!

[roadwarrior]

The "article" was their script for reading on the air.

[tony]

Hey guys. What did you think about this report? Just curious. Not trying to start anything other than a discussion, not a controversy:

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/63709/

I don't know if NDSU is ready for the FBS yet, but I sure would like to play NMSU. A) NDSU considers NMSU a peer B) Gotta like your nickname C) Gotta like your stadium.

Be cool to be in the same conference some day... in the meantime, good luck and best wishes.

[4mcruenomore]

No way a NMSU fan finds an article on WDAY the same exact time that Lakes posts it on his facebook profile talking about FBS. No way...I had a revelation lastnight concerning Lakes Bison, and it's on.

[tony]

No way a NMSU fan finds an article on WDAY the same exact time that Lakes posts it on his facebook profile talking about FBS. No way...I had a revelation lastnight concerning Lakes Bison, and it's on.

He's legit - it's a New Mexico IP address.

[4mcruenomore]

Thanks Tony for checking, seemed a little fishy that's all. I mean, what are the odds, right?

[CaBisonFan]

Scripts for reading on the air should be in English.

[BisonAccountant44]

No way a NMSU fan finds an article on WDAY the same exact time that Lakes posts it on his facebook profile talking about FBS. No way...I had a revelation lastnight concerning Lakes Bison, and it's on.

IIRC, this guy has been here two or three times trying to tell people it would be a good idea to move up and join the WAC.

[westnodak93bison]

Correct me if I'm wrong but with a move to fbs the football schollys would increase from 63 to 85. With Title IX we would need to add 22 female scholarships which would mean a few new women's sports or drop a couple mens programs?

[4mcruenomore]

Correct me if I'm wrong but with a move to fbs the football schollys would increase from 63 to 85. With Title IX we would need to add 22 female scholarships which would mean a few new women's sports or drop a couple mens programs?

It's amazing the shit people JUST think of, thanks sherlock, no one has ever thought of that one before.

[tony]

Correct me if I'm wrong but with a move to fbs the football schollys would increase from 63 to 85. With Title IX we would need to add 22 female scholarships which would mean a few new women's sports or drop a couple mens programs?

I would really have a hard time supporting dropping any sports... wonder what sports NDSU could add on the women's side. I suppose Equestrian (15) for sure.

[Twentysix]

I would really have a hard time supporting dropping any sports... wonder what sports NDSU could add on the women's side. I suppose Equestrian (15) for sure.

Womens rifle? Womens lacrosse? Swimming? Womens Hockey? No idea how many scholarships those use.

[Bisonguy]

Correct me if I'm wrong but with a move to fbs the football schollys would increase from 63 to 85. With Title IX we would need to add 22 female scholarships which would mean a few new women's sports or drop a couple mens programs?

Probably not going to drop any sports. NDSU is currently at 16 sports, the minimum required for an FBS school, with indoor and outdoor track counting as separate sports.

[Hammersmith]

It's amazing the shit people JUST think of, thanks sherlock, no one has ever thought of that one before.
But NDSU doesn't use the Proportionality prong of the Title IX test; we use the Interests and Abilities prong. So it's not like we would need to add scholarships on a 1 to 1 basis. We might be able to offset the additional cost of FBS by investing even more in our current women's sports. Better pay for coaches, another round of improvements to facilities(hintsoftballhint), more money for traveling and recruiting budgets, etc. That being said, we're already pretty far out on our participation ratio and I don't have any idea where the line is where we would start courting another Title IX complaint. But I bet NDSU could stay within the spirit and letter of the law by adding a single women's sport even if it didn't add the same number of scholarships as FBS football. The key would be to fund the new sport to at least the same degree as we do the other women's sports. IOW, straight to the top of the conference. I figure tennis would be the likely choice. Swimming & diving might work if a competition-level facility ends up being built down by the new Sanford site.

[westnodak93bison]

But NDSU doesn't use the Proportionality prong of the Title IX test; we use the Interests and Abilities prong. So it's not like we would need to add scholarships on a 1 to 1 basis. We might be able to offset the additional cost of FBS by investing even more in our current women's sports. Better pay for coaches, another round of improvements to facilities(hintsoftballhint), more money for traveling and recruiting budgets, etc. That being said, we're already pretty far out on our participation ratio and I don't have any idea where the line is where we would start courting another Title IX complaint. But I bet NDSU could stay within the spirit and letter of the law by adding a single women's sport even if it didn't add the same number of scholarships as FBS football. The key would be to fund the new sport to at least the same degree as we do the other women's sports. IOW, straight to the top of the conference. I figure tennis would be the likely choice. Swimming & diving might work if a competition-level facility ends up being built down by the new Sanford site.

Well thanks Sherlock. Maybe it wasn't such a dumb question after all. Glad somebody could clear up some of the details.

[dancingNMSUaggie]

Hey guys. I am a legit NMSU Aggie fan that lives right here in Cruces. It's funny but I started getting interested in NDSU because we were both on Minnesota's schedule last year and we both beat them! I started following the program and was intrigued by the fan support and the great games you played during the year. I actually got a couple of my friends to start following NDSU and we had a NDSU party for the FCS championship game! Congrats by the way. I live right here in Las Cruces and am always hopeful we can end our terrible drought. We were much more competitive last year and hope we can win in the last year of the watered down WAC. I don't want to sound like Skunkape but my new idea is for you guys along with Idaho, NMSU, Montana, Montana State, and Sacramento State to join the MWC. It would be a 16 team conference with natural geographical rivals with great fanbase support and a great market like Sacramento. You guys have great tradition and a great program. Regardless if you move up or not I wish you well and hope we can be in the same conference someday. Would love to travel to Fargo and see a game in the Dome! You guys could come down here and eat some good chili!

[TateMosersneighbor]

We had better cool our jets here a bit folks. All this talk about FBS football makes my head spin, we are not going anywhere so can we concentrate on the summer and winning 10+ games next fall?

Good Chili can be found by finding any chili made by family of runtheoption and eating it, you don't need to go to New Mexico.

The real question is how fast will the home opener sell out?

[TheBisonator]

Hey guys. I am a legit NMSU Aggie fan that lives right here in Cruces. It's funny but I started getting interested in NDSU because we were both on Minnesota's schedule last year and we both beat them! I started following the program and was intrigued by the fan support and the great games you played during the year. I actually got a couple of my friends to start following NDSU and we had a NDSU party for the FCS championship game! Congrats by the way. I live right here in Las Cruces and am always hopeful we can end our terrible drought. We were much more competitive last year and hope we can win in the last year of the watered down WAC. I don't want to sound like Skunkape but my new idea is for you guys along with Idaho, NMSU, Montana, Montana State, and Sacramento State to join the MWC. It would be a 16 team conference with natural geographical rivals with great fanbase support and a great market like Sacramento. You guys have great tradition and a great program. Regardless if you move up or not I wish you well and hope we can be in the same conference someday. Would love to travel to Fargo and see a game in the Dome! You guys could come down here and eat some good chili!

Thanks for the support from NMSU. There are several things hindering our ability to move up to FBS at this moment. 1) Our athletic budget is only a little over $15 million. 2) Our 19,000 seat indoor stadium cannot be expanded without extreme engineering creativity, and 3) Fargo-Moorhead's metro area population, at least IMO, has not reached that critical mass of population. (We're at just over 212,000 in the metro now). But I think the most important thing, and the one thing that cannot be changed or improved, is our location. We're literally 250 miles from nowhere. There's nothing between F-M and Sioux Falls to the south, Winnipeg to the north and the Twin Cities to the SE (for the most part, I count St. Cloud as part of the Mpls Metro). And you will not find a larger city than F-M until Boise, ID if you drive out west.

We like where we are at the moment, but we are well aware of all the potential FCS moves to the FCS that are taking shape. When the time comes, I believe we will have a plan.

[TbonZach]

Thanks for the support from NMSU. There are several things hindering our ability to move up to FBS at this moment. 1) Our athletic budget is only a little over $15 million. 2) Our 19,000 seat indoor stadium cannot be expanded without extreme engineering creativity, and 3) Fargo-Moorhead's metro area population, at least IMO, has not reached that critical mass of population. (We're at just over 212,000 in the metro now). But I think the most important thing, and the one thing that cannot be changed or improved, is our location. We're literally 250 miles from nowhere. There's nothing between F-M and Sioux Falls to the south, Winnipeg to the north and the Twin Cities to the SE (for the most part, I count St. Cloud as part of the Mpls Metro). And you will not find a larger city than F-M until Boise, ID if you drive out west.

We like where we are at the moment, but we are well aware of all the potential FCS moves to the FCS that are taking shape. When the time comes, I believe we will have a plan.

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/183/050/tumblr_lmpdixbFDm1qdt7kvo1_500.png

[MNLonghorn10]

ndsu should start scheduling 2 fbs games. i wish theyd of scheduled nebraska over colorado state this year...theres no reason at all that ndsu should lose to colorado state, and i think with bohls connection to nebraska, that could be a trap game for the huskers, and a win at lincoln would do wonders for putting ndsu on the map...yea, kansas & minnesota are nice...so are the non bcs conference wins, but that would be a signature win for a program if they were really looking to leap.


i dont doubt the support is here in fargo, especially if they put in a 20-40k new stadium with room for expansion if that means bigger opponents. i'd love to see it evolve in the next 10 years. i doubt it will, but hey we can dream.

[TbonZach]

i dont doubt the support is here in fargo, especially if they put in a 20-40k new stadium with room for expansion if that means bigger opponents. i'd love to see it evolve in the next 10 years. i doubt it will, but hey we can dream.

Good luck getting the city/legislature to pay for it.

[TheBisonator]

Good luck getting the city/legislature to pay for it.

That kind of thing would have to be mostly privately funded. Donations/student fees. Hence the difficulty in doing it.

[MNLonghorn10]

Good luck getting the city/legislature to pay for it.
psh, you guys can apparently make money without property taxes! who's to say they couldn't pull this off without property taxes? haha

[TheBisonator]

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/183/050/tumblr_lmpdixbFDm1qdt7kvo1_500.png

Oh yeah, those two towns called Brookings and Grand Forks. I remember now... *bleh*

[CaBisonFan]

Being a community of about 200,000 that's not very close to another big city sounds like the perfect location for an FBS program.

[JSUBison]

Hey guys. I am a legit NMSU Aggie fan that lives right here in Cruces. It's funny but I started getting interested in NDSU because we were both on Minnesota's schedule last year and we both beat them! I started following the program and was intrigued by the fan support and the great games you played during the year. I actually got a couple of my friends to start following NDSU and we had a NDSU party for the FCS championship game! Congrats by the way. I live right here in Las Cruces and am always hopeful we can end our terrible drought. We were much more competitive last year and hope we can win in the last year of the watered down WAC. I don't want to sound like Skunkape but my new idea is for you guys along with Idaho, NMSU, Montana, Montana State, and Sacramento State to join the MWC. It would be a 16 team conference with natural geographical rivals with great fanbase support and a great market like Sacramento. You guys have great tradition and a great program. Regardless if you move up or not I wish you well and hope we can be in the same conference someday. Would love to travel to Fargo and see a game in the Dome! You guys could come down here and eat some good chili!

Ever since the WAC really went bonzo the past month, I've been lurking a bit on the scout forums. You guys and Idaho are sure in a tough spot, don't wish that on anyone except maybe you know whioux. I'm against FBS right now for the reasons listed in this thread and a few others as well. But I will say that if you guys are somehow stuck as an independent for a couple of years, I think it would be exciting to get a home/home with NMSU. Straight up, no cash changing hands. Your AD probably wouldn't go for traveling to a FCS though, but you will be needing home games.

[HerdBot]

I dont know. One side of me looks at teams like Georgia Southern and Appalachian going to the FSB as an opportunity to dominate lthe FBS like we dominated D2. We have it good. Great conference with great rivals. Add UND and USD to the mix and we have bus trip games and fun road trips.

FBS depends on conference affiliations. We have a tough time filling non conference FCS opponents. How the heck are we going to get 2 FBS teams to come to Fargo? We could bring in an FCS team but does anyone want to see that?

I honestly think we could win the MAC right now with 25 less scholarships. The MAC would give us 3 ESPN games per year and that doesn't count a Bowl Game. The MAC Championship game is huge too and its on ESPN.. In addition to our already good TV coverage it would be phenomenal. I would like to see how the playoff format works out. If its a 4 team playoff to pimp the top 4 conferences Im not excited. And of course we would need either SDSU or UND to make the jump with us.

I would rather stay FCS and add D1 Hockey at this point in time. It would be huge and we have a great venue just sitting there.

[BlueBisonRock]

We had better cool our jets here a bit folks. All this talk about FBS football makes my head spin, we are not going anywhere so can we concentrate on the summer and winning 10+ games next fall?

Good Chili can be found by finding any chili made by family of runtheoption and eating it, you don't need to go to New Mexico.

The real question is how fast will the home opener sell out?

I was under the impression that RtO was known for his knoeffle soup? Its a stretch to move from excellent German food to excellence in chili. To convince me / Bisonville, I suggest that RtO make a ten quart pot of this chili and bring it to the Horny Bison stretch of parking lot pavement for game one. Then we can judge and discover if the man is so talented that he can create the best Knoeffle and Chili.

Key point, he will need to bring the chili to a different location and will be judged by persons who expect only the best.

You game to convince RtO neighbor?

[CaBisonFan]

The program has been ready to move to the FBS for many years...strictly in terms of the caliber of play that it's capable of.

The size of the city and its location couldn't be better. We could pull some recruits out of the Twin Cities who might go to Gopherland or elsewhere.

The money would be found. I'd spend some fracking money on a stadium...sooner than later. Get into the MAC or the WAC. Bring those teams to town.

Win a couple more FCS championships...get the stadium going...set the fundraising goals...get the mechanism going...then make the jump.

I expect to see schools like St. Cloud making the move to the FCS soon. That would be the signal telling us that we belong elsewhere.

[td577]

I think it is awesome there is legitimate discussion about FBS. This is a long ways from the criticism for moving to FCS. I think the NDSU admin has it right. What is best for NDSU? Yes there are other FCS powerhouse teams moving up, but it doesn't mean there won't be someone to take their place. While past performance can be a pretty good indicator of the future, there were many who thought the Bison program was in a tailspin when we made the FCS move. There is nothing to say some of these other FCS programs, or FCS wannabes can't garner the support necessary to build a solid program.

Let's say the future is FCS. Just because the surrounding might take on more of a NCC flavor in looks, it doesn't mean the performance will be anything less than what we are seeing now. The SCSUs of the world might find the local support similar to that of the Bison and build a competitive program.

If NDSU starts a run of domination, then the only solution is to move up. It will be imperative any move to FBS will have to be done when the tide is highest. IMO, the move only makes sense to build an attractive enough program for a BCS conference. The Bison faithful will do its part by showing its continued willingness to travel. Being competitive against FBS opponents will continue to stir the pot when it comes to any discussion about moving up.

Keys to moving to FBS
1. Competitiveness against FBS opponents, especially those from BCS conferences.
2. Continued success in FCS at Championship levels.
3. The attractiveness for a BCS conference to bring in an institution known for its fans willingness to travel.
4. Develop a stadium plan which includes funding and location.
5. Continue to grow Bison nation.
6. Build a string of consecutive sellouts.

2/3rds of the plan are really fan dependent. NDSU fans and alumni have to express even a greater level of support. The population of the FM area can support it as long as we turn this into a Bison 1st Nation. Bison football needs to become bigger than NDSU. Cobber and Dragon alum can see their football programs as a connection to their alma mater, but the Bison program needs to become bigger than the institution by really becoming the pride of the area and ND. You look at some of the powerhouse BCS schools out there and you see their programs transcend your typical connectivity. Go to facebook and see how many people have Buckeye or Gator avators who have never been to Ohio or Florida. NDSU doesn't need to become the next national draw but it needs to become the biggest game in the area. We know this is the truth now to reach out to a tri-state area and show this is the best product to buy into regardless of past affiliations. Encourage them to still support their Dragon, Cobber, and Whioux programs, but that Bison football is the bidness.
Iowa City pop. - 67000
Madison pop. - 230000
Lincoln - 260000
Lawrence - 87000
Boise - 206000
College Station - 94000

[cbline]

I expect to see schools like St. Cloud making the move to the FCS soon. That would be the signal telling us that we belong elsewhere.

I'm not so sure that the powers that be would allow another full D-I school in Minnesota, especially with St. Cloud's proximity to the Twin Cities. Hasn't this been poo-poo'ed in past discussions?

[runtheoption]

I was under the impression that RtO was known for his knoeffle soup? Its a stretch to move from excellent German food to excellence in chili. To convince me / Bisonville, I suggest that RtO make a ten quart pot of this chili and bring it to the Horny Bison stretch of parking lot pavement for game one. Then we can judge and discover if the man is so talented that he can create the best Knoeffle and Chili.

Key point, he will need to bring the chili to a different location and will be judged by persons who expect only the best.

You game to convince RtO neighbor?

A central ND native such as yourself should know that it is "knoephla" soup. I am starting to doubt your Wells County heritage.

TateMosersneighbor, while sometimes having questionable Bison loyalties as he waffles over buying FB season tickets, has experienced the best of the not-so-secret ingredients we use: a hella lot of black pepper, combo of different chile's, some habarnero, beer, and Copenhagen (snuff, not long cut).

I will see what I can do come tailgate time.

[BlueBisonRock]

A central ND native such as yourself should know that it is "knoephla" soup. I am starting to doubt your Wells County heritage.

TateMosersneighbor, while sometimes having questionable Bison loyalties as he waffles over buying FB season tickets, has experienced the best of the not-so-secret ingredients we use: a hella lot of black pepper, combo of different chile's, some habarnero, beer, and Copenhagen (snuff, not long cut).

I will see what I can do come tailgate time.

The spanking was well deserved. Please be advised that spelling was never my strong suit. Computers, cooking, and taking interesting shots of people got more focus.

Nothing like a habarnero bomb to liven things up. And, I admit I have never made chili with snuff.....

[riceweb]

Iowa City pop. - 67000
Madison pop. - 230000
Lincoln - 260000
Lawrence - 87000
Boise - 206000
College Station - 94000

Metro areas for those cities:

Iowa City - 154,000 (plus it's just miles from the Cedar Rapids and Davenport metros)
Lincoln - 302,000
Lawrence - 110,000 (plus it's literally just outside the 2m KC metro)
Madison - 568,000
Boise - 616,000
College Station - 228,000 (plus it's so close to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas)

So Fargo's a long way from those. Further, NDSU's enrollment is far less as well which also equates to a smaller alumni base. NDSU would want to be careful jumping up too quickly without allowing time to grow the student population and the alumni base.

That said, I do think that Fargo is in an interesting position to be THE football program for the state with a fairly long reach.

[bri-dog]

The spanking was well deserved. Please be advised that spelling was never my strong suit. Computers, cooking, and taking interesting shots of people got more focus.

Nothing like a habarnero bomb to liven things up. And, I admit I have never made chili with snuff.....

Pun intended???

[BlueBisonRock]

Pun intended???

That was a snappy reply!

Perhaps pun. Perhaps un. We can discuss this while judging RtO's chili. That aught be a hot topic.

[NorthernBison]

The news today about the SEC and Big 12 structuring their own Bowl game has a lot of people talking. It's a five year deal starting in 2014 and, to me, signals the inevitability of a FOUR team playoff at the upper level of College Football. I think it gives us a "Hint" of the timeline until the real monumental changes occur. I'm guessing 2020. My uneducated prediction?

That's when I think the UPPER ELITE will be narrowed down. I think it will be a very select group. Probably only FOUR Conferences at the top. (SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 12). Maybe some or all will have more members than they currently have. No way will this group have more than 64 programs and not less than 48. Whatever they call themselves (probably not BCS) they will not answer to the NCAA other than for eligibility issues etc because they need the rest of the NCAA members to fill out schedules.

The rest of D1 college football will split itself into two levels. Probably defined by 85 and 63 scholarship levels and BOTH will have NCAA playoff structures. NDSU will not have a decision to make. Conferences like the CAA, MVFC, and Big Sky will move up to compete. The rest of the current FCS will stay where it is.

About the only things above that I feel strongly will happen is the paring down of the elites and the lack of any really tough decisons to be made by strong FCS programs like NDSU.

[CaBisonFan]

Metro areas for those cities:

Iowa City - 154,000 (plus it's just miles from the Cedar Rapids and Davenport metros)
Lincoln - 302,000
Lawrence - 110,000 (plus it's literally just outside the 2m KC metro)
Madison - 568,000
Boise - 616,000
College Station - 228,000 (plus it's so close to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas)

So Fargo's a long way from those. Further, NDSU's enrollment is far less as well which also equates to a smaller alumni base. NDSU would want to be careful jumping up too quickly without allowing time to grow the student population and the alumni base.

That said, I do think that Fargo is in an interesting position to be THE football program for the state with a fairly long reach.

If NDSU took this step the university would grow...and the city would grow. It's a chicken or egg thing.

Also...the Twin Cities are just down the interstate. Fertile recruiting ground and a ton of alumni.

[thebigund]

If NDSU took this step the university would grow...and the city would grow. It's a chicken or egg thing.

Also...the Twin Cities are just down the interstate. Fertile recruiting ground and a ton of alumni.
Where is the room for the school to grow, it's bursting at the seems with its current footprint.

[NDSU92]

If NDSU took this step the university would grow...and the city would grow. It's a chicken or egg thing.

Also...the Twin Cities are just down the interstate. Fertile recruiting ground and a ton of alumni.

Couldn't agree more, in mid January I talked someone in admissions and he said they were on pace to shatter the previous record for applications from incoming freshmen and he said the football team was probably the biggest reason for the increase.

[NDSU92]

Where is the room for the school to grow, it's bursting at the seems with its current footprint.

Hopefully with Morton now on the higher ed board NDSU can finally receive some sort of more funding.

[344Johnson]

Where is the room for the school to grow, it's bursting at the seems with its current footprint.

I believe I have heard NDSU is buying up land on the east side of University. Plenty of room to the west of campus too IMO. I don't know how much of that is owned by NDSU, but if we maintain growth, I'm sure land will be snatched up.

Like 92 said, Hopefully having Morton, a very well respected man I believe, on the board, funding could start to increase.

[IndyBison]

The news today about the SEC and Big 12 structuring their own Bowl game has a lot of people talking. It's a five year deal starting in 2014 and, to me, signals the inevitability of a FOUR team playoff at the upper level of College Football. I think it gives us a "Hint" of the timeline until the real monumental changes occur. I'm guessing 2020. My uneducated prediction?

That's when I think the UPPER ELITE will be narrowed down. I think it will be a very select group. Probably only FOUR Conferences at the top. (SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac 12). Maybe some or all will have more members than they currently have. No way will this group have more than 64 programs and not less than 48. Whatever they call themselves (probably not BCS) they will not answer to the NCAA other than for eligibility issues etc because they need the rest of the NCAA members to fill out schedules.

The rest of D1 college football will split itself into two levels. Probably defined by 85 and 63 scholarship levels and BOTH will have NCAA playoff structures. NDSU will not have a decision to make. Conferences like the CAA, MVFC, and Big Sky will move up to compete. The rest of the current FCS will stay where it is.

About the only things above that I feel strongly will happen is the paring down of the elites and the lack of any really tough decisons to be made by strong FCS programs like NDSU.
I agree the general structure of your prediction will happen. The elite will still be part of the NCAA. What you are referring to is the group that will organize the championship. The NCAA is primarily a compliance, education, and championship organization. The membership has never made an effort to create a championship for football. Polls were created that named a champion but the NCAA never did. The BCS was created as a separate organization of NCAA members to identify a champion and they have done that for several years. The NCAA could re-organize the levels into Elite, D1-upper and D1-lower, and then create a championship for the two D1 groups. The Elite group would create their own championship.

[HerdBot]

Where is the room for the school to grow, it's bursting at the seems with its current footprint.

Downtown campus

[344Johnson]

Downtown campus

Love that building.

[taper]

I believe I have heard NDSU is buying up land on the east side of University. Plenty of room to the west of campus too IMO. I don't know how much of that is owned by NDSU, but if we maintain growth, I'm sure land will be snatched up.

Like 92 said, Hopefully having Morton, a very well respected man I believe, on the board, funding could start to increase.

I know a guy who owned one of the rental houses near 15th Ave and 12th St. Hadn't planned on selling but NDSU made him a good enough offer about 2 years ago. I know NDSU owns a large chunk of that area and are paying what it takes to get more. I'm guessing once they get a large enough continuous plot they'll rip it up and expand.

[roadwarrior]

Just to make it clear, it is the NDSU Development Foundation that owns a bunch of properties east of University Drive, not the school.

[Bison bison]

Where is the room for the school to grow, it's bursting at the seems with its current footprint.

?

Campus is huge.

The easiest thing to do would be to plop a large classroom/office building on a parking lot in central campus.

That would accommodate 5k students easy cheesy.

Of course, there is a much better return on investment systemwide to build a $12 million science building at VCSU.

[BisonNeil]

Metro areas for those cities:

Iowa City - 154,000 (plus it's just miles from the Cedar Rapids and Davenport metros)
Lincoln - 302,000
Lawrence - 110,000 (plus it's literally just outside the 2m KC metro)
Madison - 568,000
Boise - 616,000
College Station - 228,000 (plus it's so close to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas)

So Fargo's a long way from those. Further, NDSU's enrollment is far less as well which also equates to a smaller alumni base. NDSU would want to be careful jumping up too quickly without allowing time to grow the student population and the alumni base.

That said, I do think that Fargo is in an interesting position to be THE football program for the state with a fairly long reach.

I don't think those examples are relevant. Those cities are for BCS-type schools. No way NDSU goes from FCS to a BCS-type level. For NDSU, FBS means the likes of the MAC, WAC (ugh, I want no part of that shit conference) or Mountain West. If you want to compare NDSU's current attendance at football games to teams in those conferences, that would be relevant.

[BisonNeil]

The news today about the SEC and Big 12 structuring their own Bowl game has a lot of people talking. It's a five year deal starting in 2014 and, to me, signals the inevitability of a FOUR team playoff at the upper level of College Football. I think it gives us a "Hint" of the timeline until the real monumental changes occur. I'm guessing 2020. My uneducated prediction?

The "inevitability of a FOUR team playoff" was sealed weeks ago. The current BCS contract runs out after what, the 2014 season I think? So, my guess is your timeline is five years too late, it will likely be 2015, if not before.

[BisonNeil]

If NDSU took this step the university would grow...and the city would grow. It's a chicken or egg thing.

Also...the Twin Cities are just down the interstate. Fertile recruiting ground and a ton of alumni.

NDSU would grow, if it could, but there is simply no room unfortuantely. NDSU does virtually no recruiting for students, compared to what it used to under Chapman, and still have 14,500.

Now, if brain dead legislators like Al Carlson and Bob Holmberg got off their dead ass and realized what an economic engine the two research universities were for the state of ND and fixed the tuition model (it is due to be "fixed" in the next legislative session but I have serious doubts that it will positively affect NDSU like it should because ND legislators are basically idiots), and were willing to build classrooms at both institutions, then I would agree with you.

But, until there is significant brick and mortar at NDSU, the student body cannot increase much. There just isn't room :(

[BisonNeil]

Hopefully with Morton now on the higher ed board NDSU can finally receive some sort of more funding.

SBOHE is only PART of the problem. See my previous post.

[IzzyFlexion]

The spanking was well deserved.

Told you guys that photo circulating around the Gopher game tailgate wasn't photo-shopped. Some dudes are simply predisposed to these types of fetishes.

Dang, what does a guy have to do to get some cred around here?

http://gloriabrame.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b90769e2014e60182c79970c-500wi

j/k Rockzilla. Love you, man. Not "I'm willing to spank you" love you, but we'll get there.

[NorthernBison]

The "inevitability of a FOUR team playoff" was sealed weeks ago. The current BCS contract runs out after what, the 2014 season I think? So, my guess is your timeline is five years too late, it will likely be 2015, if not before.

Sorry. You didn't read enough into my post. I think 2020 (maybe earlier) is when the REAL changes occur. A four team playoff is minor. There are a whole bunch of programs that are going to get shut out after the elite consolidate. I expect that upper group to be 48-64 programs. Four conferences max

[344Johnson]

I know a guy who owned one of the rental houses near 15th Ave and 12th St. Hadn't planned on selling but NDSU made him a good enough offer about 2 years ago. I know NDSU owns a large chunk of that area and are paying what it takes to get more. I'm guessing once they get a large enough continuous plot they'll rip it up and expand.

I'm on 16th ave and 12th St. Not real far away.

[thebigund]

?

Campus is huge.

The easiest thing to do would be to plop a large classroom/office building on a parking lot in central campus.

That would accommodate 5k students easy cheesy.

Of course, there is a much better return on investment systemwide to build a $12 million science building at VCSU.
the campus is half the size of UND's huge wouldn't be a word to describe it

[Hammersmith]

Where is the room for the school to grow, it's bursting at the seems with its current footprint.
There's plenty of room to grow with the existing footprint. All it takes is money for new buildings. The campus master plan has identified locations for an additional 2.3 million square feet of academic space on the main campus. Over 1 million of that is within the Albrecht corridor. Now, it's true that NDSU doesn't have much room to grow enrollment with the buildings it does have, but there are still some things the school can do. First, the new buildings downtown plus the Minard addition allow for about another thousand or two students to be added. We could always go for a big increase in online enrollment, but who really wants to be another Rasmussen branch? Finally, a big and positive improvement would be to raise the 4 and 5 year graduation rates. The quicker the time to graduation, the less space the students take up while they're here.

[344Johnson]

the campus is half the size of UND's huge wouldn't be a word to describe it

And UND does a terrible job using all that space. Your point?

[Bison bison]

the campus is half the size of UND's huge wouldn't be a word to describe it

this is close to being the dumbest thing I've ever read on the internet.

NDSU owns about 1800 contiguous acres in north Fargo, about a third of which are developed.

[CaBisonFan]

this is close to being the dumbest thing I've ever read on the internet.

NDSU owns about 1800 contiguous acres in north Fargo, about a third of which are developed.

UND folks mostly believe that their school is bigger 'n better in everything...including their...(cough)...football program.

[344Johnson]

UND folks mostly believe that their school is bigger 'n better in everything...including their...(cough)...football program.

The main campus at UND is significantly bigger I believe. I also have been told by my friends that leaving the dorm 25 minutes early is a must due to how far away the classrooms are. I like our campus.

[BisonNeil]

This is a pretty good interview of Doug Fullerton, commissioner of the Big Sky, and how they are trying to grow the FCS brand.

A couple of worthy items in the article to note. First, I agree with the Haley and with Fullerton, I think the FCS level of football wasn't done any favors when the NCAA got rid of the IA and IAA designations and went to FBS and FCS. Too many people don't realize that FCS is DI football. Secondly, the BSC definitely wants one more member to get to 14 and have 7 team divisions. Either NMSU and UI may have an option there to drop down.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/writers/fiveaside/index.htm

[reformedUNDfan]

And UND does a terrible job using all that space. Your point?

I can confirm how underutilized much of UND's campus is, despite heavy marketing. The remodeled education building is my new favorite example. some of the science buildings are a little tight, notably the chem labs, in that they have to hold the occasional class after 3pm

[reformedUNDfan]

if ndsu could find a proper conference home (MWC would be best imo), and can finish the current round of facilities and equalize state funding across schools, then it should be able to pull it off.

the only thing standing between NDSU and 20,000 students is poor state funding imo.

[thebigund]

this is close to being the dumbest thing I've ever read on the internet.

NDSU owns about 1800 contiguous acres in north Fargo, about a third of which are developed.
maybe if you read it instead of listened to it and you might understand it. NDSU campus is listed as 258 acres. UND campus is listed as 549 acres. Not much else to say.

[taper]

Just for the record, NDSU extension centers are over 18,000 acres spread across the state. This makes us the largest research university in the world.

To head off the inevitable, yes, there are other universities that own more land. Those are mostly parks, wildlife preserves, and other uninhabited, unused areas. We put our land to work.

[CaBisonFan]

I can confirm how underutilized much of UND's campus is, despite heavy marketing. The remodeled education building is my new favorite example. some of the science buildings are a little tight, notably the chem labs, in that they have to hold the occasional class after 3pm

Yeah...you guys doubled up on the education thing. North Dakota (the state) already had a full program for education. Just had to have it. That's UND.

[Hammerhead]

Corvallis Ore. only has about 54,000 residents although Salem-Springfield (roughly 200,000) is just down the road and Portland a little further down the road. Then again, they've only had a competitive team for a few years in the past few decadses.



Iowa City pop. - 67000
Madison pop. - 230000
Lincoln - 260000
Lawrence - 87000
Boise - 206000
College Station - 94000

[CaBisonFan]

We'd have the Twin Cities just down the interstate. They're starving for an fbs program.

[344Johnson]

maybe if you read it instead of listened to it and you might understand it. NDSU campus is listed as 258 acres. UND campus is listed as 549 acres. Not much else to say.

As a student of NDSU, who has been around UND's campus as well...date a girl up there. Our campus is designed almost like a city. Buildings are close together. The only part that isn't like that is the old area (putnam, union, old main, menard, etc.). I personally love our campus. I love how functional it is. Super easy to go from building to other side of campus in 5-10 minutes. Every classroom is within 5-10 minutes when you live in the dorms.

UND has a prettier campus. More scenic, but being a rational person, I'd rather walk 5 minutes than 10. 10 than 20 etc. But some people like the scenic thing, and if they do, UND is a fine place.


NDSU to FBS? Something I'd have never dreamed of when I was younger, even when NDSU transitioned to D-I, and I was in middle school, I'd have hardly thought about it. I don't know what to think about it, but NDSU's administration has not let me down since I have been around. I think NDSU wouldn't take an unnecessary risk.


Yeah...you guys doubled up on the education thing. North Dakota (the state) already had a full program for education. Just had to have it. That's UND.

You mean when they couldn't handle NDSU having a larger enrollment so they added a bunch of online students?

[bri-dog]

As a student of NDSU, who has been around UND's campus as well...date a girl up there. Our campus is designed almost like a city. Buildings are close together. The only part that isn't like that is the old area (putnam, union, old main, menard, etc.). I personally love our campus. I love how functional it is. Super easy to go from building to other side of campus in 5-10 minutes. Every classroom is within 5-10 minutes when you live in the dorms.



My ex-wife went to UND. My advice to you....










RUN AWAY!!!!! :biggrin:

[thebigund]

Just for the record, NDSU extension centers are over 18,000 acres spread across the state. This makes us the largest research university in the world.

To head off the inevitable, yes, there are other universities that own more land. Those are mostly parks, wildlife preserves, and other uninhabited, unused areas. We put our land to work.
Congrats, but unless those wheat fields contain dorms and class rooms they mean nothing in terms of NDSU's ability to grow and sustain more students.

[344Johnson]

Congrats, but unless those wheat fields contain dorms and class rooms they mean nothing in terms of NDSU's ability to grow and sustain more students.

Having land means a lot in terms of NDSU's ability to grow. Isn't land the biggest factor in growth?

[344Johnson]

My ex-wife went to UND. My advice to you....



RUN AWAY!!!!! :biggrin:

Oh, thats the plan. I need an excuse to go troll around grand forks in NDSU apparel, and having a 'girlfriend' up there makes for an excellent excuse

[No_Skill]

Having land means a lot in terms of NDSU's ability to grow. Isn't land the biggest factor in growth?

thebigundouche

----->>>http://jonathandallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/painted-into-corner.jpg

[BisonFan02]

thebigundouche

----->>>http://jonathandallen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/painted-into-corner.jpg

Photoshopped....where's teh whioux hockie "sweater"

[HerdBot]

Congrats, but unless those wheat fields contain dorms and class rooms they mean nothing in terms of NDSU's ability to grow and sustain more students.

Ill agree with you. Not because your right. Because you need something good to happen and wish your foot program had 9 National Championships. Its kind of like shortman syndrome.

[SamsRams]

I have never seen so many people get sucked into a trolls remarks over and over and over. I really dont get what you all think you will accomplish by attempting to debate her or him or it or whatever you wanna call it. Nothing you say will convince her that NDSU is better and nothing she says to you all will convince you UND is better. Stop getting sucked into pointless discussions with trolls people!!!

[thebigund]

I have never seen so many people get sucked into a trolls remarks over and over and over. I really dont get what you all think you will accomplish by attempting to debate her or him or it or whatever you wanna call it. Nothing you say will convince her that NDSU is better and nothing she says to you all will convince you UND is better. Stop getting sucked into pointless discussions with trolls people!!!
This troll, for one, is not a troll. For two, I forgot what I was going to say

[coldspot]

can we hold a vote to have a troll banned?

[BisonNation11]

can we hold a vote to have a troll banned?

Get UND involved. They will get it on the ballot for you.

[56BISON73]

can we hold a vote to have a troll banned?

He will just use one of his other aliases.

[thebigund]

He will just use one of his other aliases.
what did lakes get banned for by the way?

[344Johnson]

what did lakes get banned for by the way?

Lakes was too respectful, too rational, and in no way made us all look stupid, quite the contrary, we made him look like he was wasting his time and intelligence on us, so we did him a favor and cut him loose. Similar to a bad team trading a star player for the player's benefit, as well as the team's long term well-being.

[KSBisonFan]

Lakes was too respectful, too rational, and in no way made us all look stupid, quite the contrary, we made him look like he was wasting his time and intelligence on us, so we did him a favor and cut him loose. Similar to a bad team trading a star player for the player's benefit, as well as the team's long term well-being.

AdDItiOn by subTRaCtion?

[bisonboone11]

We are used to watching the big boys jump around from conference to conference. But why are the little guys suddenly in such a rush to jump into the deep end of the pool without a whole lot of football experience?

Reason No. 1 is the fact that last September the NCAA lifted a four-year moratorium on schools jumping from FCS to FBS. Word on the street is that the moratorium will return, and this time it could last 10 years.
Has anyone else heard this? I just saw this on egriz and it's from cbssports.com. Maybe someone has already posted this, but I thought it was interesting.

[Hammerhead]

The NCAA might try to do something to stop all of the teams switching conferences, but I doubt they would keep a moratorium for 10 years.

I'd rather see the BCS kick the lower tier conferences down to the FBS and leave 4 conferences (48 teams) in the FBS.