A new and better FBS thread

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Originally Posted by AKBison

This could actually work out well for us. A MWC that is dominated by western Land grants is the perfect forever home for NDSU. Due to the way that realignment is shaking out, it looks like the MWC is going to get Oregon State and Washington State and will be together for the long haul. It gives NDSU a real long term goal and something to aspire to. Especially if we go in with Montana, Montana State and SDSU. The truth is that none of us are ready to make that jump though. We need to get our facilities up to a high G5 level, move up to CUSA and take our lumps, prove that we belong and can fund athletics at the FBS level. If we do all that successfully, we will eventually get that MWC invite. Gene Taylor will die a happy man.

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Our facilities are already at upper G5 levels, heck our practice facility is better than some P5!

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Originally Posted by B.Schlossman Fan Club

Our facilities are already at upper G5 levels, heck our practice facility is better than some P5!

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Suspect he's referring to stadium capacity, everything else is there. Stadium is fine for most conferences as well.

If you actually watch CUSA and MAC games, our attendance tops many of those games already, regardless of what they report to meet the FBS requirement.

And if you watch any CUSA games, its also clear we wouldn't be taking any "lumps" there. SDSU and NDSU are better than any team in that league. NMSU looked pathetic against bottom dweller UMass. Problem is, nobody would care if we dominated that conference, and they have no shot at CFP because the teams are so weak. Plus, now there's a 5 year GoR lock in. We'd be better off waiting for the next round of shuffling in 2 years if we don't get an opening now.

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Originally Posted by BigHorns

Suspect he's referring to stadium capacity, everything else is there. Stadium is fine for most conferences as well.

If you actually watch CUSA and MAC games, our attendance tops many of those games already, regardless of what they report to meet the FBS requirement.

And if you watch any CUSA games, its also clear we wouldn't be taking any "lumps" there. SDSU and NDSU are better than any team in that league. NMSU looked pathetic against bottom dweller UMass. Problem is, nobody would care if we dominated that conference, and they have no shot at CFP because the teams are so weak. Plus, now there's a 5 year GoR lock in. We'd be better off waiting for the next round of shuffling in 2 years if we don't get an opening now.

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Our capacity is fine but we need the proposed dome upgrades to pass this December to look upper tier. We also need the high dollar club seats the proposal will provide.

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Originally Posted by HerdBot

Our capacity is fine but we need the proposed dome upgrades to pass this December to look upper tier. We also need the high dollar club seats the proposal will provide.

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Agree, that proposal looks like a winner to me. Improves the amenities for everyone, and will improve stadium revenues too. Need to get that done.

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Originally Posted by B.Schlossman Fan Club

Our facilities are already at upper G5 levels, heck our practice facility is better than some P5!

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Have you been to the SHAC? I am grateful that we have it but it is no where near upper G5 and is not even in the top half of the Summit. The MWC and AAC are overall better basketball conferences then they are football and to get into one of those leagues, we will have to move basketball out of its low major status. That starts with facilities.

I think your facilities are first rate. That will certainly help you going forward in FCS and if you move up to FBS. Your location hurts the cause a bit but is not insurmountable the way conferences are going these days. They are spreading out all over. The key, like almost everything else, is money. You have enough to compete and you can increase your revenue. That is great for NDSU. However, the question remains. Are ESPN (AAC) or CBS/Fox (MW) willing to bump up their tv deals to absorb you into either conference? If they are not, you may have to be very creative.

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Originally Posted by AKBison

Have you been to the SHAC? I am grateful that we have it but it is no where near upper G5 and is not even in the top half of the Summit. The MWC and AAC are overall better basketball conferences then they are football and to get into one of those leagues, we will have to move basketball out of its low major status. That starts with facilities.

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Have you seen FAU's arena? Seating for 2,900. 35-4, Final Four team.

https://fausports.com/sports/2018/5/...rena-html.aspx

https://cbs12.com/resources/media/a0...?1679689862322

http://www.trbimg.com/img-51913fd2/t...13/599/599x259

As much as I'd like to see us replace the SHAC, thats not the obstacle. Success with coaching/winning is what really matters.
Guess you could argue a new arena might attract better players.

They do have a 30k football stadium that is pretty decent.

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Originally Posted by AKBison

Have you been to the SHAC? I am grateful that we have it but it is no where near upper G5 and is not even in the top half of the Summit. The MWC and AAC are overall better basketball conferences then they are football and to get into one of those leagues, we will have to move basketball out of its low major status. That starts with facilities.

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We need to consistently fill the SHAC before we can even think about upgrading that facility. Heck if we need a bigger venue we can use the Fargo dome for BB

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Originally Posted by MWC

I think your facilities are first rate. That will certainly help you going forward in FCS and if you move up to FBS. Your location hurts the cause a bit but is not insurmountable the way conferences are going these days. They are spreading out all over. The key, like almost everything else, is money. You have enough to compete and you can increase your revenue. That is great for NDSU. However, the question remains. Are ESPN (AAC) or CBS/Fox (MW) willing to bump up their tv deals to absorb you into either conference? If they are not, you may have to be very creative.

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Not as much spreading out for G5 conferences.

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Originally Posted by Gully

Not ideal, for sure. Are they all on Tue and Wed?

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The fact that you (and I) have to ask this tells me all I need to know about CUSA. They're only slightly more relevant than MVFC. I mean, maybe they are a short term landing spot, but I'm not sure there's a conference that would pick us up in the future that isn't interested in picking us up now. I think it's far more likely that the FBS P5 consolidates into 4 super conferences with 20 teams each (and only play each other) and then the G5 starts looking at upper tier FCS schools in an attempt to remain somewhat relevant. Especially in the era of NIL and Transfer Portal.

The best bet is probably to embrace the idea that we will likely be a development program for P5 schools, giving fringe P5 athletes a chance to shine early on rather than ride the bench or be perpetually buried in a depth chart. The theory would be that by openly embracing that you would attract a higher level athlete to your program for 1 to 3 years which would theoretically result in a dominant performance year in and year out. Perhaps by showing we can and do produce top tier athletes that can lead to a potential invite as conferences and the league evolve. It' not what I *want* for NDSU or college sports, but what I want (MWC invite or my hypothetical PAC rebuild invite) has very little to do with the current reality.