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Yep. Just looking at the physical built campus over the past 20 years, the impact of D1 athletics is pretty clear. And that doesn’t even start to measure the other impacts that have resulted from the move. Alumni engagement is much higher now than it was when I was in school.Quote:
Originally Posted by NDSU92
Sure, but the fact is that every game you play in FBS is an FBS counter game. If you win it, you’re improving your standing towards the CFP. No matter how slim the chance might be to make the CFP, it is more than 0 which is what the chance is staying in FCS. The FCS Championship has lost its lustre for the fanbase. It might not be fair but it is real. If we had 2 championships in the last 11 years, and had yearly FBS games that we were competitive in I believe the excitement would still be there. For a lot of people a chance at the CFP is better than winning an FCS c championship.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigHorns
Totally get that. That opportunity only really comes from MWC or MAC conferences.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigLakeBison
We won't realistically be getting an invite from the other 3 G5 conferences, and Notre Dame is the only Independent included in CFP contract.
Maps like this one show why we haven't moved yet
https://maxakaplan.com/2018/08/21/co...hine-learning/
NDSU is in a desert barren region of the country for FBS teams and conferences.
Take away Big Sky and MVFC, and there's barely football here at all.
Sure. That’s all true. None of that explains why more of an emphasis hasn’t been put on basketball or why we chose to spend 50 million on a football practice facility if there is no viable path to FBS. If everything you say is in fact true, then the decisions that have been made up to this point don’t make much logical sense to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigHorns
I think the answer is obvious - we are trying to position ourselves to be ready when the door does eventually open.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigLakeBison
It is a fair debate whether we should be pouring more money into basketball instead, as quite a few conferences really value strong basketball.
If we were a regular in the NCAA tourney, that would be another thing in our favor for MAC or MWC.
Another plus for basketball is there really is no ceiling there ... division 1 is division 1, and we could win the whole thing this year with a good enough team. All it takes is 5-10 great players and a good coach. Takes a lot less to get there than football does, which is why there are so many cinderella stories.
Basketball investment is were the best return on investment lies.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigLakeBison
Which is essentially why myself and many others are being critical of decisions that have been made by leadership. Building a 50 million practice facility doesn’t address really any of the obstacles that people have laid out here as to why we have a tough road to FBS. By building the practice facility they were putting their eggs in the football basket and in order for it to make sense it feels like they should be intent on getting to FBS quickly and by any means possible. If FBS was a long term path, then it feels like the practice facility should have been lower on the investment priority list. This is why I’m asking for them to share their conceptual vision. Because what they’ve done to date doesn’t completely match up. If we eventually get to FBS IN 15-20 years, a 15-20 year old practice facility doesn’t carry near as much weight for the program as it does when it is new.Quote:
Originally Posted by EC8CH
I’ll also add, my criticism doesn’t lessen the accomplishment of raising 50 million dollars and designing and building a facility of that caliber. It’s remarkable and I believe is an indicator that NDSU athletics and the university has a much higher ceiling than where we are currently. My criticism centers around leadership using the investments wisely and in ways that best deliver the greatest bang for the buck.
I think indoor practice facilities are always a smart investment in cold weather parts of the country. Nevada has been trying to get one for years. It is not just the football team that benefits. It helps everybody.
We already have an indoor track facility and this facility is almost 100% football centric. We had a sports bubble over our soccer field. The bubble was aging and needed to be replaced but we could have replaced the bubble for probably less than 5 million. The facility is top notch but given the fact that we had numerous needs to invest in, it is a bit questionable to me. If an FBS conference said that if we built a practice facility we would get an invite, than great. That doesn’t seem to be the case. Our two biggest rivals, SDSU and UND recently built indoor track/football practice facilities. To me it feels like this was a bit of about one upping those rivals.Quote:
Originally Posted by MWC
That is fair...