NSIC to go to 16 teams?

[Leonardite]

My expectation was that the NCC would simply raid teams from the NSIC, and the NSIC would fill in the spaces with teams moving up. It's still kind of a mystery why this happened this way.

I'm thankful it did. Much happier to see the NCC die than be populated by the crap that constitutes the vast majority of the NSIC.

[NorthernBison]

i could see some shifting around between the DAC and the GPAC. jamestown would be a good candidate to also go DII with their athletic prowess (better than minot states), as would dickinson. worst case scenario for some of the DAC schools (mayville, valley city specifically) drop athletics.

what would be required to transpire for MSU and VCSU to change to a JUCO? could they do that just in athletics or would the entire school have to?

You might be right about some shifting around. I don't have a great handle on where all of the possible future DII schools are and the conference affiliation possibilities.

The one underlying thing that is likely to drive this is money (surprise?). We see the issue in D-1 conferences that are spread out all across the map. Those schools tend to have significantly more resources at their disposal. I just don't see it working for DII and NAIA conferences. They just don't have the resources. I could see some schools just dumping the whole athletic department.