Potential Door Opening with Big 12

[bigskybears]

UNC? LOL I didn't think you were still even on this board.
All time record NDSU vs. UNC 22-8 in favor of the Herd
Last time we played UNC we won 44-0
That's where your program stands, go back to Colorado

I never left Colorado

[Gully]

Interesting topic. I hope it is OK for me to join in.
I doubt you would see UNI make any jumps to a FBS conference just for the sake of it. UNI, its administration and fans all feel that FCS football is the right fit for UNI for many reasons, not the least of which is $$. In fact, UNI just had a study done by an outside agency of its athletic department health and comparing / contrasting everything from moving up to FBS, to dropping to non-scholly FCS football, to dropping football altogether. They did this to objectively see how much impact (positive or negative) having football is for the university and the state. The study showed without a doubt that FCS is the optimum bang for the buck for UNI.
With that as background, IF all of this realignment comes to fruition, the Big XII (even IF it survives) would not be our fathers' Big XII. It would be a mid-major level college football conference with Iowa State and Kansas and maybe Baylor that would be on par with (but maybe slightly better than) the MAAC or the Sunbelt in football. That scenario ain't attractive in today's college athletics landscape because the increased expenses associated with fielding a FBS football team are nowhere near covered by any increased revenues. There is a reason that elite schools are looking to form super conferences: t.v. revenue. Football (and an athletic department as a whole) are very tough to turn a profit, let alone break even, without these major t.v. network revenues. I think that NDSU, Montana, Appy State would all find the same thing that UNI found: that the juice ain't worth the squeeze on moving to FBS unless you are a part of one of these mega-conferences which bring in huge BCS dollars and will soon bring in huge t.v. dollars. I don't see any of "us" being invited to a mega-conference so it becomes a futile effort to move to FBS. In fact, I could see more schools making moves down to FCS once all of this realignment takes place rather than the opposite. I actually think we will see a mandated shift by the NCAA in years to come, one that will end up with us watching either "BCS" schools or "FCS" schools on Saturdays (subdivision names would probably be changed, of course). The current mid-major FBS schools (Toledo, N. Illinois, Wyoming etc.) will either be invited to join a mega conference in the next year or so or they will be playing all of "us" on Saturdays.

I think that's an interesting take, you might well be right. On the other hand, I agree with SD that NDSU is in a little different spot than UNI because we don't have to compete with Iowa or Iowa State.

[4mcruenomore]

NDSU would be more able to move up compared to UNI, b/c of the bigger programs in Iowa, we don't have to deal with that. Kind of like UNO wanting to move up but they are hindered by U of Nebraska

[sambini]

I never left Colorado

Hows Jack Maughan doing?

[bigskybears]

Hows Jack Maughan doing?

He's good, but I lost a ton of respect for the guy after his DUI.


He isn't coaching wrestling but is working with athletic fundraising. His papa still at NDSU??

[4mcruenomore]

He's good, but I lost a ton of respect for the guy after his DUI.


He isn't coaching wrestling but is working with athletic fundraising. His papa still at NDSU??

The doormat of the Big Sky, you could as just as well compete in the NSIC, I give you maybe a playoff birth, but Duluth would kick your ass. Now be gone.

[bigskybears]

The doormat of the Big Sky, you could as just as well compete in the NSIC, I give you maybe a playoff birth, but Duluth would kick your ass. Now be gone.

What does that have to do with Jack Maughn?

[EndZoneQB]

What does that have to do with Jack Maughn?

You have to excuse him...

[SDbison]

What does that have to do with Jack Maughn?

What does Jack Maughn have to do with a "Potential Door Opening with Big 12? Just a little thread drift here? Keep on topic.............plllleease!

Crap there are only about 8 active threads at Bisonville and more than half of them get taken over with some irelevant blabber. This isn't intended just for you, but to many of the posters at Bisonville!

[Panther Fan]

I think that's an interesting take, you might well be right. On the other hand, I agree with SD that NDSU is in a little different spot than UNI because we don't have to compete with Iowa or Iowa State.

I agree with this 100%. UNI definitely fills a niche in our state where-as NDSU is THE game in ND and would be much more likely to move up of our two schools. Gameday attendance and pure fan numbers are evidence of this for our teams. My point has more to do with the financial side of playing in the FBS vs. FCS and whether it makes sense for anyone to move up at this point. There is fast becoming a lack of "middle class" in FBS. Instead you have the elites (BCS) and the lower class (all the rest). The regular ol' FBS programs are floundering monetarily right now because of the elevated emphasis placed on BCS programs. That gap will only grow wider if these mega-conferences take shape in my opinion. The sponsorship dollars and the t.v. revenues will flow readily into the BCS schools leaving very little left for the regulars. Bowl games are generally money losers (break even at best) generally for regular ol' FBS programs, so there is little incentive to move up there. With 85 scholarships, larger travel budgets, higher salaries etc., it just doesn't make good dollars and cents. That is the reason I say that I think more teams will actually move down than up if this all happens. I could actually see it start to happen now even if the mega-conferences don't happen. In fact, IF the Big XII is raided as discussed, I do not even think Iowa State holds on to regular ol' FBS for very long as their +/- $40M athletic budget is largely dependent on indirect (BCS conference mates) revenues.