Doesn't it come down to what a school can bring to a conference in regards to media rights. If the MWC is getting $4 million per school today, NDSU has to have at least that value. What does NDSU generate today with their media package(s)? $1.5-2 million range. As a result from a pure media exposure standpoint NDSU is not a viable option.
Take Stanford and Cal. Why did they get left behind? Not competition or alumni support. But they don't have the media value. Oregon State and Washington State, same issue.
My interpretation of things is that Cook is more open to FBS than Bresciani ever was. I think that along with the recent FCS to FBS move ups, the response to Covid from the larger FCS and the continuing decline in fan engagement has made staying in the FCS more risky for NDSU. That is what I think is driving their more public openness to the prospect of moving to FBS. I would agree that ML doesn't deserve the entirety of criticism that he gets. It very well could be that he has been banging the FBS drum behind the scenes and has been met with opposition by higher ups. If that was the case though I would think he would have become very frustrated and likely not want to remain in a position where he feels his opinions regarding the Ath. Dept. don't carry the weight he would like. It is probably more realistic that he shared similar views to the higher ups and didn't think FBS was the right move until recently. I don't know, just speculating.
so if MWC needs one school.....the commish is gonna call larsen waaaaaay up in nodak instead of calling say UTEP?
He certainly sounded that way early on, and true, the AD does sound different now
It's funny. I remember Culhane responding to Andy about this very question, saying "it depends if he wants to fight with the school up north"
Maybe Jeff had some insight. Maybe Waters has insight
The CFB landscape is a little unstable right now, so there's that, but NDSU better be sure they stay aligned with the second level of CFB
GT used to say this. Phil said this yesterday
Would take some fortitude for sure, but ...