A new and better FBS thread

[daddy daycare]

Lol after years of "they can't say anything! it might mess up the process!" to "oh those words don't mean anything". From "gotta wait for the transformation committee" to "as expected, not a lot here". hmmm.... some nice pivots going this week

I'd say one of three things, either:

1) Entz wasn't supposed to have replied like that and boss isn't happy with him now
2) That's actually how the athletic department feels (maybe they're even working on something...? ) and there isn't the feeling that the MAC or MW will work (aka if they were working on a MW invite, your HC wouldn't go on record saying his preference is the AAC because it doesn't have the geography of the MW)
3) We're never going FBS and so he's pretty much free to speculate what conference he'd like to join because none of them are happening ever

At the end of the day I guarantee you nobody in this forum would've ever guessed yesterday that a story was coming out in the athletic today where Entz states his preferred FBS conference. I don't necessarily think it means something directly. But this was a pretty big surprise that he didn't respond with the *pulls string in Woody's back* "I don't worry about that stuff, we're just trying to move our football program forward" canned response that the whole department has been using for a decade now.

Perhaps a reporter asked "what's the best FBS/G5 fit for NDSU" and Matt answered directly and that's all it is. Maybe a reach I guess.

[NDSU92]

It is the first time I've heard anybody from NDSU say what their preferred conference is though.

That'd be a pretty big step up since those programs have 7-figure budgets for salaries - looks like the lowest-paid coach last year was getting $1.3 million/year base. Source: How Much Do AAC Teams Pay Their Coaches - Underdog Dynasty

And I agree with a previous posters: Mountain/Pacific conferences make very little sense for NDSU because 9pm start times really suck - bad for Bison fans, bad for our student-athletes (IMO.) Now if the MWC went crazy and added several teams from the CST, that'd be a different matter.

I have no idea how we'd make budgeting work for the AAC, even football only. Not saying it can't happen, but I've never even looked at it. It's a big gap

[NDSU92]

Perhaps a reporter asked "what's the best FBS/G5 fit for NDSU" and Matt answered directly and that's all it is. Maybe a reach I guess.

Even then, he's been asked that question 100 times I'm sure by now. Every other time has been a canned nothingburger response. Why different now? The pressure of the big game?

[daddy daycare]

I don't ever recall a national article that big with both ADs and the head coach quoted directly about FBS so I'm guessing not 100x.

[56BISON73]

I have no idea how we'd make budgeting work for the AAC, even football only. Not saying it can't happen, but I've never even looked at it. It's a big gap

You obviously arent in possession of the elchapo magic wand that will make it rain dollars from everyone except from himself of course.

[OrygunBison]

I can't help but think of this comment in the Athletic in the context of how I've viewed public comments about NDSU going FBS this entire time. People haven't been making public comments because the narrative needs to be very tightly guarded. We, and any potential suitor, need to control the conversation and not let the media just run with it. It's the reason that so many people here have been so agitated. You just can't have ME or ML out making statements about the possibility of things and potentially ruining something that could or should be in the works.

That's what makes this a remarkable comment to me. I feel like it means one of two things:

1) An AAC invitation is in the final stages of development and there's nothing to guard against anymore.

or

2) It's now a lost fucking cause and now there's nothing left to protect.

[23Bison]

I can't help but think of this comment in the Athletic in the context of how I've viewed public comments about NDSU going FBS this entire time. People haven't been making public comments because the narrative needs to be very tightly guarded. We, and any potential suitor, need to control the conversation and not let the media just run with it. It's the reason that so many people here have been so agitated. You just can't have ME or ML out making statements about the possibility of things and potentially ruining something that could or should be in the works.

That's what makes this a remarkable comment to me. I feel like it means one of two things:

1) An AAC invitation is in the final stages of development and there's nothing to guard against anymore.

or

2) It's now a lost fucking cause and now there's nothing left to protect.

As much as I would love the the 1st option to be reality, I’m afraid the latter is what’s actually going to happen.

[NDSU92]

I can't help but think of this comment in the Athletic in the context of how I've viewed public comments about NDSU going FBS this entire time. People haven't been making public comments because the narrative needs to be very tightly guarded. We, and any potential suitor, need to control the conversation and not let the media just run with it. It's the reason that so many people here have been so agitated. You just can't have ME or ML out making statements about the possibility of things and potentially ruining something that could or should be in the works.

That's what makes this a remarkable comment to me. I feel like it means one of two things:

1) An AAC invitation is in the final stages of development and there's nothing to guard against anymore.

or

2) It's now a lost fucking cause and now there's nothing left to protect.

But if it’s not going to happen why get people’s hope up? Just going to shorten the fuse on fans’ expectations

[BigLakeBison]

Perhaps a reporter asked "what's the best FBS/G5 fit for NDSU" and Matt answered directly and that's all it is. Maybe a reach I guess.

National reporters may not have asked but regional and FCS centric reporters sure as hell have and no response like this has ever been uttered. The closest I can remember is a comment last year by Entz stating something to the effect of “we want to be one of the best mid-major football programs in the country”. Not best FCS program. Reading the tea leaves it was some insight into them having bigger goals than FCS championships. Outside of that it has typically been “we’re monitoring the landscape”. This is more specific.

[CyPanth]

Lakes is right!! It's hard to tear yourself away from the mediocrity of two 6-6 teams in today's Camallia Bowl on ESPN. Dare I say.....RIVETING. Gotta be at least 12,000 there as well.

I was there. Georgia Southern may have more than double your estimate themselves. Buffalo fans didn't show up, but they get a pass because their airport was closed for 3 days due to a horrible storm, even by their standards. Not even their band and cheerleaders were able to make it.

It will be interesting to see how the TV ratings compare for the Camellia Bowl and the FCS Championship. Certainly, the FCS is a much more important game because there is a national championship on the line. However, until ESPN decides to promote it, run-of-the-mill bowls will still draw more TV viewers.