A new and better FBS thread

[taper]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if we want an FBS invite the first thing we need to do is improve MBB. FB is already as good as it can be and that clearly isn't good enough to get an invite. Increasing enrollment would help a lot too.

[Rock]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if we want an FBS invite the first thing we need to do is improve MBB. FB is already as good as it can be and that clearly isn't good enough to get an invite. Increasing enrollment would help a lot too.

You work on men’s basketball for a couple more years. How much better you think? Talent? Facilities? Both? Womens bball too I suppose?

How are the academics doing per conference standards? Did an athlete get a dui along the way? Uh oh…

I’m all in on this independent robotic FBS bison thing.

[Professorbum]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if we want an FBS invite the first thing we need to do is improve MBB. FB is already as good as it can be and that clearly isn't good enough to get an invite. Increasing enrollment would help a lot too.

I agree that we need to improve MBB. And I definitely agree that we need to turn around enrollment. The problem on that last point is that the university rarely rewards high enrollment programs with investments in faculty and resources to boost those enrollments further. Rather, high enrollment programs tend to subsidize under-enrolled programs with the hopes that those under-enrolled programs will see increases. It is bass-ackwards.

[NDSU1980]

You sure seem pretty intent on keeping us out.
I see Nevada has Texas St and Incarnate Word on the schedule this year.

Would love to play Nevada a relegation football game.

MWC is a troll. Just ignore him. It's not about keeping us out, it's about trying to get under our skin.

[taper]

MWC is a troll. Just ignore him. It's not about keeping us out, it's about trying to get under our skin.

If you think MWC is a troll then I don't even know what to say about you. MWC gives a great outside voice.

[Rock]

If you think MWC is a troll then I don't even know what to say about you. MWC gives a great outside voice.

Linux recognize Linux bro.

That was cold.

[MWC]

How do I know? Um, well...because we have not been added. The MWC could have invited us before the current media deal. They could have reasonably justified an invite to us at anytime over the past decade. I have no doubt that if we had been invited, we would have taken it. So, the choice has been the MWC's. If it isn't because of the MWC's choosing that we have not been invited, then who's choosing might it be?

It's fine that this has been the MWC's choice. You belong to a very conservative conference with regard to expansion. CT and the presidents are always holding tight. That's fine. I just think the MWC might regret that some day. I think a conference should have some imagination going into this new era of football. The MWC is like the investor who said "no" to Apple stock in the early 2000s and instead put all their money in govt bonds. You arent losing money, but you're not a mover and shaker either. I'm convinced that NDSU could be someone's Apple stock when it was $14 a share in 2002. Apple stock has since split multiple times and the stock has grown 130 times its original value. NDSU is a good investment. The casual investor sees a state with 760,000 people and thinks ho-hum. A visionary investor sees NDSU sitting on the border with Minnesota (a state of almost 6 million). The visionary investor realizes that NDSU is all over the Twin Cities (I counted 3 NDSU billboards this weekend down there) and is aware that half of NDSU's student body are Minnesotans. A visionary investor is aware that there is some national interest in NDSU's move up to the FBS among college football fans and that, at least for a time, that would pull in some eyeballs. MWC sees an FCS program from a small school in a small state and is playing it safe. I'm okay with that, because we probably belong in a different conference anyway. But I think it kind of reflects a lack of vision.

The MW expanded twice before teams started leaving..First TCU then Boise. TCU, Utah and BYU left they expanded by adding NV, FSU and Hawaii then USU and SJSU. The Conference started with 8 and now sits at 12. I don't think they are particularly conservative about any of the moves. They have extended invitations to AAC schools who, to this point, have turned them down. Some of those discussions are ongoing and still active.

They publicly said that they aren't looking at UTEP or NMSU..Idaho too..

They wanted to get into Texas for various reasons. Had Fox and CBS been willing to play ball, I think SMU, Rice, UTSA and Tulsa would all be members..I think they may still..

However, that doesn't mean they haven't vetted you guys and the Montanas. I am certain they have. It also takes two to tango. Those FCS schools may not wish to move up and may not have interest in the MW.

In 2011 when the WAC lost NV, FSU and Hawaii, The Montanas were invited to join along with Texas State and UTSA. and they said no. That conference was still viable. There was USU, NMSU, SJSU, Idaho and La Tech still in place.

I am certainly not trying to troll anybody or get under anybody's skin. On this board the MW is called arrogant, cowardly and unimaginative. One fellow said the conference would die because they are looking to add bigger markets.

All I try to do is address some of the misconceptions about the MW that I see.

We may end up conference mates..We may not. However, the MW is not the bad guys. Things just have to make sense on some level. That is not arrogant or unimaginative..

[NDSU92]

To everyone's point, we need our MBB to greatly improve if we want to be seen as a strong candidate. Right now we'd be consistently about 25th percentile just looking at year end sagarin rankings. Not so bad that we can't get an invite, but definitely not good enough to be seen as improving the conference.

Meet everyone over in the basketball forum in 5 minutes

[NDSU1980]

If you think MWC is a troll then I don't even know what to say about you. MWC gives a great outside voice.

At least I support Bison athletics. And you like the guy because he's against us moving to FBS, just like you.

[Hammersmith]

To everyone's point, we need our MBB to greatly improve if we want to be seen as a strong candidate. Right now we'd be consistently about 25th percentile just looking at year end sagarin rankings. Not so bad that we can't get an invite, but definitely not good enough to be seen as improving the conference.

Meet everyone over in the basketball forum in 5 minutes

Just another example of how geography hurts our FBS chances. Some G5 conferences put a higher emphasis on basketball than others. It just so happens that the closest G5 conferences to us are both ones that feel that way(MWC & MAC). The G5 conferences that put the highest priority on football over basketball all happen to be the furthest from us. This is not our fault and it's not their fault. It's okay for them to have priorities different from ours. But it does put us in a rougher situation than we would have if we happened to be located in Texas, for instance. Personally, I'm all for finding a way to reallocate another million or so a year to MBB(and a decent amount to WBB) in order to beef up the program. A big chunk of that to coaching salaries to bring in better and/or more experienced coaches(including head), as well as a larger recruiting budget and spending more on guarantee games to improve the schedule. But it's not my money or my decision.


BTW, do any of you get dizzy in this thread? As a mostly outside observer on this thread, it just feels like a high-speed merry-go-round with the same dozen people saying the same dozen things over and over and over. Not saying you have to stop or anything, just wondering out loud why some of you bother? Nobodies' minds are being changed, so it feels like Einstein's definition of insanity playing out.