Ha! Well if that’s the case we’ll probably never move up. Just kidding. I have no idea, really.
UM is a good program. I’d say there are some similarities, but NDSU’s research profile is definitely well above UM (they’re more like UN_).
I disagree with the 'middle of nowhere' … a shade over 3 h to MSP, at least if I’m driving and not my wife. Now Grand Forks – that’s the middle of nowhere. I differ from most on this board in that I think the FBS market is probably there for NDSU, primarily in the cities, MN, WI, NE with the potential for a national following. We just don't have the means right now.
Hail the BISON!!!
You really think the MW cares about adding NDSU to their conference? I've spoken to them and they're a delusional bunch (you would fit in).
Here's how my conversation went last Summer during the Sports Corp Football Luncheon:
After my boss introduced me and told them I was a NDSU Alum and that we had a steak-dinner bet on the upcoming Iowa game. Their reaction to my belief that the Bison were indeed going to walk into Iowa City and come away with a victory:
Their compliance officer promised to "shake my hand" if such a silly outcome were to happen. Oddly, they didn't show up at the next luncheon.
Not to be outdone, I pressed their whole staff at the table about how they and the other G5 conferences were getting screwed over by P5 in regards to television money and that it was only going to get worse. Their reaction:
To them, they were just as important as the P5 and would prove it by "beating them on the field."
Sorry, but the G5 has their heads so far stuck up their arses that they lack the ability to see what's coming down the pipeline. In the meantime, the P5 will milked them for what they're worth and continue to keep more and more of the television revenue to themselves. This will force the G5 schools to continue to bleed money as they try to keep up with P5 schools.
The arms-race has been over for years. The P5 schools won, but G5 schools refuse to accept reality. When they do and separate (G5 has to do it, not the P5), then they can create their own National Championship and start adding more schools.
Hail the BISON!!!
Hail the BISON!!!
'Far' is a state of mind, my friend. And GF is literally worlds away from Fargo - I'd live in one of these cities but not the other.
The research classification you refer to is extremely coarse. True, NDSU is no longer classified as 'very high', just 'high', same as UM and UN_. This is due to several things, most notably the loss of earmarks.
However, within this category there is a very large variation - I was using competitive grants and publications in 2015 as a measure. UN_ looks about the same - perhaps slightly better - than USD and SDSU. NDSU is comfortably above this. I believe this has much to do with the relative size and diversity of Fargo, as compared to GF or the other Dakota U hometowns. It's easier to get smart people to move to Fargo, than, say GF.
Iowa has a population of 3M and supports 2 FBS and 1 FCS teams (ok, 1.5 FBS teams). The combined population of WI, MN and the Dakotas is roughly 13M. Using Iowa as a gauge and based just on population, the agglomerate of these 4 states could in theory support 4 FCS teams and well more than 2 FBS teams. This needs to be adjusted because Iowa borders more populous states like Illinois and Missouri, but there is easily room for one more FBS team in the wider 4-state region.