Remarkable comments by Ryan Burns on recruiting versus the MAC

[Christopher Moen]

Athletes like playing for National Championships. If you're not recruited by an elite P5 school, another P5 school is probably worth the exposure for these athletes to get a NFL shot. If there are no P5 offers, the opportunity of playing for National Championship at a FCS school that gets fairly good national exposure is worth it for many athletes as oppose to playing for a G5 school that is going nowhere, hemorrhaging money and the only exposure they get is when they get pummeled by a school like Alabama.

Winners like to win, and those kids can do that at NDSU.

[EC8CH]

I never said they didn't recruit it, I said it appears they don't really hit it hard. I think that's a fair assessment considering there are only two players on NDSU's roster from Iowa (Dunn and Godfrey). I guess the alternative that you're trying to present is that they do recruit it hard but if that is the case, they aren't getting commits to show for it. I don't think is the case and it would go against what was originally presented.

We recruit coaches from Iowa.

[tony]

I am am all for NDSU moving up to FBS, but heaven forbid we ever consider joining the MAC.

And if we do move up, our selling point better be winning, not some sort of arbitrary label. And I hope we'd still be playing on Saturdays rather than, say, Wednesdays.

Your post reminds me - I think there is some footage of you texting on your cell phone from the MVSU game that is just begging to made into a .gif.

I'll be getting on that right after BisonTeacher gets his t-shirts.

[HerdBot]

I think part of it is that those states aren't really in the MAC's footprint at all and instead they tend to look east and south because of the population density. Logically, why skip over Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, who are in the footprint and have a population base that is over 60% more than the states you named, if it isn't necessary? I would also guess the schools closest to those states (NIU) isn't one of the ones he talked with since they have 20+ players from their roster from the ones that were listed, mainly Wisconsin. Iowa is also an interesting inclusion as I don't think NDSU really hits there that hard, though I would guess UNI cleans up a lot of whatever Iowa and Iowa State don't take.

Not saying there isn't some truth to it and that these schools don't look out of the footprint for players (and missing on some very good ones when they don't), but I think they are fewer and far between, especially when your recruiting trips can be more efficient going into more heavily populated areas with more talent to choose from.

Yeah footprint has a lot to do with it. Distance is the #1 advantage for any school. That's probably why USD and SDSU target Nebraska and Iowa a ton. Probably why NDSU targets Minnesota the most. Not only is distance important, it's the culture. It has to be night and day for a kid in the MAC footprint to go from Buffalo New York to the Midwest or vice versa.

We don't generally recruit New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana other than a few random players. We dabble in Illinois but in general it's not much.

I think it boils down to NDSU protecting the types of players they recruit in ND, SD, MN, WI, IA, MO, and NE .... we do such a good job recruiting Minnesota that we even win an occasional Power 5 battles. Wyoming has trouble beating ANY of the Dakota schools for players based on distance by itself. But the #2 most important state we recruit is Wisconsin which is in the MAC's recruitng footprint and we're cleaning house there... much like the South Dakota schools do with Nebraska.

[devin45k]

I am am all for NDSU moving up to FBS, but heaven forbid we ever consider joining the MAC.

I'd take MAC over being an Idaho in the Sun Belt

[El_Chapo]

Ryan was on KFAN with PA in MPLS monday talked really good about NDSU and PA pumped us up!!+

[El_Chapo]

if we were in the MAC.

NDSU would play in 1 Tuesday or Thursday night game a year and that's it so stop with that excuse

NDSU would be top 2 in MAC from the start

but MOUNTAIN WEST IS FOR THE BEST .. Land Grant Peer institutions !!!

[stevdock]

I'd take MAC over being an Idaho in the Sun Belt

Both extremely pointless conferences when it comes to FBS football.

[SDbison]

Come on Lakes, you know its Mountain West or nothing.

[reformedUNDfan]

Come on Lakes, you know its Mountain West or nothing.

AAC or bust