Let's assume the FBS door closes entirely...

[NDSUguy]

Here is the question that I now have (and i'm being very serious0. If the FBS door closes entirely, what is the point of continuing to fund the football program at the level that it currently does? Facility investments, NIL, boosters, etc. What do they get from their investments?

I'm not being dramatic when I say this but the city, team, fanbase doesn't want FCS anymore in its current format. There are 4-6 schools that matter and they are all in ND, SD or MT. Why should NDSU continue to care about FCS?

Would the money be better spent to transition to Men's basektball - triple or quadruple the annual spenting and try to make the Summit a multi-bid league?

Or maybe as some have suggested, get those invested schools to create their one FBS conference and play home/home yearly against these schools. Sprinkle in a few non-conference fBS schools and have a championship game. The conference wouldn't be part of the FBS playoffs and the medial deals these schools are getting would continue because they are currently funded largely by local broadcast partners anyway. There really isn't much negative from a financial perspecitve, the fans would have more interest knowing that their team is playing a school that is invested in football on a week to week basis.

Tell me why i'm wrong.

[El_Chapo]

DO NOT FORM A NEW CONFERENCE NDSU NEEDS TO GET AWAY FROM THE CRABS PULLING US DOWN

WE ARE ALREADY IN NCC 2.0 ENOUGH! NDSU and FARGO NEEDS TO GROW UP

IF LARSON/COOK CANT GET THIS DONE & LOSE MILLIONS BY NDSU STAYING THEN THEY SHOULD BE GONE TOO

YOU NEGOTIATE IT TO SAVE NDSU FOOTBALL FFS. #PAC12 or #AAC is our only hope if MWC want to be PUDS and Afraid of NDSU being top dog.

[ndsubison1]

Im sure we'll just continue to wait for the perfect offer/scenario, which is likely never coming. A lot of lessons for NDSU to learn in this. By the time we do get an actual MWC offer, the conference will be completely gutted or they end up merging with the Pac 12. The move was always to get to FBS first and make your own waves.

[Jay]

It will be Larsen's (+presidents) legacy - failure to get an invite and/or accept an offer to FBS.

[Bison03]

What more can the athletic department and administration do?! Its not like you can call conference commissioners or school presidents and lobby, or beg to get an invite! Thats’s not how it works. Conference can obviously do their own research about possible future members.

[thunderingherd]

What more can the athletic department and administration do?! Its not like you can call conference commissioners or school presidents and lobby, or beg to get an invite! Thats’s not how it works. Conference can obviously do their own research about possible future members.

You can absolutely call, lobby, beg to sell what you'd bring to the table and your vision. If they didn't call someone to discuss, they are idiots.

[BattleBorn]

Fund basketball. Football is great but interest is lower than it’s been in a long time. Remember how fun March Madness was?

[cbline]

Seems like "FCS Fatigue" has set in, in my opinion. Still lots of seats open for the Mercer game as of midday on the 12th.

[tony]

You can absolutely call, lobby, beg to sell what you'd bring to the table and your vision. If they didn't call someone to discuss, they are idiots.

I'm sure the AD is talking to other ADs - there is not a non-SEC conference in FBS who doesn't know all about NDSU football by now.

This is a decision that is made at the presidential level, and as such, it is David Cook, not Matt Larsen, that would need to be talking to Mountain West presidents.

[reformedUNDfan]

You can absolutely call, lobby, beg to sell what you'd bring to the table and your vision. If they didn't call someone to discuss, they are idiots.

we should have been lobbying presidents from Day 1, as it appears that they were the issue here, concerned about 'optics'. Imagine one news cycle on ESPN about NDSU being the best fit.