A new and better FBS thread

[Professor Chaos]

I agree with you. Again, I'm not advocating for a move to FBS at all costs. The new wave of donors comes from young alumni, relatively speaking. Yes we need to get students engaged in NDSU Athletics. But we also need to keep others who have been brought back into the fold over the past decade engaged. I have mentioned previously that the move to FCS and the success over the past decade plus is what re-connected me with the school. I'm not alone in that group. I have probably reconnected more than some and I'm not planning on going anywhere. However, I have friends who 5 years ago would absolutely go to a watch party with me or try to attend a game a year with me. They have begun to lose interest. Is that because of ticket price increases? Yes. Is it because it is hard for some who don't have season tickets to get tickets on August 1st? Yes. Is it difficult for them to change their plans last minute on a Friday if tickets become available? Yes. However, they were just a few short years ago doing all of those things. I think the combination of those items along with the perceived lack of competition in the FCS creates a storm of events that are contributing to the recent decline. Maybe it will end up being temporary. I hope so, but I fear that this is more of a long term trend unless something changes. I would like to believe there are things that can be done that don't involve a move to FBS.

I don't think we disagree on much of anything here. As someone who doubled/tripled/quadrupled down on my fandom in the 2006/2007 timeframe I can say that the main reasons for me was seeing the men's basketball team beat Wisconsin and Marquette and seeing the football team compete with and beat Minnesota (along with Ball St and Central Michigan).

So I can understand the benefits of being FBS and beating those higher profile opponents can have on the casual fan. But that shock/elation factor has worn off to some degree because I think most Bison fans would expect to beat those teams in Year 1 of FBS. I guess you can aim for the bigger fish like the Ohio St's and the Oklahoma's of the world as a G5 squad but that's also a much much bigger undertaking than beating Minnesota and Ball St.

[BigLakeBison]

I don't think we disagree on much of anything here. As someone who doubled/tripled/quadrupled down on my fandom in the 2006/2007 timeframe I can say that the main reasons for me was seeing the men's basketball team beat Wisconsin and Marquette and seeing the football team compete with and beat Minnesota (along with Ball St and Central Michigan).

So I can understand the benefits of being FBS and beating those higher profile opponents can have on the casual fan. But that shock/elation factor has worn off to some degree because I think most Bison fans would expect to beat those teams in Year 1 of FBS. I guess you can aim for the bigger fish like the Ohio St's and the Oklahoma's of the world as a G5 squad but that's also a much much bigger undertaking than beating Minnesota and Ball St.

You're absolutely correct. I mentioned this in the Bison Fatigue thread. Bison fandom is contagious when the passion of the fanbase is on full display. I don't believe it has been on display much recently and that concerns me. Just like you, I'm not sold that an FBS move will solve that. However, I don't want to see that passion decline and we end up in a place where the current Gopher Hockey program is. I know, I know...apples v. oranges but I believe there are some lessons that can be learned from that situation. Don't take anything for granted.

[CAS4127]

That's the reason why talent is coming here vs going MAC or MW. Athletes want to win championships. They want rings and they want banners and they want to hoist trophies. They want to be considered the best. They dont want to go to Akron Ohio or Dekalb Illinois or Las Cruces New Mexico and win 24 games in their whole college carrier when they can come here and win 15-16 games a year and leave with multiple natty rings. And they'll cherish those rings and show them off and hold them near and dear to their heart because the only thing those rings signify is that they were the best.

Im sure CAS wears his rings from his DII titles (as he damn well should). I know Scott Fuchs had his out on display, as well as the ones he won with SIU. Those things mean a shit load to athletes and they dont really GAF is someone they dont even know in another area of the country knows who they are or where they play.

Kids are coming to NDSU because they want to be the best.

The Kids also want to play in front of big crowds. Think about that v. Decreases fan. attendance.


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[El_Chapo]

I am happy I could provide you with a stupid argument. If you read what went before my post you would see the statement was made that the jump could be made based on sustained success. Thus the argument you ridicule came from a FBS now supportér. Being satisfied with a competitive team sounds like you are from UND. Many fans at NDSU measure the term in the number of championships. You need to look at 21years of history before the current run.

So what do you say to millions of fans of UCLA, Arizona , Iowa, Tennessee etc. Teams that will NEVER win a National Title? should they drop down to FCS so they can win championships?


and once again the AAC would be FOOTBALL ONLY.

MAC/MWC would be for all sports (which would help our other sports too!) can you imagine the jump in talent?

[Vet70]

So what do you say to millions of fans of UCLA, Arizona , Iowa, Tennessee etc. Teams that will NEVER win a National Title? should they drop down to FCS so they can win championships?


and once again the AAC would be FOOTBALL ONLY.

MAC/MWC would be for all sports (which would help our other sports too!) can you imagine the jump in talent?

I say leave it to you to take something out of context.

[SoCalBison]

This isn't a case to move up now, but I just had a vision of how things could decline the longer a move takes to develop.

NDSU's funding stagnates or declines (as it does periodically) and college leadership considers the lessened fan interest in football, despite the continuing success of the program on the field. Knowing that NDSU can continue to beat 90% of FCS even with no new, or even fewer, resources, the administration's commitment, fiscal and other, declines. The team would still win, but the number of wins each year could be expected to decline as parity returns to FCS. After a few more years, no one here would be talking FBS.

Hope this is just my dystopian nightmare...

[NDSUstudent]

If we are seeking a full acceptance into a conference, we also have to meet the academic standards. Which include research dollars, research facilities, and overall academic ranking. While football is on forefront, all of the behind the scenes requirements have to match up as well.

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Yeah, I think it is safe to say we meet that for any G5 conference....we wouldn't be joining the Big 10.

[56BISON73]

So what do you say to millions of fans of UCLA, Arizona , Iowa, Tennessee etc. Teams that will NEVER win a National Title? should they drop down to FCS so they can win championships?


and once again the AAC would be FOOTBALL ONLY.

MAC/MWC would be for all sports (which would help our other sports too!) can you imagine the jump in talent?

So now we have to have TWO conference invites when we cant get just one? Thats some shrewd thinking right there.

[SlickVic]

Let's be honest for a moment.

Do we really think that in an age where Universities are struggling to make ends meet that the rest of the FCS will "up its game" when it is very likely that FCS football funding at most schools will decline over the next 5-10 years? If i had to bet the gap between the top 2-3 FCS schools and the rest of the pack will bigger not smaller.

If this is true, where do we think that the FCS will be in 10 years? Will it be something that we want to be a part of? Does anyone actually believe that if it comes to that and we are finally ready to make a move that any P5/G5 conference would want us? Especially if there is more money for each conference due to expanded playoffs? I would bet that the conferences will NOT be adding to dilute the money more.

That is why I believe it would be in the best interest of NDSU in the long run (even with all the money, conference, stadium issues) to make a move so that when that day comes where we are ready we can look to move up even higher instead of being stuck in the FCS with no place to go.

This is where I'm at guy, well stated---------many. Have said wait until 2024 when tv contracts and current playoff contracts are up, wait for the p5/g5 slip then see what happens--------but what happens if the expand the playoffs to a "March madness" contract where Cinderella gets a shot? Good luck moving up after that....the stakes are high and so am I!!! Really enjoying these discussions by the way, keep it up bisonville!

[Christopher Moen]

So now we have to have TWO conference invites when we cant get just one? Thats some shrewd thinking right there.

Amazing he pulls all this from a hypothetical article on fan site, which was probably written by someone who is clueless on how conference invites work.

Not to mention, I believe the article lists 20-25 teams that could replace UCONN - a school, despite its basketball success for Men’s and Women’s, is leaving because they are losing money, which includes their major sports. That should be a huge arse red flag for any school joining the conference.


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