A new and better FBS thread

[taper]

I love all the speculation that if/when something happens that the G5 will just allow more conferences/schools to join. The talk of the G5 and the "top" FCS joining together is speculative and hopeful at best.

The reality is that the G5 doesn't have to do shit and could easily say no more conferences and limit the number of teams to join. NDSU could be on the outside looking in if/when that happens. It would be better to make a move independent to ensure FBS than wait for the perfect situation to come about and be potentially locked out in the future.

No, they can't. That's a rock solid anti-trust violation and isn't a barrier at all. A lot of people are saying we need to move now or be locked out forever. I don't believe that for a second. That's *literally* illegal.
Remember that the NCAA says you can't join FBS without an invite, but Liberty did it anyway. NCAA denied the UAC's request to be a football conference, but they did it anyway and were given an AQ. NCAA says you have to sponsor basketball to be a conference, but the PAC-12 isn't and is still collecting NCAAT credits.(grace period doesn't apply to this unlike number of members, before anyone says something)
There's a difference between patience and stagnation. It's very clear that in the next 2-5 years there's going to be a major shakeup when the courts mandate pay for play. I suspect several dozen low end programs will drop football, maybe out of D1 completely. That'll force massive realignment. The Dakotas, Montanas, Idaho will be on the right side of that, much of their existing conferences won't. There's some ambitious up and comers in the WAC too. I'm willing to wait a few years to see if that happens vs burning bridges to join a crappy southern conference immediately.

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

If the state is hanging its FBS hopes on a potential lawsuit, then we are in serious trouble indeed

But hey, the 1660 guys don't seem too worried so why should I be? ... and they keep bringing up just 4 schools - NDSU, SDSU, UM, MSU

We'll see what happens, but there is tremendous pressure not to blow this, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they won't

[tjbison]

It doesn't have to be a perfect situation to move FBS but it has to be something less than an awful situation to make it worthwhile IMO. Moving all sports to CUSA would be a terrible decision for the athletic department as a whole. Sending baseball, softball, volleyball, etc from New Mexico to Florida to Delaware and many places in between for conference games is not going to work. What's good for the football program isn't necessarily good for the entire athletic department. CUSA, even with Missouri St (now the closest CUSA school to NDSU at 770 miles away), is still not a good option for any sport other than football and a football only invite isn't happening.

Laramie WY is 800 miles away and way more remote than anything in CUSA, but me personally would rather be in the MWC, than go to the east coast.

[tjbison]

If the state is hanging its FBS hopes on a potential lawsuit, then we are in serious trouble indeed

But hey, the 1660 guys don't seem too worried so why should I be? ... and they keep bringing up just 4 schools - NDSU, SDSU, UM, MSU

We'll see what happens, but there is tremendous pressure not to blow this, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they won't

those 4 are the only schools left in FCS that really support the programs also which is sad. Idaho maybe....but once big slob leaves anything can happen.

[HerdBot]

It doesn't have to be a perfect situation to move FBS but it has to be something less than an awful situation to make it worthwhile IMO. Moving all sports to CUSA would be a terrible decision for the athletic department as a whole. Sending baseball, softball, volleyball, etc from New Mexico to Florida to Delaware and many places in between for conference games is not going to work. What's good for the football program isn't necessarily good for the entire athletic department. CUSA, even with Missouri St (now the closest CUSA school to NDSU at 770 miles away), is still not a good option for any sport other than football and a football only invite isn't happening.

Agree. The Great West was far from perfect but look how thst worked out for us. In retrospect, the Great West teams weren't even that good. Northern Colorado, Davis and Poly are very meh.

But without those games we dont get epic games like Sam Houston in the Fargodome

[BISONBRI53]

If the state is hanging its FBS hopes on a potential lawsuit, then we are in serious trouble indeed

But hey, the 1660 guys don't seem too worried so why should I be? ... and they keep bringing up just 4 schools - NDSU, SDSU, UM, MSU

We'll see what happens, but there is tremendous pressure not to blow this, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they won't

RIGHT!!! Those 2 know their shit!!! PURP

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

RIGHT!!! Those 2 know their shit!!! PURP

Well, they're certainly closer to the truth than you are
lol

[BISONBRI53]

Well, they're certainly closer to the truth than you are
lol

Are they? Is Andy really going to be told or have inside info on us moving up? He is an Insider I guess....

[BigHorns]

No, they can't. That's a rock solid anti-trust violation and isn't a barrier at all. A lot of people are saying we need to move now or be locked out forever. I don't believe that for a second. That's *literally* illegal.
Remember that the NCAA says you can't join FBS without an invite, but Liberty did it anyway. NCAA denied the UAC's request to be a football conference, but they did it anyway and were given an AQ. NCAA says you have to sponsor basketball to be a conference, but the PAC-12 isn't and is still collecting NCAAT credits.(grace period doesn't apply to this unlike number of members, before anyone says something)
There's a difference between patience and stagnation. It's very clear that in the next 2-5 years there's going to be a major shakeup when the courts mandate pay for play. I suspect several dozen low end programs will drop football, maybe out of D1 completely. That'll force massive realignment. The Dakotas, Montanas, Idaho will be on the right side of that, much of their existing conferences won't. There's some ambitious up and comers in the WAC too. I'm willing to wait a few years to see if that happens vs burning bridges to join a crappy southern conference immediately.

Liberty was a very unique case.

They applied for a waiver, after going to major media publications threatening a lawsuit on religious discrimination grounds. The backstory is that a few FBS conferences with openings directly told them they wouldn't be considered due to their religion/politics. If they had evidence of that, it was a pretty strong hand to play. The NCAA granted them a waiver, and it is the only FBS waiver I can ever remember being granted in the past 20 or so years.

JMU applied for a FBS postseason/playoff waiver last year and was denied. They slipped into a bowl game due to lack of enough eligible teams, but were not considered for the CFP or NY6. They threatened a lawsuit, then backed down. They were officially ineligible due to transition rules, and did not win their appeal.

All of this to say a legal challenge is a crapshoot at best. It might work, but there really isn't a strong precedent to our situation, or to anyone trying to form a new FBS conference without following the established rules.

And, winning against the NCAA wouldn't be enough. The CFP, which is what really matters, is a separate corporation formed directly between the conferences and media companies. It's why basically all FBS teams have now joined a conference. Trying to force your way into the CFP agreement would be a second battle, and likely even tougher than being declared FBS by NCAA. Notre Dame is the ONLY independent team that contractually has access to the CFP, and they are an ACC affiliate.

[HerdBot]

If the state is hanging its FBS hopes on a potential lawsuit, then we are in serious trouble indeed

But hey, the 1660 guys don't seem too worried so why should I be? ... and they keep bringing up just 4 schools - NDSU, SDSU, UM, MSU

We'll see what happens, but there is tremendous pressure not to blow this, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they won't

Yep. Unless we're Power 5, the rest is irrelevant. No interest in playing in a beefed up MVFC at the G5 level. It will still have teams like Murray State, Indiana State, South Dakota and teams with turrible stadiums and fan bases.