A new and better FBS thread

[NDSU92]

I think NDSU's main competition for those MWC backfill spots will come from the Big Sky. The Montana schools are obvious replacement candidates but there are others in the Big Sky who could make a push and fit better into the footprint of the schools that the MWC just lost such as Idaho, Sacramento St, and UC Davis.

The FCS state schools have the highest ceiling and (probably more importantly) the highest floor. Yeah you can add UTEP NM State or Sammy but what trust do you have that they’re going to move your conference forward in any meaningful way? Very likely they function as anchors.

Better to avoid Texas than to broadcast to the world that your conference is now obviously below AAC and Sun Belt. Will have a stronger conference for it and also you’ll likely never worry that another conference swoops in to steal a Dakota school. Instead your best case scenario is that UTEP gets good enough to get the attention of AAC or Sun Belt.

With the Dakotas you get upside, stability, regional domination, better academics and brand power. No brainer.

[reformedUNDfan]

as posted in the other thread, i sent the following email to leadership:

President Cook, Director Larson,

I am writing to you today on behalf of the XXXX family, regarding today's developments in the Mountain West and PAC-12 Conferences.* As you are well aware, this change will open up several spots in the higher division, possibly including the American Athletic Conference as well.* While I and many others would be pleased to join either the Mountain West or American Athletic Conferences, it seems clear to me that NDSU's peers at that level will be in the PAC-12.

I trust that you have done your diligence and spoken with the PAC-12, and I acknowledge that this may be a stretch to convince this conference to admit a lowly member from the FCS over a 'proven' upper division program.* It is better to try and fail than to not try at all, and we all know that an excellent case can be made on the merits: a State-Flagship Land-Grant*university, a peerless football program, tremendous success in olympic*sports, a booming community in a prosperous state, and access to the wildly under recruited upper midwest.

Rumor has reached even us plebeians*that we have nearly been invited to realign in the recent past, but even so I still read in the national press that North Dakota State is content where we are.* While these decisions on conference membership are made in high offices and ivory towers, their decisions are influenced by the press as well.* To that end, I would like to encourage you to publicly declare NDSU's interest in changing our conference affiliation, with an emphasis on joining the PAC-12.* We XXXXs have no great fortune, but we do give to Team Makers and to the Green and Gold Collective, and to this end I will donate $1000 to the*University should*this action occur.* Should the leaders of this school and athletic department make it to ESPN or similar platform to make this pitch to a national audience, I will triple that figure.**

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity*to fulfill the dream of the last 60 years, a spot in a conference of our peers, with direct access to the national championship at its highest level.* On behalf*of four generations and counting of North Dakotans, and nearly a dozen and counting NDSU graduates, please do everything in your power to put NDSU in the conversation and lead this program to the Promised Land.

the PAC12 is where NDSU belongs, and we should go hard for it even if it fails. Fuck the skeptics

[reformedUNDfan]

Seriously; if you read an article about PAC taking NDSU, not worth the paper written on. The opportunity now is Mountain West or another conference if they raid someone.

other than maybe Memphis, name a better program that the PAC 10 could add than NDSU. NDSU is better than CSU or fresno

[ndsubison1]

Agree.

PAC will pull from some combination of MWC/AAC/SBC. Most likely MWC and AAC for first phase.
MWC will likely not be able to pull from AAC or SBC, though Texas St might be tempted.

FCS options are better geographically and competitively for MWC than most of the CUSA schools. I believe MWC will not want to reach to the east coast.

Air Force goes to AAC if theres a spot. I dont see AAC schools leaving for this new MWC. Sun Belt might even be more stable than the MWC is now.

[reformedUNDfan]

Air Force goes to AAC if theres a spot. I dont see AAC schools leaving for this new MWC. Sun Belt might even be more stable than the MWC is now.

agreed.

I've like Memphis, Tulane, NDSU, and SDSU forming the eastern front of the PAC-12 for a while.

the MWC likely looks at UND, USD, UM, MSU, Idaho, Weber and Illinois State, assuming they lose two more schools to the PAC-12 and Airforce to the AAC

[BigHorns]

Air Force goes to AAC if theres a spot. I dont see AAC schools leaving for this new MWC. Sun Belt might even be more stable than the MWC is now.

AF -> AAC makes a lot of sense if AAC loses say Memphis and/or Tulane to PAC.

That would give AAC Army, Navy, and AF. Sort of like collecting railroads in monopoly.

My prediction is PAC adds two more to get to 8 and then stops for now. Those two are highly likely to be AAC schools, or possibly an AAC school and one SBC school. Zero chance the PAC who sees themselves as a "power" conference reaches to FCS.

[IndyBison]

as posted in the other thread, i sent the following email to leadership:



the PAC12 is where NDSU belongs, and we should go hard for it even if it fails. Fuck the skeptics

If the PAC12 brings in schools like NDSU, they will not be considered a P4/5 conference. It would be a very good G5/6 conference though and that's not a bad thing. Less likely to get AAC schools and may upset the MWC schools that jumped.

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[Gopher24]

If FBS schools start going to the Fargodome I'll actually go to games. I haven't been to a game in person since 2002

[NDSU92]

AF -> AAC makes a lot of sense if AAC loses say Memphis and/or Tulane to PAC.

That would give AAC Army, Navy, and AF. Sort of like collecting railroads in monopoly.

My prediction is PAC adds two more to get to 8 and then stops for now. Those two are highly likely to be AAC schools, or possibly an AAC school and one SBC school. Zero chance the PAC who sees themselves as a "power" conference reaches to FCS.

Has anyone with inside knowledge ever said Air Force wants to be with the other service academies? Always seemed like armchair speculation and nothing more to me.

[NDSU92]

If the PAC12 brings in schools like NDSU, they will not be considered a P4/5 conference. It would be a very good G5/6 conference though and that's not a bad thing. Less likely to get AAC schools and may upset the MWC schools that jumped.

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Already aren’t considered one and never will be again. All they can hope is to be the best G5 conference and with a far western footprint good luck with that.