A new and better FBS thread

[HerdBot]

Reportedly, NIU was concerned about the lawsuit the Pac Who has filed to get rid of the poaching fees and the fact that the MW would not have a guaranteed spot in the CFP. Or in other words they wanted a better deal.

The TV contract is up in 2026 and there is no guarantee it will be renewed. Maction is a sure thing

[No_Skill]

Thanks for sharing. Like everything else that happens within public institutions and the entities that govern them she gave a perfectly acceptable answer that said nothing at all.

I do think it will be a few weeks before we hear anything more one way or the other.


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Maybe. It seems like when these rumors turn out to be true, they fire off sooner than that. If our leadership is worth their salt, the financials should already be prepped and ready to present. Part of me thinks if we don't know by Monday the 18th, it's dead in the water.

[BigHorns]

The TV contract is up in 2026 and there is no guarantee it will be renewed. Maction is a sure thing

I would be VERY surprised if there have not already been initial discussions between MW and media partners.

1 - most likely they know the outline and what expected range of payouts would be.
2 - most likely the media partners and/or consultants are providing estimates of media value for various schools that could be added, and this is part of the process of who gets invites normally.

PAC took a break for the purpose of figuring all this out. I suspect MW was ahead of them on this aspect. There have been rumors floating that the next MW contract will have a strong streaming aspect. Not sure if that will be Apple, ESPN+, Amazon, or someone else. PAC previously was close to deals with either Apple or Amazon for streaming, before it all fell apart.

[BigHorns]

NIU isn’t going ANYWHERE that is going to get a guaranteed CFP spot. lol.


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Right, none of the G6 will get a guaranteed spot, though some conferences will have a higher probability than others. PAC has the best shot at getting the CFP bid on a regular basis. NIU would have significantly improved their odds of a CFP birth by moving to MW imo. Most years, MAC will not get significant consideration. Thus logically, it must have really come down to the money and additional travel costs.

[NDSU92]

Right, none of the G6 will get a guaranteed spot, though some conferences will have a higher probability than others. PAC has the best shot at getting the CFP bid on a regular basis. NIU would have significantly improved their odds of a CFP birth by moving to MW imo. Most years, MAC will not get significant consideration. Thus logically, it must have really come down to the money and additional travel costs.

It’s coming down to the fact that their other sports would be homeless. School has happily been in the MAC for 51 years. That’s a hell of a bridge to burn and football doesn’t run the school like it does at NDSU.

[TAILG8R]

It’s coming down to the fact that their other sports would be homeless. School has happily been in the MAC for 51 years. That’s a hell of a bridge to burn and football doesn’t run the school like it does at NDSU.

That is the most obvious reasoning. Football only for them meant having to find a new conference for the other sports. When you’ve been in a bus league for 50 years you’re not going to jump into another conference for Olympic sports that would mean increased travel.


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[Twentysix]

It’s coming down to the fact that their other sports would be homeless. School has happily been in the MAC for 51 years. That’s a hell of a bridge to burn and football doesn’t run the school like it does at NDSU.

Either you've got this wrong or Wikipedia does. Niu left the summit league in 1994 for the horizon league. And they left the horizon league in 1997 for the mac. (Both confereneces had different names then, but its the same charter).

Your point about it being a long time still stands. 27 years is a long time. It's just not 51.

Another aside, if football doesnt run niu, what does? Cause they suck ass at basketball

[Hammersmith]

Either you've got this wrong or Wikipedia does. Niu left the summit league in 1994 for the horizon league. And they left the horizon league in 1997 for the mac. (Both confereneces had different names then, but its the same charter).

Your point about it being a long time still stands. 27 years is a long time. It's just not 51.

It's actually much more complicated than that. NIU first joined the MAC back in 1975, but they hopped around a bunch from 1986-96.


1920 - joined the IIAC(Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; later Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
1966 - left for the Midwestern Conference
1972 - went independent
1975 - joined the MAC for the first time
1986 - women join the North Star Conference(later absorbed into Mid-Con/Summit)
1986 - men go independent(again)
1990 - all olympic sports fully join the Mid-Con(Summit)
1993 - joined Big West for football
1994 - olympic sports moved to Midwestern Collegiate Conference(Horizon)
1996 - football independent
1997 - finally back to MAC(olympic + football)

So over the last 49 seasons(1975-2024), NIU was in the MAC for 37 of them(1975-1985*, 1997-2024).



*I used the beginning of the academic year for all the dates. So the 1985 date here is actually the 1985-86 season.

[BigHorns]

That is the most obvious reasoning. Football only for them meant having to find a new conference for the other sports. When you’ve been in a bus league for 50 years you’re not going to jump into another conference for Olympic sports that would mean increased travel.

Which takes us full circle. More travel/costs and not enough of a revenue jump to outweigh that for NIU.

Travel costs and money are two of the biggest drivers of movement (or in this case nonmovement) within the G5/6. And really in the end, money drives all decisions in FBS. The numbers just weren't big enough for NIU to jump.

[NDSU92]

Either you've got this wrong or Wikipedia does. Niu left the summit league in 1994 for the horizon league. And they left the horizon league in 1997 for the mac. (Both confereneces had different names then, but its the same charter).

Your point about it being a long time still stands. 27 years is a long time. It's just not 51.

Another aside, if football doesnt run niu, what does? Cause they suck ass at basketball

Yeah that was my b for skimming the Wikipedia page lol

Not to detract from the point that the major problem would be the homelessness of their non-football sports. That is how you divide an athletic department. All their other sports are just fine where they are at. You gonna blow things up for a conference that might not exist or at least turn into CUSA in 5 years?

No…