That fanbase is used to playing meaningful games into early January. Now they'll head to the XBox Bowl on a Tuesday in December against La Tech.
That's literally what my father-in-law says. I'm happy at being super competitive at the FCS level, at the FBS level we'll be the next Wyoming.
Way too premature to confidently imply North Dakota State will succeed even in a diminished new MWC. Maybe, but reasonably many, including the new PacX, may question 12K student NDSU’s potential to leverage their FCS brand success. And, the new MWC may have accepted a lower NDSU entry bid (cough bribe) than the new PacX schools were open to accepting.
It’s like an arena football atmosphere, but I guess it’s okay. There is no attendance requirement, apparently, and that place holds less than 20K. Being snarky.
www.cbssports.com
Setting aside UNM likely not wanting their in-state little brother, highly contentious rival in the new MWC, imagine many of the other schools not being particularly enchanted with a long unsuccessful second program/brand from the so called Land of Enchantment.
They are getting absolutely fleeced by the Mountain West. At this rate, they won't make back the entry fee until 2032 at the earliest.North Dakota State to petition for immediate CFP, postseason access
The Bison's move challenges a long-standing rule that bars new FBS programs from competing for championships for two years. NDSU joins the FBS as a member of the Mountain West in July.
Financially, NDSU will not receive a full revenue share from the Mountain West through the 2031-32 season, the length of the conference's current media rights deal. However, the Bison would receive 50% of the CFP and bowl revenue distributed to full members beginning in 2026 if they reach the postseason, and 100% after their second postseason appearance, according to the conference's membership agreement obtained by CBS Sports through an open-records request. NDSU would also earn a $1 million bonus for reaching the CFP before 2032.
NDSU is paying the Mountain West a $12.5 million entry fee over six years, in addition to the NCAA's $5 million reclassification fee, which increased from $5,000 to $5 million in 2023. The NCAA's probationary period was designed to give transitioning programs time to meet FBS benchmarks, including scholarship expansion and facility upgrades.
Larsen contends that many modern programs already meet or exceed those standards upon entry. NDSU opened a $54 million football facility in 2022, funded solely by private gifts.
