NDSU to the FBS???

[Rowdie]

You excited to watch those midnight NDSU games? nDSU now has the worst stadium in the MWC. Will they finally get the votes to upgrade the FargoDome or just build a new one? What women’s sport will NDSU now add?

Wrestling!

 

[camper]

You excited to watch those midnight NDSU games? nDSU now has the worst stadium in the MWC. Will they finally get the votes to upgrade the FargoDome or just build a new one? What women’s sport will NDSU now add?

Wow, nice negativity.

 

[Kurtr]

Wrestling!

They have a way better chance at competing in wrestling than they do football.

 

[Rowdie]

Women's wrestling is the fastest growing HS sport in the USA!

 

[shorthairsrus]

I can feel the hate. Haters will hate until they see the $$$

 

[Kurtr]

I can feel the hate. Haters will hate until they see the $$$

So being a bottom tier fbs football team is better than competing for championships and less money in fcs? Bold strategy cotton

 

[NDSportsman]

So being a bottom tier fbs football team is better than competing for championships and less money in fcs? Bold strategy cotton

I mean after winning 10 FCS titles there isn't much left at that level. Especially when the best programs keep leaving. The fan base is bored with it as proven by attendance.

 

[camper]

So being a bottom tier fbs football team is better than competing for championships and less money in fcs? Bold strategy cotton

When was the last time you attended a game in the Fargodome?

 

[Kurtr]

I mean after winning 10 FCS titles there isn't much left at that level. Especially when the best programs keep leaving. The fan base is bored with it as proven by attendance.

I guess if you like the noonecares bowl in Detroit. Best case is they make it like jmu stealing a place from a legitimate team and get monkey stomped first round of the play offs. Unless there is a Marc Cuban type donnor to follow the Indiana blue print of winning.

 

[Auggie]

I'm not looking forward to my season tickets going up a bunch. I've had them since 2006. I sit in the south end zone 2nd row up. I think it was about $350 per seat last year and that included my share of reserved tailgating. I think the first year was $100 per seat. I'm in a group of ten or so friends from college.

 

[Eatsleeptrap]

I guess if you like the noonecares bowl in Detroit. Best case is they make it like jmu stealing a place from a legitimate team and get monkey stomped first round of the play offs. Unless there is a Marc Cuban type donnor to follow the Indiana blue print of winning.

That is what concerns me. Since the 1960's NDSU could recruit kids with the Win A Championship speech. I was concerned with the jump from Dll to FCS. I was obviously wrong. I am concerned now. Pretty sure I am not wrong this time. National Championship sounds so much better than the Clyde's Car Wash Who Gives A Shit bowl.

 

[NDSportsman]

I think there will eventually be a split by the P2 or top 40 or so programs and an eventual reorganization of college football.

 

[Rut2much]

The city and residents of Frisco think this sounds about as fun as a funeral I'm sure.

 

[Eatsleeptrap]

Maybe some Bison fans will swing through Frisco on the way to play UTEP every other year...

 

[Dryfly36]

Sounds like they may move the bowl games up to the beginning of the season and get the top teams to play against each other in them, so that they can make mor3 money off of the bowl games. No more after season bowl games. Just the playoffs.

 

[tikkalover]

North Dakota State will join the Mountain West Conference and move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2026 football season, sources briefed on the decision confirmed to The Athletic.

NDSU has been a powerhouse in the Football Championship Subdivision, winning 10 national championships since 2011, including the 2024 title. ESPN first reported the deal had been finalized.

As part of the move up, NDSU is expected to pay over $10 million to join the Mountain West, in addition to a $5 million NCAA fee to move from FCS to FBS, which will now grow to 137 members. The Bison are currently in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, with most other sports competing in the Summit League.

NDSU has long considered moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision, especially as longtime FCS rivals like Appalachian State, James Madison and Sam Houston transitioned to FBS over the years. However, NDSU’s location had always made the move a more difficult fit for FBS conferences. That changed with the Mountain West’s upcoming realignment.

The Mountain West is set to split this summer, with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State moving to the rebuilt Pac-12. In response, the MW is adding UTEP as a full member and Northern Illinois as a football-only member, along with non-football members in Grand Canyon and UC Davis. The Mountain West and Pac-12 remain involved in a legal dispute over $150 million in exit and poaching fees owed to the MW.

The league’s remaining members include Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming. The addition of NDSU will give the Mountain West 10 football members.

NDSU football is 9-5 against FBS opponents since moving up to FCS in 2004, including wins against Iowa, Iowa State and Minnesota twice. In 2016, the Bison received enough votes in the AP Top 25 to finish two spots out of the top 25, the highest an FCS program ever sat in the poll, which typically only features FBS teams.

The Bison had an FCS-record 39-game winning streak from 2017 to spring 2021, breaking their previous 33-game record from 2012 to ’14. Thirteen Bison players have been selected in the NFL Draft since 2014.

Coached by Tim Polasek for the past two seasons, the Bison won the 2024 FCS championship and started the 2025 season 12-0, before an upset loss to Illinois State in the playoffs.

Leaving FCS will leave behind local rivalries with schools like South Dakota State and North Dakota, likely along with the ability to claim national championships. But NDSU has considered the move in part because some fans are bored with so many FCS blowout wins and seek a deeper challenge. They saw recent FCS member James Madison reach the College Football Playoff this year. The Group of 6 conferences are guaranteed at least one spot in the College Football Playoff for the next six years.

NDSU hasn’t competed in an FBS conference before, but recent history suggests that NDSU is likely to compete for the league title, similar to how App State and JMU did in the Sun Belt after moving up.

The Bison will be ineligible for a bowl game for the next two seasons, per NCAA transition rules unless there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the available slots. The Mountain West may choose not to make NDSU eligible for the conference championship game. JMU won the Sun Belt East Division in 2022 but did not play in the league title game or a bowl.

The Mountain West completed its new TV deal on Tuesday, which spans from fall 2026 to summer 2032 with Fox Sports, CBS Sports and The CW.

 

[lunkerslayer]

Ndsu will need to put up 17.5 million before they even play one game, thats 5 mill transition fee and 12.5 to the conference
https://www.inforum.com/sports/biso...to-join-mountain-west-conference-for-football