North Dakota State made national headlines this week when the school announced it was jumping up from the FCS to the FBS. The Bison had received an invite to play in the Mountain West as a football-only member beginning this year.
But because of the rapid nature of this move, the Bison won’t be able to compete in the postseason for two years as things stand right now.
Here’s why:
Why Can’t North Dakota State Play In The CFP Right Away?
NDSU can’t play in the College Football Playoff, the Mountain West Championship, or even bowl games even if the Bison win enough games to do so because of NCAA rules.
The rules are put in place with the intent of forcing schools to be sure that moving up is right for them in the long-term. It’s also meant to give the programs an adjustment period for things like increased scholarship numbers.
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How Long Is North Dakota State’s Postseason Ban?
The Bison won’t be able to play in postseason games for two years. That means the soonest NDSU can compete in a postseason would be 2028.
Can NDSU Still Play In Bowl Games?
The Bison can play in a bowl game if there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams in the FBS. So they would have to win six games and hope enough teams also don’t meet that benchmark.
This has happened a few times for FCS teams moving up to the FBS. Missouri State, which used to face NDSU in the Missouri Valley, and Delaware both played in bowl games in their first seasons in the FBS.
As was the case in 2025, there’s also the possibility of some teams dropping out of playing in their bowl games, which would open up opportunities for NDSU.
Is There Anything NDSU Can Do To Play In The College Football Playoff?
NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen said the school is petitioning the NCAA to be eligible for the postseason immediately in 2026.
But NDSU fans can ask James Madison, a former FCS rival of the Bison, just how that goes. JMU pushed and explored several possibilities to have a chance to compete in the postseason when it moved up. In their second season in the FBS in 2023, the Dukes were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and looked like they could’ve been in the mix to earn a New Year’s Six bowl bid. They did end up earning an invite to a bowl game that season, but only when there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams.
