The FCS Notebook is a blog-style article series featuring an assortment of news, rumblings, quick hitters, and commentary on various topics.
A new FCS Notebook will be published multiple times a week.
Mountain West Reportedly Considering Adding NDSU
The tweet that many in Fargo and many around the FCS were waiting for has happened. Brett McMurphy reports that the Mountain West is considering adding FCS power North Dakota State.
While nothing is official yet, this is the first time there is actual smoke and a report of an FBS conference considering the Bison.
Interest from Northern Illinois is “waning” in joining the MWC, which would also keep Toledo in the MAC. The MWC is currently looking to add one or two football-only members. That could lead to an NDSU invite. If the MWC, who currently has eight football members, wants 10 football members to play nine conference games, would their second football-only invite go to South Dakota State? Maybe.
It’s quite literally a dream scenario talked about for years for NDSU Athletics — keep your sports in the Summit League to save on travel costs, join the Mountain West in football only, and leave behind the FCS that you outgrew years ago.
If, and it’s still an if, NDSU were to join the Mountain West, McMurphy reports that the Bison could compete in the Mountain West starting in 2026. They would likely not be eligible for the FCS playoffs in 2025 as they transition.
Again, nothing is set in stone yet. But some random jottings and thoughts below:
-There would be the obvious negatives of this from an FCS perspective: NDSU is the top brand in the FCS. The Bison have won nine FCS titles since 2011. The FCS would get weaker without NDSU, the bar to win a natty is lowered, there would be fewer good home environments in the playoffs, and Frisco may not draw as well depending on which teams make it.
-But there would also be some positives to NDSU leaving:
-Let’s be frank, the FCS fatigue in Fargo has become unbearable. Fargo media members, who I like and respect and communicate with weekly, have told NDSU fans for years that the FCS has become a joke as other teams have left for the FBS. That has, in part, increased Bison fans’ apathy of FCS football. When the fan base and media of the FCS’ top brand is constantly taking swipes at the subdivision, it’s not good for anyone. It’s not good for the FCS, and it’s not good for the NDSU football program. The more FCS titles the Bison win, the more the fans want to leave the FCS. Not great for either side!
-There is also NDSU fatigue across the FCS outside of the SDSU fan base (who is also now hoping for a football-only MWC invite). UND fans also probably wouldn’t love this NDSU to the MWC move. And Montana and Montana State fans, while excited that their door to win an FCS title opens more, are also realizing how watered down the FCS is getting. But how many people want to watch NDSU win two or three more titles in the next five years? Because that is probably going to happen if the Bison stay in the FCS.
-NDSU’s fan base is great and passionate about their own team. But honestly, NDSU fans have gotten less and less engaging with FCS national content. There’s a lack of FCS intrigue in that fan base. Which I do understand! At some point of winning titles and seeing other teams leave, it’s understandable Bison followers want to go FBS. If the Bison are out of the picture, it allows other teams to step into being contenders. It opens the door a bit more for someone else to make a run. And then those fan bases become more engaged with the FCS national discussion — we’ve seen this with Idaho, UIW, Furman, Mercer. When more teams can realistically compete deeper in the playoffs, it creates better engagement from different corners of the country. I was concerned about HERO’s analytics when JMU, JSU, SHSU, and Kennesaw left for the FBS. But our traffic, podcast numbers, and Twitter analytics continue to have year-over-year growth. Because other fan bases have stepped into being those quarterfinal-to-semifinal-type teams and become more engaged with the FCS title conversation.
-Would an NDSU move to the FBS suck for rivals SDSU and UND? Yes. Would it suck for schools like Montana and Montana State who are watching most of the FCS schools who take football as seriously as they do leave? Yes. Will those three (SDSU, UM, MSU) be the usual contenders for the FCS title? Yes. But NDSU outgrew the FCS a long time ago. It was time for the Bison to leave the FCS. Hopefully, SDSU and the Montanas find themselves in the MWC someday soon too. Or in a new middle subdivision of G5 and top FCS teams.
-The FCS needs a reset. Maybe it isn’t the worst thing if the FCS gets weaker and loses its small percentage of top-tier teams, and then the playoffs get more fun with more parity.
-NDSU has been great for the FCS for so many reasons. Putting Frisco on the map, drawing national media attention, raising the bar in the FCS, epic playoff environments in the Fargodome in the 2010s, sending guys to the NFL, etc. But it’s been time for NDSU to move on for years. Now, hopefully, they will finally get that FBS invite.
-I was rooting for NDSU to leave the FCS. It was time. And hopefully it happens so we won’t have to hear about how fans/media of a national title favorite think the subdivision they’re playing in sucks. I also wouldn’t have to hear “Homer!!” anymore for ranking NDSU No. 1.
-Remember when NDSU fans hated when UND hockey fans dissed the FCS. “Why would you crap on the subdivision that your football team plays in?” Ironic now.
-With overreactions everywhere these days, it’s important to remember that there are positives and negatives with everything.
-Some folks will probably latch on to one positive thing or one negative thing in this article. “Sam said the FCS is going to be fine without NDSU! What, how!?” Not exactly what I said. It’ll be weaker, but the stability is still there for an FCS-type subdivision. “Sam is biased against NDSU! He’s sick of the Bison!” Not exactly what I said “Sam said he’s rooting for NDSU (to join the FBS)! Homer!” A different type of rooting.
-The CliffsNotes version of this rambling blog-style article is this: The FCS losing its top brand in NDSU would hurt the subdivision for obvious reasons. But it would also open the door for new storylines in the playoffs while getting rid of the FCS fatigue in Fargo and the NDSU fatigue from 99% of the FCS.
-We’ll see if the official invite actually happens. There will be hard opinions either way. But remember. Some positives, some negatives.
Past FCS Notebooks
Will Inflated CAA Records Help Or Hurt On Selection Sunday? … READ MORE
Ivy League Considering Allowing Its Teams Into The FCS Playoffs … READ MORE
Expect Big Changes In The FCS Playoff Committee’s Top 10 Between Now And Selection Sunday … READ MORE
