Geography means very little anymore, from the FBS to the FCS to the NCHC, there are several examples of this. If you can pay the bills, you can be in the conference.
Grand Forks certainly has geographic disadvantages, but I would argue it is in fact small-minded to exclude potential advancement and reorganization based purely on that. Not wanting to aggressively compete with the Fargo-Moorhead area and beyond is arguably one of UND’s biggest flaws; you can’t just be niche and opportunistic. You have to take some chances.
There’s no question that reorganization in college football is upcoming. The timeline is fluid, but whether UND athletics would be the Pirates (more likely) or the Yankees (less likely), they need to be prepared to make a hard decision financially. Conservatively bowing out echoes the early 2000s, significantly, and the fact some can’t see that is a concerning ignorance towards historical precedent.