AJS
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Posts posted by AJS
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9 hours ago, nodakvindy said:
I hope UND can resist the urge to follow them off the cliff. Unfortunately the obsession some have with NDSU is considerable.
Very unfortunate post, which feels very similar to what fans were saying in 2003. Nobody knows how will work out. I've learned not to bet against them but do feel they are taking a risk (more-so after seeing not only the $ amount they are paying, but also, not taking TV $ for X amount of years). Good news, I feel good about the like-minded schools that are left in the FCS (which UND is a part of).
Going to be fascinating to follow over the next few years.
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On 2/11/2026 at 8:02 PM, UND1983 said:That's a big commitment! Early too
Just listened to his 360 interview with him. What an exciting first commit. Just a flat-out head to head over NDSU. Based on some of the teams that were lurking, this could really turn into a big-time commit.
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15 minutes ago, UNDBIZ said:
Interesting. Swap out NDSU for St. Thomas and that’s the new division of Conf USA.
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14 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
a split in the mwc could happen in 3,2,1........(denver airport)
I don't a major split happening in the MWC. Why? To start, there's only two all sport members who provide value to conferences better than the MWC (UNLV, Air Force). Now, based on the member locations, they bring some value as for TV. MWC provide a higher $ value than the other bottom G6 conferences (ex: Conf USA, MAC). So, outside of UNLV, Air Force, who else would leave and where? PAC value would decrease if they add anyone but UNLV, Air Force. Current members like UTEP, NIU would make more than they would going back to other conferences. Imo, everyone but UNLV, Air Force and Grand Canyon are stuck.
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2 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
the ndac has practically ZERO chance at pac12......they are probably wise to the fact that a split is coming in the mwc....either a miracle happens and they are brought with to the pac12 if the whole mwc goes...(highly unlikely bc wyoming is....wyoming)...or they get left behind with wyoming and get to invite whatever they can to join and UND won't be one but montana, msu, idaho, sdac. tarelton, acu nmsu will
The problem with your theory is the 4 teams that are in bold will already be in the new (incredibly competitive / exciting) division of Conference USA. That'll take place before any type of major split within MWC would occur.
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24 minutes ago, cowboys5xsbs said:So NDSU only gets a small cut of the streaming revenue for the MWC? How is that tenable at all? There has to be some weird shenanigans going on here....
Unless you're making 25M + in tv $ yearly, collegiate athletics should have a regional (your location can cause different definition of regional / peer institutions) and rival focus. NDSU is swinging big with this move. Where I've shifted since the announcement, is I think they're taking a bigger risk than I initially thought. Success would be if they win at a rate in the MWC / G6 as they did at the FCS level. Year in and year out being in the CFP discussion. Leverage that in 5 years into the PAC. Possible, yes. Likely if this was the collegiate landscape of 10 years ago, yes. In the current landscape, does 9-3 yearly cut it? We'll see. There's a chance their arrogance will finally catch up to them.
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13 minutes ago, wheelsup said:
i happen to like the idea of a summit / big sky / MVFC full sport conference.. mont, mont state / und / sdsu / usd / st Thomas / Idaho / Idaho st / Weber state /
I’m sure I’m missing a few.. but it’s fun to think about.. and then could move up as a group to whatever becomes of ncaa d1
*As new members on a division of Conference USA*
Doesn't have to happen this year or next, but the planning should start. Get everyone on the same page. I cannot think of who says no (I'm including current members of Conf USA).
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4 minutes ago, Fratt Mattin said:
As an aside, I'd love to know where you got these numbers from. I was looking for these the other day but couldn't find anything
Search a Kolpack article about NDSU athletic endowment. Within last 6 months. Those would be from that article. He got the numbers from the schools.
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If we take a step back and really analyze the last handful of years. What would we want to be different (specially athletics)?
- Facilities: Nailed it. Betty is next. Cannot criticize what they've done and their vision. It's unbelievable
- Coaches: Fired Bubba and Berry (with years on their contracts). Told us mediocre isn't good enough. Anyone unhappy with the hires? Like with upgrades to the Betty, hoping B-Ball takes another step.
My question being, based on actions, why wouldn't we think they'd be in the mix for conference realignment? What have they shown that would make us believe they aren't serious about being with other peer schools? How much of the online narrative (cannot emphasize online part) with realignment was based on winning?
There's no reason not to be optimistic about the future with this leadership.
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11 hours ago, bison73 said:
NDSU has a 111MM athletic endowment. Which allows them to off set the lowest state ,school, and student-fee funds of any public FCS orG5 school. 7.6MM.
Comparative endowment(and other allocated funds)
SDSU 22.4mm(12.3mm)
UND 49mm (14.8mm)
Athletic endowment was always the glaring difference between the two schools. I really feel UND missed an opportunity with their stretch goal in the Forever UND campaign to try to add say 25M for athletic scholarships. With the goal being the first FCS program to up their scholarships from 63. Initially move to 72. Would be a big deal, perception wise.
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6 minutes ago, siouxweet said:
They just gave a $6.5 million check to NDSU on Saturday.
If Teammakers vs CC is 6.5 vs 4, that's actually closer than I would have thought. A lot of work to do, but still.
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4 hours ago, jdub27 said:
Accurate.
Difference is NDSU currently has the donors who are willing to funnel fistfuls of money directly into FBS football/athletics. Not sure the appetite quite there for UND for that right now. And honestly, if things break right, they may not need to be. NDSU did what they felt was necessary, which is outbidding the biggest loudmouth in the room (Sac St). Don't blame them for doing it given the position they were in, but again, the facts are that they will shortly have a new president, the previous president made their financial situation better but it is nowhere near fixed and the state is eyeing around 10% budget reductions next year. Not a lot of room for error.There is likely a scenario in the future where the landscape changes drastically and UND (plus other peer schools) end up where they need to be without paying 8 figures.
I'll follow up by asking, did the NDSU donors go to Cook x Larson proposing this scenario (we have X amount, get us a conference), or did NDSU officials go to donors? I would guess the latter. We don't know if UND donors would or wouldn't. Main point was conveying that if you look at the fundraising, there's no reason to believe that UND couldn't afford something that NDSU could.
Some other schools.
- UND - 510 million (Current)
- NDSU - 498 million (FY 24)
- USD - 338.6 million (FY 25)
- Montana - 289.6 million (FY 24)
- Montana State - 287 million (FY 24)
- SDSU - 260.7 million (FY 24)
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Good article by Miller. I'm of the opinion that the media can play apart in this type of thing. It's nice to see this as the top story currently on the Herald.
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10 hours ago, jdub27 said:
Seems like the exact message everyone except Sac St has been putting out for the last few years.
The President and AD are having the correct conversations and they don't happen in public. I would expect nothing is imminent until it is, that's why you have the conversations. UND has an absolute top notch President. They also have no reason to get into an unnecessary bidding war in public. They are in a fine spot where they are for the immediate future.
Focus on continued improvements, building up the University as a whole, building enrollment and making sure the financial house is in order for when the right opportunity arises. No need to completely get taken to the cleaners and have the people who robbed you saying you've always been their top
markchoice.Very good post.
Here's one thing I'll say about the financial piece. Look at a school's endowment for a fair look into their fundraising power. From an article two weeks ago.
QuoteThe University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation has "shattered" previous fundraising records, securing $119.9 million in gifts during the 2025 calendar year.
QuoteThe $119.9 million total was fueled by 11,294 donors who made more than 13,600 gifts. The organization also saw a significant surge in new support, with 2,755 first-time donors contributing in 2025 — a 54% increase over the previous 12-month reporting period.
QuoteCarlson Zink also revealed that the UND Alumni Association & Foundation’s endowment has reached a new all-time high of $510.7 million.
I can't find NDSU's #'s, but would suspect that their current endowment is higher, but not significantly higher (498 million at end of 2024). If you look at facts, they will tell you that UND can hang financially with NDSU.
*UND is also on the backend of their Forever UND campaign*
QuoteWhat began as a bold vision, Forever UND: The Campaign for the University of North Dakota has already met its initial fundraising goal of $500 million, a remarkable achievement accomplished well ahead of its end-of-2026 deadline.
QuoteWith that, she unveiled the new goal: $625 million by the original campaign end date of December 31, 2026.
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4 hours ago, cberkas said:
There are 4 FCS schools looking at moving up to FBS and conducting feasibility studies.
Who are the 4?
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5 minutes ago, bison73 said:
Now why would you be for this when UND complained about travel cost as a reason for leaving the The Big Sky?
See below. No difference in travel for FB (same amount of bus trips). Few less than currently in the Summit for other sports but still looking at 3 bus trips. Not a similar scenario at all to the Big Sky days.
1 hour ago, AJS said:Outside of the basic increases you'd incur with an FBS move, what else? Travel would be not too much different than it would be now (you'd lose bus trips to Fargo and Omaha) for non-Football but would stay at 3 for FB (remove Fargo, add UST). You'd see an increase in attendance no doubt.
IMO, the key to this is the state of Conf USA currently. They are currently dead last in the G6. This would help the current members immensely. I would think you could do this for little to no additional fee. TV contract. Isn't Conf USAs so minimal right now, you either see if the networks will double that small # or just have all the new teams keep what they have currently until their current deal is up.
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17 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
yep...if the summit doesn't eject ndac i'm all for moving anywhere that offers oly with the the other sodak schools and whoever else...let's go!
NDSU is gone as soon as they can from the Summit. Need to get the wheels moving. Good on Larson, can’t say he didn’t warn you.
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21 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
but see my theory is that d1a and d1aa won't be a thing so ndac paid 17.5 million for what they have already.....d1 football.!..no more g10 and p4,5,or 6....
i'm not sure exactly how adding all those schools helps fiu or keensaw state...schools have to add something...but you can't all em all.
under my mvc plan...they get the nodak market, sodak market, twin cities, and omaha....merge the football side over and maybe make a move on hockey....
either way i don't see the dak3 and montana and idaho sitting pat but i don't see them/us spending millions to get into d1 football when the line between 1a and 1aa are blurring in real time
Shot in the arm for Conference USA. They are at the bottom of the G6 with no way out currently. No downside for current members. As far as your theory. I'll believe that when I see it. There's a reason the AC paid 17.5 million.
I can't find a reason why all schools wouldn't be on board with this. I think there'd be a real fear with administrations of being left behind. The Summit is on life support as is.
Added bonus being you screw NDSU with Non-FB sports + IMO, you're in a more fun G6 league. @gfhockey you want to get this to Chavez? I don't see anything wrong with kicking the tires. My question is, who says no?
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1 hour ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
weber insteadof pocatello u...looks good
Good idea. Added an and / or to the original post. I would leave that up to Montana / Montana State and Idaho. Do they want to add Weber or a bus trip?
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33 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
biggest obstacle is money.......
Outside of the basic increases you'd incur with an FBS move, what else? Travel would be not too much different than it would be now (you'd lose bus trips to Fargo and Omaha) for non-Football but would stay at 3 for FB (remove Fargo, add UST). You'd see an increase in attendance no doubt.
IMO, the key to this is the state of Conf USA currently. They are currently dead last in the G6. This would help the current members immensely. I would think you could do this for little to no additional fee. TV contract. Isn't Conf USAs so minimal right now, you either see if the networks will double that small # or just have all the new teams keep what they have currently until their current deal is up.
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Forming a new Division for Conference USA seems like the move. For FB you play your division (8 games) and have a title game with the winner of each division. Even for Olympic sports, is travel that much more of a concern? Home and Home in your division, then one game against the other division. This is a win for everyone.
Division
Idaho
Idaho State or Weber State
Montana
Montana State
UND
USD
SDSU
St. Thomas
Missouri State
Division
Delaware
FIU
Jacksonville State
Kennesaw State
Liberty
Middle Tennessee State
NM State
Sam Houston
Western Kentucky
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@siouxfan512 good post, but they'll never drop back. The only example of that happening was Idaho and that was because the Sun Belt dropped them. They'll be successful, no doubt, relatively speaking, but each programs definition of success is different.
Them dominating is a possibility, but lower than most of their fanbase believes. I genuinely wonder if their fanbase would be happy with 9-3 / 8-4 records most years while playing against the new MW teams. Those are really good records, but for a program and the success they've had, that would seem like purgatory. Playing no rivals. That's what would seem to spark interest for most G6 programs. Since outside of a handful of teams yearly, they really have nothing to play for.
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Let's look at the final Sagarin rankings from 2025
NDSU - 40
MWC (2026 version)
74, 81, 84, 105, 127, 138, 144, 149, 176
MVFC
87, 95, 99, 108, 109, 118, 180, 208, 220
Will NDSU be successful? Yes. Imo, it's 10-2 or better or bust. Year in and year out. What's important to note is like FCS is in their bubble. All G6 conferences are also in their own little bubble. To get into the national discussion, you have to be basically flawless. This isn't NDSU teams of even 5 years ago. What I'm really interested in seeing is when you're forced to schedule FBS teams non-conf (is this confirmed, only one FCS team on the schedule>). I look at it this way, if it was a situation where they only played 1 FBS team on their schedule, they would absolutely win that game. Playing 11 FBS teams, they no longer have 4 what I call >99% chance to win non-conference layups. Also, the botton of the MWC >>> bottom of the MVFC. Very interested to see how it plays out next year.
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48 minutes ago, siouxweet said:
All this talk of needing to do something with the SD and Montana schools to do what create the Great West Conference 2.0? Yeah that would immediately legitimize moving up. Each school needs to do what is best for them.
Very simply, you don’t want to be stuck in a situation that isn’t in the schools best interest. They just don’t have any other choice. That’s a real possibility.
Conference Realignments - Take 2
in NCAA News
Posted
Can’t believe someone actually fell for it.