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While this was probably a legitimate stance to take (find a conference before making the move to DI), we have found that it wasn't realistic - for a variety of reasons. The primary reasons being - 1) with our geography, conferences aren't going to readily court UND due to travel costs, etc. and 2) our probationery period is not helpful to a conference. If we were located in other parts of the country, it would be a whole different story for any of the four ND/SD schools - conferences would likely be very interested.
We were wrong so we have changed our mind - understandably so.
Now, there are some who will tell you that we do have an "understanding" with a conference (probably the Big Sky) that we will be accepted in a couple of years. I doubt such an agreement exists, but who knows!