The Chump JBB said --
NDSU does not give a turnstile count. They give a sold count. If you had taken time to notice there were more than enough fans left in the Prestigious Tailgate areas to fill the Fabulous Fargo Dome.
At most there were 1,000 empty seats. During the D2 playoffs in the grand cities last year Winona drew 6,500, The PSU game say 10,000 and the Davis game 11,000? How does that even compare to the Prestigious Crowd at the Fabulous Fargo Dome?
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Tickets sold is meaningless, bodies in the seats are what matter. I've never seen an empty seat enjoy a dog and a coke, or buy any souvenirs. You can rip UND's football attendance, but first take a look in the mirror (and remember that Fargo U (whoops, NDSU) is supposedly a "football school", that just isn't true in Grand Forks.)
NDSU draws 10 grand and change for Augie, but can fill the place for the Sioux. What does that mean? It means a hell of a lot of people are wearing green in the Fabulous Floating Football Barn, green and white that is.
Don't count on those 8000-9000 Sioux fans showing up for your games when you are DI. You aren't selling out Sioux games because more Bison fans are actually showing up, although you'd like to think that. Good luck getting 8000 fans to make the trip from Bozeman, Cedar Falls, or whatever other D-I (AA) powerhouses you get to come play.
You constantly deride UND and the other NCC hockey schools, but the attention they get is what you so crave and is the motivating factor behind NDSU's move up. It would have been smarter to let just the wrestling program go to D-I. Schools like Edinboro and Lock Haven do it and are Top-25 programs. You don't face competition from UND, and it's the one sport that North Dakota can produce enough athletes to fill a D-I team. Instead that honorable program will likely be a sacrifice to the alter of I-AA football, when the Title IX folks wonder how you are going to balance your 27 football scholarships.
I'll really feel for you when the reality of "D-I" sets in and you get your hopes up when the Bison score a 4th quarter TD to get within 63-7 against the Huskers in Lincoln. What a proud day that will be for the Thundering Herd, but hey that $300,000 might stem the red ink for a year. And who'll be able to turn down tickets to the Bison Holiday Hoops Classic featuring NDSU, Siena, Stetson and Texas Pan-American.
Welcome to the Big Time.