MplsBison

For some reason I seem to recall that NDSU was going to pay $80k to get UMD in for a game during the transition.

What do you mean by "attractive" destinations? The football teams aren't going to be seeing much more than the inside of the hotel, regardless of where the game is at.

I actually would argue that geography isn't as big of a deal. You're either going to be paying for a team's charter plane out of your own pocket or signing a home/home deal where they have to pay for their own charter plane. I think it's more along the lines of: it's too risky to play a good team non conference.

If a NDSU/UND game can't be worked out, then hopefully we can pay off Wagner to come to Fargo and you guys can sign a home/home and get Portland to travel to Grand Forks the 1st game.

Looks like Sac State posted their schedule and are playing Poly on Sept 12th. Portland State, Wagner and Sam Houston seem to be about the only other FCS schools with Sept 12th open other than NDSU and UND.

There are several large city FCS upstarts with aspirations to being FBS. Georgia State (Atlanta), UNC-Charlotte and now UTSA.

Howard is a private research school in Washington DC. It's also a historically black school, probably the premier one in terms of academics. Wagner and Davidson are private liberal arts schools that are DI mostly for bball and they have low or non scholarship football. Stony Brook is a massive research school and one of the flagship research centers in the New York public university system SUNY. Like the other SUNY research centers (Buffalo, Albany and Binghamton) they have only recently started putting money into DI athletics.

The MVC also moved the NDSU/SDSU games to mid season.

All the other schools are DI.

Grand Valley isn't FCS, though they should be.

I'll get it done.

Would you accept a home/home with our return in 2012?

Per areavoices Gene is keeping the Sept 12th game in case he gets the game he really wants and then can shuffle the scheudle. So there must be a team on a different date that he is trying to get to Fargo.

In other words, no Portland State.

Yeah because you'd totally be playing teams like Idaho State, Weber State and Portland State! Who hoo! Who doesn't associate Portland Oregon and Grand Forks ND? Much better than playing teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas City, etc.

So you don't prefer the Big Sky over any other autobid conference, noted.

The ONLY reason for any Dakota school to join the big sky is for the Montana/Mont. State games. If they leave, you're stuck in a conference with a bunch of 2nd tier schools a LONG way from ND. You really care about playing Idaho State? Weber State? Portland State?

I never stated it was fact, you can choose to take it any way you want, that's your problem.

Where does this idea that conferences are just going to accept new teams because they're in the same geographical region come from? You've got the WAC accepting Poly and Davis and you've got the Big West accepting Sac St, Portland St and Northern Ariz. The WAC might consider Davis because of their fantastic academics and the Sacramento market, but Fresno is about the only school in the WAC that would vote for adding the remote Cal Poly. The Big West will not add a school outside of California, plain and simple. Sac St would probably get in but certainly not Portland and NAU. No way. And lastly, there is no possible configuration of the Big Sky where any Dakota school gets voted in. Aint happening. The concept is only perpetuated by those who hate NDSU and want to see UND in a separate conference.

I kinda doubt most people would put the BE above the B10, but the B10 could legitmately be the 5th best of the 5 traditional power conferences.

Minnesota and the Summit League are just waiting for UND to get rid of the name.

Wow...pink? Srsly?

That's nothing more than regular recruiting. Nothing that would give either school a significant advantage. Why are you emotionally invested in this? You hate me that bad?

I thought UND's school colors were green and white? Guess not.

The simple fact is that UND is getting kids they would not have gotten as a DII team and have been for the last few years. The simple fact of being a "DI" team does it for some players.