FSSD

Looks like a RB commit last night!!

The schedule is great for H-F-H weekends this year. I have been attending those games for around 15 years now and I have never seen 4 in a season. Typical season is 1 or 2. I know 10/17 is in books right now, but I am working on 11/7 or 11/21.

Oh, dang - let's go!!!

NDSU had $29 million in athletic projects approved. The funding was entirely privately raised and appears to have been a straightforward pass-through. In addition, $43 million was approved for residence hall projects at various campus locations. The largest request was an $80 million state / $68 million other funding proposal for a Medical Facility Addition at UND. The state did not approve that project this time. It was already considered a low priority, and overall the legislature did not appear to be in a big spending mood during this session.

In general, the high school recruiting and rating system has not fully penetrated the Dakotas, northern and western Minnesota, and parts of Nebraska. Typically, there are one or two standout players in each class who earn three- or four-star ratings and sign with FBS programs, but overall these regions remain under-recruited by FBS schools. As a result, many talented athletes do not receive the same level of exposure they would in other parts of the country. USD recruited very successfully in the Sioux Falls area when O'Gorman was the dominant high school football program. UND and NDSU would occasionally land a player or two from the area as well. That changed when the Sioux Falls public schools and Brandon Valley emerged as major football powers around the same time SDSU moved to the FCS level and began making significant investments in its athletic facilities. SDSU quickly became the primary destination for recruits from those programs, particularly Brandon Valley. The one area that USD has always had an advantage on all the Dakota schools has been in Florida in particular the Miami area. It has always been a strong area for USD because of Joe Robbie. He was USD alumnus and founder of the Miami Dolphins and served as the national fundraising chairman for the DakotaDome project in the early 1970s. I can see that dynamic beginning to level out as USD continues to establish itself within the FCS landscape and expands its facilities. The university is planning the Gassen Family Fieldhouse, a state-of-the-art indoor track and field facility expected to cost between $45 million and $50 million. The project is anticipated to be completed around 2028 or 2029 and will pave the way for a major renovation of the DakotaDome, including converting it into a football-only venue and completely rebuilding the east side of the facility. NDSU continues to recruit South Dakota very effectively, especially in the Pierre area and the northeastern part of the state. UND, on the other hand, has had less success recruiting South Dakota in recent years, although it still signs a handful of players from the state each recruiting cycle. As for the head-to-head recruiting battles between USD and SDSU, you're correct that there are quite a few. However, I think the dynamic differs from what exists in North Dakota, which makes those battles somewhat less frequent and less intense than the recruiting wars between UND and NDSU. The primary difference is that USD does not offer the same breadth of engineering and STEM programs that are major draws at SDSU, UND, and NDSU. For many in-state student-athletes interested in those fields, the alternatives are South Dakota Mines and Dakota State. Both are excellent academic institutions, but neither competes at the FCS level athletically, which significantly alters the recruiting landscape. Now that NDSU has moved up to the FBS level, I think UND and SDSU may start crossing paths more frequently in recruiting battles for FCS-level talent in the region. It will be interesting to see how those dynamics change over the next few years.

Looking forward to seeing him develop. I've had a couple of interactions with his dad. Great guy.

Great insight - welcome to the board.

Last couple of days have been bad for me also.

Can UND still offer partial and NDSU can only offer full or does that change with the opt in.

For Luke Grube North Dakota has received a commitment from 2027 IOL Luke Grube of West Salem HS, WI. Rated 2.5 ⭐ (#3953 NATL, #362 IOL, #40 WI). DI offers from St. Thomas and Drake.

Do you seriously believe that? MSU went viral across online communities as people tried to see whether they could turn the program into a college football powerhouse as a challenge. Even with that level of attention, they finished around 70th out of 140 schools in usage and received about $100,000. That doesn't come close to covering the increased cost of moving to FBS—let alone the head coach's salary increase, which could rise from roughly $300,000 to $1 million.

Zero

Obviously, I was being hyperbolic about the death penalty. But if the NCAA had found that UND's compliance office knowingly looked the other way, that would have been a much bigger issue. There was no containment here—the player could have reported UND, and Lindenwood's athletic department could have easily become aware of the situation. What would have been the risk to them? They could have faced consequences for failing to notify the NCAA. I agree that college athletics admin has become a joke. I agree that tampering is a problem. But, under those circumstances, the penalties would have been significantly stronger, and FCS playoff eligibility absolutely could have been on the table if the athletic department had ignored compliance concerns. As it stands, UND self-reported the issue, received what amounts to a slap on the wrist, and simply moved on. Right move.

I agree - take the over. But, on the off chance the NCAA finds out about this, what are you odd on the death penalty for UND Athletics.

Wow, you can't make this stuff up with the Fargo media: No mention that playoff eligibility is unaffected and that no scholarships were impacted. Apparently, the FCS is now Division II in Fargo. From the article: "UND Football is coming off a successful 2025 season that moved onto the second round of the NCAA Division II football tournament." What can you say? Fargo is going to Fargo.