If there was a magic fix-it, don't you think places like Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, and Indiana would have figured out how to make themselves football schools by now?
NDSU didn't wind up in the position they are in now by accident. UND has been playing catch-up ever since the big "D1" announcement by Fargo U.
I also recently asked a local high school recruit whom NDSU has been scoping out if he's considered the University of North Dakota at all. His response? "WHO?"