Conference Realignments - Take 2

[The Sicatoka]

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/my-2026-college-sports-industry-predictions 

Quote

I’ve been hearing there’s renewed interest in FCS institutions from more than one FBS conference … so long as the FCS schools are willing to pay. It’s $5 million to the NCAA to reclassify to FBS, and I’m hearing FCS schools will likely need to pay in the neighborhood of $10 million as an “entrance fee” to their new FBS leagues, plus whatever new expenses they’d have to pay for new scholarships, House money, new women’s sport sponsorships, etc. So it’s a lot of money and not something many schools can do. But I believe the odds that CUSA/MWC or even the MAC would deeply consider FCS schools now are much better than they were in, say, October.

$5 million to the NCAA
$10 million entrance fee to the new conference
$? million exit fee to old conference

20 more FB scholarships plus 20 more for Title IX 

$8-10 million annual increase of overall athletics budget to be mid-lowest quarter FBS 

And now let's talk NIL money ... 
 

[homer]

2 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/my-2026-college-sports-industry-predictions 

$5 million to the NCAA
$10 million entrance fee to the new conference
$? million exit fee to old conference

20 more FB scholarships plus 20 more for Title IX 

$8-10 million annual increase of overall athletics budget to be mid-lowest quarter FBS 

And now let's talk NIL money ... 
 

I don’t think the NIL changes much.  
 

it’s a lot of money up front but not moving kills athletic budgets in the future.  Think we are getting even 5,000 people to the Alerus for a game vs Mankato or Duluth if all of our regional peers move on? 

[SIOUXFAN97]

4 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/my-2026-college-sports-industry-predictions 

$5 million to the NCAA
$10 million entrance fee to the new conference
$? million exit fee to old conference

20 more FB scholarships plus 20 more for Title IX 

$8-10 million annual increase of overall athletics budget to be mid-lowest quarter FBS 

And now let's talk NIL money ... 
 

no postseason home games........ever.

[SIOUXFAN97]

Just now, homer said:

I don’t think the NIL changes much.  
 

it’s a lot of money up front but not moving kills athletic budgets in the future.  Think we are getting even 5,000 people to the Alerus for a game vs Mankato or Duluth if all of our regional peers move on? 

university of sioux falls baby!!!!

[SIOUXFAN97]

1 minute ago, homer said:

I don’t think the NIL changes much.  
 

it’s a lot of money up front but not moving kills athletic budgets in the future.  Think we are getting even 5,000 people to the Alerus for a game vs Mankato or Duluth if all of our regional peers move on? 

5k?  more like 10k...we would be the bison of fcs in the nsic.....titles everywhere...sold out betty....come on man....bring on bemidji!!!

[SIOUXFAN97]

[AJS]

It's crazy to me how much the moving to FBS landscape has changed in such a short period of time. For the Dakota / Montana schools, it seems pretty straight forward. You can't afford to do it, but you also can't afford to get left behind. Taking @The Sicatoka post from 12/29 and @SIOUXFAN97 it seems like it's a case of having to buy your way into a conference. I just don't understand what not only what the long-term plan would be, but even just the 5-year plan for the conferences. You get a short-term influx of cash but then have to split the small MW tv pie more ways. For the schools looking to get in. Each school probably has more alumni than one would think that could write a 25-million-dollar check, but from that group you need to find the one person that actually will for this type of situation. 

Different and considerably bleaker topic than a few years ago. The amount of money needed for a far worse situation is tough. 

[The Sicatoka]

You'd better bring at least "a share's worth" to the conference media value.
If you don't I can't see a conference adding a member, re-doing the splits, and legacy members taking a smaller share.

[Kab]

Until NIL gets some rules to live by I don’t know how some of these schools can buy enough players 

college sports is on a deathbed for a lot of schools 

[SIOUXFAN97]

after all that (kat voice)....this is what they get??

biz gurus...who won?

 

[FSSD]

4 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

after all that (kat voice)....this is what they get??

biz gurus...who won?

 

What are the dollar amounts?

[SIOUXFAN97]

1 hour ago, FSSD said:

What are the dollar amounts?

i'll recheck the guys tweet

[AJS]

This is just one uneducated persons opinion, but I cannot believe what a poor job the MWC has done since the split. Where I'm probably wrong, but I'm convinced otherwise, is no school they got / could have gotten ultimately moves the TV $ needle. Also, having one team in a state, does that really do anything for the other teams for recruiting? For example, are you really going to get a kid to sign, because twice in their college career, they get to come back to their home state? 

I'll give them GCU, I think that's a great non-Football add. Great location, high-upside, home run addition. That's the only one.

Hawaii (all-sports) w/out travel subsidies is the worst move they made. Incredibly low ceiling for all-sports. NIU FB only is another really bad add. A directional school from IL, low ceiling. UTEP, low ceiling. UC Davis (Non-Football). Good school, location, but what kind of ceiling do they have? You're seeing a trend, I don't see any of these teams pushing the MWC up a tier athletically. They are what they are. 

What a missed opportunity not going after the Dakota State's / Montana schools. Yes, they offer nothing on the TV side (but really the other schools don't either), but at least you'd have the chance for programs that have a good chance of raising your athletic profile.

The 2026 version of the MWC is pretty bad. Bad travel, low upside, at best very mediocre tv $. You added anchors to your conference. How many teams can you really add? Even if you try to pivot and add higher ceiling programs, what kind of $ is there?  

[Kab]

I don’t see South Dakota state or Montana in a big hurry to move up unless it’s a mix of big sky, mwc and mvfc 

‘the fees to move up are huge and states budgets I don’t think want to pay these schools to move up 

[jdub27]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

This is just one uneducated persons opinion, but I cannot believe what a poor job the MWC has done since the split. Where I'm probably wrong, but I'm convinced otherwise, is no school they got / could have gotten ultimately moves the TV $ needle. Also, having one team in a state, does that really do anything for the other teams for recruiting? For example, are you really going to get a kid to sign, because twice in their college career, they get to come back to their home state? 

Big enough of a deal that it matters on the recruiting side. Opens up some more recruiting in Texas and the Chicago area.
Media deal is going to be subsidized by the exit fee pot just to get it to be where it previously was, so that isn't sustainable.

There isn't going to be a whole lot of options that are going to bring at least $3.5MM in value to the media contract, so any addition makes the pie even smaller. Seems reasonable that they aren't going to be hesitant to expand unless needed and if they do, it would be for someone that isn't going to add a huge cost burden on flying sports teams halfway across the country.