(10-16-2019 10:42 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 10:19 AM)lakesbison Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 01:40 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  NDSU would be a nice addition. Add JMU in the East?

NDSU would do Football Only. (Chicago to Fargo flights daily)

NDSU & JMU have a pretty good rivalry going on right now, the MAC could capitalize on that ... at least you'd have 2 stadiums with 20k-25k that are actually full every game with some loud environments that would look good on tv!

Only thing is you would be playing on a Tuesday night for some of those. And you don't have a real playoff to play for.

Yeah, a Potato Bowl trophy is not the same as a national championship. Doubt the fans would get very excited about the switch.

(10-16-2019 10:57 AM)GRBRONCO Wrote:  Not to mention your coaches would all bail after a couple good seasons, much harder to sustain good staffs at the G5 level than FCS.

We already have had coaches leave weather it’s to the NFL or to the B1G and 12 and to the MW. All of this has happened in the last 6 years. Nothing has changed and the train keeps rolling.

Is the Fargodome expandable?

It seems to me that Idaho struggled in FBS with its smallish domed stadium, occasionally playing games at nearby Washington State, and I wonder if 19,000 seats is really enough for FBS.

That said, if North Dakota State was interested in moving up, I think the MAC would have to listen. What they've done in FCS is astounding.

I believe there was talk or plans to have it expanded to 22,000. It is city owned which I don’t like but oh well I guess. The difference with Idaho and NDSU is that the vandals have a crap program with no following and they also can’t finish let alone get started on the field. NDSU sells out its single season tickets in like 2 minutes and there is a waiting list for season tickets. Average attendance is around 18,200 people in seats.

(10-16-2019 11:08 AM)axeme Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 10:42 AM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(10-16-2019 10:19 AM)lakesbison Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 01:40 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  NDSU would be a nice addition. Add JMU in the East?

NDSU would do Football Only. (Chicago to Fargo flights daily)

NDSU & JMU have a pretty good rivalry going on right now, the MAC could capitalize on that ... at least you'd have 2 stadiums with 20k-25k that are actually full every game with some loud environments that would look good on tv!

Only thing is you would be playing on a Tuesday night for some of those. And you don't have a real playoff to play for.

Yeah, a Potato Bowl trophy is not the same as a national championship. Doubt the fans would get very excited about the switch.

Coming from a fan base that made the transition from winning national champ games to hosting P5s at home and winning bowl games; the fans have adjusted and become more diehard.

I don't think a capacity of only 18K matters much when more than half the MAC averages less than that.

Quote:I don't think a capacity of only 18K matters much when more than half the MAC averages less than that.

Yeah, if ND-State really wanted to + another top-tier FCS really wanted to who consistently gets above-avg MAC butts-in-seats (JMU) -- it could happen. If football only was also kosher with the MAC.

Problem is, if we get ND-State, for football only (understandable for travel costs for everything else) -- we'd have to Purposely get another program for football only.

I think that's the biggest rub. The MAC would want 2 teams at once + more than just football. That said, a ND-State + JMU combo at the same time -- they would listen for FB-only.

MAC has no interest in FCS moveups at this point regardless of how good they are.

The FCS upgrades in the past were born out of necessity. Buffalo was added to get to 12 and a championship game. Marshall fell into the MACs lap the same time. UMass was there to balance an existing FBS member in Temple.

Any addition would have to move the financial needle in a major way, like UConn since they dominate the CT sports scene. But they are playing a partial schedule in basketball against the AAC as a parting gift.

No addition be it UConn, NDSU, JMU, Marshall would be enough to put the MAC on a different competitive level than it is overall. They'll just push other teams further down in the standings.

What would help the MAC the most is an expanded playoff with more $$$ all the way around.

Quote:No addition be it UConn, NDSU, JMU, Marshall would be enough to put the MAC on a different competitive level than it is overall. They'll just push other teams further down in the standings.

I don't agree with that POV. Bringing better teams in a conference raises its conf ranking. Although for football, UConn and JMU wouldn't raise it (but Marshall & NDSU would).

(10-22-2019 12:59 AM)toddjnsn Wrote:  

Quote:No addition be it UConn, NDSU, JMU, Marshall would be enough to put the MAC on a different competitive level than it is overall. They'll just push other teams further down in the standings.

I don't agree with that POV. Bringing better teams in a conference raises its conf ranking. Although for football, UConn and JMU wouldn't raise it (but Marshall & NDSU would).

the MAC would be lucky to have NDSU. it's dumbfounded why they haven't offered a spot already NDSU is 123-8 with 7 titles and 6-0 record over FBS teams including a win @ #13 Iowa and #25 Kansas State.

Carson Wentz is a household name , the last QB is Chargers backup and the Freshman Trey lance has 23 tds 0 int's and will be a superstar.

19,000 fans sold out every game, they'd even travel 2000 fans a game, heck neutral game in Minneapolis brought 40,000 this year.

MAC should be begging NDSU for an invite. Chicago to Fargo flights daily, so the travel point is mute.

FCS has really lost a lot of their major programs over the years since it was formed. You have to wonder how strong FCS is in this day.

(11-19-2019 10:58 AM)Flat Tire 2 Wrote:  FCS has really lost a lot of their major programs over the years since it was formed. You have to wonder how strong FCS is in this day.

NDSU is 123-8 since 2010 They've proven themselves, and their 6-0 record vs FBS proves they would be a legit top 40 FBS program, including beating #13 Iowa 2 years ago.

Plus they'd have 22 more full rides as well. dayum!

No thanks to bringing in anymore FCS teams. Don't need anymore small fish in our already very small pond. If anything, several G5 teams should drop back down to FCS.

(11-19-2019 11:27 AM)lakesbison Wrote:  

(11-19-2019 10:58 AM)Flat Tire 2 Wrote:  FCS has really lost a lot of their major programs over the years since it was formed. You have to wonder how strong FCS is in this day.

NDSU is 123-8 since 2010 They've proven themselves, and their 6-0 record vs FBS proves they would be a legit top 40 FBS program, including beating #13 Iowa 2 years ago.

Plus they'd have 22 more full rides as well. dayum!

It's time for NDSU to stop whining and just move to FBS - if they need to go commando, they can be an Independent. Move up and prove yourself, and maybe Mountain West will take you. If you move up and kick butt, maybe the Big XII will come calling.

If the Sun Belt had stuck with Idaho and NMSU then I'd be on board with NDSU and Montana and +1 to the Sun Belt Western Division.

Adding NDSU just doesn't make mathematical sense. All it would do is increase every schools traveling cost while forcing MAC schools to split league revenues 13 ways instead of 12.

why you add 2, ndsu and the griz, or ndsu and sdsu

(11-19-2019 10:40 AM)lakesbison Wrote:  19,000 fans sold out every game, they'd even travel 2000 fans a game, heck neutral game in Minneapolis brought 40,000 this year.

MAC should be begging NDSU for an invite. Chicago to Fargo flights daily, so the travel point is mute.

One, yes I'm sure we'd see Bison fans in the thousands go to destinations like Muncie and Bowling Green for a Tuesday game. Half of your MVFC foes are closer to Fargo than the closest MAC in Dekalb.

Two, the point is moot, not mute. I may have academic concerns with NDSU if that's any indication.

Three, O'Hare and Midway aren't some magical gateways that take you to every MAC city. Maybe Buffalo, Toledo, and Kalamazoo to an extent, but you're looking at drives well over an hour from Cincy to Oxford, Grand Rapids to Mt. Pleasant, Columbus to Athens, etc. That's one thing for football, it's another for well over a dozen Olympic sports that would have to take trips to Fargo as well in a conference that isn't rolling in cash.

(11-19-2019 10:58 AM)Flat Tire 2 Wrote:  FCS has really lost a lot of their major programs over the years since it was formed. You have to wonder how strong FCS is in this day.

That is what I've been saying. Think of all the programs that are now in FBS.

Western Kentucky
Liberty
Old Dominion
UMass
Charlotte
App State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
South Alabama
Texas State
UT-San Antonio

That is 12 programs in only 10 years. 1,020 more full ride scholarships in FBS plus walk-on programs with high level FCS talent.

There is not much left which explains why a school in North Dakota of all places is able to become a dominant force in it.

(11-19-2019 01:42 PM)cmufanatic Wrote:  why you add 2, ndsu and the griz, or ndsu and sdsu

Make the MAC into a second western conference and go toe to toe with the MWC?

Think about the MAC geography like the inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars). Adding NDSU would be like adding Jupiter to the conference. Going with Montana is like adding Pluto. They might as well be on another continent.