By Dustin Hollinger

North Dakota State has now joined The Mountain West Conference. For a moment, let’s take a look how other blue bloods faired after they moved up to the top level of college football. Appalachian State won three straight Division 1-AA National Championships from 2005-2007 and pulled off the historical upset over #5 Michigan, that set off the topsy turvy 2007 Season. Since the Mountaineers moved up to FBS in 2014, they enjoyed five seasons with 10+ wins, nine bowl games, four straight Sun Belt Conference Championships (2016-2019), and two coaches that moved on to the power 4 conference football. In 2019, App. State went 13-1. However, since The Mountaineers last ten win season in 2021, they have posted a 25-25 record and struggled to attain bowl eligibility.

Marshall won Division 1-AA National Championships in 1992 and 1996. Their first year moving up Division 1-A they went 10-3, winning the Mid American Conference Championship and the Motor City Bowl. Their second year was the same result with a 12-1 record. In year three, they went 13-0. In fact in Marshall’s first eight years at the Division 1-A level, they won five conference championships, appeared in seven bowl games and posted five 10+ win seasons. Marshall’s first few seasons since moving up clearly costed them a few probable national championships. Their 1999 team had the best record in Division 1-A (13-0) but only got them to #10 in the final rankings. By the mid-2000’s, Marshall had five straight losing seasons! Since their late 90’s and early 2000’s dominance, the only time they flourished was in 2014 (13-1, CUSA & Boca Raton Bowl Champions) and 2024 (10-3 SBC Champions). Other than their successful stretch from 2013-2015, The Thundering Herd has struggled to reach mediocrity at the FBS level.

Like Marshall, Georgia Southern was a Division 1-AA Power House at the time they moved up to the FBS (Division 1-A level). The Eagles had won six 1-AA National Championships between 1985-2000. In their first season at FBS, they made a splash and won the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship. The Eagles kept steady with 7-9 wins person year and bowl bids in every season from 2015 until 2020. However, since Covid they have struggled to reach 6-6.

Now that we’ve seen how other FCS/1-AA dynasties have become obsolete at the FBS/1-A level, why is North Dakota State making the same trek? The Bison have won ten FCS National Championships between 2011-2024 and prior to that,eight Division II National Championships From 1965-1990. There is no question The Bison can compete with the big boys which Big 12 recent opponents Kansas State, Iowa State and Kansas can all atttest to. Does this mean the Bison are capable of stampeding through the Mountain West?

North Dakota State does have ten wins over Power 4 teams since 2003, but my beloved late grandmother always told me “nothing in this world is free”. So what is the cost for the Bison’s move to college football’s upper echelon? According to Dan Lyons of Sports Illustrated, it will cost the university a total of $17 million for the Missouri Valley Conference exit fee and Mountain West Conference entry fee. What do the Bison get for this sizable “investment”? A two year post season ban and a two year prohibition from the Mountain West title game as a a transition team. However, due to an over saturation of bowl games, there has been seven bowl teams in the last three years that have gotten an invite to a bowl game. Thus, it is still quite possible that NDSU will go bowling in 2026.

The Mountain West Conference is clearly the winner here. Not only financially, but they also get one of the better football teams in all of FCS to add to their league. That is something this flailing conference despeartely needs after nearly being pillaged out of existence by the revised Pac-12. And what is to game for North Dakota State? For one the Bison will be able to add 22 more scholarships.

This whole scenario also begs the question as to when is a “promotion” an improvement? Over the years, Montana has declined invitations to move from FCS to FBS. Tennessee Women’s Basketball Coach Pat Summit declined potential offers to coach its men’s teams in 1994 and 2001. Coach Summit responded by saying “how’s coaching men’s basketball a promotion?”. After declining an offer to coach the men’s team in 2001, she won two more national championships on the ladies side. NDSU’s move up won’t increase their national brand, and they are unlikely to land many more non-conference games against the top teams in the power four leagues. In theory, the Bison are now eligible for a CFP National Championship, but that is not a realistic goal. Instead, the new zenith for this program will likely be winning the Mountain West Conference and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

 I hope to be wrong about this, but I have a strong feeling in a few years with no legitimate chance at a national championship, this program will lose their high quality recruits. Likewise, NDSU will likely end in the same place as Marshall, Georgia Southern and Appalachian State. Throughout the history of college football, money has been prioritized over winning. Is this true for NDSU? The million dollar question is: have they “cashed out” and retired from the National Championship Business?