Should Jamestown be accepted into the NSIC?

[Stanger86]

Uff..... Chicago..... We were driving through once, doing 80-85 and getting passed like we were standing still.

We had a similar experience earlier this year down in Miami.

[MrMustang]

Volleyball predicted to finish 9th. https://masseyratings.com/cvol2025/13116
No preseason games?

Football predicted to finish winless
https://masseyratings.com/cf2025/3618

I think Mankato is underrated in these. They have made some strides

[SW_Mustang]

I think Mankato is underrated in these. They have made some strides

Kato should be two spots higher at minimum - but they're going to be a dark horse team this year. Not quite in the upper echelon of the conference, but they're going to pull off some upsets.

in my opinion anyway.

[debergfan]

Jamestown thrived as a big fish in a small pond. Now, they’ve jumped into the ocean and they’re smaller small fish trying to survive. Fans and donors were excited because volleyball was consistently in the hunt for national championships. Now, they will be fortunate to be near the top eight. Football might not win a single game for the next two seasons. JV programs? Gone.

And the limited number of home games across several sports is an eye-opener. I may write a book in 2030 on Jamestown's decision because we're at 173 pages at this point and growing.

[Stanger86]

And the limited number of home games across several sports is an eye-opener. I may write a book in 2030 on Jamestown's decision because we're at 173 pages at this point and growing.

I'm not quite sure where you are going with this. I haven't really seen anything eye-opening yet.

[CollegeFBGuy]

I think Mankato is underrated in these. They have made some strides

i haven’t followed NSiC VB, so I was surprised to see Mankato down so low…FB and both BB seem to be near the top, quite often, so I assumed VB would be similar.

[CollegeFBGuy]

Uff..... Chicago..... We were driving through once, doing 80-85 and getting passed like we were standing still.

last year, on my way down to USF, I was going with traffic before I realized we were doing 92 on the southbound freeway😱

Funny thing was, my wife was telling her mom about Life360 and was showing her the app (she stayed home to watch our daughter’s VB), when my MIL asked “why does it show him in a race car?” 😱🤣🤷🏻♂️

[zimmy21]

i haven’t followed NSiC VB, so I was surprised to see Mankato down so low…FB and both BB seem to be near the top, quite often, so I assumed VB would be similar.

Other than a few spotty runs here and there, MSU Volleyball has not taken off. Which is crazy because there are so many powerhouse programs within easy driving distance to recruit these girls.

[CollegeFBGuy]

Other than a few spotty runs here and there, MSU Volleyball has not taken off. Which is crazy because there are so many powerhouse programs within easy driving distance to recruit these girls.

Yes, that is strange. Eventually the right coach will get things rolling

[Stanger86]

Other than a few spotty runs here and there, MSU Volleyball has not taken off. Which is crazy because there are so many powerhouse programs within easy driving distance to recruit these girls.

How does the money they have to work with compare to other programs? No doubt hockey and basketball probably get most of their women's scholarship dollars....

[debergfan]

I'm not quite sure where you are going with this. I haven't really seen anything eye-opening yet.

Men's Soccer has 3 home games.

[Purple Mav Man]

Men's Soccer has 3 home games.

Appears volleyball now has a non-con tournament added. But still the only 3 matches outside of NSIC schedule.

https://jimmiepride.com/sports/wvball/schedule

[SW_Mustang]

Hot take: MSU has a very good DII volleyball team - probably in the top 25%-30% nationally. They're just below average when compared to the rest of the conference.

I don't know much about MSU VB - but what I do know is if you want to be serious, you need to be involved at a grass roots level. If you're only chasing talent when they are upperclassmen in HS - you already lost the recruiting war. They also need to sell it to fans. MSU draws miserable box office numbers. It's bad.

When we snagged Taylor Reiss out of Brookings - she already had deep connections with the coaching staff. She'd worked with Culhane extensively in the past. SMSU didn't need to sell her on the program - and the coaches weren't even involved in getting her home. It was one of the other players.

Point is - that's what it takes in NSIC VB. It's a different animal.

[SW_Mustang]

How does the money they have to work with compare to other programs? No doubt hockey and basketball probably get most of their women's scholarship dollars....

Maybe it's trivial in comparison but they are also a national threat in soccer and softball annually.

I also think part of the problem is - MSU is just in a awkward location. In terms of NSIC talent, CSP owns the Twin Cities, SMSU owns SWMN, SCSU and UMD control North MN, AU and NSU fight over SoDak, and WSC and UNK rule the State of Volleyball.

That kind of leaves Mankato on an island to fight with a very good Winona program for South Central talent with the MIAC and Summit League scooping people up around them too. Can't be an easy position to be in - as ironic as it sounds.

[Stanger86]

Hot take: MSU has a very good DII volleyball team - probably in the top 25%-30% nationally. They're just below average when compared to the rest of the conference.

Point is - that's what it takes in NSIC VB. It's a different animal.

And I think that's why I'm less critical about Jamestown moving to Division II. The sports that get the most limelight in the NSIC are football, volleyball, and men's basketball.

Football: Jamestown is bad right now, absolutely. But I also believe optics will look worse just by nature of playing in an above-average (at worst) Division II conference.
Volleyball: I do agree with those who think middle-of-the-pack in the NSIC might be the best possible outcome this fall. But as you said, that probably says more about the NSIC's strength than about any weakness from UJ.
Men's Basketball: A pretty similar scenario as volleyball. Being average in the NSIC would be no small feat to scoff at in Year 1.

Understandably so, most of the narrative here revolves around football. And knowing the history of past programs like UMC and UMM, I think people don't expect much different from UJ. But it's important to contextualize that football struggles shouldn't mean that an institution does not belong in Division II. And being bad in Year 1 does not mean a program will be just as bad 20 years from now.