Should Jamestown be accepted into the NSIC?

[Stanger86]

Are they recruiting 70 year olds? No driving after dark, either.

So what part are you refuting exactly?

[Purple Mav Man]

So what part are you refuting exactly?

It is my opinion that the younger people of college age don’t care about the road on the way in. So I am refuting that as being a difference maker in Jamestown being an easier place to recruit to than Marshall.

[Stanger86]

I don't think it's everything, but I do think it can be a factor. Part of the decision process for some recruits is the ability for family members to attend games.

[Purple Mav Man]

I don't think it's everything, but I do think it can be a factor. Part of the decision process for some recruits is the ability for family members to attend games.

Can it be a factor? For sure. What rank on the list though is highly debatable.
Also part of a decision for some students is NOT being easy to get to for their parents. Even though it doesn’t seem like it at Jamestown, not every student is an athlete.

[Stanger86]

Can it be a factor? For sure. What rank on the list though is highly debatable.
Also part of a decision for some students is NOT being easy to get to for their parents. Even though it doesn’t seem like it at Jamestown, not every student is an athlete.

What does that have to do with anything? We are talking about recruiting for the football program.

[SW_Mustang]

I don't think it's everything, but I do think it can be a factor. Part of the decision process for some recruits is the ability for family members to attend games.

SMSU is 90 miles to Sioux Falls, and 150 to Minneapolis - total combined metro population is 4 million.

UJ is 100 miles to Bismarck, and 95 miles to Fargo - with a combined metro population of 360,000.

Maybe my radius is arbitrary - but 150 miles isn't "that" far of a drive to me, I've made it plenty of times personally.

[Purple Mav Man]

What does that have to do with anything? We are talking about recruiting for the football program.

My mistake. I thought it had to do with more than football, so I was grouping all student recruiting into it.

If football only, it might be easier to recruit players to Jamestown than SW. I’d wager it can’t be easy to either of them unless all you’re looking for as a player is an opportunity to continue playing. But SW is way cheaper.

[Tommy Kramer fan]

It feels like a much more accessible campus. Outside of local/regional recruiting (which I've been well informed here over the past two years that it is not a good way to recruit to build a program), I'd say a minimum of 80% of other recruits will come to campus through air travel. The mileage difference from FSD to Marshall and from FAR to Jamestown is negligible, but I think I would much rather travel the ~100 miles on 80 mph I-29 than getting stuck behind slow-moving traffic and going through small towns on two-lane MN-23. I also think in terms of nationwide recruiting, being a Directional U can hold us back.

Not that I think air travel is a huge factor but I believe United provides regional service in and out of Jamestown (to and from Denver).

[oldyellaHer69]

hot take: Portal or otherwise, it will be easier to recruit to jamestown than it is to smsu.

red>blue

[Stanger86]

Not that I think air travel is a huge factor but I believe United provides regional service in and out of Jamestown (to and from Denver).

Yes, I learned this after publishing that post, thanks.

[Stanger86]

Hot take: Have the North Dakota NAIA schools go D2. Bismarck State, Dickenson State, Mayville State, Valley City State could join Jamestown, Mary and Minot. and UMC (restart football). That is eight teams and would sure cut down on the travel. Anyone else want to volunteer to join?

I really think this could happen over the next decade. Some fan bases will grumble, but in the end it would make them happier because it would eventually lead to a splitting of the NSIC.

I was looking up oldthreads though, and found this post from Witt from early 2024:

Things to consider with this new conference idea are the following..

-10 D2 schools are needed to start up a new conference (this existing idea does not have that)
-for a school to enter D2 from the NAIA they need for an existing conference to sponsor them
-the NCAA D2 has 23 conferences currently (across different sports) and has a cap of 24..so that door seems open
-If something like this occurred in the near future (it would have to be years away), the NSIC would lose 2 current members..and 1 future member (UJ)..which would bring the league to 11 football members. While there is strength in numbers in our ever-changing NCAA landscape, it wouldn't seem this number of teams would be concerning or problematic..other than not being an even number.

The bolded are the bigger keys. The NAIA programs would have to join an existing conference first (likely the NSIC) and then 10 schools would need to agree to move to this conference. I've long thought that SDSMT and BHSU are the biggest keys to getting an idea like this off the ground.

Also noteworthy....we are back up to 24 Division II conferences I believe? So that would need to wait for further development before the new conference could be created.

[Tommy Kramer fan]

I think it’s coming. Like I said in a previous post, the NAIA is not strong. Between the closures of NAIA schools and those that have moved to the NCAA the people I know in athletic administration don’t think it’s outside the realm that the NAIA doesn’t even exist in ten years. If that happens, there will obviously be a lot of schools clamoring for D2 status. D3 doesn’t work for most of them due to the non-athletic scholarship restraints and the lack of “elite” academic credentials to drive enrollment.

I’m not from ND but people I know there tell me Bismarck State is a sleeping giant. With their move out of juco and into the four year ranks some in that neck of the woods think their enrollment will just continue to grow and they will be one of the first to look for a D2 home somewhere. Just speculation but the population base is good and the only other option in Bismarck is Mary which is obviously far more expensive.

[Stanger86]

I tend to agree, and I believe college sports with athletic scholarships will basically evolve to the following split over the next 10-20 years:

-"Power" schools
-"Group" schools and select FCS schools (your NDSUs, SDSUs and the like)
-Remaining FCS schools and select Division II schools (your Grand Valleys, Valdostas, Mankatos, top MIAAs and the like)
-Remaining Division II schools and whatever NAIA schools come over

[MrMustang]

I think the arms race with NIL and Power 5 D1 spells real trouble for D2 sports long term, unfortunately

i hate to be pessemistic, but I see a fair number of public 4 year schools struggling to keep sports afloat..in Minnesota for example, the state schools are already broke and the infastructure is ignored. At SMSU, just as an example, the locker rooms are 50 years old and every attempt to get binding money to renovate them never gets past the ask stage.

The "bubble" that was promised 15 years ago has never even gotten past the "wish" stage in the last 15 years. The dorms (except for one) are original from 1967. and the Union rules are just bonkers.

I was at the YMCA the other day. made small talk with a guy. Discovered he was a SMSU Political Science professor, Never heard of the guy and I am an alum and was a poli sci major. Turns out with the cuts at St. Cloud, they just sent him down here to teach. because he had to keep him job in the MnSCU system. he seemed pleasant enough but he wasnt shy about missing St. Cloud.

Whoever mentioned that there will be a number of NAIA closures is on point too. Many of those schools have a niche, but there are hundreds of little tiny schools all over the country in small towns with enrollment of 1000. They can't all survive.

currently - it might change -- colleges also have a real problem in recruiting young males. Those are your core sports fans and their numbers attending colleges are down - many of those young men have decided perhaps correctly life as an electrician or truck driver is more financially lucrative than a social worker, teacher or probation officer (probably very true -e specially if they are the boss) so they have taken a different path.

[njmav1]

Hot take: Have the North Dakota NAIA schools go D2. Bismarck State, Dickenson State, Mayville State, Valley City State could join Jamestown, Mary and Minot. and UMC (restart football). That is eight teams and would sure cut down on the travel. Anyone else want to volunteer to join?

I think they should join the NSIC. Can you imagine that thread?