Should Jamestown be accepted into the NSIC?

[zimmy21]

I think the more likely route would be the NSIC pulling what the MIAC did. Not that I think that's likely, but that it's more likely to ever happen than what you're suggesting.

That's fine if they did it. The MIAC reputation was ruined and the move only boosted the St. Thomas profile.


We'd all be better off with relegation and conferences of no more than 10

[SW_Mustang]

Of course, but then maybe this level isn't for them.

Clearly the best course of action is to have relegation. It will relevel the playing field for schools that want to compete nationally, and those who just want to field a team for enrollment. Preferably the relegation would be by sport, so if a school wanted to go all in on Basketball for instance they could compete their way to "D1" but not be held back by the financial burden of Football at the D1 level. Just a crude example.

Absolutely - I don't think Crookston should be DII, maybe not because of NIL but because they just shouldn't be DII.

I'd love for promotion and relegation. I think geography would get in the way, but then we could clean out a lot of the mid major bloat at D1 and a lot of D2 programs that would be better served elsewhere.

[njmav1]

Absolutely - I don't think Crookston should be DII, maybe not because of NIL but because they just shouldn't be DII.

I'd love for promotion and relegation. I think geography would get in the way, but then we could clean out a lot of the mid major bloat at D1 and a lot of D2 programs that would be better served elsewhere.

So the mid major D1 bloat drops down to D2? There is no guarantee that the top D2 programs will remain at the top of D2. Should they drop to D3?

[zimmy21]

Because it is the offseason I will gladly write out my proposal for what should occur immediately, though will never be entertained by anyone at the correct levels of NCAA officials/Athletic Administrators/Government Officials.

There are roughly 1200 schools in the NCAA from the current D1-D3. I propose the NCAA adds a 4th division, where appropriate by sport. We separate the individual sports into the divisions based on the 2025-2026 results.

SPORT - # divisions (Rough # of teams)
Baseball - 4 divisions (240 each)
Basketball (M) - 4 divisions (270 each)
Basketball (W) - 4 divisions (270 each)
Beach Volleyball - 1 division
Bowling - 1 division
Cross Country (M) - 4 divisions (250 each)
Cross Country (W) - 4 divisions (265 each)
Fencing (M) - 1 division
Fencing (W) - 1 division
Field Hockey - 3 divisions (90 each)
Football - 4 divisions (160 each)
Etc.....

The NCAA breaks the conferences apart, and creates its own scheduling. Roster sizes and scholarship $'s are all capped at the same # for each division. All travel is shared by every school.
After regular season schools with the best records are automatically promoted to the next division up for the following year, likewise the worst records are relegated to the lower division. I would expect a % based amount of schools are automatically promoted/relegated based on division size...10% would be my running #, or closest # to that 10%. A division-wide national tournament occurs with the winner of each tournament being automatically promoted for the next season as well.

Again all of these changes are predicated by sport, so you can better compete where your school finds itself competitively, and/or financially able to support.

[SW_Mustang]

So the mid major D1 bloat drops down to D2? There is no guarantee that the top D2 programs will remain at the top of D2. Should they drop to D3?

Yup - that's what makes pro-reg beautiful. The opportunity to move up or down moves away from backstage politics and is placed squarely on a team's ability to perform.

It's a moot discussion as the NCAA will never adopt it - not to mention the massive logistical issues regarding scholarships/geography, but it's fun to think about.

[SW_Mustang]

Because it is the offseason I will gladly write out my proposal for what should occur immediately, though will never be entertained by anyone at the correct levels of NCAA officials/Athletic Administrators/Government Officials.

Kinda like it - honestly.

[Millsy]

School	Location	Enrollment	Micropolitan Population	Median Household Income	Average Household Income	Poverty Rate Percentage
Augustana	Sioux Falls, SD	2584	310,000	82,509.00	104,118.00	6.1
Bemidji State	Bemidji, MN	5300	47,055	68,975.00	71,996.00	16.1
Concordia-St.Paul	St. Paul, MN	5928	3,790,000	132,400.00	138,480.00	15.6
U Jamestown	Jamestown, ND	1376	21,414	61,856.00	79,926.00	11.4
U Mary	Bismarck, ND	4000	139,750	86,769.00	103,500.00	7.8
UM-Crookston	Crookston, MN	2600	30,500	73,107.00	90,262.00	15.6
UM-Duluth	Duluth, MN	9529	281,219	71,769.00	89,000.00	12.7
MSU-Mankato	Mankato, MN	15271	105,200	75,808.00	98,130.00	13.2
MSU-Moorhead	Moorhead, MN	4300	269,528	76,756.00	91,695.00	11.6
Minot State	Minot, ND	2627	75,694	78,200.00	97,384.00	8.7
Northern State	Aberdeen, SD	3739	41,925	71,488.00	83,537.00	11.6
U Sioux Falls	Sioux Falls, SD	1624	310,000	82,509.00	104,118.00	6.1
Southwest MN State	Marshall, MN	3065	25,684	75,303.00	90,694.00	12.2
St. Cloud State	St. Cloud, MN	9646	205,800	75,688.00	83,607.00	12.2
Wayne State	Wayne, NE	4623	36,000	66,215.00	68,427.00	12.5
Winona State	Winona, MN	6170	49,671	70,744.00	86,789.00	14.8

I used Micropolitan/Metropolitan population since that is what the government and businesses look at for market populations. St. Paul gets skewed as it is lumped in with the Twin Cities Metro, Moorhead gets skewed as it gets lumped in with Fargo. The poverty rates are for the micropolitan/metropolitan areas, but in a lot of cases, if you stuck with just the city limits, the percentage went up (ie, Bemidji, St. Paul and St. Cloud were all over 20 percent within the city, but the outer parts of the market brought those down).

Median Population Income is per household. I probably should have added a column for Average Household Income, maybe later. (EDIT: ADDED NOW)

Slow day at work....

[Inkblot]

I just checked Jamestown's 2026 men's soccer schedule, their last independent season before affiliating with the GNAC. They managed to get 12 D2 games (including all the GNAC teams), of which 11 are on the road. https://jimmiepride.com/sports/mens-.../schedule/2026

[SW_Mustang]

Didn't realize USF was that much of an outlier on enrollment- I know the campus was small but dang.

I'm not throwing shade - just a little surprising is all.

[zimmy21]

Kinda like it - honestly.

It would work, it makes too much sense. So clearly it won't pass

[Millsy]

Didn't realize USF was that much of an outlier on enrollment- I know the campus was small but dang.

I'm not throwing shade - just a little surprising is all.

Yeah, almost like Jamestown, just in a bigger market. Zimmy, opinion on the Cougars? ;)

[Stanger86]

Didn't realize USF was that much of an outlier on enrollment- I know the campus was small but dang.

I'm not throwing shade - just a little surprising is all.

Not sustainable as a Division II institution. Should've stayed in NAIA. It will never work.

[SW_Mustang]

Yeah, almost like Jamestown, just in a bigger market. Zimmy, opinion on the Cougars? ;)

I knew there was a reason I liked keeping them around :D

[SW_Mustang]

It would work, it makes too much sense. So clearly it won't pass

Yup... people hate pro-rel on this side of the pond, it means teams have to actually compete - and how dare sports be about competition?

[zimmy21]

Not sustainable as a Division II institution. Should've stayed in NAIA. It will never work.

Are we speaking the same language here? Sioux Falls is and has been since it's inception to the NSIC, a top performing school regardless of enrollment.

Sioux Falls has never finished below 7th in the All-Sports Standings. Meaning they have been committed to running a successful Athletic Department from the jump. Enrollment is a piece in the puzzle, but commitment to their athletics is another.

The difference is that Jamestown was a floundering / failing athletic department that used JV sports to boost enrollment. Only time will still tell how their enrollment will change. Granted it was year 1 for the Jimmies, but 13th place is ridiculous for a school that sponsors all NSIC sports. It just is, let's be real guys.

If that is the type of "competition" that the NSIC wants to surround itself with and be happy about them joining, we have proven how soft we are. 1st for allowing SCSU to drop football, 2nd for keeping UMC at all and now this charity case.