Next Round of Realignment

[SW_Mustang]

Well, apparently you are allowed to say that, and I agree with you for the most part. A lot of FCS conferences don't prioritize football. Augustana could go to a non-scholarship conference and compete for conference championships right away, but I think the current Missouri Valley lineup would chew them up and spit them out.

Northern Colorado, USD, UND, UC Davis - those were all schools that were considered top-notch DII programs, but none of them are above .500 as FCS schools because they joined conferences that prioritize football.

Everytime I've suggested mid-major sports isn't the peak of collegiate competition, someone has had a major problem with it. But I digress.

I don't follow the MVFC closely - but it seems like it's the Bison and Jacks, with the Yotes bringing up the rear off in the distance. The rest of the pack is just feed for those three. I can't for the life of me understand how UND gets ranked. Three teams don't make a good overall conference, especially when they are blowing out the 4th-5th best teams.

In Augie's case, assuming the current roster is okay with losing their scholarships - they'd compete right away. Once that roster turns over and they're getting the same quality of guys that go to Valpo and Drake, I can't imagine they'd stay as good as they are now. Just my opinion though.

[Thunder]

I believe the MVFC as a whole is not as good as it was 5 or so years ago. NDSU and SDSU are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference with USD seriously closing that gap. Add in Montana and Montana St and those are probably the only 5 real contenders in FCS this year. That is why I believe you will only hear more and more about some or all of those schools looking to possibly move the the Mountain West for football. In my opinion if they moved for football and stayed in the Summit for all other sports that would be best case scenario for them. It is my belief all of D1 should have different conference alignments for football as opposed to other sports, but that is another discussion.

As far as Augie or Mankato are concerned, I agree in that I think they could largely be competitive in FCS football outside of the 5 I mentioned (assuming they kept scholarships). I also believe they would be quite competitive in the Summit League in basically everything else.

[tony]

I believe the MVFC as a whole is not as good as it was 5 or so years ago. NDSU and SDSU are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference with USD seriously closing that gap. Add in Montana and Montana St and those are probably the only 5 real contenders in FCS this year. That is why I believe you will only hear more and more about some or all of those schools looking to possibly move the the Mountain West for football. In my opinion if they moved for football and stayed in the Summit for all other sports that would be best case scenario for them. It is my belief all of D1 should have different conference alignments for football as opposed to other sports, but that is another discussion.

As far as Augie or Mankato are concerned, I agree in that I think they could largely be competitive in FCS football outside of the 5 I mentioned (assuming they kept scholarships). I also believe they would be quite competitive in the Summit League in basically everything else.

USD and Missouri State are very good teams in the Missouri Valley. In the Big Sky, outside of Montana State, UC Davis looks really good. Idaho, who might not make the playoffs, gave Oregon all they could handle too. Montana is OK. Hard to say with the teams outside those two conferences.

I just don't see how Augie and Mankato are positioned better than UND or USD were to succeed in football. What am I missing?

[SW_Mustang]

I just don't see how Augie and Mankato are positioned better than UND or USD were to succeed in football. What am I missing?

They aren't current state and in the grand scheme of things. But Augustana did give SDSU a much tougher time than UND did. It's a small and insignificant sample size, but still.

As for FBS-bound Missouri State - they've had the benefit of scheduling. They haven't had to face the Dakota schools and lost to the only team they played of that caliber. Many people scratched their heads when they announced the move to the CUSA, since they haven't been much of a factor in the MVFC.

[Thunder]

What am I missing?

The past 15 years of evolution in college football. The FCS of today is not the same as FCS when UND and USD moved up. Perhaps I’m wrong and you follow FCS more closely than I do I’m sure, but I believe the middle and lower tiers of FCS football are not that much better than the top of the NSIC. Also, if Mankato or Augie could move up and reach the current success level of USD within 10 years or so I have to believe that would be seen as a success.

[SW_Mustang]

As far as Augie or Mankato are concerned, I agree in that I think they could largely be competitive in FCS football outside of the 5 I mentioned (assuming they kept scholarships). I also believe they would be quite competitive in the Summit League in basically everything else.

Yeah, the Summit isn't great. It's one side or the other than the NSIC in all sports. Many of the non-football schools shouldn't be DI at all.

[SW_Mustang]

The past 15 years of evolution in college football. The FCS of today is not the same as FCS when UND and USD moved up. Perhaps I’m wrong and you follow FCS more closely than I do I’m sure, but I believe the middle and lower tiers of FCS football are not that much better than the top of the NSIC. Also, if Mankato or Augie could move up and reach the current success level of USD within 10 years or so I have to believe that would be seen as a success.

IMO - the Dakota/Montana schools have the benefit of being flagship and the resources that come with it. That's why they could fast track their success. Augustana is private and MSU is a branch campus, for lack of a better term.

Not saying they won't be able to compete in football after X years, but funding, state support, and alumni support is just different when a school isn't on top of the mountain.

[tony]

The past 15 years of evolution in college football. The FCS of today is not the same as FCS when UND and USD moved up. Perhaps I’m wrong and you follow FCS more closely than I do I’m sure, but I believe the middle and lower tiers of FCS football are not that much better than the top of the NSIC. Also, if Mankato or Augie could move up and reach the current success level of USD within 10 years or so I have to believe that would be seen as a success.

Yeah, I'm not sure how to measure the health of the FCS. Can you think of an objective way?

It is quite possible that the gap between NSIC and MVFC has narrowed. A theory might be that FBS schools have used the transfer portal to loot good MVFC teams. I know NDSU got hit hard by that, and Trey Lance leaving after his freshman season really hurt. When a school like Augustana or Mankato move up, they'll have to get used to having their coaches and best players poached by FBS schools too. Plus there's the NLI money on top of it. If you want to get to where USD is now, there has to be a plan. Otherwise, you end up where Northern Colorado and UND are.

[Thunder]

Yeah, I'm not sure how to measure the health of the FCS. Can you think of an objective way?

It is quite possible that the gap between NSIC and MVFC has narrowed. A theory might be that FBS schools have used the transfer portal to loot good MVFC teams. I know NDSU got hit hard by that, and Trey Lance leaving after his freshman season really hurt. When a school like Augustana or Mankato move up, they'll have to get used to having their coaches and best players poached by FBS schools too. Plus there's the NLI money on top of it. If you want to get to where USD is now, there has to be a plan. Otherwise, you end up where Northern Colorado and UND are.

It's far from perfect I know, but if you plug the teams into Massey here would be Augie's spread vs. the MVFC (the best conference in FCS):

SDSU -33
NDSU -31
USD -24
Mo St -17
UND -14
Ill St -10
S Ill -10
Youngstown -7
N Iowa -6

Augie would be favored vs
Ind St +3
Murray St +7

D2 schools are no stranger to the portal. Now FCS teams have more exposure so FBS teams are more likely to poach players and coaches, but it still happens at the D2 level as well. You are absolutely correct that any team moving up a level needs a good long term plan or they will not be successful. I also think UND, while obviously not on NDSU's level, has had some success and been in the playoffs. Not every team is going to win national championships every season.

[Purple Mav Man]

This conversation about schools moving up and being able to compete seems familiar. Is there another thread on that topic somewhere??

[SW_Mustang]

This conversation about schools moving up and being able to compete seems familiar. Is there another thread on that topic somewhere??

Probably dozens all across this board over the last several years.

[Stanger86]

This conversation about schools moving up and being able to compete seems familiar. Is there another thread on that topic somewhere??

It's not ringing a bell.

[MrAugustana]

What you’ve just said is why I have zero interest in MSU moving up.

Compete for titles at D2 - or be a jobber at D1? Seems pretty simple to me.

You a pro wrestling fan, perchance?

[laker]

It's not ringing a bell.

.

[Purple Mav Man]

You a pro wrestling fan, perchance?

Haha. I’ve dabbled in fandom a couple different times. Late 80s/early 90s and then early 2000s. Basically the two best times 🙂