North Dakota State joining the FBS and Mountain West Conference, a college football analyst called out other conferences moving teams in recent years.
CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello called some of the many of the moves “desperation” and noted that North Dakota State’s move isn’t. Marcello points out that NDSU “seems to fit naturally within the Mountain West’s footprint and competitive profile,” while other teams who have moved conferences in recent years simply don’t with cross-country treks.
“Many realignment moves in the modern era are driven by television markets and desperation rather than geography,” Marcello wrote on Feb. 19. “The ACC stretched to the Pacific with the additions of Cal and Stanford in 2024. The Big Ten, once anchored in the upper Midwest, expanded to the West Coast by adding Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. Even the Mountain West, scrambling to replace five departing members, crossed the Mississippi River to add Northern Illinois as a football-only member.”
Marcello also mentioned Sacramento State moving up to the FBS and joining the MAC, which is all Midwest. As Marcello pointed out, Sacramento State has at least 2,1777 miles or more for every road game.
The Bison may need to travel to Hawaii every so often, but so does the rest of the Mountain West.
NDSU Athletic Director Makes Admission After FBS Move
NDSU enjoyed unparalleled success in the FCS with 10 national championships in 15 years, and the Bison sent many players to the NFL, including two top-three picks.
That didn’t translate to 15 years of sellouts in Fargo, as the interest faded with the Bison fan base. College GameDay visited NDSU twice, in 2013 and 2014, during the initial run of five consecutive titles, but the popular show never came back to Fargo while the Fargodome was no longer full on Saturdays.
“I never thought I would be at a place where winning wasn’t good enough,” NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen told Marcello. “We have an unbelievable fan base and the expectations are through the roof, but at that point we started saying, ‘OK, is there an opportunity for us to play at the highest level possible?'”
NDSU had been working at moving up for years, but geography, cost, and lack of a conference invitation remained the main barriers. The Mountain West came around this time as the league lost five teams to the retooled Pac-12.
“It was a little bit of a roller coaster,” Larsen told CBS Sports regarding the process. “There’d be days like, ‘Oh, we’re getting this thing done.’ And then there were days like, ‘Boy, this thing’s dead in the water.'”
A Move For the Future
NDSU may never win a College Football Playoff crown, but the Bison, winner of 18 national titles between the FCS and Division II, are expecting great things in the FBS.
Three Group of Six teams have made the CFP in two years with the expanded field, and the playoff field could expand again. The Bison expect to win the Mountain West right away and simply build from there.
“This is not about 2026 and ’27,” Larsen said. “This is about 30, 40 years from now, and positioning ourselves. It just seemed it was our time and a good investment in the future.”
CFB Analyst Issues Criticism Amid North Dakota State FBS Move