North Dakota State head coach Tim Polasek passed on a chance to coach in the Pac-12 but faces even higher stakes in the Mountain West Conference.
That’s the reality of coaching at NDSU with the program moving up to the FBS. Polasek passing on Oregon State to stay with NDSU during a historic transition from FCS dynasty to a highly-touted new kid on the block in the FBS has its challenges.
Bison insider Mike McFeely of the Fargo Forum made that clear in a recent column. The full column can be read here.
“Five wins and seven losses at NDSU, even in its debut year in FBS, isn’t going to cut it,” McFeely wrote regarding Polasek.
NDSU made Polasek one of the highest-paid coaches in the Mountain West Conference with $1.16 million annually. He’s taking the 10-time FCS champions into new territory amid major roster turnover, but a losing season is mostly unheard of in Fargo.
NDSU has had three losing seasons since 1964, when the golden age of the program kicked off. Two of those coaches in the losing years didn’t have jobs afterward.
The Bison went 2-7 in 1975 when former head coach Ev Kjelbertson’s three-year run ended after his resignation. Former Bison coach Bob Babich also resigned after a 2-8 season in 2002, the second-to-last in the Division II era.
1 Former Bison Coach Survived a Losing Season
While Kjelbertson and Babich left after rare program dips, former Bison head coach Craig Bohl survived his only losing season in 2009.
The Bison went 3-8 that year, where former quarterbacks Nick Mertens and Jose Mohler saw significant snaps. NDSU had just struggled the year before at 6-5 with former star running back Tyler Roehl dealing with injury.
That said, the Bison looked headed for mediocrity in the first two seasons in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. In his eighth season at the helm, Bohl managed to turn around the Bison with a 9-5 record and FCS playoff run that ended in the quarterfinals on the road at Eastern Washington in overtime, 38-31.
NDSU built on that momentum in 2011 with a 14-1 record and the first of 10 FCS national championships. While Polasek won’t be expected to match those heights in the FBS, NDSU’s patience with Bohl 17 years ago might help if Year One in the FBS has its hiccups.
Plenty of Challenges Await NDSU in 2026
Polasek won’t minimize the difficulty of NDSU’s schedule this year, and he has firsthand experience of coaching in the Mountain West.
He served on Bohl’s staff at Wyoming in the early 2020s, so Polasek has visited Hawaii, UNLV, New Mexico, Air Force and San Jose State — all of NDSU’s main road destinations this year. Hawaii, New Mexico and UNLV boast three of the toughest teams in the Mountain West this year, and Air Force plays a physical brand of football.
NDSU also has a few tough games at home, which begins with Jacksonville State on Aug. 29. The Gamecocks have won at least eight games in all three of their FBS seasons.
Hosting Wyoming won’t be a cakewalk for the Bison, as it will only be the second Mountain West game on the schedule.
Insider Highlights Sobering Reality For NDSU Coach