North Dakota State has been playing football against three rivals in the Dakotas for more than a century, and all three of those rivalries will go on hiatus amid the Bison’s move to the FBS.
Bison insider Mike McFeely of the Fargo Forum broke down how it similarly happened before, and his column can be read here. While all three of the Dakota schools have enjoyed success in the FCS, McFeely made a clear warning for NDSU’s old rivals — North Dakota, South Dakota State and South Dakota.
“The other schools are taking a wait-and-see approach, seemingly hoping changes in the college landscape allow them an opportunity to re-join NDSU in three or five or 10 years,” McFeely wrote. “There’s no guarantee.”
College football has undergone massive changes in recent years with NIL, the transfer portal and shifting conferences. The exodus of quality teams from the FCS to the FBS has also been a major change, and speculation abounds on how long the Power Four conferences and Group of Six conferences will really stay together in the FBS.
NDSU dominated the FCS with 10 national championships in 15 years, and the Bison had a highly successful run in the FCS before the dynasty. That made it easy for a conference such as the Mountain West to make the invitation to the Bison, especially as the G6 league lost five programs to the Pac-12.
UND, SDSU and USD haven’t received such invites yet.
Could SDSU Be Next?
SDSU challenged the Bison as few programs did in the FCS, and ESPN’s College GameDay visited Brookings once for a Dakota Marker rivalry game between the two powerhouses. NDSU and SDSU met numerous times in the FCS playoffs, and the Jackrabbits hold a unique edge in the all-time series.
The Jackrabbits beat the Bison in the FCS championships game for the 2022 season, and SDSU won it convincingly, 45-21. It marked back-to-back championships for SDSU, and it looked like the Jackrabbits could build a dynasty that rivaled the Bison.
SDSU hasn’t been back to the FCS title game since, but the Jackrabbits are still in the top-tier of the FCS. With NDSU gone, the Jackrabbits could rule the Missouri Valley Football Conference and challenge Montana and Montana State for national championships.
At some point, a G6 conference invite could come for the Jackrabbits, and the Dakota Marker rivalry could resume. There are former FCS teams with far less success that moved up to the FBS and have enjoyed success, so SDSU could be a fit for the Mountain West, MAC or Conference USA.
North Dakota, South Dakota Not Far Away
When UND and NDSU played in 2015, which ended a rivalry hiatus, it didn’t have the same juice of the old Sioux-Bison rivalry in the Division II days.
UND then gradually became more competitive with the Bison and earned a statement win, 49-24, over the Herd in 2023. The Bison and now Fighting Hawks played multiple close games over the years, too, as FCS rivals.
USD likewise adjusted to the FCS and gave NDSU tough games, including a 24-19 upset in 2023. That 2023 Bison team wasn’t a pushover, as the Herd reached the national semifinals and fell short against Montana in overtime, 31-29.
Both UND and USD could legitimately make the move to the FBS if the conference invitations came. After all, Missouri State did it last year, and all four of the Dakota schools beat the Bears in the MVFC.
NDSU Insider Issues Warning to Old Rivals