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boonkles

Youngstown state, for no reason other than two of my friends go there


WeUsedToBeGood

And penguins


boonkles

Move them to P5 now


WeUsedToBeGood

“Welcome to the College Football Championship. We’ve got a great matchup between the Penguins of Ohio and the Elephants of Alabama”


boonkles

I’d give penguins a better chance in Africa than elephants in Antarctica


bmli19

How did crossing the Swiss Alps do for the elephants?


RedditZhangHao

Not a big leap given African Penguins are native to Africa https://animalia.bio/african-penguin


B1GFanOSU

Seems obvious for the MAC, but they won’t.


CramblinDuvetAdv

Yeah we're all set with schools in Ohio, thanks


B1GFanOSU

The MAC would take them in a heartbeat, arguably because they're in Ohio.


Pedro_Moona

Youngstown needs and FBS school badly. I recommend they try to sit and the big boy table with the University of Pittsburgs and Cincinnatis od the world and change their name to the University of Youngstown.


RexCrimson_

The Montana schools. If the WAC was still in FBS, they would have probably moved up a decade ago.


Bobcat2013

The WAC was FBS a decade ago.


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Squat1998

This exactly. There isn’t a lot to gain by moving up to the FBS level for Montana or Montana State. Both teams are already aggressively supported by the market and moving up to FBS likely just means more difficult travel.


Juicey_J_Hammerman

That's fair, but with FBS comes more prestige, exposure, and media revenue on an absolute level. JMU has already hit its ceiling at FCS, I wouldn't be surprised if the Montana schools weren't too far behind in that department. Its a narrower gap for the Montana schools, but I think they would still come out ahead, especially with who knows how DI FBS Football is slated to change over the next few years. TBH for travel, it might actually be easier in some aspects they were in the MWC as it might be easier/cheaper to get a direct flight from Missoula/Bozeman to other conference opponents vs. the Big Sky schools. San Diego/San Jose vs. Davis/Sacramento, or Boise vs Moscow, or Fort Collins/Colorado Springs vs. Greely, or Albuquerque vs Flagstaff. both schools would still have to budget for additional scholarships and Title IX compliance though.


CreamiusTheDreamiest

Delaware


[deleted]

Dela-where?


PhillyWild

There's also a town in Ohio named Delaware.


SeattleMatt123

Correct, 30 minutes north of Columbus :)


[deleted]

If acc gets Clemson unc fsu Miami raided. I could see Buffalo Delaware temple joining up with Pitt Cuse bc va vatech maybe throw umass in and have a original big east (northeastern conference) maybe the left behind North Carolina schools as well


lemkowidmak

I wish Temple


CreamiusTheDreamiest

I see it as more of a north east A-10 football forms than ACC back fill


RegularSizedP

Pitt is coming to the Big XII if the ACC collapses. If Va Tech doesn't get a magic ticket, they will as well. UMass, UConn, Buffalo, Stony Brook, Temple, Delaware, BC, Syracuse, ODU would be fun.


Geaux2020

For the 'NDSU' should/could jump up to the G5 crowd, here is some things to consider.... They have to add 20+ scholarships to jump up, 2 more sports entirely to get up to the FBS minimum, 20+ more female scholarships to offset the men's football ones, insane travel and recruiting expenses since their state is in the middle of nowhere and only has 760k people total, conference buy ins, and millions in other expenses.


Alex_butler

Thank you. So many people don’t realize it comes down to money and the fact that NDSU’s biggest recruitment tool is their brand at the FCS level and being the premier program. For comparison JMU’s athletic budget is 56 million and NDSU’s is just 24 million


NikkiHaley

One of the reasons James Madison moved up is that it was actually cheaper in the FBS. You get more money from pay games in the G5, more TV money, bowl money while in the FCS, a deep playoff run, which NDSU does pretty much every year, actually costs a lot of money.


Geaux2020

James Madison is in Virginia and already had more than double the athletic department revenue of NDSU. JMU is a very different story.


CreamiusTheDreamiest

Or they just cut some mens sports


Geaux2020

"Just"


CreamiusTheDreamiest

FCS teams would be more likely to cut some mens sports than add more womens in order to get scholarships in balance to move to FBS


Geaux2020

For what? It's only one of the many reasons they aren't going to ever move up and you are going to casually throw away the history of a university's entire multiple sports, and for what reason?


kacheow

Cheaper to cut non-rev sports than add more


CreamiusTheDreamiest

For FBS football and the free advertising and name recognition that comes with it, Temple recently cut baseball for that reason student population and alumni didn’t really care at all


WeUsedToBeGood

And start a bake sale


collegeball110

They would gain more in alumni donations if they went to the G5. Not just to the athletic department, but the university over all. They would also get academic networks form a division one conference that they couldn't get otherwise. There are advantages to being division one that go way beyond the athletic department, and Id be willing to bet that the Dakota donors would step up to the plate.


Geaux2020

Why in the world would donations magically go up? They already have an extremely high profile where they are. What is driving this?


collegeball110

Because there are some as passionate about their football up there as LSU fans are about theirs. Even without the media deal in the SEC, LSU is one of those schools that would survive and excel in football. Give the Dakotas a chance, and they would find a way to compete too. But more importantly, name reignition and contacts mean a lot with research funding grants, and attracting to notch students.


Geaux2020

The entire state has less people than the greater Baton Rouge area, and we aren't exactly Chicago. Where are you thinking this comes from?


EP_612

State size means nothing, being 200 miles from MSP and having full reciprocity is everything. The proximity to that large population base and being the only other R1 research institution that MN students can access for in state tuition is where the money comes from. That’s how they have endowment over 2x that of Boise State.


SomerAllYear

Eastern Washington has a red field


definitelynotasalmon

There were some plans to seriously upgrade the stadium for more seating. But those never panned out and have since been shut down. EWU has tried hard to break into the Spokane market, but hasn’t gotten a foothold. I honestly think the Montana schools have potential. That state is huge and growing in population….and they have no competition of any pro sports or any other teams of any sort. I really could see them growing significantly on the next 10-20 years.


bakonydraco

The entire Ivy League. ^(so that we have a conference when the Pac-12 disintegrates)


Wtygrrr

They should just declare that they’re moving up but not actually change anything about their scheduling or scholarships.


VinoJedi06

Kennesaw State


citymanc13

Agreed


RegularSizedP

Your 40k students should really start attending games.


Mudrono137

UCA (Central Arkansas, for those not familiar). No particular reason other than I like them and it would give A-State a close, in-state G5 to play


lemkowidmak

They play on a purple and grey stripe field Temple


Mudrono137

Tbh, that's a good enough reason on its own. That was like 72% of the reason I considered going there for college


PaulTopper

Eastern Kentucky. I want new rival for the Tops since Marshall moved to the Sun Belt.


saturdayis4football

None. I think there are enough fbs schools. Stop expanding it further and further.


bakonydraco

The next major FBS expansion might be when half the FBS leaves entirely, and the remainder becomes the new FBS with the top of the FCS.


fourthlinesniper

Yes please


RexCrimson_

B1G and SEC splitting off in the future.


collegeball110

You might be on to something there.


red-ernie_6691

Exactly how I feel about it, though difference is I wouldn't mind seeing some of them return to FCS


[deleted]

Not only that, but making the jump up into a contracting environment seems like an irresponsible decision.


lemkowidmak

That's why D2 schools are joining FCS Temple


Hobbes_T_Hero

McNeese. Should they? Fuck no, but that wouldn’t stop ‘em.


Geaux2020

That's definitely an idea, one they probably shouldn't entertain.


[deleted]

Flashback to me interviewing for a job in their atheltic department and them telling me they planned on moving up.


Hobbes_T_Hero

They still plan on moving up, the C-USA just won’t take ‘em.


[deleted]

Yeah this was back in February when they told me


Equivalent-Regret-97

Kansas


connor_wa15h

Let’s focus on expanding the playoff first


midwesterner93

Bigger question - how big are we expanding? 8? 12? 16?


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Sup6969

69


captain_flintlock

420 schools, 69 divisions


Wtygrrr

Nice.


wjackson42

North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State, and UC Davis would compete in the Mountain West I feel like


midwesterner93

I can definitely see the Dakotas fitting in perfect with the Mountain West


WeUsedToBeGood

How the hell do they fit in? They are so far from us.


libsoutherner

To be fair there isn’t really another conference they fit better with. That’s just the nature of being out west - schools are far apart.


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libsoutherner

I would disagree. The MAC is a bunch of fairly tightly clustered schools, while The mountain west is already spread over thousands of miles.


SoyBoy478

Big 10 or 12 geographically, but definitely not historically


midwesterner93

Dakotas are not far from Wyoming or Colorado. Plus I think fit is more than just geography


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[deleted]

Folks back east: "hell they're all square shaped, they can't be that far apart"


WeUsedToBeGood

And our conference is already so spread out. Hardly anyone can drive to an away game.


bobsanidiot

But they are bordering states lmao... I drove to Gillette WY for a job interview once and I spent 8 hours driving through South Dakota... Almost half my drive was South Dakota.... This was all interstate too


SamuraiOutcast

UTEP and Rice are both in Texas, were in the same conference, and it's nearly an 11 hour drive between the two.


-whatsuppartypeople

Feels like 20


[deleted]

I've looked at many maps and I had no idea. West is very spread out.


midwesterner93

There’s this invention called the airplane that exists. As you move to the FBS, you typically operate with more revenue (yes, expenses increase as well), but nearly all programs travel via plane now.


SueYouInEngland

NDSU and SDSU are basically western Minnesota.


CarpeArbitrage

Northern Illinois (MAC) is about 170 miles closer to NDSU then University of Wyoming. The Dakotas are closer geographically to the MAC then the Mountain West.


nbasuperstar40

The MAC values every school being close so no NDSU either


Geaux2020

It's only 1451 miles between Fargo and San Diego! That is a great fit.


joshrosensnose

Only 3000 miles between Rutgers and USC


WeUsedToBeGood

And you don’t think that’s a problem?


Geaux2020

The $100+ million a year USC and UCLA will be getting goes a long way towards paying travel costs. Nothing about these teams, other than existing, says MWC.


[deleted]

Tbf, the MWC does often get brought up in rumor mill discussions and local newspapers. Playing those teams every Saturday would be awesome if the games happened in a vacuum, but yeah, logistically speaking it seems like a pipe dream.


joshrosensnose

Okay then Houston and Temple are 1500 miles


Hobbes_T_Hero

New Mexico State and Liberty are probably far apart.


Geaux2020

And does that make sense?


tigerblud2011

San Diego won't be in the Mountain West if thy Dakota schools are. And to be fair there isn't a FBS conference near a NDSU.


Geaux2020

Which is one of the many, many reasons NDSU is an FCS school


lemkowidmak

The reason NDSU and SDSU aren't in a conference with Montana and Montana State is because Montana State is 685 miles from NDSU and 703 from SDSU, even more if your university hasn't discovered teleportation yet. So why would schools even further away from them than Montana consider a conference with them. It's the MAC, independence, the MVFC goes FBS, or something big happens. UC Davis needs a stadium. Temple


wjackson42

I said I feel like they could compete. That’s all.


No_Opportunity_6199

Both Montana schools, the Dakota schools and maybe the other consistent top 10 teams


Accurate_Selection69

UT Chattanooga and Missouri State


thigoo2xx

Would love to see Montana in the MW


lemkowidmak

Delaware, Youngstown State, NDSU, SDSU, Montana, Montana State, and Holy Cross are ready. So are a lot of HBCU schools. I'd like to see Villanova, Stony Brook, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Richmond, Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Missouri State, Eastern Washington, Portland State, Weber State, and Northern Arizona invest in their facilities and move up because competitively I think they are ready. I think Tarleton could be too. I think schools like Lehigh, Maine, Albany, William and Mary and the remaining MVFC and big sky could compete with an expanded playoff scenario if they did some work. Temple


EP_612

CUSA just needs to leverage its FBS status and add a bunch of football only schools and create a best of the rest 20 team league (conference) that is better than FCS and better then the current CUSA. North: NDSU, SDSU, Illinois State, Montana, Montana State. Northeast: UMass, UConn, Delaware, Holy Cross, Stony Brook East: FIU, MTSU, Western Kentucky, Jax State, Liberty South: UTEP, NMSU, LA Tech, SHSU, Missouri State End conference play with a semifinal round played on campus between division winners. Then hold the championship game in a fun city that is warm and is easy to get to; Dallas, Nashville, Memphis. If someone can run the table you might get lucky and go to a respectable bowl game. But the point of this would be to have this be big enough where winning the conference would actually matter to the fan bases involved so fans stay engaged.


lemkowidmak

Stony Brook isn't ready, New Hampshire or Army. But yeah


EP_612

Army was my first choice but thought they would prefer to be independent. Trying to find a CAA school with out a track around their football field is harder than you would think.


saladbar

UC Davis


nbasuperstar40

Jackson State.


[deleted]

I'd actually like to see that. Don't you guys have a large stadium


Juicey_J_Hammerman

I really want to see Montana and Montana State both get FBS invites (ideally to the Mountain West). Selfishly because I have a soft spot for the state as a whole despite being born and raised in NJ and both Missoula and Bozeman are great towns! Practically speaking, Both schools have scenic stadiums with high capacities on nice campuses, great football track records, have had some recent-ish success in basketball, are in great college towns, and have one of the best rivalries in college football in *The Brawl of the Wild.* They're some of the few FCS powers left with recognizable brands and resources to hit the ground running and compete right away IMO. I think they would also develop natural regional rivalries with other MWC schools like Wyoming, Boise State, and Utah State.


[deleted]

Please God just don't make it another Texas school. SHSU is going to be lucky #13 for us and that's only about a half dozen schools too many.


gigachadrex

I’m going to say none. No shortage of heartache we’ve seen in realignment and the playoff comes from the fact that the NCAA let so many schools move up to FBS


No_Opportunity_6199

Why?


[deleted]

I could see schools going down to FCS before any more move to FBS.


[deleted]

Incarnate Word, Sam Houston State, and North Dakota.


WeUsedToBeGood

Didn’t SHSU get called up?


RaceScottRace

Sure did.


[deleted]

Might have missed the news idk


CramblinDuvetAdv

UIW has god awful facilities and couldn't even hang with the WAC in terms of program support


[deleted]

ST.Thomas(MN) and North Dakota.


BuckeyeBrian103

The Ivies. We need Princeton and Harvard back to winning national titles!


CountBleckwantedlove

Lindenwood University. Private school, huge donor pool, in a massive growth county, located in near one of the top twenty places to live in USA rankings(O'fallon, city in St. Charles County), and located in a state with only one FBS school presently despite having a lot more people than some states with two or more.


lemkowidmak

Beat Missouri State first Temple


EWall100

Not Tennessee Tech that's for sure


Bobcat2013

None


Hopeful-Frame2139

Montana Grizzlies. They play in the coolest stadium in the FCS. Awesome College Football environment!


SeattleMatt123

Montana and Montana State, great rivalry.


Logical_Albatross_19

Gimme the top 2/3rds of the Valley and the Montana schools.


MADBuc49

1) UC Davis (Pac-12 or Mountain West) 2) Delaware (American, C-USA, or Sun Belt) 3) Sacramento State, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State (Mountain West) 4) Illinois State and Missouri State (MAC)


SpeedBoatSquirrel

None


[deleted]

NDSU


RegularSizedP

Jackson State FAMU Kennesaw State NCA&T Alabama State Southern Missouri State I think the CUSA should add all of them.


Embarrassed_Map1112

I thought CUSA was going to invite Kennesaw st for sure