Dom “The FCS Schedule King” Izzo will chime in later on possible replacements for Montana State in next year’s schedule. I woke up this morning, saw my story and still had some disbelief in the Bobcats pulling out. A couple comments on it:
- If indeed Montana State is buying out for a game at SMU, I can’t imagine SMU paying more than $350,000, maybe $400,000. So do the math. MSU has already invested $100,000 in the NDSU buyout. A charter plane to Dallas is probably $100,000 plus other travel expenses like hotel and food. So after it’s all said and done, the trip plus NDSU buyout is say $225,000. If the SMU deal is $400,000, that’s a net of $175,000, probably at the top end. Is that worth it? Plus, I was told NDSU considered giving MSU a cash incentive to keep the game. Moreover, MSU has a Division II game on its schedule with probably less of a buyout, so you have to wonder why the Cats administration didn’t try to buy that game out. Maybe it did. UPDATE: as comment to blog said, these figures don’t take into account MSU travel to Fargo.
- There could be long-term implications, especially pulling out in February for a September game on the heels of this happening a few years ago. If I’m NDSU, I no longer schedule Montana State. The Bobcats have lost the benefit of the doubt. It’s unfortunate because they are two alike, border-state universities who should play from time to time.
- NDSU has no bargaining power for a replacement game. Teams can practically name their price tag knowing the Bison absolutely need a game and have a $100,000 from Montana State. Wouldn’t surprise me to see this game go for $250,000 to $300,000.
- Integrity in FCS scheduling is spotty. NDSU goes to Georgia Southern in 2005, then GSU pulls out of return game to Fargo. It’s legal, I get that, but that doesn’t make it right. I can’t imagine the Montana State decision was solely that of the athletic director. There has to be higher forces at work here.
- Was the decision purely financial? Recruiting in Texas decision? A strength of schedule problem with NDSU having everybody back from back-to-back national championships? Something else? What’s the basis here? We’ll try to find these answers on Monday.
- It’s unfortunate this decision wasn’t made last month. NDSU could have kept Sept. 21 vacant and opened the door for a UND matchup. With Montana State off the schedule, the NDSU nonconference formula of a FBS game, a good FCS game and a winnable FCS game would have been back in play.
We are the king of midwest football and this just proves it. Only team I see filling in our schedule in college fooball is a top SEC team and they may even be scared of a loss.
Dude.
Is this what you guys do with your Sundays? It’s football, not the Illuminati. MSU got a better deal with a different school. Yea it’s a pretty dishonest move by them, but this is how business works sometimes and now NDSU knows better. The contracts need to be much more stringent in the future. I don’t see MSU ever making the playoffs with the way they’ve been playing the past couple seasons, but a playoff rematch at the dome would be pretty sweet. Ready for the 2013 season! Go Bison!
No need to beat around the bush Jeff, we all can see the real reason as clearly as you. Montana St knew they were coming into a hornet’s nest to get steamrolled which wouldn’t have given them a favorable image come playoff time. They saw a more winnable, and profitable, game could be had so they threw NDSU under the bus in an attempt to save their own face.
It’s sad and embarrassing move for their fans, players, and alumni.
Lets hope Montana State has the same fate as the 2011 Georgia Southern team. Back out in the regular season and then are forced to come and play in the dome in the national semi-finals. Resulting in as a$$ kicking! If it happens I hope Gene Taylor tells Craig Bohl to let them have it with both barrels and don’t let up. Let’s hate Montana State! Go Bison!
Georgia Southern traded NDSU for a huge buyout from Alabama. Alabama used the game for recruiting Georgia talent and Georgia Southern used the game for name exposure and money for their program. Montana State’s situation is not nearly the same. I doubt SMU does much recruiting in Montana.
I hope the media/pollsters look closely at the quality of Montana States schedule when they get ranked next Fall. MSU had a predictable poor showing once again in the FCS playoffs last year yet they end up ranked as #5 at the end of the season. MSU beat maybe 1 ranked team during the regular season last year.
I am looking forward to a Bison/MSU playoff matchup in the dome next year.
I don’t know why you keep bringing up the possibility of a UND game. NDSU has proven they don’t want to play UND whether there is an open date or not. That is a meaningless topic to keep bringing up. Has NDSU ever bought a game out in previous years.
cuz thats what jeff/dom and forum /herald communications does, they have nothing new in their arsenal, so they keep trying to keep this thing going. 10 years , get over it you guys. its OLD and tiring.
Not true; the buzz was that UND didn’t want to schedule the Bison. Jeff is correct; it is too bad this didn’t happen earlier, as powers in this state could have revived the UND-NDSU game.
I’m a die-hard Bison fan but have a hard time understanding why the no-names from the north were not scheduled on Sept 21. Financially its a no brainer. I guess the easy answer is they, like MSU were afraid to play at the FargoDome. If that’s the case, so be it.
Bisman,right now the Bison are such a strong draw for tickets that a game with UND really does nothing for the financial bottom line. All general public tickets for the 2012 season were snatched up in a flash last summer, so a UND game really does not add anything to the Bison ticket demand.
UND has their schedule set at 11 games. They were not going to add another game in there and play 12 in a row with no bye week.
Maybe GT should start paying a little closer attention to the contracts he puts out there and agrees to. Both GSU and MSU agreed to terms of the contracts that Taylor signed.
That contract is old and still in play from the 2007 MSU buyout. At the time GT allowed them to reschedule and they once again pulled out. The only mistake in 2007 was not raising it to $250,000
I bet you’re right about higher forces being at work here. No doubt UND played a role in this, trying to screw over NDSU. Gene was correct in calling out an entire conference for the actions of one school.
By higher forces, I was referring to Montana State president or somebody in a chair above the A.D.
Jeff why even respond to such garbage?
May a Bison lift its tail and dooty on you Bobcat.
I love the tinfoil hat wearers that always comment on the bison media blog. I’m surprised their moms give them access to a computer.
I would book them. Just make sure the buyout is equal to the payout and make sure it can’t happen after a certain date. Karma’s a beyotch.
The thing that really gets me is that they waited until AFTER we scheduled Delaware St.
That one little detail of the move is the part that gets me. Seems like too much of a coincidence.
Could it be that UND appealed to the Big Sky to wait until after that common open date with NDSU was filled up before then announcing the pull out.
Bison fans thinking UND had anything to do with this are out of their mind. Are you really that delusional??? That said, Montana St. will still be playing in ND next fall in Grand Forks on Sept. 29th at the Alerus Center. Feel free to come watch if you were that interested in seeing BIg Sky Football.
There will be plenty of seats. Game could draw 1,000 to 2,000 die hard fans.
Didn’t SU already beat the Big Sky champs; ie. the Bear Kats LOL
The main reason Bison fans wanted to see Montana State is to show we can be beat the best from any conference. The theme for NDSU athletics has always been; and especially since the move to DI; “Bring on the Competition.” NDSU will always have that mentality. Some schools leaders, like MSU, won’t. MSU also plays a DII school this year. tha should tell you all you need to know.
MSU was going to charter to Fargo, which was almost as expensive as going to Dallas. So the cost would be, $100 k loss just to travel to Fargo vs gain of $175 k gaIn to go to SMU. Net $275 gain for MSU. Of course they would go to MSU.
Would MSU not have to charter to Fargo also? Making travel expenses a lot closer to being a wash? Yes I know it’s further to Texas than Fargo
I wouldn’t bet on Montana showing up in 2014 either. Montana bought out their return game to Fargo a few years back to replace the Bison with a division II team.
I guess if NDSU is still going to try and do home and home schedules they need to be the first home game (the Bison will honor the return game) or set the buyout at something the other school won’t pay ($400,000 or more).
The disappointing aspect of this to me is that Montana State, Montana and Georgia Southern are supposed to be upper tier FCS schools. If they are afraid of the competition why agree to a home and home agreement in the first place? Unfortunately these actions make it extremely hard to even try and schedule these bush league schools in the regular season anymore.
We know it is a fear of getting beat by the Bison because Georgia Southern has played at SDSU at least once and maybe twice.
I guess it might be time to see if a FCS team transitioning to FBS needs a game bad enough to travel to Fargo for a loss. Old Dominion, Georgia State, Massachusetts, etc). Maybe NDSU can pay a MAC or Sun Belt school to come to Fargo.
Montana has not bought out a game from NDSU. They did buy out three games in a span of two or three years when their athletic department was carrying over a million in debt, but NDSU was not one of the three(I believe it was SDSU, Cal Poly & Hofstra). We did play in Missoula during our final year in DII, but that was never part of a home and home; they paid us to go out there for a single game.
FBS period, get it done, enough of this lemonade stand business crap of fcs.
call mountain west or MAC and get it done, tomorrow.
I believe Montana was supposed to return to Fargo as a part of that game but they bought it out to play a division II team instead.
ndspew will always be scared to schedule UND. Good for Montana state for not playing a bunch of signature forgers from ndspew
Two-time defending national champion scared of playing UND? This is more ridiculous than the post accusing UND of being behind this.
Dom & Jeff,
I’m all for free speech, but the comments section of your blog has become a cesspool of Internet tough guys whose collective IQ is lower than my 2 year old daughters. I’d rather not have the comments removed, but I think it should be considered, especially if comments
aren’t moderated.
Agreed.
I see the undies are in a bunch again. Why would we want to watch Big Sky football? Defense wins championships and Big Sky teams have neither.
I agree with Jeff. UND was definately behind this somehow.
I’m all UND, but I love coming to this blog…Bison fans made my day.
i’m with you Sean; it’s always good for a laugh!
Its time to forget about the nonames and bobedtails and make plans to go to K State.
Just shows what Bug Sky football is all about. Montana St. uses the back door to get out of a game in Fargo against the Bison and UND won’t agree to an every other year game with the Bison. Big Sky football is down the drain.
shut the HELL up about und jeff. you are obsessed, its sickening and you disgust me with YOU and YOUR NEWSPAPER’s constant babble about a ndsu-und game. get over it, 10 + years get a life wow.
put the bottle down
I’m with Wisky Fan, quit trying to make the news, just report it! Until there is something to report on a und game stop talking about one.
I believe UNI had a game bought out to play at Wisconsin this year. If I remember correctly Wisconsin not only paid UNI to play the game they also paid the buyout for UNI to get them up at Camp Randall Stadium. This of course make Barry Alvarez’s statements regarding FCS that much more idiotic.