3 reasons North Dakota State Bison should have been in Big 12 talks
By John Buhler
The Big 12 is looking to expand to 12 or 14 teams. Here are three reasons that the North Dakota State Bison should have been in the conversation.
The Big 12 feels compelled to add universities to its 10-team league to keep pace with the other five Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC). On Monday evening, the Big 12 will likely announce the addition of two member schools, the most obvious being the Cincinnati Bearcats of the AAC.
While adding Cincinnati was no-brainer for media market, geographic, and athletic reasons, it was weird to see the Big 12 write off a few schools far too early in the process. Not going after Boise State, East Carolina, and Memphis was a little odd.
However, there is one team that the Big 12 should have considered, but didn’t at all. That would be the FCS juggernaut beast that is the North Dakota State Bison. Moving up from the FCS to the FBS level requires several things that would have made it very difficult for North Dakota State (number of scholarships, 19,000-seat Fargodome) to get a Big 12 bid.
Here are three reasons that shouldn’t have mattered and North Dakota State should have been in the Big 12 expansion conversations from the start.
3. A proud football tradition
The Bison have been an elite FCS program for the last 50 years. Since moving from Division II to the FCS level, the Bison have won five straight national titles (2011-present). In the school’s impressive football history, the Bison have claimed 13 national championships.
North Dakota State for the last five years has consistently gotten AP Top 25 votes, despite playing at a lower level of college football. Head coach Chris Klieman has gone an unbelievable 33-4 in his three years on the job. His predecessor Craig Bohl, now with the Wyoming Cowboys, went 104-32 in 11 seasons at North Dakota State (2003-13).
The Bison have done such a phenomenal job of dominating teams in the FCS that they are likely ready for a new challenge. Their fan base is rabid and the program has never had more attention on it nationally than it does in 2016.
Fargo would be an interesting city for Big 12 inclusion. It’s probably a cooler city than most college towns in the Big 12 anyway. ESPN’s College GameDay made it look pretty awesome that one time.