Local talent is staying home

I think there is always an urge for kids who have an opportunity to break free from their parents. Some kids want to go achieve on their own, some just want to get some independence. When it comes to college choices, there are those who want to get a new start and, I don't know, go to Purdue, away from any of their other high school classmates or family But this completely random example is not the norm, I am told. 

While there is an urge to spread wings, most don't want to go too far. A weekend drive home, closeness to friends, comfort with a region, things like that drive that desire. Who knows where that has put the regions athletes throughout the last 50 or so years. Sure, you could go play for the Gophers, otherwise your options were in lower levels or further from home. 

Minnesota for the longest time, had only the University as an option for D-1 athletes. The next closest D-1 school to the Metro was Wisconsin, who rose to prominence about as Minnesota faded. This was certainly aided by help from athletes from the Twin Cities, some of whom may not have really wanted to stray from home.

The Dakotas were even more remote and it's top athletes had to travel even farther. There were no D-1 Schools until the "States" made the football leap. Now there are 4 D-1 Dakota schools. All of the football teams are above average for FCS standards, thanks to being able to attract the best athletes in a broad region without much D-1 competition. Most are pretty decent on the court as well.

Now that the best players from the Dakotas (save for the stray player that ends up at Alabama) or outstate Minnesota have more local destinations if they don't want to leave the region, but also want to play at the top level of their sport. It almost seems like lately, Minnesota has been too obvious a choice, with St. Thomas on the rise, along with neighbors to the west. 

Granted, the Gophers compete in the Big Ten, and it's tough to attract talent at a national level to compete with national level programs, but at a regional level, local talent can compete in mid-major conferences. Obviously the North and South Dakota State success stories are evident on the football field. On the basketball court, the Dakotas and St. Thomas occupied 4 of the top 5 spots in the standings in the Summit League. This is generally an apt description for the Summit League standings.

There aren't other major conference options in Minnesota outside of the Gophers, and they aren't yet a national draw for talent, and a lot of the top tier talent leaks out to other programs. The mid-level talent is now already staying at home, just not with the Gophers, who are likely overlooking those athletes with more ambitious recruiting goals. In the last couple of decades, though, regionally relevant players have been given more D-1 options, and are taking those opportunities. 

North Dakota State, the quarterback factory

Carson Wentz had a good start, but is likely a wash in the NFL. He sustained an injury with the Eagles, who then went on to win the Super Bowl with his back up. Wentz was ultimately traded to Indianapolis, where he struggled, then he was dumped on Washington, and now, he is jobless. 

Trey Lance was injured in his first real chance to be the starting quarterback, and never had the chance to win back his spot. Brock Purdy certainly earned his spot as a starter, but it isn't a great reflection of the 49ers draft process that their top 5 selection couldn't stick at quarterback. Lance was just traded to the Cowboys, where he backs up Dak Prescott.

As you may know, one thing that they have in common is their alma mater; North Dakota State. They also have another important thing in common; a major, career derailing injury. Wentz was pretty good before his initial injury, and Lance never really had a chance to prove himself. Do we know if the Bison only send out busts? 

One thing that the Bison did under the tenure of both Lance and Wentz was protect the blind side of the quarterback. The jerseys were kept clean for both quarterbacks while they played in the FargoDome. In both drafts that the saw an NDSU quarterback selected in the first round, a starting tackle from the Bison was also selected. Joe Haeg moved to the interior line, but had a 6 year career starting with the Colts and bouncing around. Dillon Radunz was a second round choice by the Titans to protect Ryan Tannehill. 

This is an ultimate truth not just for for the North Dakota State Bison, but for the National Football League. The best way to get the most out of a quarterback is to make sure they stay healthy. 

The Dakotas are off to a rough basketball start

 Maybe I spoke a bit too soon about the state of North Dakota State Bison football, as they are once again preparing to play in the FCS championship game, this time against South Dakota State. That they barely snuck past Incarnate Word in the semifinal is hardly a knock against them. After all, they did win the semifinal, and reached the final. The Bison are fine on the football field.

Now, the basketball team? All that I said was true. This is not a good year for NDSU basketball, who have started 3-11, and have only one win, against Portland, in their D-1 victory ledger. They probably won't make the tournament this season. The Summit League tournament.

It's not just NDSU, but every D-1 school in the Dakotas. In the first round of conference play, the Dakotas were winless. 

North Dakota has had the best season of the 4 schools, with a 6-8 mark, with their best win coming against, I don't know, Elon? Utah Tech? They also had a heavy loss at the hands of Portland, who is so bad they lost to NDSU, so I don't know.

It's going to be uphill for all of those schools in the Dakotas. Denver has looked better than they have for quite some time, and Western Illinois is finally feisty again, but the real threat is Oral Roberts, who still has Max Abmas, the best player the conference has had in a very long time. 

NDSU shook off their football slump this year, and now, the basketball teams in the Dakotas are tasked with proving that this is, at best, a one year hiccup

North Dakota State's fairy tale is coming to an end

 

NDSU has been on quite a ride since they made the leap to division 1. The football team built itself up from it's ascent to FCS, and 7 years after they made the leap, won their first national title in 2011. Aside from 2016 and 2020, they have won it every year since. They've had three quarterbacks go to the NFL - Carson Wentz, Easton Stick and Trey Lance, which is a better rate than many other schools out there. During that run, they've usually been ranked #1, and have nipped quite a few power 5 schools along the way.

This year, there is something off with the Bison. The scoring hasn't been as robust as in previous seasons, and they've dropped two games. They lost to Arizona, which is a pretty tough loss to take for any FCS school. They also lost to South Dakota State who is now ranked number 1. There is no shame in that, of course, unless you are accustomed to be #1 instead. Right now, North Dakota State is ranked 4th in FCS.

Ultimately, this may go down as one of the worst seasons NDSU has had in over a decade.

The men's basketball team has been more successful than average for a school of it's size as well, even securing an NCAA Tournament win in 2014, and stops in the Big Dance 4 times since their ascent to D-1. They would have made it 5 times were it not for the pandemic. 

This year has been one of turnover, though. Long time stalwart Rocky Krueser is now plying his trade in Germany, and left behind a young, unproven roster. Suffice to say at this point, it would be surprising if they were an NCAA tournament team. Again, it is South Dakota State looking strong in the Summit, while the Bison have started 0-4. They lost to Arkansas and Kansas, which make sense, but they also lost at home to Pacific and were blown out by Indiana State, which are not as impressive.

North Dakota State has been very good across the sporting landscape for quite some time. This is the worst year they have had since all sports have been postseason eligible at D-1 for the two revenue sports. The football team isn't perfect, and the basketball team is simply bad. The real signature of a quality program is showing that they can bounce back from down years like this. 

Could North Dakota State compete in the FBS

Obviously, the Bison have consistently shown the talent to compete with FBS teams. Even this year, they've beaten the Iowa Hawkeyes, as if to drive the point home that good players want to spend the best years of their lives in Fargo. No, the question isn't "can NDSU beat teams in FBS?" because clearly they can. Can they actually compete?
In your mind's eye, of the Bison playing in FBS, what does that look like? Who is on their regular season schedule? What conference are they playing in? North Dakota State, as much as they are darlings every year because they manhandle Big Ten and Big 12 teams do not belong in the classes of either conference. The Big Ten has strict academic guidelines that the member institutions must meet, and NDSU does not meet them. North Dakota, ironically, is more closely adherent to those guidelines. The Big 12 is in rough shape, and if they can't decide on existing FBS schools to expand with, I can't imagine they would add an FCS team. Sure, North Dakota State might be able to put up a fight if paired with the big boys, the big boys won't want them.
In the Midwest, the go to "small conference" is the MAC, but that doesn't seem like a fit either. The conference is centered around the Great Lakes, and has chafed when trying to add to that. UMASS opted to go independent, for example, and Temple and Marshall have elected to go to the American and Conference USA.
Conference USA is a troubling fit because the part of the USA it covers is the southeastern part. The nearest member school would be Western Kentucky. The Sun Belt is a southern conference and the American is splattered from New England to Florida to Texas, putting the nearest member in Cincinnati.
The only really good conference is the WAC. Wyoming is as close as NDSU is going to get to a natural rival, and the conference aspires to contention. They have a membership base of teams in isolation, from Wyoming to Boise to New Mexico, and they have the budget to support those travel expenditures. The conference is full up, and may ultimately put one of its member teams in the Big 12. That would be the best situation if NDSU ever wanted to make a move up.
I don't think the Mountain West is looking to make that move, even if North Dakota State is. For the time being, I guess the Bison will be left to crush the competition in FCS.