What’s this? NDSU joined another athletic conference?
If you aren’t a sports fan, NDSU’s invitation to the Gateway Football Conference must be very confusing. Even if you do follow NDSU athletics, it can still be perplexing.
In order to make this situation as clear as possible, I am going to pretend I am explaining NDSU’s conference affairs to Paris Hilton.
If you are very Bison-sports savvy, please stop reading this column now. It is not for you.
To fully understand how and why NDSU has joined the Gateway Football Conference, you need to learn what has happened with the program since August 2002, when it began its transition to Division I athletics.
As NDSU was leaving Division II, it had to leave the North Central Conference. However, just because the Bison moved to Division I, didn’t mean the program automatically got into a conference.
A conference is necessary because it allows for easier scheduling, conference tournaments and an automatic-bid to NCAA tournaments.
In 2003, NDSU had what the NCAA calls an “exploratory year.” During this time, NDSU played in the NCC for its final season, and “explored” options for finding a Division I Conference to join.
When it wasn’t likely that all NDSU teams would immediately be invited to join a conference, the football team joined the Great West Football Conference. The GWFC only offered football, no other sports.
The Bison were a charter member of the league, and five other universities in similar transitions to Division I, including SDSU, joined them.
After the 2005 season, Northern Colorado left the GWFC to join the Big Sky Conference, which sponsors many other sports in addition to football.
Although the GWFC only had five teams for the 2006 season, it was very competitive.
According to the Gridiron Power Index — which ranks Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) teams — the GWFC was the top-ranked conference, with four teams in the Top 25 poll.
NDSU won the GWFC this season, posting a 4-0 record in conference play.
With the University of South Dakota and UND beginning transitions to Division I next year, the GWFC was rumored to be looking to add USD and UND.
While the expansion would be positive for the league, there were still downfalls for NDSU to stay in the GWFC. In Football Championship Subdivision a 16-team tournament determines the National Champion.
Eight teams are invited as at-large teams and the other eight come from the eight conference champions.
Because the GWFC hasn’t been around long enough, the conference champion does not receive an automatic-bid.
Thus, the lack of an automatic-bid was a major deterrent for NDSU to
stay with the GWFC.
This fall, NDSU athletics accepted an invitation to the Mid-Continent
Conference.
Beginning this fall, all teams at NDSU will begin competing in the Mid-Con, except for football and wrestling. Because many schools in the Mid-Con don’t have football or wrestling teams, the league doesn’t sponsor them.
To sum up the ramifications of the Gateway accepting NDSU: it’s huge. The Gateway is the best possible football conference NDSU could join right now. Many years, the Gateway sends the most teams to the Football Championship Subdivision tournament. This move puts the cap on NDSU’s transition to Division I.