# NDSU moving to new conference in football?



## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Anybody else hear about this?

It's an interesting offer... I think this league is much better suited geographically for the Bison... plus they'd have a chance at a playoff game sooner..

Ryan

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Gateway courts Bison football
By Jeff Kolpack, The Forum
Published Friday, October 27, 2006

http://www.bisonzone.com/index.cfm?page ... &id=144135

Another league is recruiting North Dakota State. Gateway Football Conference commissioner Patty Viverito said Thursday that NDSU and South Dakota State are the only two schools the league is considering for expansion.

It was just two months ago that both were accepted into the Mid-Continent Conference, which does not sponsor football.

It appears Gateway member Western Kentucky will move its football program to Division I-A and join the Sun Belt Conference. "I think the die has been cast," Viverito said. "We're just waiting for official action." That word is expected to come next Thursday, she said, when the school's board of regents votes on the issue. "Nov. 2 is looming large," Viverito said. "The people at Western Kentucky have been pretty frank, pretty candid. It's the day of reckoning now."

The Gateway, which is a football-only league, has asked NDSU and SDSU for institutional profiles, which is generally regarded as the first step in expansion. If Western Kentucky leaves, the Gateway would be down to seven members: Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Youngstown State (Ohio).










Viverito said nine teams is an ideal number. It allows for four home and away games and three nonconference games.

NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said NDSU is listening to the Gateway. Taylor said he and Viverito have had about a half-dozen conversations since Western Kentucky announced it was looking at a I-A move. Asked if he would label the talks serious, Taylor said, "I would label them pretty interesting."

NDSU is currently in the Great West Football Conference, but getting into the Gateway would solve two major issues: an automatic qualifier bid to the Division I-AA playoffs and scheduling. At just five teams - three that are still in a Division I reclassification - the Great West is several years away from automatic qualifier status. A league needs six active member teams who have been together for at least two years to reach that. Great West commissioner Ed Grom said he's been kept abreast of the developments from Taylor, Viverito and SDSU athletic director Fred Oien. "Nothing's being done behind each other's back," Grom said.

Grom said he would like to see NDSU and SDSU stick with the Great West as the league continues its growth. But he also acknowledged "each school has to look out for their own best interest." Grom is also the associate commissioner of the Mid-Continent, which NDSU and SDSU will join next season in all sports except football and wrestling. It's the same relationship the Gateway has with the Missouri Valley Conference. Viverito is the senior associate commissioner of the Missouri Valley. She said obtaining institutional profiles from NDSU and SDSU is about sharing information. NDSU filled out similar requests from the Big Sky and Mid-Continent conferences.

In the Gateway's request, Taylor said the league is interested in NDSU's football budget and facilities and the basic background of the institution.

NDSU was rejected by the Big Sky in 2004 because the school did not fit into the league's geographical footprint. Viverito said both NDSU and SDSU would be on the outlying areas for the league, "but not out of the footprint."

"If North Dakota State and South Dakota State moved their universities to central Illinois, we would be delighted," she said. "But that's not the reality." The Gateway has not been shy about adding strong programs. Since its inception in 1985, only nine members have been a part of the league. The latest additions were Western Kentucky in 2001 and football power Youngstown State in 1997. She said NDSU's success this season - a 6-1 record and a No. 6 ranking in the Division I-AA poll - has caught the attention of member schools. "It's certainly caught the attention for those of us who want to see a strong, nationally competitive league well into the future," Viverito said.

Earlier this month, Western Kentucky President Gary Ransdell recommended the school move to I-A football. The school's executive committee made the same recommendation.

That move would open the door for NDSU and SDSU.

Again.


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## Norm70 (Aug 26, 2005)

I think it is offcial as of a couple weeks ago. They had a big thing on the news about it. I think it is a good thing the way it was explained. In the great west they said only the conference champ "maybe" could get a bid to the playoffs, but in the Gateway as many as 3 teams may get in because of the conference's strength. This talking strictly football.


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## Trivia guy (Sep 6, 2004)

I think the main point of joining the Gateway is that is makes scheduling easier. Also the road trips will be shorter, and the conference is more centered on on major recruiting areas that NDSU targets. The auto-bid is nice because if you are not in an auto-bid conference and you still have a good record like 9-2, you may still get screwed out of a playoff sport, like Cal-Poly did two years ago. Since it looks like the Big Sky is out of the question in the future, you have to think that the Gateway Conference is the next best alternative, and also has many advantages, I would jump on it if were my decision.


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