The Mountain West wins by adding NDSU Football
Here's why:
#1 STRONG NDSU FINANCIALS
Below is football data compiled from NCAA Financial Report data comparing NDSU to MW football members.
• NCAA FINANCIAL REPORTS for UNLV, SDSU, BSU, and AFA were unavailable.
Please contact me if you have a 2018 or 2019 copy for one of those schools (CLICK HERE)
• Below is a mix of 2018/2019 data using 2018 when possible.
• Used other sources if necessary.
• Source links in site footer.
2018 Football Revenue (level playing field)
- If NDSU had received average MW distributions, conference bowl revenue, and guarantees:
2018 Athletic Department's Royalties, Licensing, and Sponsorship Revenue:
(Obviously heavily influenced by football, although basketball can play a large roll e.g. New Mexico)
2018 Football / Athletic Department Private Contributions:
(Many schools have large unallocated athletic budgets influenced by football)
#2 NATIONAL NDSU BRAND
NDSU would bring more eyeballs to the Mountain West than any other team if Boise State were to leave.
Google Search Traffic (last 5 years)
National Television Exposure
2012 Season
ESPN2: NDSU vs SHSU – 1.104 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs GSU – 974k
2013 Season
ESPN: College Gameday – 1.828 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs Towson – 1.2 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs UNH – 813k
FS1: NDSU vs K-State – 585k
2014 Season
ESPN: College Gameday – 1.3, 1.827 million
ESPN: NDSU vs CCU – 1.447 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs ISUR – 1.444 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs SHSU – 790k
FS1: NDSU vs Iowa St – 407k
2015 Season
ESPN: NDSU vs UNI – 1.644 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs JSU – 1.35 million
ESPN: NDSU vs Montana – 981k
ESPN2: NDSU vs Richmond – 751k
2016 Season
ESPN: NDSU vs SDSU – 1.984 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs JMU – 1.065 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs Iowa – 968k
ESPN: NDSU vs Charleston Southern – 797k
2017 Season
ESPN2: NDSU vs JMU – 1.515 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs Wofford – 849k
ESPN2: NDSU vs SHSU – 604k
2018 Season
ESPN: NDSU vs Colgate – 1.806 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs EWU – 1.004 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs SDSU – 846k
2019 Season
ABC: NDSU vs James Madison – 2.7 million
ESPN: NDSU vs Illinois State – 1.74 million
ESPN2: NDSU vs Montana State – 518k
#3 NDSU IS COMPETITIVE
According to the 2019 Sagarin and Massey rankings NDSU would have been at the top of the MW.
2019 Sagarin Ratings
#3 NDSU FACILITIES
NDSU already has G5 level facilities.
Stadium: Fargodome
Average Attendance:
This would be closer to 19,000 (max-capacity) for NDSU but of the 9 home games (6 is the MW average), NDSU was the severe favorite in several games so ticket sales suffered. You could expect a minimum of 19k+ for MW competition.
Indoor Practice Facility
#5 Geography
• Similar culture
• Insignificant flight time difference
• Similar distances to other G5 conferences
MAP of MW with NDSU
Example flight times:
Compared to the AAC
Example flight times:
Compared to the C-USA
Example flight times:
Fargo's Airport: <5min from Fargodome
If fly time is slightly more, the airport to stadium drive is not.
Sources
Below are the NCAA Financial Reports (or similar) per university:
Colorado State NCAA Financial Report
Fresno State NCAA Financial Report
University of Nevada Financial Report
Utah State University NCAA Financial Report
University of Hawaii at Manoa NCAA Financial Report
San Jose State NCAA Financial Report
University of New Mexico NCAA Financial Report
North Dakota State University NCAA Financial Report
NEED NCAA FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR:
- UNLV
- San Diego State
- Boise State
- Air Force