How does NDSU get Gameday Twice!?

[penguinpower]

I hear they are broadcasting from Fargo again this weekend.  Think it helps recruiting?

[penguinpower]

We were winning national championships and ESPN cut off Tressel when we beat Alcorn State....the only time we got any kind of attention and it wasn't about us....it was about his Heisman campaign for the Heisman.

[Pita]

My guess would be, because they win games!

[Lets_Talk]

penguinpower, it is  different world than it was 20 years ago. The whining about YSU not getting respect gets really old. YSU got plenty of publicity back in the 90's, based on the way publicity was disseminated at that time. The internet was new. There was no Twitter. No Facebook. No ESPN 3. No watching games on the Internet. No Netflix. No smartphones. Also, Gameday did not start going to campuses until 1993. And, for most of it's history, Gameday has aired live from the site of the biggest game of the week.

Also, as Pita said, NDSU wins, and they have been doing so now for several years. ESPN was not giving NDSU much coverage until last year. As for Gameday in Fargo, why not? That town has a great atmosphere. It is a perfect place for Gameday. And, ESPN would not be going there had NDSU not beaten Iowa State in Week 1 and won again this past weekend.

Also, lets not forget there were rumors that ESPN might have Gameday at YSU last year for the YSU-NDSU game. At the very least, it seems safe to say YSU was under serious consideration as the site of Gameday for that weekend. But, YSU lost the week before at UNI, and any chance of Gameday airing from Ytown went out the window.

NDSU has won 3 NC's in a row. They have won 26 games in a row, and 31 of 32 over the last 2 seasons + 2 games this year. YSU never won 31 of 32, nor did they ever win 3 NC's in a row. NDSU has also beaten Iowa State, Kansas State and Colorado State the last 3 years. The last 3 seasons, plus first 2 games of this year, NDSU is 45-2, with 3 FCS Titles, and 4 straight wins over FBS teams. 3 of those FBS wins were against teams from the BCS/Power Five. They also sell out every game.

[nova75]

I say it is because ESPN hates YSU and there is a conspiracy to keep YSU out of the playoffs. 

Power lives in 1994!

[ysufan0505]

Because they win. Plain and simple.

[goodnews]

YSU had their chance last year......... Need we remind everyone of another unmeasurable loss?

[penguinpower]

It is more than the fact that they win.  App State beat Michigan a few years ago and won 3 FCS National Championships and never got that kind of attention.  It is either about money or they have built a relationship with ESPN or both.

[IAA Fan]

It is not that they win games. It is just that they win the one game each year that counts in the eyes of national media ..."and it ain't the national championship"! As if ESPN cares one ounce of crap about the I-AA national championship. Heck they will not even show it on ESPN. They do care when a school from a state that the rest of the country forgot even exists (from a city that the Cohen brothers made a movie about) beats the eventual Big-12 champs.

It is unfortunate, but I-AA/FCS is more irrelevant now than ever. Unfortunately, the MAC means even less, so forget that discussion

[nova75]

You hit the nail on the head. Other than those very few of us that follow 1AA, almost no one knows it even exists. If it isn't big time then it may as well be D2 or D3.

[HappyPenguin]

Kinda speaks to how the big boys schedule a lot of their out of conference stuff too if this is the best they could come up with.

Surprised they didnt pick GA\SC but what else is out there? OSU stepping it up to play Kent?

[IAA Fan]

The one thing that I might add. ESPN is not doing NDSU (or I-AA/FCS) any favors. There is much more conspiracy than you think at work here.

Reality. The collegiate football nation does not care about I-AA/FCS, so they certainly do not care about NDSU. The nation does not care about N. Dakota, or it's largest city (Fargo) which happens to be the home of NDSU. Do you realize that there is not much more than 100k of population in that city? I mean Youngstiown is larger than Bismark (the state capitol) and we are the 6th or 7th largest city in Ohio.

The college football nation does care about the Big-XII and any other Big-6 conference and the $$$ they generate ...which goes down when one of "theirs" loses to one of "ours". So, it is just like the political media ...make a "big stink" about an unknown (and irrelevant) candidate/team and it reduces the embarrassment that a lower-division school is beating-up on teams from a power conference. I can see the crew now trying to make something out of Incarnate Word that does not tie in with some sort of religious scandal.

I would take this one-step further and propose that conglomerate that is ESPN/CNN/SI/Disney/ABC/GE  would back NDSU's entire move up to IA/FBS ...like they are doing with GA State, they will move into a big-6 conference. Either that or they will spearhead an investigation of the football program at NDSU (as the did in Columbus). So am I crazy? Answer this question:

Which of the following brought more "NATIONAL" attention to YSU?
1. Jim Tressel winning 4 national championships in football.
2. Jim Tressel taking the reign at Ohio State.
3. Jim Tressel taking the fall at Ohio State.
4. Jim Tressel becoming president of the university.
5. Eric Wolford beating Pitt.

#3 is your answer, with no close second. The media (especially the above conglomerate) hated Tressel's appointment in Columbus and his fall validated their hatred ...as his record at OSU certainly did not. NDSU is being made this "glory boy" when in fact, 4 I-AA/FCS programs have beaten Iowa State in recent years. Three of them are from the MVFC. There is not another I-AA/FCS program in the nation that has played (historically) the number of IA/FBS programs as has YSU ...and our record is over .500. Heck in the 80's and 90's we were playing 2 and 3 in one season. The difference is that we are not beating Big-12 champs. We beat MAC schools & the media could care less about the MAC.

[ysufan0505]

And the fact that NDSU is beating FBS teams... Easily doesn't hurt either. Just remember, YSU had their shot to have game day come to campus, but everybody got caught up in the hype, ESPECIALLY the players and we ended up losing at UNI and blowing any chance of that happening.

[Lets_Talk]

I agree with those saying that the wins over FBS opponents, especially over teams from what are now the "power 5" conferences plays a huge roll in NDSU hosting Gameday. Another major factor is there is only 1 top 25 match-up this week, #6 Georgia at #24 South Carolina. That game is on CBS.

I do believe the 3 FCS Titles in a row is a factor. So is the 45-2 record since the start of 2011. I think the fact NDSU is the Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma...etc of North Dakota also plays a role. There are likely people in Fargo and other parts of North Dakota that follow FBS instead of FCS. But, not to the degree in states that have several FBS schools, or even 1 good FBS football school. And, while not a place I would want to live, Downtown Fargo has a charm to it that makes for good theater. Especially when filled with tens of thousands of people dressed in Green and Gold in support of their BIZON


AS for following FCS football, I only follow FCS because of growing up in Ytown and being a graduate of YSU. I made a decision my Freshman year(1986) that I was going to attend all home games and road games that were a short drive. I did this because I wanted to support the team of the school I attended, and players I knew from classes at YSU, high school, and meeting other ways over my time as a YSU student. I'm really not sure why a person without some kind of connection to an FCS football school would have much interest in following FCS, except for those people that gamble on pretty much anything.

[lakesbison]

how?  because they like to party with me and my people!!

NDSU 8 FBS wins.
45-2
26 straight wins.
3 straight titles.
crazy ass fans that travel incredibly.
Fargo---won an emmy for the FX show last year.
10,000 will pack small town America and people LOVE THAT.

6 NFL players from NDSU right now.