I think them even mentioning the FBS as a goal is something they have steered clear of in most of the messaging. Heck, its wild they include that in this press release like 4 days after saying they are "committed to the fcs". I see this as a signing that suggests plough sees no reason to move to a mw school or pac12 school when Davis will probably be in the Mountain West for football before that contract is up in 2031.

Seriously. I love seeing a coach that is an alum of the school they are coaching actually advocate for the campus and community outside of just the athletic program too.

Dude thats sweet! As a huge Giants fan that Giants experience is enticing too...

They are openly suggesting they are going to move to the FBS in the contract extension post? Seems like the most straightforward admission of plans so far.

In today's evolving college football landscape, opportunities at the Football Bowl Subdivision level continue to grow. With this extension, DeLuca, the athletic department and Plough have reaffirmed their shared commitment to the long-term success of Aggie football on the national stage.

(Link to the podcast where he talks about this)

Some great stuff was talked about from Sam Herder who I see as the most credible FCS/G5 reporter):
1. He sees us as one of 3 teams that will move to the FBS (Sac State, Tarleton, UC Davis)
2. He talks about NDSU moving as important because it situates them as a member of the FBS for now, and promises them a seat if the power 4 separates from the g5
3. He talks about how there is a chance that the g5 merges with the top of the FCS, but the g5 could also try and keep fcs teams out of that new level of division if the power 4 split happens (with the g5 teams not wanting to water down their already relegated new league)
4. Sees the NDSU move (and any FBS move) to give teams head starts in recruiting, infrastructure, positioning if a power 4 split happens that teams still in the FCS wont have
6. Does not see Montana State and Montana, SDSU or other Dakota schools moving to the FBS soon
5. Sees UC Davis as one of those teams that could fill the hole with NDSU leaving (at least before UC Davis moves)

His analysis really suggests to me that UC Davis to the Mountain West is likely not a matter of if it happens but a matter of a few years.

Yeah I think JMU is something like 68% tax payers and student fees and they just moved up.

Another big thing for me: Joining the MW for football gives us a HELL OF A LOT larger exposure than playing all our games on ESPN+. Imagine how many alumni could be aware of games...

I like this post! :100:

upvote this times a million.

You would think an English major could actually spell :lol: *fixed, thank you haha

Dude complains about literally everything under the sun about cfb... and then joins a coaching stuff in the conference that actively is ruining the college football he misses.

I have hammered home the opinion that it should not be if but when about joining the MW but as an unrelated point from this whole debate: I would really much rather be debating whether we want to be perennial national championship team at the FCS level or move to the Mountain West than talking about joining the CUSA or the MAC . Actually setting ourselves up to play teams that actually make sense to play against (regionally, rivalry-wise, logistically) makes me happy. I have my own strong opinion on this topic obviously, but I love everyone here debating these realistic, logical and exciting futures that we can see happen.

Bobby Hauck goes to Illinois as the DC

praying. Hearing him say that he would basically have to be offered an insane amount to leave before winning a national championship made me happy.

I cannot believe the qb talent we bring in. Plough really is one of the best in the biz at qb development, its stunning. I am very excited for next season, especially with our schedule!

I agree a lot of teams that are still good in FCS and it will be no easy feat, but the dude who makes those rankings is actually the worst at his job. Stan seems like a nice guy but he is consistently wrong about his rankings. Sam Herder does a much better job. It almost seems like he doesn't actually watch any of the games and takes conference strength with a grain of salt.

Someone on reddit said something I think is probably true

My suspicion, and hope, is that the MWC and UC Davis did discuss NDSU's inclusion, and UC Davis approved it. But what I also hope is that UC Davis got something in return. Maybe the Ags did get fast-track approval for football inclusion. Or maybe, the Ags media term was changed from a one-sixth share increase over six years to full-share status to one-fifth share increase over five years to full-share status. Or, maybe, the Ags will get a balloon payment out of NDSU's $12M entrance fee.

I’m sure officially UC Davis was offered, my guess is there’s a handshake agreement for Davis to move up in x amount of years once it gets its facilities up to par. And it wouldn’t surprise me if relevant Davis execs knew this was gonna happen somewhat in advance and watched it develop to get a sense of cost to move.

Unrelated but im curious, what do you think NDSU's win total is the first year they move up?

Oh my goodness folks. Considering how many guys we have back, how many exciting new additions we have, and all the fcs movement this could be an exciting year.

Lets go over some of the major changes in the FCS and how they could help the ags:
1. NDSU to the Mountain West. In a move that both weakens the FCS in its very top level of competition, NDSU also opens the door that has been almost completely closed the last 10 years with NDSU dominating the subdivision. Expected to compete year 1 in the MW, NDSU leaving gives our Aggies a much clearer path to a national championship
2. Montana Madness! Montana State loses its OC that has been there the entire Vigen tenure and the Griz lose Hauck to move a position coach into the HC position. These teams both have strong foundations, but leave space for Davis to fill at the top of the Big Sky.
3. Sac State leaves the Big Sky. This has its pros and cons, but takes away a competitive and coinflip game off of the schedule.
4. Southern Utah and Utah Tech join the Big Sky. Southern Utah has had some good seasons but Utah Tech has been atrocious. Seems like an easier addition than what existed before the Sac exit.
5. University of South Dakota gets a new coach.

yeah I can understand him feeling that way, but also Umass was setup worse than davis in every single way to move to FBS. The funding was worse, smaller student body, smaller economic impact, the northeast is worse than even the west coast for football, and the stadium is TERRIBLE and continues to be worse than ours.

My wish to join the MW for football is not to say I am not excited for the upcoming season or our team as an FCS program, I just think being a MW member should eventually include football.

If I wanted to make my best guess, I would say realistically we start renovations at the stadium and basically have already agreed to move to the MW for football somewhere between 2028-2030.