The sport executives of Colorado and North Dakota State signed an agreement in May 2016 that allowed for a basketball game to be played on a Saturday, more than eight years later. Consequently, CU would give NDSU$ 700, 000 to come to Folsom Field.
Otherwise, the Buffalos and Bison will eventually meet in a nationally televised prime-time match on Thursday, so as to provide ESPN. Given how things turned out in Season 1, if the scheduling for college football was done using glass ball, this is probably not the game CU would have desired to start the Deion Sanders experiment’s junior season. ( Oddsmakers are the game’s 9.5-point favorites. )
Although much has changed since the opponents first signed on the dotted line, including a total of five new head coaches between the schools and a new conference for CU, which left the Pac-12 for the Big 12, some important things have n’t. The members of the game deal, AD’s Rick George and Matt Larsen, are also employed at CU and NDSU, both. North Dakota State is still one of the best FCS sports programs in the nation, and it has a record of ruining the bigger, richer visitors ‘ non-conference home routines. The Bison have won five of their past six road matches against FBS foes, including a 23-21 gem against a No. 13-ranked Iowa crew in 2016. And this victory, in turn, has made the university’s teaser options extremely hard to come by.

In a phone interview, Larsen said despite this, CU made no attempt to shimmy its way out of this year’s house opening. ” I have a lot of value for them for that”, said Larsen, who estimates about 7, 000 NDSU faithful will render the 900-mile trek from Fargo, N. D. to Boulder, Colo.
Again in 2016, NDSU was currently struggling to find eager FBS universities to give them away-game promises, having just come off of three straight FCS tournaments. The Fargo fans were clamoring for the university to join the top tier of college football, a possibility that was made clear during the CU game. A copy of the contract, which was obtained through a public records request, indicated that NDS U’s pay would have doubled to$ 1.4 million in the event that it had joined the FBS prior to the contest.
That did n’t happen and, from a financial perspective, the game has only decreased in value: The$ 700, 000 commitment eight years ago has the buying power of$ 534, 622 today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics ‘ inflation calculator.
On the other hand, it was impossible to imagine that Smith, the head coach of NDSU, would possess Sanders ‘ star power when he was coaching Texas high school players.
” So, it is not an additional$ 700, 000, but it is ]added ] national exposure”, Larsen said, a tradeoff he is happy to take. ( Earlier this year, CU agreed to increase NDS U’s pay to$ 740,000 to cover the visitors ‘ additional costs as the game moved to its Thursday slot. )

Unless NDSU were to climb up a suburb, Thursday’s activity could be one of the last of its kind for the system. The group’s next scheduled FBS activity is a 2028 battle at Oregon, which was contracted in 2015 and actually supposed to be played in 2020. ( NDS U will receive$ 650, 000 for that one. )
Due to financial reasons, more and more FCS schools have chosen to play two FBS ahead games each year, which has more reduced the number of opponents. Additionally, the College Football Playoff will now have a 12-team format this year, giving Power conference members more incentive to schedule dynamic early-season games against one another in order to avoid going undefeated against non-FBS opponents.
” I hope it does n’t get to the point where some of these FBS schools just choose not to play FCS,” said Larsen.
By some metrics, also those beyond the area, North Dakota State has previously closed the subdivisional space.
For the 2023 fiscal time, NDSU reported$ 6.4 million in total running sport income, which was greater than at least 20 FBS institutions, including Connecticut and Houston. That same fiscal year, the Bison earned more on football ticket sales ($ 3.72 million ) than 42 % of FBS public schools, according to Sportico’s college sports finance database.
Over the past 12 years, the school has invested$ 108 million in sport service jobs, including a$ 54 million sports training facility that opened in 2022. Larsen notes that unlike most FCS plans, his college “fully money” Alston and cost-of-attendance cash for its players.
On any given Saturday, I believe our sports team may compete and hold their own, but Larsen believes there is much more to it than that. I’m not sure if any of us would be aware of the rules of engagement if we were to switch to FBS right then. There are possibly far more inquiries than solutions. I believe we have said it since beginning that we want to perform at the highest degree we can.
There is a strong argument to be made that the activity of cheap style makes the most sense going forth when Larsen frequently refers to the Bison as an FBS system wearing FCS clothing.
” I feel better where we are today than a majority of]FBS ] programs outside your Power Four conferences”, Larsen said.
North Dakota State has recently become more and more dependent on playing “destination activities” in natural settings against another FCS schools for its opening. Last month, the Bison opened their time playing Eastern Washington at U. S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Next time, it will start its stone with back-to-back game against the Citadel in Charleston, S. C., and Tennessee State in Nashville.
Meanwhile, NDS U’s next opening is just three years away, in 2027, a blink-of-an-eye in the chronometry of scheduling out football games. Thus far, there have been no FBS buyers.
” Philosophically, we want to play those games”, Larsen said. Our deputy director has actually reached up to every FBS system with a typical open day to check, and it has just been a challenge. Therefore, if any readers are fascinated, we are surely open”.