North Dakota State won’t settle on the two-year wait required by the NCAA for transitioning teams, and the new FBS program may see light at the end of the tunnel.
The Fargo Forum’s Dom Izzo reported that the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee “introduced new legislation Thursday to the ‘deserving team rule.’” That current rule “determines the requirements that teams need to fulfill to become bowl eligible,” Izzo wrote.
NDSU joined the FBS in February after dominating the FCS for 15 years with 10 national championships. At the moment, the Bison can’t play in the College Football Playoff, a bowl game, or even the Mountain West Conference championship game under the current NCAA rules for transitioning teams.
NDSU is seeking a waiver or a rule change, and the Mountain West is supporting that move. However, this legislation development could change everything for the Bison. Izzo detailed how the proposed legislation impacts things for the Bison and Sacramento State, which also moved up this year.
“Under the proposal, teams transferring from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision, as NDSU and Sacramento State are doing this season, would now be eligible for a bowl game if they reach six Division I wins and can fulfill one of their conference’s bowl commitments,” Izzo wrote. “If the proposal is adopted, NDSU would be immediately eligible for the Mountain West Championship Game and the College Football Playoff this fall.”
The James Madison Effect
James Madison making the CFP last season created a sense of urgency for NDSU since the Bison once played the Dukes in the FCS championship games and earlier playoff rounds four times.
The Dukes were considered a rival to NDSU’s FCS throne during the 2010s, and College GameDay has visited JMU more than the Bison over the years. JMU moved up from the FCS to the FBS in 2022 and dominated the Sun Belt Conference throughout.
NDSU only lost two FCS games in the past two seasons, which included a stunning playoff upset against Illinois State. The Bison now enter the Mountain West with a better Sagarin rating than any other team in the league from last year. Bison athletic director Matt Larsen, therefore, has been a big advocate of the team becoming postseason eligible right away.
“I give credit to the NCAA and the Football Oversight Committee for evaluating our rules that don’t make sense anymore,” Larsen told Izzo.
NDSU Benefitting Old FCS Opponents
If the NCAA approves the proposal, the Bison and Sac State won’t be the only programs to reap the benefits.
Delaware and Missouri State moved up from the FCS to the FBS in 2025, and both programs would also become eligible immediately for bowl games and the CFP, as Izzo noted. Both schools made it into bowl games last season, however, because there weren’t enough eligible teams for the bowl games, Izzo wrote, as some programs such as Notre Dame opted out.
Similar to the Bison, Delaware has a successful run in the FCS. The Blue Hens have a ways to climb in Conference USA after a 7-6 season last year. Missouri State, which also joined Conference USA, went 7-6 in 2025 after ups and downs in the FCS.
NDSU will open the season in August with Conference USA runner-up Jacksonville State.
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