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How the Dakota's Recruit...

B

Brother Bear

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The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman explores how North Dakota State & South Dakota State have come to dominate the FCS landscape with local brethren South Dakota & North Dakota perennial contenders, as well. Dochterman points to recruiting wins with student-athletes overlooked by Big Ten, multiple examples of player development leading to NFL-caliber talent & the impact on other FCS programs in the area, namely Northern Iowa. North Dakota State HC Tim Polasek: “We all kind of have the same recruiting philosophy. We like to get out in front of high school coaches and watch guys compete. We don’t have a recruiting department here that’s going to make decisions. I’m the final decision maker, just like those other schools. That’s where I think being in our pocket, in the Upper Midwest, and recruiting guys with Upper Midwest values and growth potential, that’s where it all starts. ... There’s that really cool factor of what you get in a tight-knit area, like what college football used to always be, regional, right? And because we’re in the same league, we’ve been able to hold on to that, and it means a lot to so many of the fan bases.”

www.nytimes.com

How the Dakota schools cornered the market for FCS national championship glory

For the first time in their FCS history, all four Missouri Valley schools from North and South Dakota made the 24-team playoff field.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

(the rest behind a paywall)
 
There are a lot of talented players from the twin cities going to NDSU which is only 3 hours away. NDSU is marketing all around the cities as well trying to recruit general students not just athletes.
 
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701Grizfan said:
A wealth of small town ND MN SD talent. Track record proves it. No clue if Griz recruit that landscape but should and when you compare Zootown to Fargo and Brookings…:… it ain’t close
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Griz can't recruit everywhere. As for comparing Missoula to Fargo or Brookings, do you think kids that grow up in the Midwest have an overall issue with the landscape?
 
HelenaHandBasket said:
Griz can't recruit everywhere. As for comparing Missoula to Fargo or Brookings, do you think kids that grow up in the Midwest have an overall issue with the landscape?
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If they are from the cities it’s 3 hours drive to Brookings or Fargo, it is 17 hours drive to Missoula. There is 1 daily 3 hour flight on Delta that often costs $500 or more round trip.
 
5280Griz said:
There is a lot of talented players from the twin cities going to NDSU which is only 3 hours away. NDSU is marketing all around the cities as well trying to recruit general students not just athletes.
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Those MN kids also get in-state tuition to go to NDSU, and they can apply to receive in-state at SDSU, which is a huge competitive advantage they have.
 
I read this article and it isn't enlightening to anyone who follows the smart (as opposed to smartass) posters on egriz.

It definitely shows that NDSU and SDSU haven't focused solely on home state recruits. Recruiting from nearby larger population centers is key for them as it is for us when we reach into OR and WA. Hawaii has obviously has been very good to us too.
The article says that UND and USD are also up and coming programs.

Not from the article but from my small brain - has there ever been serious discussions in FCS about having a MVFC/BSC super-conference? Or at least regular matchups between the 2 rather than reach out further geographically?
If or when the Big 5 FBS conferences split from the also-rans then this superconference could move up pretty much intact.
 
behappp said:
I read this article and it isn't enlightening to anyone who follows the smart (as opposed to smartass) posters on egriz.

It definitely shows that NDSU and SDSU haven't focused solely on home state recruits. Recruiting from nearby larger population centers is key for them as it is for us when we reach into OR and WA. Hawaii has obviously has been very good to us too.
The article says that UND and USD are also up and coming programs.

Not from the article but from my small brain - has there ever been serious discussions in FCS about having a MVFC/BSC super-conference? Or at least regular matchups between the 2 rather than reach out further geographically?
If or when the Big 5 FBS conferences split from the also-rans then this superconference could move up pretty much intact.
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There aren't a big 5 anymore.
 
Winning

That's how we recruit. If you want to win. There is not one program in all of football better than NDSU if you want to win Championships
 
Haven’t the Montana high school kids take the North Dakotan’s to the woodshed the last several years? Seems like Minnesota might be more fertile grounds for recruiting. Also, 5,800,000 for an approximate population base to pull from. Griz and Cats have Wyoming, Idaho and Washington for the states with close proximities. Idaho and Wyoming are about $2,600,000 and you have Wyoming, Idaho, Boise State, Idaho State, Colorado State, Weber State, BYU, U of Utah and Colorado to compete against. Washington has about 8 million people mostly on the west end of the state. Washington State, Washington, EWU, Oregon and Oregon State recruit the area heavily. Not saying North Dakota State and UND don’t have competition. They have some, but SD has more to compete against for close proximity. Both states are competing against the University of Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska. Yes, recruiting is now national in many cases. Still, NDSU in particular has some advantages. To their credit - they have maximized them.
 
Copper Griz said:
Haven’t the Montana high school kids take the North Dakotan’s to the woodshed the last several years? Seems like Minnesota might be more fertile grounds for recruiting. Also, 5,800,000 for an approximate population base to pull from. Griz and Cats have Wyoming, Idaho and Washington for the states with close proximities. Idaho and Wyoming are about $2,600,000 and you have Wyoming, Idaho, Boise State, Idaho State, Colorado State, Weber State, BYU, U of Utah and Colorado to compete against. Washington has about 8 million people mostly on the west end of the state. Washington State, Washington, EWU, Oregon and Oregon State recruit the area heavily. Not saying North Dakota State and UND don’t have competition. They have some, but SD has more to compete against for close proximity. Both states are competing against the University of Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska. Yes, recruiting is now national in many cases. Still, NDSU in particular has some advantages. To their credit - they have maximized them.
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Minnesota and Nebraska have been all time failures at the FBS level during MDSU’s rise. Iowa and Iowa State have had some good teams but they are never elite nor consistent. You can throw Wisconsin in with teams NDSU is competing for guys with.
 
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