'We can play with anybody': Why North Dakota State leveled up from FCS powerhouse to the Mountain West

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'We can play with anybody': Why North Dakota State leveled up from FCS powerhouse to the Mountain West originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Griffin Empey wasn't sure what to expect heading into a Super Bowl Sunday team meeting. 

Rumors circulated around the North Dakota State campus. Empey – an FCS All-America guard for the Bison in 2025 – allowed an optimistic thought to pierce through as he stepped out of Fargo's famous frigid cold: "This actually might be a thing."

Confirmation arrived at the meeting. North Dakota State – an FCS powerhouse – was heading to the FBS and joining the Mountain West Conference in 2026 – an announcement made official on Feb. 9. Imagine the thrill of watching North Dakota State alum Gray Zabel help the Seahawks win Super Bowl 60 and be given the opportunity to play the highest level of college football on the same day. 

"Everybody got out of their seats, was jumping around, high-fives, all that stuff," Empey told The Sporting News. "We're really excited about it. We feel like we put the work in and can play with anybody and compete with the best because that's how we train and that's how we prepare. We're ready for it."

It's here. North Dakota State – a program with an FCS-record 10 national championships – makes its FBS debut against Jacksonville State on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET at the Fargodome, and it will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. Sacramento State – which plays Eastern Michigan at 6:30 p.m. ET – also is making its FBS debut.

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Why North Dakota State made move to FBS 

North Dakota State coach Tim Polasek signed a seven-year contract extension on Nov. 25, 2025, believing there was a "1% chance" the Bison would move up in 2026. Yet the plans were in motion with athletic director Matt Larsen, and the university has a new president in Marshall Stewart. Polasek did not pursue other coaching opportunities in the FBS in a wild coaching 2025 coaching carousel. Polasek's wife Jill is from Fargo. They enjoy the label of "very humble small-town people." 

"With North Dakota State – if our legacy is we positioned it to be a really successful FBS school or program, that looks like a lot of fun to us," Polasek told SN. 

Polasek is a gravelly-voiced grinder with the career path that tracks. He played quarterback at Concordia (Wisc.) in Division II. He had a part-time job as a logger before Craig Bohl offered him a job as an assistant coach at North Dakota State in 2006. Polasek was an assistant coach in various roles from 2006-12 when the North Dakota State program hit its stride as an FCS juggernaut. The Bison won five straight FCS national championships under Bohl (2011-13) and Chris Kleiman (2014-15). North Dakota State had a 71-5 record in that stretch. 

Polasek returned after a one-year stint with Northern Illinois to be the Bison's offensive coordinator from 2014-16 before serving as Iowa's offensive line coach (2017-20) and Wyoming's offensive coordinator (2021-22). He took over as head coach in 2023 – after Kleiman added two more national titles (2017-18) and Matt Entz led North Dakota State to two more (2019, 2021). 

The Bison added a 10th national championship under Polasek with a 35-32 victory against Montana State in the 2024 FCS national championship game. He said the jump to the FBS has recreated the original buzz around the program. 

"It spans 20 years, and this is my third time back here," Polasek said. "Right now, it feels closer to 2011 and 2012. We were creating this tidal wave of excitement and energy. If you didn't have a Bison ticket, you were nobody. You were on the outside looking in, and we were selling out games – every game with the playoff hype."

The Bison also built a giant-killer reputation with a 9-5 record against FBS schools since 2004. That included a 23-21 victory at No. 13 Iowa in 2016. Polasek took the job as the Hawkeyes' offensive line coach the following season, and that is when he realized North Dakota State elevated into something more than just a regional program. 

"I knew NDSU was a big deal regionally, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota – you know, Upper Midwest," Polasek said. "There is a special place, right? NDSU has had a lot of success. It wasn't until I was at Iowa and I was on the other side of it at another really cool place that I started noticing a lot of hats and sweatshirts and those kinds of things at airports. I do think that we have a national brand." 

That success created what elite programs experience at every level. How do you maintain that impossible standard in a constantly-changing college football landscape? Were the Missouri Valley Conference rivalry games against North Dakota, South Dakota and South Dakota State enough? Is the excitement still truly there? 

"We went through a period of time here – the last five, six years – where the expectation level was so high from the outside it was, 'Well, I'm just going to Nashville for the national championship, I don't need to go to see a really good Illinois State team,'" Polasek said. "I'm excited about that."

That, of course, is the move to the Mountain West Conference. There is a risk factor with making a bold move. North Dakota State is one of four FCS programs with three or more national championships along with Georgia Southern with six, Youngstown State with four and Appalachian State with three. The Penguins are the only one of those teams still in the FCS. 

The Mountaineers cashed in the legendary 34-32 upset against No. 5 Michigan against on Sept. 1, 2007. Appalachian State is 105-49 since moving up to the FBS in 2014. Georgia Southern made the jump the same year. The Eagles are 80-72. 

James Madison made the jump to the FBS in 2022 and is 40-11 with a College Football Playoff appearance. There are success stories, but it's difficult to gauge where the Bison might fall in the first few seasons in the Mountain West Conference. How much will North Dakota State's identity change? 

"I'm not saying we're playing catch up, but it's good for people to know that we weren't able to recruit the portal at the FBS level," Polasek said. "We weren't able to recruit the 2027 class at the FBS level. That's why I've always kind of mentioned there is going to be a process to this. It was really weird timing when we found out in February."

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What North Dakota State brings to the FBS 

Empey noticed a new vibe at Fan Day on Aug. 18. 

"I wouldn't say it was shoulder to shoulder, but you couldn't walk anywhere without finding a group of five or six people who are pretty excited to talk to you about the upcoming season," Empey said. "Fargo is excited. The university is excited." 

The rest of the college football universe is about to be let in on some of North Dakota State's endearing qualities. For example, Empey is a "Ram." That's the name given to the offensive line – a position group that produced four NFL draft picks in Zabel, Cody Mauch, Cordell Volson and Dillon Radunz since 2021. Polasek saw elite offensive line play at Iowa. This could be a calling card for North Dakota State, too. 

"I was fortunate to be around Tristan Wirfs, Tyler Linderbaum. Mason Richman got drafted," Polasek said. "Gennings Dunker – I helped recruit him and helped recruit Beau Stephens. The pedigree there is a little bit unrivaled. When you look at our development plan, and how we've done it here, we're no slouch."

North Dakota's quarterback line is well known with Carson Wentz, Easton Stick, Trey Lance, Cam Miller and Cole Payton. Nathan Hayes is the next QB up in 2026. 

Imagn Images

Of course, there is the Fargodome – the 19,000-seat indoor stadium that will be in the spotlight against Jacksonville State. The Bison have a .857 winning percentage at the Fargodome since 1993. Empey knows the environment inside. What about outside? Empey – a Stoughton, Wisc., native and Green Bay Packers fan – knows a good stadium scene, too. 

"Most of the people don't know how crazy our tailgate scene is up in Fargo," Empey said. "It doesn't matter if it's 10 degrees outside. People will be out there five or six hours before kickoff. People are 25 deep at their tailgate. If you just watch it from TV – I'm sure you'll feel and hear how loud it is in (the Fargodome). How many fans and how big of a deal game day is in Fargo — you wouldn't get that until you actually come to a game here."

Empey also said there was not an over-the-top reaction on June 25 – when it was announced North Dakota State would be eligible to compete for the postseason in 2026. That is part more of a business-as-usual approach to the first season in the Mountain West Conference.

"We prepare to be the best version of ourselves, compete with anybody and be in the game with the best of the best," Empey said. "That's what our mentality has always been. It doesn't change now that we're playing in a little higher division."

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What North Dakota State can learn from Boise State 

Boise State won an FCS national championship in 1980. The Broncos made the move to Division I football in 1996. It took time – but it's one of college football's favorite Cinderella stories – one wrapped in blue turf and trick plays. The Broncos made a CFP appearance in 2024 and moved to the Pac-12 for the 2026 season. 

"They made the same move, and if you look at Boise, that's one of the fastest growing cities in the country," Polasek said. "It's pretty fascinating the impact this could have on all of our teams at some point, and also Fargo, and then the region of North Dakota. We're going to work hard to get the whole state attached to this thing. It's kind of fascinating to me to see where this thing really is going to be four or five years from now." 

The Bison arrive with a distinct identity – one that comes with Polasek's mantra that, "Good, clean, tough football is the No. 1 thing that can keep you in every game." That is why Polasek stayed. It is placing faith in the program – but it's also about a community that appears ready for its close-up. Sam Houston (2023), Jacksonville State (2023), Kennesaw State (2024), Delaware (2025) and Missouri State (2025) have made the same jump in the last four years – which has increased the FBS membership to 138 schools. All five of those teams have already reached a bowl game, yet none of those schools had the FCS reputation of North Dakota State. This was the right time to level up.

"There have been an awful lot of people who felt like we could play at this level, and so it's here now," Polasek said. "We're not going anywhere. We're in the Mountain West. You know, one of the changes I have to this team is we've got to prove this university, our administration, our support – we've got to prove these guys right now that we belong. That thing has to start right now."

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