NIL, NDSU, and the Mid-Major Identity Crisis

2026-08-19

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This week, we follow up on last episode’s conversation about the increasingly religious tone around the UH football program and what that means for the team’s identity. Then we shift to North Dakota State, a program that didn’t move up to the FBS just to be another average mid-major — not after winning 10 FCS national championships since 2011. That leads us back to the bigger question: what is the actual goal of being a mid-major in today’s college football world? With NIL money harder to raise ...

This week, we follow up on last episode’s conversation about the increasingly religious tone around the UH football program and what that means for the team’s identity.

Then we shift to North Dakota State, a program that didn’t move up to the FBS just to be another average mid-major — not after winning 10 FCS national championships since 2011.

That leads us back to the bigger question: what is the actual goal of being a mid-major in today’s college football world? With NIL money harder to raise at our level, and Power 5 benchwarmers getting paid while mid-majors fight for scraps, the gap feels wider than ever.

And with no Group of Six schools in the preseason AP Top 25, it feels like another sign of the times.

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