We are nine days out from NDSU opening practice for the spring football season and we don't know how many teams are actually committed to playing football.
Monday, Missouri Valley Football member Indiana State opted out of the spring, citing the potential number of games, which would be 19 played in a nine month span as too much for its program to bear.
That brings me to the essential question, is it worth to even play in the spring?
There are 24 teams that are not playing and that list almost certainly will grow with the restrictions on athletics in California.
ADVERTISEMENT
What will teams like the Bison and UND get out of playing? Yes they will be able to be back on the field, but at what price? If NDSU were to play a full regular season and playoffs in the spring and then come back in the fall, that's a potential 26 games in a 9 month span. No one has ever attempted to do that.
Dayton Football Opts Out Of Spring Competitionhttps://t.co/TqUtNBRK2C pic.twitter.com/aI6ebxfH7O
— Dayton Football (@DaytonFootball) January 13, 2021
Financially wise, many FCS teams lose money playing. I bet there's more out there that would be fine not playing this spring and saving the cost of this extra season than rather trying to play two in one.
NDSU is going to do whatever it can to play. We can't say that about about everyone else in the FCS and that may be another reason why the Bison may need to look elsewhere for its football future.
