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FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA - OCTOBER 29: Logan Kopp #43 of the North Dakota State Bison celebrates after play against the Illinois State Redbirds at FARGODOME on October 29, 2022 in Fargo, North Dakota. (Photo by Sean Arbaut/Getty Images)

North Dakota State has one major item of business lingering amid a move up to the FBS, with playoff eligibility in question.

The NCAA has a two-year ban on postseason play for transitioning teams, and the Bison sought to appeal that right away after the FBS move in February. One more step awaits next week when the NCAA Division I Cabinet meets, and that will include a vote on NDSU and Sacramento State receiving postseason eligibility.

NDSU and Sac State already received approval from the FBS Oversight Committee in May. The Big Mountain podcast, which covers the Mountain West Conference, reported that “the Cabinet is likely to give final approval next week” in the meeting and vote.

Winners of 10 FCS national championships in 15 seasons, the Bison’s move up has been long-awaited. Other FCS powers moved up to the FBS in the past decade with Georgia Southern, Sam Houston and James Madison, which made the College Football Playoff in 2025.

NDSU beat all three programs at least twice in the postseason during the FCS dynasty. The aforementioned teams had to wait out the NCAA rule, but all three have enjoyed success at the FBS level.

With postseason eligibility, the Bison can compete for the Mountain West championship game and a spot in the CFP. The Bison can also make a bowl game, but that already looked possible with the lack of bowl eligible teams in recent years.

NDSU Was Ready For FBS Move

GettyTUCSON, ARIZONA – SEPTEMBER 17: Fullback Hunter Luepke #44 of the North Dakota State Bison powers through a pack of players during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Bison athletic director Matt Larson has been a big proponent of the team not waiting two years for postseason eligibility, and he publicly called the rule out of date.

Larson told Bison Illustrated that the move to the FBS was in the works for “four or five years,” as Larson explained. Geography and finances have long been hurdles for the Bison, but NDSU was ready once the Mountain West came calling.

“Early on, in the middle of my 12 years here, people were asking, ‘When are we going FBS?’ At that time, I would’ve said, ‘On the field, we can compete week in and week out. But everything surrounding the program-support staff, facilities, and financial support-those are the things you need. Over the last 12 years, we’ve built those,” Larson told Bison Illustrated.

“And about five years ago, we started looking at opportunities and saying, ‘if this is something we want to do, we need to prepare the football ops, staffing, scholarships, cost of attendance, Alston awards for academic success, facilities, and start building the plan so that if a chance comes, we’re ready,” Larson added. “So when the official offer came … we felt ready. We had the plan. We executed the plan.”

Bison Coach Tim Polasek Was Preparing For FBS Move During 2025 Season

As the Bison were rolling to 12-0 in what became the final FCS regular season, head coach Tim Polasek knew big future plans were on the immediate horizon.

“As conversations began, and I don’t have a real, crystal clear timeline, we were in the middle of the season to the back third of the year,” Polasek told On3. “We had to start putting some things on our plate, as far as, ‘OK, if this were to ever happen, Tim, you need to start brainstorming how you’re going to approach the staff, how we’re going to approach this, how we’re going to approach that.’”

“It was one of those deals where, obviously, the invitation and all that stuff take a little bit of time, but you get notified that there is a negotiation starting,” Polasek said.

NDSU lost in the FCS playoffs to Illinois State, and the Bison quickly pivoted two months later with the FBS move. The invitation from the Mountain West came about the defection of five teams to the Pac-12.