Nobody cares about NDST’s FCS history, especially those in the FBS. That’s why they had to spend a lot to get in, too.
And those in FBS realize (or should) that Sac State has way more potential upside than NDST at the FBS level, as you don’t see many highly successful FBS programs outside of a top TV market and far away from a large metro area.
Fargo is nearly 250 miles from the nearest large metro population and TV market in Minneapolis. And Minneapolis has their own in-state programs to support and follow. Good luck to NDST in drawing top level athletes to such a remote area lacking a legit tv market. They landed top level FCS talent, largely due to their long standing success, but I’m skeptical that most FBS hopefuls will want to go play in Fargo over the myriad of other options available to them. I see them struggling to keep up with larger metro city programs like Nebraska has the past 20 years.
While the Hornets won’t draw many, if any, elite level athletes away from larger markets either — they should be able to retain more of their own from the Sac metro area.