With North Dakota State set to join the FBS as a football-only member of the Mountain West beginning the 2026 season, On3 conducted a Q&A with head coach Tim Polasek earlier this week. The Bison have won 10 of the last 15 FCS national titles.
Polasek is entering his third season and led North Dakota State to the 2024 FCS national championship in his first year as the team’s head coach. He will need to adapt to the changes of transitioning from FCS to FBS, including managing additional full-scholarship roster spots.
The school will pay $12.5 million to join the conference, according to North Dakota State athletic director Matt Larsen. The fee is in addition to the $5 million it will pay the NCAA to move to the FBS. The Bison also plan to petition the NCAA for immediate access to the College Football Playoff and bowl games. Here is On3’s conversation with Polasek about making the move and his plans for North Dakota State moving forward.
Q: When did it land on your desk that this was a real possibility, jumping to the FBS and Mountain West?
A: “That’s interesting, because it depends on how you look at it. 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. 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. It really didn’t become real until a couple of weeks ago.”
Do you feel like you would have attacked this transfer portal differently if you knew that you were going to play an FBS schedule?
“That’s one of the things you’re hopeful that, especially regionally, recruiting-wise, and I’m talking about bounce backs out of the portal, you hope you’re seen in a little bit different light. I don’t know that we would have necessarily been financially any different at that time than what we had. The answer is probably yes, but I do like the way our portal guys are working and how they’re fitting in right now as well.”
How do you take a program that year after year has been viewed as a top team in college football, but now goes to FBS and keeps those same expectations and same goals?
“You have to keep it really simple. You got to really hold onto the things that have created some of the success. And what I mean by that is, it’s the Chris Klieman, ‘We’re trying to go 1-0,’ it is Craig Bohl’s ‘We’re on a mission. This is how we do the job.’ All the great things Matt Entz did.
“It’s really staying true to win the day, win the week, keeping the main thing, the main thing. And I don’t mean to give a bunch of coach speak here, the expectations are high outside of our building. The standards are high, but they’re higher inside these walls than they are from the outside. We believe in our processes year-round. We understand how to practice. If we can identify the spots where acquiring talent will need an uptick here or there, and we can do a good job with that, I really do like our chances to compete. To go in and fight, and most certainly win more than you lose.”
Does it give you some peace and some confidence, knowing that if you guys were playing at that high of an elite level in FCS, you won a national title two seasons ago? Do you have confidence that you have built a program that is capable of competing in the Mountain West every week?
“I really believe in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. There have been years where we’ve been seven deep, where you have to show up and play. In those types of years, I think we’ve been through something similar. But I am not naive enough, in my three years I spent in the Mountain West at Wyoming, there was never a time we weren’t in the games. But there was never a time they were just going to hand us a W.
“We’re stressing to our players right now in meetings that this is a week-to-week thing where you’ve got to get up, you’ve got to get ready to fight. I’m not going to single anybody out in the Missouri Valley, but that hasn’t always been the case. We show up to play a big game versus South Dakota State, North Dakota or Illinois State, something to that effect. Well, who do you have next week? This is going to be a bigger challenge. It’s going to strain our depth. It’s going to challenge our fan base to show up and be there, so we can play with 12 people.
“… This is going to be a challenge. That’s the only way I know how to look at it. But the fact that we’ve had success, and we’ve learned about the success and what has made us successful, and the things that we understand, should give us an opportunity to compete.”
Are you going to have to start building your roster differently in the years to come?
“Where we are going to be tested the most, if you look at some of the guys that are even playing in the NFL, not a lot of people recruited them. It takes two and a half to three years of development before those guys are really good players. We want to stay true as much as we can. We want to stay true to that developmental piece, especially with the O-line, the D-lines, tight ends. This should put us in a position to compete much better regionally for FBS-level running backs, receivers and cornerbacks. I have a great deal of respect for the skill level in the Mountain West Conference. I have a great deal of respect for the strength levels of the defensive fronts. A little bit bigger and stronger, but that’s been our ace in the hole, right? It’s been our development.”
What have you been told about how the football budget might change, or what it might mean in terms of more cash put aside for roster acquisition?
“Based on some requirements from the league, our budgets have to be competitive, and there are some stipulations in there. I trust that our budget will be very competitive in that conference.”
In hindsight, how thankful are you for that time in Wyoming as offensive coordinator? Because now you’re really going to know what you’re about to step into.
“I’m really thankful. I’m thankful for a lot of reasons. It was an opportunity for me to go out with my mentor and Craig Bohl. Obviously, now, one heck of a learning experience, learning and understanding how to handle travel to some degree. What kind of talent, week in and week out, are you facing? What is the DNA of some of those programs? Obviously, with coaching changes, people get better or they fall off, and those kind of things. I have an understanding of what kind of environments you’re going into.”
Did you ever have any hesitation about this? Or were you pretty fired up about the opportunity?
“Right now, it’s all gas and no brakes, and we’re really excited. Could there come a time that we look back, ‘Hey, man, those FCS years were great.’ Sure. For me, personally, being connected to the program the way I was, even going back to the time when I left — there’s always been this little bit of eagerness. The truth of the matter is, where college football is headed, where North Dakota State University wants to go, it’s perfect timing.
“It was well thought out. The people that we have here, all athletics matter to us. Was it the right move for that? Was it the right move for the school? Is there a positive impact on Fargo? What things can be moved forward faster now with this move up? All across the board, this is a positive. We’re super excited about it. We’re so grateful to the Missouri Valley and the time that we get to spend with them. And I just think it’s a natural progression.”
What is changing for you day-to-day with this move?
“I’m not doing very much football right now. Between spring break, going to think about how I’m going to manage my summer. You can’t make up time, right? You either win the day or you’re losing it. But as we get into early March, we’re going to re-center our feet and kind of transition back to where my focus is on day-to-day football evaluations, my day-to-day football interactions with the staff will most certainly increase. But right now the focus is on the organization.
“With the move up, personnel-wise, what positions need to be added? What kind of people can we put around? The one thing we’re going to do is we’re going to take the Bison into this fight. We’re not cutting 20 guys, five personnel people and two coaches because we need to revamp everything. We’re just not going to do that. We’ll learn and grow through this thing together, and I’m excited about that.”
A lot of people nationwide view North Dakota State as the gold standard in FCS, and I think that’s something special that not a lot of programs that make this jump can say. How much confidence does that give you that this is all going to head in the right direction?
“Because of the work of our former players, former coaches and former administrators, we are a national brand. The important thing is to continue to move that national brand forward, so that we’re not just labeled as the FCS. We’re a national brand because we play really good football. We respect the opinions of our peers more than anything, and no matter what business or what venture you’re in. My number one goal is to continue to be respected by those guys. That we do play football the proper way. We do play a physical brand of football, and we’re a tough out.”