Courrier: Nonconference football games are fun, but don't get used to them

Excited to see some nonconference college football on Saturday?

Western Oregon makes its Blakeslee debut, taking on No. 4-ranked Minnesota State. It’s the first nonconference regular-season game since 2011, and it probably won’t be the last.

But the nonconference week of the season might be short-lived.

“We realize that fans like (nonconference) games, and the pollsters like it because it gives you measurement outside of the league for regional rankings,” Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman said. “But there are some positives with our schedule model and cost containment, and it’s possible that we will go back to silo scheduling.”

Jamestown has applied to join the Northern Sun, and though it’s not likely that Jamestown can get on the conference schedule in 2024, the Great Plains Athletic Conference announced Wednesday that it was booting Jamestown after this year.

If, or when, Jamestown joins the Northern Sun, Buisman said it’s possible the league will return to silo scheduling, which means no more nonconference games as an effort to control travel and costs.

Buisman said Minnesota State is paying $25,000 to help Western Oregon cover the costs of coming to Mankato this weekend. There hasn’t been any talk yet about a trip to Western Oregon next year, even though Minnesota State currently has Week 7 open on next year’s schedule.

“These (nonconference) games are healthy for our league, and it’s a good change of pace for our fans,” Minnesota State coach Todd Hoffner said. “This is definitely a quality team with a lot of talented players.”

Buisman said there are two proposals that will be discussed at the NCAA meeting in January that will shape next season’s football schedule.

Buisman said the proposal he favors is adding a “Zero Week” option at the beginning of the season. Though there would be some costs of bringing the athletes to campus a week earlier, every Division II team is currently free that week so finding a playing partner then would be much easier.

Buisman said that Minnesota State would move quickly if given the Week Zero option, having already spoken to potential partners. Sources said that Minnesota State had talked with Northwest Missouri State about a Week Zero game this season but was denied by the NCAA.

Another proposal would add a week to the end of the season and push the playoffs back, with the national championship game being played in January. It might be tough to find a program that wants to play a game that week, given the likely postseason implications.

“It’s important that we play 11 games,” Buisman said. “(Division II) is the only division that doesn’t have an additional week of flexibility for scheduling.”

The Mavericks play six home games this season, so Buisman said he’s open to playing six games on the road next season, if necessary. It’s likely just a one-year agreement, given what seems like the inevitable addition of Jamestown to the Northern Sun and a return to silo scheduling.

“Anything is possible right now,” Buisman said. “There are a lot of footballs in the air right now, and we’ll see where they land.”

Chad Courrier is the Free Press sports editor. He’s at 507-344-6353, ccourrier@mankatofreepress.com or on Twitter @ChadCourrier.