It’s not every Monday the Mountain West adds a new member, but that happened today, so why not start this week’s Monday Mailbag on that topic. Thanks, as always, for the questions.

North Dakota State has a 0 percent chance of winning the Mountain West next season since they are not eligible to play in the MW title game or College Football Playoff until 2028 due to the NCAA’s two-year transition requirement. The only way North Dakota State can even play in a bowl is if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams for the available slots. It’s a dumb rule, but it is a rule. That being said, the Bison will file a waiver with the NCAA to waive that two-year probationary period. James Madison tried to get that waiver in 2023 but that was denied. So, I imagine North Dakota State will be denied as well. But the MW is adding a football program that has won 90 percent of its games over the last 15 years, is paying the league $12.5 million to join and not taking any media-rights money for six seasons. That seems like a massive win for the MW, which gets a high-level football program while making money off the deal. And, yes, the MW will have to re-do its conference schedule. That’s the one downside. The MW will no longer have a true round-robin football schedule as it now has 10 football schools playing eight league games.

Nevada was scheduled to host Air Force, Hawaii, New Mexico and San José State and play road games at Northern Illinois, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming. The Mountain West will have to rebuild those schedules, which it did before the 2024 season after adding Washington State and Oregon State via that scheduling alliance. We’ll see how it shakes out, but Nevada has an 88.9 percent chance of playing North Dakota State (8-in-9 odds).

North Dakota State is currently scheduled to play Incarnate Word on Aug. 29, East Tennessee on Sept. 5, Central Arkansas on Sept. 12 and Austin Peay on Sept. 19. So, that Sept. 19 date for North Dakota State is taken, but I imagine the Bison have a lot of changes upcoming for the 2026 schedule. North Dakota State posted an FAQ on its move to the MW but didn’t include much detail on non-league game changes. Sounds like the Bison want to get down to one FCS game for this upcoming season, although these games have contracts that likely have costly buyout clauses.

North Dakota State also has to fundraise to add 22 more football scholarships. Given the Mountain West’s previous membership additions, I would assume there is a minimum budget threshold in the Bison’s deal with the MW (I’ve already filed a public-records request for that contract). As noted in this story, North Dakota State was ranked higher in the Sagarin ratings than any MW or Pac-12 school last year and was third among Group of 6 programs in 2026. I don’t think it will take long for North Dakota State to acclimate to the MW, as the team is 6-2 in its last eight games against FBS schools with wins over Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota and Kansas. Since 2010, North Dakota State is 5-2 against Power 4 schools. In that same period, Nevada is 7-22 against Power 4 schools. The Bison should be fine in the new MW.

1) My understanding is North Dakota State is not getting any media-rights money in the next six seasons but can tap into the direct-to-consumer MW App where fans are asked which school they are signing up for when downloading the pay app. That money will go to those specific schools.

2) If the Bison is not getting media-rights money, this is a huge financial win for the MW, which can share more than $1.55 million per full member from the $12.5 million entry fee. And the MW gets a strong football program on top of that. It’s not like the MW is adding Sacramento State and hoping the school is good in football. We know North Dakota State can play and succeed at the FBS level. This feels like a big win for the MW and a chance for North Dakota State to invigorate its fan base with a new challenge.

Per UC Davis’ membership agreement with the Mountain West, the Aggies had the “first right of consideration/application if the MW elevates a football program from the FCS level.” Who knows if that actually happened in this case. While I’m sure UC Davis is bummed an FCS football program was elevated into the MW before it was, there also has to be a self-awareness North Dakota State is far more prepared to compete as a football school in the FBS than UC Davis in 2026.

UC Davis was given first right of consideration rather than first invitation. I’d UC Davis is just happy it got into the Mountain West in its other sports, especially with Sacramento State down the street wanting to get into the FBS and getting stiffed. If UC Davis can continue to build its football facilities, budget and success, it could get a MW football invitation at some point. But North Dakota State is a ready-made football product. The real loser here is Sacramento State. The buy-in fee to get into the FBS has now been set at $12.5 million for Sac State.

I don’t think the Mountain West is going to add another FCS school in the near future (next year or two), although you can’t completely rule it out if a school is willing to pay such a high entrance fee with no media-right money. When the MW initially lost five schools to the Pac-12 in September 2023, I had “next adds” being Hawaii at No. 1, North Dakota State at No. 5 and UTEP at No. 7. So, the MW has mostly followed that script while adding Northern Illinois (I was not a fan of that move; Toledo would have been much better). I had Montana and Montana State at 2a and 2b. I would have added those two before UTEP or NIU, but I get why the MW wanted some initial FBS schools for stability. I feel like adding North Dakota State was a special case for the MW.

If the Mountain West were to add more FCS schools, it would give me the feeling the conference could be preparing for current members (UNLV, Air Force) to bolt. Adding North Dakota State makes perfect sense. It is the best FCS program in the country with a strong fan base. Add more schools and you’re watering down the conference revenue to an unsavory degree. As mentioned above, if it’s a situation where you get a big entry fee and don’t have to share any media-rights money during the new six-year television deal, it could be considered. But I think this is a one-and-done situation.

Team Transfers would kill Team Mountain West.

Team Transfers would have Auburn’s Keyshawn Hall (21 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Gonzaga’s Graham Ike (19.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin (21.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg) in the frontcourt with a backcourt of Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd (20 ppg, 3.7 apg), UCLA’s Donovan Dent (13.7 ppg, 7.1 apg) and LSU’s Dedan Thomas Jr. (15.3 ppg, 6.5 apg) and a bench that includes USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara, Gonzaga’s Tyon Grant-Foster, Clemson’s Nick Davidson and Baylor’s Obi Agbim. This would be a blowout.

As mentioned during our broadcast, Nevada’s Peyton White was ill with the flu and not in the building for the Wolf Pack’s win over Fresno State on Saturday. He should be good for Saturday’s game at San Diego State.

I’m not privy to the details of what you’re explaining here. Sounds like you’re saying a section of season-ticket holders at Mackay Stadium is being relocated to clear space for the student section. If that is the case, I would not be in favor of upsetting any Nevada football season-ticket holders given how poor attendance has been at home games over the last several years. I know Nevada wants to fill up the east section of the stadium (which “K” is in) to make crowds look better on television. But that’s not worth upsetting long-term paying customers given those fans are not ample.

Since Lindsey Vonn earned the Olympic spot, I have no issue with her making the downhill run despite tearing her ACL in an event a week prior. The torn ACL didn’t cause her Olympic crash, which led to a broken leg. She took too aggressive a line and hooked the gate. That being said, if Vonn did bow out of the Olympics due to the torn ACL, her spot would likely have gone to Tahoe Palisades’ Keely Cashman, who had the 17th-fastest time in the second Olympic training run (Vonn was 11th). It would have been nice to see a local bumped into the field.

I don’t yell at the TV during the Olympics. Yelling at the TV is reserved for Dodgers (MLB), Bills (NFL), Lakers (NBA) and Kings (NHL) games.

On the boys side, I’ll take Bishop Manogue over Reno. Those are the two best teams by a decent margin. If you want an upset, I’d take Damonte Ranch over Reno in the semifinals.

On the girls side, I’ll take Spanish Springs over Bishop Manogue. If you want an upset, I’d take Reno over Bishop Manogue in the semifinals. Those three teams are pretty even.

Players to watch in boys are Kade Snyder (Manogue), Eric Platz (Reno) and Kin Vong (Damonte Ranch). Players to watch in girls are Aaliyah Vance (Spanish Springs), Brookesly Wilson (Reno) and Charlotte Olson (Manogue). Kin Vong’s parents own SF Kitchen, which is highly recommended by the NSN staff.

No. Football drives media-rights deals. The current Mountain West television deal of $3.5 million per school is 75 percent football and 25 percent basketball. As is, the Pac-12 added the MW’s top-four basketball programs over the last several years in San Diego State, Boise State, Utah State and Colorado State. Nevada and New Mexico are, in some order, fifth and sixth on that list of top MW basketball programs since 2019. Adding those schools plus Saint Mary’s would not have moved the needle for the new Pac-12 from a media-rights perspective. I have heard some shockingly low estimates for the Pac-12 media-rights deal, which, if true, would be wild.

B-minus — Nevada softball went 3-2 in the Tiger Classic with wins over NC State, Illinois and Lamar and two losses against LSU, which was the expected result. While NC State and Illinois are Power 4 schools, neither were particularly good last season, with the Wolfpack going 25-29 and Illinois 22-28. NC State was picked 12th (out of 15) in the preseason ACC poll. The Big Ten didn’t release a preseason poll, but Illinois lost twice to Lamar in the Tiger Classic. So, Nevada going 3-0 against those teams was expected. The big test was LSU, and Nevada actually outplayed the Tigers for much of those two matchups, outhitting LSU in both games. LSU took advantage of three first-inning walks to win game one and several walks in the fifth and sixth innings of game two to win that one. Nevada was 0-of-11 with runners in scoring position in game two against LSU, with pitcher Hailey McLean taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning. The positive is Nevada played No. 13 LSU pretty evenly. The negative is Nevada didn’t win either game when it had chances to take control of both. It was a good first weekend, although I’m sure the Wolf Pack feels like it let a golden opportunity slip away.

University president Brian Sandoval, athletic director Stephanie Rempe and softball coach Victoria Hayward all said the lights will be done in time for the Mountain West Tournament, which starts in 87 days. That being said, I’ve not seen any major construction going on at Hixson Park and was there two weeks ago. I imagine the school will end up footing a chunk of that facility upgrade like it did with the new playing surface that went in at Hixson before the 2023 season.

Nick Fazekas has been a nice addition to our broadcasts and the Layup Line show with John Ramey. In terms of his broadcast calls, I love that he is honest. If you watch some of these local broadcasts, there’s a tendency for major homerism. Nick clearly wants Nevada to play well and win. But he’s fine offering legit critique if something is not going well or somebody is not playing well. Same when analyzing the refs. For this being his first time as a broadcaster, I’d give him a high grade. Let’s say a “B.” I think Fazekas and Mike Stefansson were a really fun listen during Saturday’s game against Fresno State that we aired.

Nothing really stands out. Maybe the “SON-IC! BLAST!” chant.

LSU would have been in the national title game that season with its opponent being 11-1 Alabama (which already lost to LSU) or 12-0 Boise State. While I would like to think Boise State would have earned that spot, I doubt that would have been the case. Undefeated Boise State was No. 5 in the nation when it lost to TCU on Nov. 12. Boise State opened that season with a 35-21 win over Georgia, which went 7-1 in the SEC and reached the conference title game where it lost to LSU, 42-10. Boise State’s win over the Bulldogs should have been enough to lift an unbeaten Boise State over Alabama into the national title game. But Boise State was No. 7 in the final BCS standings. I don’t know that a win over TCU would have pushed the Broncos up five spots into the national championship. As is, Alabama won the title game to avenge its regular-season loss to LSU.

To quote the new Dos Equis commercial, “Mo Seider’s phone is addicted to him.”

Simple fix — make President’s Day the day after the Super Bowl. No idea why this hasn’t happened, although next year’s Super Bowl will be the Sunday before President’s Day, which will be nice.

As they say, “Look good, play good.” Although that is grammatically incorrect.

But college basketball officials are on my top-five list of things I dislike the most in sports. Honestly, they might be No. 1. Just way too many fouls called every game. Also on that list are Padres fans, NFL refs, Bills general manager Brandon Beane and MLB’s cheap owners.

Monte Carlo Cafe in Los Angeles.

Agreed. That was the most visually beautiful Super Bowl halftime show ever, and the message was one of unification and positivity.

Fans are insane if they’re buying beers at sporting events given the cost. That’s why GoPong Tampon Flasks were created.

See y’all next week!

Sports columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. He writes a weekly Monday Mailbag despite it giving him a headache and it taking several hours to write. But people seem to like it, so he does it anyway. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.