North Dakota

Who should the Mountain West add? Ranking North Dakota State, UTEP and more candidates

Published

1 year ago

September 13, 2024

Who should the Mountain West add? Ranking North Dakota State, UTEP and more candidates

With its four most prominent football programs leaving for a reconstituted Pac-12 Conference, the Mountain West has reached an existential crisis. In fact, it’s unknown whether its holdovers will stay or bolt.

Should the Mountain West want to remain intact, it will need to target replacements for Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State. But which additions make the most sense? Do any current FBS programs fit geographically? Can the Mountain West persuade prominent FCS programs to also take a leap upward?

Remaining Mountain West members

As speculation swirls about other departures, here’s a look at the top candidates for the Mountain West should it stay together as a conference.

North Dakota State has won nine FCS championships since 2011 and boasts a 129-17 record over the past 10 seasons. The Bison regularly traveled to FBS power conference teams over the past decade-plus and won games, including against defending Big 12 champion Kansas State and Big Ten runner-up Iowa. North Dakota State’s yearly attendance averages have been between 15,000 and 20,000 per game, and Fargo has hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” twice. Inviting the Bison instantly would provide the Mountain West with credibility, stability and a College Football Playoff contender.

A longtime rival of the Bison, the Jackrabbits have won two consecutive FCS championships and are 103-31 over the past 10 seasons. Among FCS programs, South Dakota State ranked sixth last year in average regular-season attendance at 18,208, numbers of which were compiled by Hero Sports. There’s a passionate following for the Jackrabbits, and SDSU would provide other Mountain West schools with a travel partner for NDSU outside of football. Like the Bison, the Jackrabbits have hosted “College GameDay” and instantly would compete for conference titles.

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There’s no use separating these two because it would be a both or neither situation. These two are among the most successful in FCS, with one national title game appearance each in the past three years (Montana last season, Montana State in 2021). The Grizzlies and Bobcats ranked second and third, respectively, in FCS attendance in 2023, with Montana averaging 26,269 and Montana State at 21,610. Both have won more than 70 games over the past decade, and “College GameDay” appeared at their picturesque Brawl of the Wild rivalry game in Bozeman in 2022. Few programs fit better geographically in the Mountain West than these two.

UTEP is best known for its 1966 NCAA men’s basketball championship in which it fielded an all-Black lineup against all-White Kentucky, but its lack of football prowess kept it away from its traditional foes. Of the 10 members of the Western Athletic Conference before it expanded in 1996 (and then imploded two years later), UTEP was the only one to never go on to compete in the Mountain West. With its proximity to New Mexico and its ties to the Mountain West holdovers, UTEP would provide some instant name recognition.

New Mexico State has played its in-state rival New Mexico every year since 1907, except for during COVID-19 and two World Wars. It has almost the same rivalry history with UTEP, which is located only 45 miles from Las Cruces, N.M. Combined, New Mexico State has played 212 games against those programs, but it hasn’t competed in the same conference with New Mexico since 1951. It rejoined UTEP in Conference USA last year after a 61-year nonconference rivalry. If New Mexico would allow it, bringing in the Aggies would make sense geographically.

Along with Montana, Idaho once was among 10 members of the Pacific Coast Conference, which was disbanded in 1959 and later reborn as the Pac-8. Idaho then became a vagabond and bounced from conference affiliation to independent status in the FBS until opting to move down to the FCS in 2017. It never could secure a Mountain West invitation once the WAC capsized in 2012. Should the Mountain West invite both Montana schools, Idaho would be a nice addition, too. Oh, and the Vandals play in one of college football’s great structures in the Kibbie Dome.

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Perhaps a surprise for this list, Sacramento State boasts an enrollment exceeding 22,000 undergraduate students. The Hornets averaged 13,348 in football attendance last year, beat Stanford by a touchdown and generated $11.46 million in fiscal 2022-23. While there’s not much football history, Sacramento State has a 58-48 record over the past 10 seasons and qualified for the FCS playoffs in each of the past three seasons. Two years ago, the Hornets were 12-0 before losing 66-63 in a playoff shootout to Incarnate Word. Located only 120 miles from San Jose State, Sacramento State would make for a nice travel partner outside of football.

3 others to consider

North Dakota and South Dakota boast quality football programs, but from attendance to on-field success, they’re not quite at the level of their in-state rivals. Northern Arizona is located in Flagstaff and has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. It’s a good area for the Mountain West to claim, but it ranked 50th in FCS attendance in 2023.

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(Top photos: Andrew Wevers and Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)

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North Dakota

North Dakota HS Boys | Girls Basketball Scoreboard from Jan 10, 2026

Published

9 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

High School Basketball logo. Courtesy Midwest Communications.

North Dakota High School Boys | Girls Basketball Scoreboard from Jan 10, 2026

BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=

Alexander-Trinity Christian 81, Divide County 58

Beulah 55, Des Lacs-Burlington 26

Harvey-Wells County 61, Nedrose 51

Killdeer 54, Dunseith 52

Linton 75, Sargent County 32

Milbank, S.D. 64, Hillsboro-Central Valley 61

New Salem-Almont 71, Mandaree 32

Our Redeemer’s 89, Kenmare 32

Parshall 71, Trenton 70

Richey-Lambert, Mont. 57, Beach 55

Rothsay, Minn. 71, Richland 38

Shiloh 70, Oak Grove 59

Watford City 77, South Prairie/Max 64

Westby-Grenora 49, Savage, Mont. 40

White Shield 72, Strasburg 55

Dickinson Trinity Shootout=

Central McLean 70, Bowman County 54

Dickinson Trinity 63, Stanley 22

Wilton-Wing 70, South Heart 51

Ramsey County Tournament=

Championship=

North Star 65, Lakota/Adams-Edmore/Dakota Prairie 57

7th Place=

Warwick 72, Benson County 61

5th Place=

Carrington 53, Griggs-Midkota 45

3rd Place=

Devils Lake 73, Larimore 63

Stutsman County Shootout=

Drake-Anamoose 54, South Border 49

Glen Ullin 47, EKM 44

MPB 63, Washburn 59

Midway-Minto 61, Ellendale 53

Napoleon/G-S 53, Kindred 44

Oakes 69, Kidder County 39

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL=

Ashby, Minn. 65, Tri-State 49

Benson County 47, Hatton-Northwood 38

Dunseith 46, Killdeer 39

Ellendale 54, South Border 36

Flasher 42, New England 16

Garrison 54, Grant County/Mott-Regent 51

Kenmare 55, Our Redeemer’s 43

Kindred 70, Bottineau 21

Lambert, Mont. 52, Beach 50

Maple River 53, LaMoure 52

Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 57, TGU 54

New Salem-Almont 67, Mandaree 44

North Prairie 67, Westhope 49

Park River 42, Griggs-Midkota 37

Richey-Lambert, Mont. 52, Beach 50

Rothsay, Minn. 65, Richland 32

Sargent County 55, Linton 48

Savage, Mont. 40, Westby-Grenora 33

Shiloh 56, Oak Grove 47

Sisseton, S.D. 66, Oakes 17

Strasburg 39, White Shield 30

Surrey 67, Larimore 38

Trenton 58, Parshall 40

Dickinson Trinity Shootout=

Central McLean 55, Bowman County 41

South Heart 45, Stanley 41

Sanford Pentagon Classic=

West Fargo Horace 70, Tea, S.D. 41

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North Dakota

Bankruptcies for North Dakota and western Minnesota published Jan. 10, 2026

Published

21 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court

North Dakota

Kaitlyn Grace Lucier, Fargo, Chapter 7

Samuel Todd Hicks, formerly known as Thomas Samuel Hicks, Fargo, Chapter 7

Teresa and Dominik Renwick, Fargo, Chapter 13

Susan Renee Fuller, formerly known as Susan R. Schaffer, doing business as Susie’s Sparkling Cleaning Service, Fargo, Chapter 7

Shannon Lynn Taylor, Fargo, Chapter 7

Jesse Patrick and Jaime Elizabeth Brown, Williston, Chapter 7

Kerri Lee Weishaar, Minot, Chapter 7

Terry Marie Moritz, Valley City, Chapter 7

Joshua Allen Sewill, Hatton, Chapter 7

Bryan Eugene Flecker, Minot, Chapter 7

Anna Marie Rahm, formerly known as Anna Marie Tanner, and Joshua Edward Rahm, Bismarck, Chapter 13

Sherri Rae Fisher, Baldwin, Chapter 13

Heather Lynn McElroy, formerly known as Heather Anderson, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Kaitlyn Autrey, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Michelle Lynn Miller, Fargo, Chapter 13

Kimberly Georgeann Callahan, Fargo, Chapter 13

Erin Elaine and Jose Luiz Murphy, Bismarck, Chapter 7

Shelly and Kieth Quimby, St. Thomas, Chapter 7

Minnesota

Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.

David Howard Gilpin, Osakis, Chapter 7

Timothy Virgil Hoag, Moorhead, Chapter 7

Jason Darryl Dykhoff, Ottertail, Chapter 7

Zachary Nicholas Hodgson and Jolynn Beth Warnes, formerly known as Jolynn Beth Hodgson, Kensington, Chapter 7

Riley Matthew Hinman, Alexandria, Chapter 7

Layne Christopher Condiff, Park Rapids, Chapter 13

Thomas Beecher Hoyer, Menahga, Chapter 13

Christine Karen Jakubek, also known as Cristine Anderson, Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.

Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.

Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.

Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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North Dakota

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Friday, North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Governor Kelly Armstrong and Health and Human Services Commissioner Pat Traynor explained how the state plans to use millions of dollars from the Big Beautiful Bill’s Rural Health Transformation Fund to transform healthcare across the state.

They spoke extensively about the special session to allocate the funds, and confirmed that it is still tentatively set for Jan. 21.

The Big Beautiful Bill allocated $25 billion for rural healthcare nationwide. North Dakota received $500 million for five years and $200 million for the first year. There is still another $25 billion left to be spent, and North Dakota is hoping to receive an extra $500 million.

“I truly believe that with the plan we’re putting in place and the things we built that line up with that, we’ll get a billion dollars over five years,” said Hoeven.

Federal rules require the state to lock in contracts for the money by October first— a deadline officials say is driving the need for a special session.

In the first year, North Dakota will focus on retention grants to keep existing staff, technical assistance and consultants for rural hospitals, as well as telehealth equipment and home patient monitoring.

A KFYR+ exclusive

Governor Armstrong says the special session will include policy bills tied to how much federal rural health funding the state can earn.

“We’re going to have a physical fitness test for physical education courses, nutrition education, continuing education requirement for physicians, physician assistant licensure compact—which North Dakota has been doing, dealing with that since the heart of the oil boom and moving forward—and then an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists,” said Armstrong.

Hundreds of millions of dollars could reshape healthcare in rural North Dakota, and state leaders say the next few weeks are key to receiving and spending that money wisely.

The governor says he only wants to focus on bills related to the Rural Health Transformation Program during the special session and doesn’t intend to deal with other state issues during that time.

Politicians outline plans for ND Rural Health Transformation Program

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