"NDSU athletics is exactly where it ought to be," NDSU president Dean Bresciani said this week.

In a lengthy interview in his office that focused mostly on the university's budget and an expected 10 percent reduction in funding from the state, I also asked Bresciani whether NDSU had plans to move up soon to the Football Bowl Subdivision, a higher level than the current Football Championship Subdivision in which the Bison compete.

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And compete successfully. NDSU has won the past five FCS national championships. That's had some fans and media pushing for the Bison to move up to higher competition.

Bresciani pooh-poohed the idea.

"We're what college athletics ought to be like, versus what oftentimes it becomes when you go to the next level and it becomes more of a business orientation of resources," he said. "The money involved makes it irresistible to treat it like that."

NDSU's total athletic budget this year is about $20 million, a mere pittance in the Division I world. The University of Iowa, a Big Ten school the Bison will play in football in September, has a budget of nearly $85 million. That puts the Hawkeyes eighth in their league. Ohio State has the Big Ten's biggest budget, almost $140 million.

Bresciani said NDSU's ability to schedule teams from football's major conferences-Iowa this year, Oregon of the Pac-12 in 2020 and the just-announced contest against Colorado of the Pac-12 in 2024-gives the Bison a taste of the big-time without the cost.

"In football we are having the opportunity to play BCS teams on a regular basis," Bresciani said, referencing the defunct Bowl Championship Series that included the five most powerful conferences in college football, "even though we're not in the BCS. So we're not having to commit the resources that BCS programs would require. At the same time we get to play at the BCS level. It's hard to step away from that perfect sweet spot."

It's also sweet for the pocketbook. NDSU will get $500,000 for playing Iowa, $650,000 for playing Oregon and $700,000 for playing Colorado.

So NDSU hasn't talked about trying to join an FBS conferences like the Mountain West, which includes schools like Wyoming, Colorado State and Boise State?

"There are always conversations and it's always interesting to hear what people think we should do. But again, we are very happy with where we're at. Our athletic program and our coaches are very happy with where we're at," Bresciani said. "Any change in that would require some very careful analysis and frankly some things to change in college sports."

Like most who follow college athletics closely, Bresciani believes there is going to be a shake-up in Division I sports. There has been talk that the so-called Power Five conferences-the Big Ten, BIg 12, Pac-12, Atlantic Coast and Southeastern-want to break off and form their own division, free from smaller Division I schools. The NCAA has already granted the big boys autonomy on certain issues, mostly related to money.

"I would predict within the next five years we're going to see some things happen in the BCS and the big five leagues that will ripple throughout Division I college athletics. I don't know what that is, so it's hard to predict what NDSU would do," Bresciani said. "(Former athletic director) Gene Taylor, (current AD) Matt Larsen and I are on the same page-we want to be at the second-highest tier of Division I, whatever that is. We're there now, and whatever happens in the future we would want to accommodate staying at that second tier. That's our sweet spot."

Bresciani's stance won't mollify those who believe NDSU has outgrown the FCS. Other schools that saw varying levels of success in the former Division I-AA have already moved up. Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State and Old Dominion have abandoned FCS. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern were elite programs and Coastal Carolina was a consistent playoff team. That has some chomping at the bit to move up.

It doesn't sound like it's going to happen.