This Saturday, the Fighting Hawks Football program heads south to Louisiana to take on the Colonels of Nicholls State. You will read plenty about on field happenings from other outlets and this one as well before, during, and after the game on Saturday.

The primary focus of this article is simply to implore the NCAA to, frankly, do better when it comes to awarding bids. In any other sport, at any other time, this situation of a visiting team playing for its season to continue would not be in any way acceptable.

I understand that Nicholls State is in the middle of renovating their facility and upgrading their facilities for visitors in the long run. That is great and should continue. I also get that during the season, some times accommodations need to be made and that no one will be happy with them fully.

What, to me, makes zero sense is how the Colonels, as a part of their facility profile they had to submit for this bid had this issue over looked by the Selection Committee. Those deciding who gets to host these first round games knew the locker room situation and thought this was fine. Assuming that the Colonels bid more than UND,  I understand why they were awarded the game, but again, any explanation for why seniors should have to play their potentially last game getting dressed in a portable tent while showering in what look like rent-a-showers, to me is not good enough.

Heck, I do not even think UND should be hosting as some fans do because of this facility issue. I just do not think the committee acted fairly towards its student-athletes that play this game. One of the goals of the NCAA, that I have heard constantly in everything it does is to make the student athlete experience better.

What part of making a team get dressed in a tent in a parking lot for a postseason game does that? Why is the money from the host institution seeming to be your only consideration? Assuming Nicholls State bid more than the Fighting Hawks for this game, I understand why it was awarded to them to some degree. Heck the tents may even be fantastic, but this creates the appearance of impropriety.

If you are a Bison fan reading this article, ask yourself this, when the Bison have to travel on the road in the FCS, or if they keep playing at the level they are, in the FBS one day, for the playoffs (assuming some level of expansion) would you be ok with this? I think we all know the answer.

Teams playing through renovations is quite fine and a part of sport at any level. What matters here is the fact that this is the postseason. On a humid day in Louisiana, one team will have a home field advantage not because of their fans being there, but because it appears that the NCAA decided that the money it gets from a team is worth more than a fair playing field.

This reeks of disrespect on the NCAA’s part. I do not think it was intentional but it comes off that way. Nicholls State should not be allowed to host this game, because before a single fan walks into the stadium, and before ESPN starts their broadcast, the deck, to some degree is stacked against UND. The last plus 80 degree day in Grand Forks happened on August 24, right as UND was wrapping up fall camp. I will surely bet it is not as humid here as it is in Thibodaux year round.

Nicholls State, congratulations for making the tournament, this article is not about your team or your bid. This is a simple request to the NCAA for future tournaments to simply do better. Having to dress in tents for what could be some of these seniors’ last ever football game is not in any way an advancement of the student-athlete experience.

As stated, UND does not need to host this game, I would have preferred Nicholls State being sent on the road to somewhere with better facilities for them to practice. The Fighting Hawks could have traveled as well.

With all of this being said, Saturday’s game will be electric and pit one of the best senior signal callers in the nation in Chase Fourcade against a pro style defense with novels worth of schemes it can run on a weekly basis. This article is simply a simple request to the NCAA for future FCS playoff matches, when selecting a host, value student athlete experience a little bit more than the guarantee you receive.

In short, NCAA, please, for the sake of everyone, do better.

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