Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Twenty and twenty four. Glad that you're with us. Second
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Matt Larson, North Dakota State Athletic Director, here with us
in studio on a Wednesday. Matt, appreciate you joining us.
(00:44):
I had to brave the elements to get over here
to the studio. Winter is here and off we go
as we get down the home stretch of this fall semester.
Thanks for the time.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, no, it's great to be here, and it's been
an awesome fall. I mean, I guess I you know,
in some ways it's grateful that it's it was November nineteenth,
that it finally that it finally snowed, But still you're
not it is not ready for it, but no good
to be here and a lot of exciting things going on.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah. I tried to ward off the demons a little
bit as far as my first winter and Fargo. We
got pretty lucky. But I think it's time to pay up.
I might be paying interest here, no doubt, we'll see.
But obviously a lot to get to. We appreciate you
joined us here. So much going on in your chair
with the playoff committee here. You will be in Indianapolis
(01:31):
here this coming weekend in the bunker, you and the
rest of the committee watching all of these games, putting
together the twenty fourteen bracket. We'll get into that. We've
got crossover beginning here for Bison athletics. Basketball is underway,
Volleyball a nice job last night against und Wrestling is underway.
Before you know it. We'll get to the diamond sports
(01:52):
as well, so tons to get to there. We'll kind
of do the roundtable. Mike Reagan and the soccer team
a fantastic showing there. Unfortunately, just a heartbreaker there on
the in the shootout with the Summit League, and then
obviously a lot of questions and and uh chatter about
FBS and the Mountain West, so we'll start there. That's
(02:13):
that's the one that, uh, that everybody wants to hear
with the NDSU fan base. But obviously Brett McMurphy put
out the report a couple of weeks ago that Mountain
West would be considering North Dakota State as a potential
member to the league from a football standpoint. What what's
your update here, Matt is as we stand here on
November the twentieth.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, not to sound redundant, I mean the thing I
would say is, I mean, I think we've made it.
We've made it pretty clear and on this on this
station a couple of times. You know, we want to
play at the highest level of football we possibly can,
and you know, but it's got to be the right
fit and and uh, you know, we are going to
get opportunities, and I believe we should. I mean, you
look at what our our program has accomplished over the
(02:52):
course of the last decade, plus the investments we've made,
the national brand that we've created. You know, I think
conferences should should look long and hearted end issue. But
that doesn't mean it's gonna it's going to materialize in
a move or not, or there's still a lot of
moving parts, and I know there's a lot of people
in the fan base and the community that would love
this to play out over Twitter, and that's just not
(03:12):
the way the world works. If you if you got
into conferences because you tweeted a lot at it, then yeah,
I guess we'd probably try to do that, but it's
just not the way that world works. So sorry to
disappoint all the people that are hoping us to just
start blazing on Twitter that we should be invited here, there,
or anywhere. But but just know that it's it's something
(03:33):
that we look at really strongly, we look at really seriously,
and like I said, we want to play at the
highest possible level that we can.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
No doubt about it. We'll keep our eyes peeled here
and see what happens next. But appreciate the update on that, Matt.
You look at kind of athletics as a whole right now.
Football's got you know, you can get into all the
discussion about new conferences or moves, but there's a lot
in front of this team right now. Big game coming
up here in Vermilion. You'll be watching from Indianapolis with
(04:01):
the FCS Playoff Committee, and this one's for a Valley
championship here to try and win the title. Outright, What
can you say about this team and Tim Poulisik and
what they've accomplished here and just what you're seeing going
into the last one of the regular seasons.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, one thing, and I would always say this is
just in general about Indie issue that I think that
we do. When we do it really well, we're able
to compartmentalize the season. I Mean there's programs around the
country that are talking about a national championship in fall camp,
and that's just not the way we operate. I mean,
we really our number one goal is to win the
Missouri Valley Football Conference and you know we put ourselves
in position to accomplish that task. Got to share it
(04:38):
last week and we've all heard coach Policic say, we
don't want to share. You know, we're greedy on this one.
But what I've really liked about watching the team this year,
and you know, from the ad perspective, a fan perspective,
and also from a committee perspective, is the way we've
improved as the season has gone on. And truly think
we're playing our best football right now in all phases.
(04:59):
Of the game. I mean you look at last week
for example, I mean just every single phase of the
game was clicking and operating at a really high level.
And I think that's you know, lots of that to
senior leadership. And you know, we honored was it twenty
five seniors last week who have been great leaders and
have been a big part of that program. But also
just an incredible job by our coaching and coaching staff
(05:20):
to come in and you know, take over a team.
There's some new faces, there's some old faces from a
coaching staff, but be able to gel and put us
in opportunities to be successful against a really, really tough schedule.
You know, again, I'm all strength to schedule. I have
all the numbers in my head because of the committee work.
But you do you look at the quote unquote body
of work that NDSU has put together against a really
(05:42):
tough schedule is really impressive. So but missions not accomplished
yet by any stretch. And have a big one against
a really really good team in South Dakota.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I think it's going to be a fantastic matchup one
versus four down in Vermilion. Talking with NDSUA D Matt Larson,
live here in studio for your role in the committee.
We've talked to this before. This weekend is nuts. You've
got to watch all these games. There are teams that
are on the bubble, there's automatic qualifiers still up for
grabs in conference cases, and then you've got to figure
(06:10):
out how to see the field, et cetera. Where do
you guys stand kind of here on Wednesday before you
get to Indy, how much of kind of your framework
is put together? Okay, we know what we have now,
and then now you've got to make decisions based off
of results Saturday.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
I mean really, and it's really been a work of
the last probably five or six weeks, but it really
comes down to crunch time. This week we have our
Right after I leave here, I have our final top
twenty five evaluation call. So every week the committee will
put together our own top twenty five. And really what
that does is it drives debate and conversation as we
(06:46):
look at all the different metrics, as we look at
teams across conferences, and as you get more information, it
kind of starts to crystallize a little bit. But really
what this week does is it really starts to narrow
down really the teams that we're going to consider once
we get into in the Anapolis. You know, so whether
it's our top twenty five and there's probably a handful
above them below that. Don't forget, there's also some AQ
(07:09):
leagues that may not be ranked in that top twenty
five that are going to get a slot. There's ten
aqs and so really what we do this week is
really start to put together kind of with that pool
of teams that we're really going to be digging hard in.
And then what's great about the final weekend is that
there's probably half a dozen to a dozen games that
really are going to impact who gets in, where they're seeded,
(07:31):
and just the whole bracketing process, which is a lot
of fun. You know, there's been years where you've had
a ton of bubble teams that have all lost and
that's given a team an opportunity to get in, and
you've had it the other way. So that's what's really
fun about the last day is there can be some
really interesting outcomes that can throw a huge wrench into
the bracketing process. But that's what's fun about it, and
(07:52):
that's what I enjoy about it.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
So I had a question. We got the top ten
last month on October thirtieth, house similar was a process
getting those ten teams compared to be what you're going
to be doing this week and on Sunday when when
the final reveal comes out.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
You know, I would say it's not identical, but we tried.
We went through an actual mock selection process. We have
we have a voting software at the NCAA offices that
we utilize, and so we use that for that process.
And there was some debate the differences we're doing that
over probably a two to three hour conference call versus
you know, basically a day and a half of the
(08:28):
two days of really scrubbing teams and putting them head
to head and going through all the metrics. But was
really pleased with at least that initial process, and I
thought there was really good conversation and debate and comparing teams,
and you know, it's just really interesting at that part.
There's just so many questions still because there was probably
at that point four to five games left to play
in the season, and so you're really trying to take
(08:49):
that snapshot in time with just limited, limited information. But
was pleased with where we came out and you know,
we've seen over the course of less four or five
weeks that's changed our mind a little bit just because
you've had wins, you've had losses, and so that's that's
what'll be neat. But yeah, this is it'll be just
a much more similar process, but just a little more intense.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Very nice, good question there, Ian. I want to follow
up to like the criteria that you guys have too.
Can you take us through that once again, Matt, because
there are a lot of different metrics that get involved
in how you evaluate each program.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Well, there's you know, there's there's your overall record. There's
Division one wins because in our subdivision we have some
folks that play non Division one, so that's almost kind
of a lost data point in some cases. So number
of Division one wins. Strength to schedule, head to head
and head to head is always an interesting one because
on a given year, over the over the over the
(09:43):
entirety of a season, one team may beat the other,
but the team that lost may have the better resume
at the end of the year, you know, when you
look at all of the other things that go into
and that's really hard sometimes and there's some committee members
that would say, hey, head to head is really important
to me, and others would say, hey, I'm gonna look
at all twelve games or eleven games or whatever it
is and come up with with who I think the
(10:03):
best team is. And that's what's neat because if it
was just based off of numbers, you know, you'd you'd
print it out and there's your bracket. But when you
get uh, you know, ten ads from ten AQ conferences
in there, who all value some things a little bit differently. Uh,
that makes it interesting. And then and then the new
piece this year is we added we added four metrics,
(10:23):
uh to kind of our to our consideration and what
are the tools that we look at and so you have,
uh there's two from ESPN. There's a Football Performance Index,
there's a Strength of Record, UH, there's MASSY uh, and
then there's KPI and so to a predictive tour results
based and and so it's been it. We actually spent
some time with some of those metrics folks yesterday taking
us through and really digging into what they mean, how
(10:48):
it differs from one team to the next. And but
at the end of the day, that's one piece, right,
We're not gonna go just just like others. Just don't
go just by the net or just by our pi.
It's a piece that we're gonna look at, but we're
gonna we're gonna look at really a lot of different
things to try to decide who the who the fourteen
best at large teams are.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I think it's a really fascinating process, Matt. And it
kind of leads me to this. I mean, when you
started your career as a college athletics and administry did
you ever like envision being on a selection committee like this?
And when you first started, did you kind of hear
from peers and colleagues like, here, here's how it goes,
and this is sort of the approach that comes.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Along with it.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
What have you learned about it?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Well, I would say one, you know, it's I think
it's one thing that you always hope you get an
opportunity to do. And I'll say this after being on
I was on the softball committee for four years, got
to chair that in my final year, and then I've
been on the FCS committee and getting to chair it
my last year. Here is you have a much greater
appreciation for when the brackets come out. And I'll be
(11:45):
guilty I'll be the person to say, before I was
on the committee, I'm like, oh, what the hell are
they doing? What are they looking at?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
They?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Did they even discuss anything? How is that team won?
And this team is six and But having been in
the rooms now and seeing it and again, it doesn't
for folks to know, it doesn't just come down to
what we do in India that day. We've been literally
working for the last twelve weeks and conversations regional advisory
committees and going over these teams, watching a ton of games,
(12:12):
which I think is that's one of the most important
things to me, is being able to watch teams and
see how they compete. And so so that's the interesting
part is it doesn't just come down to this weekend.
It's we've put a lot of time and energy into
this process. So I do I have a much greater
appreciation for for what happens. And I'm and I'm My
(12:35):
whole thing is if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna
give it my absolute best effort. So you should see
that the committee makes fun of me. I have a
Bible and I have all my just all my notes
and metrics, and I watched the game and you know,
to be able to go back and reference some of
those things, because I do. I mean, I I've been
at places where you know, you get left out of
a of a of a of a championship, and you know,
(12:57):
here we've been fortunate to be in. So I take
a lot of I put a lot of pressure on
myself to make sure that that we're getting it as
best as we possibly can. And because there are going
to be some schools that we're going to say, hey,
you know what, your season's over, and that's hard. But
I want to make sure we're doing our best and
due diligence to make sure we're putting those and we're
giving them their due. But at the end of the day,
(13:18):
it STI comes down to twenty fourteen. So I'm a
little over the top with some of those things. But
again I think, hey, more is better, and but it's
been an unbelievable process and I've enjoyed every second of it.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
I need to see this Bible at some point. Yeah,
maybe one of the next visits.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Pretty intense.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, I love it. The Matt Larson Selection Bible. I
love it. Talking with Biased Athletic Director Matt Larson, FCS
Playoff Committee chair here on the Insiders. We're going to
take a time out here, Matt. We'll come back do
some more. Get to a couple of fan questions as well.
For seven six or excuse me seven to one four
seven six, sixteen to sixty forgot the area code. Being
(13:54):
away from North Dakota for a couple of days. We'll
break and we'll be back with more with Matt after this.
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Truck Sales dot Net. Back here inside the First Western
Bank Broadcast Center, Sam Peterman, ndsu Athletic Director, Matt larson
Ian Longton, our producer and the Crease. Questions for Matt,
we can get to him here seven to one four
seven six sixteen sixty. Dan checks in here, Matt. He says,
(18:11):
Jen Lopez doing a great job Buyson volleyball. He said
he was at the Bison volleyball game last night at
the BBF for the first time in thirty years.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Said it was great entertainment.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Loved it.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Buyson beat un D in four sets. So a little
shout out there from Dan and a nice job by
the volleyball team last night.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, absolutely, And you know you want to that was
our final regular season match and you want to go
into conference championship play with some momentum. And so won
the last two at home, and so are playing well.
And you know, I think really like our matchup in
the first round here against Denver. You know, we swept
him here, they swept us there, so I mean, you know,
very similar team. So I like our our chances there.
(18:50):
And yeah, I mean the BBF is always an awesome atmosphere.
You know, our fan our fan base really comes out
for volleyball and support the program really well. And last
night was a lot of fun. And you know, anytime
you get a win over our friends to the north,
that's always a positive too.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
You gotta love it. We can do a little whip
around here on all the sports here for NDSU, I
do want to spend a moment on the soccer team,
because that was an unbelievable ride. Mike Reagan and company.
They win the Summer League regular season championship, they get
home field, we host here at Dakota Field. Unfortunately, it
was an absolute heartbreaker against Oral Roberts following in penalty
(19:25):
kicks there in the semi finals. Coach Richmond and I
were actually watching from his office getting ready for basketball
against Illinois State that night, and it was just you
hate to lose a season like that, but what an
unbelievable run. There's still so much to be proud of.
What can you say about NDSU soccer?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Well, well, and that was just a crazy day. We
had our first triple header that I remember, you know,
we had we had soccer, then volleyballan than men's basketball
that night. But but you're right, I mean, I'm just
really proud of coaching his staff and our players. I mean,
just the turnaround, you know, from last year not making
the conference turn and pick seventh preseason coming in here
(20:02):
and just I think they put that all aside and
have their goals of competing for a conference championship and
dig just that and you know, with a lot of
new players and new faces and a good blend of
some of our veteran our veterans, I mean, I think
just really really battled all year and even that last game,
I mean, just so proud of our effort. And I
always say, this is and this is my daughter's played
(20:23):
soccer a whole life. Is Soccer is probably the one
sport sometimes where not always the best team wins, because
it really can come down to one goal or one
PK or or whatever it is, or one foul. You know,
but that's the unfortunate part of that game, but absolutely
doesn't take away from just an incredible effort all season long.
(20:43):
Six wins in the regular season, and just and the
good part is too you look at the makeup of
that team. We're very very young. You know, we lose
a couple of seniors who've been a big part of
our program, no doubt, and we'll we'll miss them, but
really like the nucleus that's coming back, and then with
a new recruiting class coming in, so the future I
think is really really bright for that program. So hats
(21:04):
off to to Mike and his staff and and the ladies.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Yeah. And Morgan Rushman, an absolute blast to watch freshman
was off asive player of the Year something league. First
time that's ever happened by a rookie getting it done.
If she was phenomenal all year long for the Bison.
Do you want to ask you about basketball too or underway? Yeah,
sort of the men's Did you stay up to see
the end of the Santa Claaric?
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I did, I did, right, I did. And it was
you know, you know, we seed all the time in
college that it's just a tale of two halves. Yeah,
you know, things that just that just wouldn't go for
us in the first half. And and and what I
like to when you watch a game like that, just
to continue to battle and scratch and claw and you know,
and and just you know, not try to get it
all back in one possession. And and I think they
(21:47):
were really methodical that way. And and then to and
then to get into overtime and with a with a
big time you know play at the end, two big
free throws and and uh so those are things that
I think as a coach you look at and say,
okay that that game is going to help us down
the road somewhere. To have to win a game in
that fashion, to have to come back, to have to
win in overtime, and it just says a lot about
(22:09):
I think, where that team is early on, but certainly
something to build off of.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, the shirtless student section, yes, Santa Clara too, Brennan Watkins,
able to knock down the free throws, just fight all
of distractions. That was a pretty fun one Santa Clara.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Really.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
I mean, the as far as we talked about rankings
and stuff for FCS playoffs, but for a basketball standpoint,
by all the rankings, efficiency metrics and such, they were
the top opponent. Yeah, non conference wise for the Bison
on the schedule.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Well, especially too, just going on the road. I mean,
anytime you go on the road in basketball in particular,
it's hard, it's hard to win. And that's what I mean.
To be able to sustain kind of the first half,
didn't go you know, down at halftime, but just came
back and just kept chipping away and chipping away and
you know, just keeping fighting, fight through the adversity and
ultimately came out with the win. So really proud of
(22:57):
those guys.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Women's team is in root to Alaska. As we speak,
Andy on the road with them. Jory Collins and his
bunch gonna go out and play a couple of games
out of the University of Aska Anchorage, and that's gonna
be quite the experience for them. They're often running. They
beat Eastern Illinois, had a tough one against Drake, and
the opener beat Jamestown last Friday. What can you say
(23:20):
about the women's team and this type of trip they're
going to be taken here?
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Well, the one thing I'd say first is what's neat
about college athletics sometimes is you get to travel to
places that you probably never would geem that you're going
to travel. And I think of really small towns I've
been to. I think of just opportunities, And so for
these student athletes, just you take just the fact of
going to Alaska and seeing and seeing and experiencing that
is an unbelievable opportunity anyway, But really excited about what
(23:47):
that team has to offer. I know, a heartbreaker against
Drake and you know led majority of that game, and
I think one of the things you're seeing with that
team is really athletic lots of pieces. I think the
thing is going to be how do they all come
together and play Jewelry's style of basketball? And I think
the upside is incredibly high. You look at Avery Konan,
who is who might be one of the most athletic
(24:08):
women's basketball players to come through here and and and
she's figuring things out and she's really dynamic, and then
you've added in some players. So I think the upside
is really really high for for women's basketball this year.
So I'm excited to see them go on a long
road trip and see how they're able to acclimate and
compete out there. And we were talking off air before,
I mean, they're they're going to travel a bunch of
(24:30):
miles this year, you know, going down south and then
out east and obviously to Alaska. So we'll see how
they handle all that being the road Warriors for a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yeah, they're gonna be racking up the frequent flyer miles
and and all that good stuff. Hopefully get everything safe
in sound getting out there to Alaska. It should be fun.
I did want to ask you about the in game
experience of the Shack. We've had a lot of discussion
about that with Cam Bash and his team at marketing,
some of the new wrinkles of the DJ and just
the in game atmosphere for basketball this season. And we've
(25:00):
had a couple of games already. What have you seen
with that, Matten, what's still to look forward to the
rest of all?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Well, I think there's definitely, uh, there's definitely a different
vibe in the building. And I give our our staff
a lot of credit because it's it's really easy when
people are taking shots at you, you know, externally, to
you know, to just you know, pack it in and
just really proud of I think the way they they listened,
they took it, they took feedback, and we put together
(25:26):
I think a really good atmosphere. It's good for our
student athletes, it's fun for the fans, and you know,
we've added some elements from a from a premium space
standpoint too. So we're doing some things. Again, I think
we've listened to our fans, uh, and so we're doing
some things to try to cater to the things that
they're looking for in addition to what we can do
on the on the floor. And so just really proud
of everybody's efforts, and I think we've seen some really
(25:47):
positive changes the DJs have added a different flavor to
the atmosphere, which I think has been really positive in
terms of getting the fans engaged at different times throughout
the game. And so there'll be some more of that
stuff as we get into as we continue on in
the Sea. But really proud of just the effort.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
So far wrestling and Obie Blanc. Year two underway for
Coach Blancing Company. What's to look forward to?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah, well, they got a big one on Friday. You know,
Minnesota's coming here and it's been a while since Minnesota
has traveled up here. We also have alumni Day and
we'll get an opportunity hopefully with that group to remember
Bucky mont a little bit as well. I mean Bucky
the longtime head coach here passed away recently and just
unbelievable legacy that he had. But Obie, I'm really proud
of just I think the way he's he's trying to
(26:29):
build the program back. You know, when he took over
year one, there had been a lot of departures with
with Coach Kish and as a result of that and
Portal and nil and those things, and I think he's
holding true to you know, what he wants the program
to be and certainly in the mold of what Buison
Wrestling has been for a long time. And you know,
so we're young, right, We're gonna be young, and but
(26:50):
I think he's bringing in the right type of kids
that he can build a program around. And so you know,
we may take our lumps here and there, but I
think you're going to start to see this program continue
to grow and get better under his leadership.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Cannot wait. It's gonna be a really fun season ahead
for Coach Obi and the rest of the team. We're
running out of time here to get up against a
break mat. I know, you got to get going here
with the committee. Are you guys catering anything in in Indy? Here?
Is there any like Saint Elmo's or anything? Well, but
he wants the game.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
So there it well, so there is. So Friday night
when we get there, we do it's really a lot
of housekeeping things. We'll talk about process and just the
way things are going to lay out for the weekend,
and then Friday night we go to uh Harry and
iszis So now it's kind of been It's been a tradition,
uh for the committee as long as I've been on it,
so I wanted to make sure we continue that and
then they do a great job of I probably have
(27:40):
because Coke is A is a corporate partner of the NCLA.
I probably have about a thousand Coke zeros over the
course of a thirty six hour period. But uh yeah,
So they'll cater food in and really we don't leave
the building all day Saturday, you know, we get in there.
Sometimes people can come in at noon and start watching games.
That's usually when I get there. Some people come in
st meeting right around three o'clock and you're there from
(28:02):
three until probably one or two in the morning, depending
on when games end, How the selection goes, how the
bracketing goes. But but it is it's fun. But I'll
tell you after all, it gets a little blurry looking
at the numbers, and but it's a it's a really
cool process. And there's nine other there's ten of us.
There's nine other folks that they are just really good
(28:22):
people to be around, and so it'll be good be
going through the process with them. And then the support
we get from the NCA staff.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Is top notch, fantastic. Cannot wait for it, Matt. It's
going to be a fantastic weekend. Matt Larson, NDSU Athletic Director,
FCS Playoff Committee Chair as we get ready for the
regular season finale at South Dakota, and Sunday is when
the bracket will be revealed eleven thirty in the morning
here Central time. We'll have it on ESPN U if
I'm not mistaken, correct, and then we'll also be live
(28:50):
here on BISEN sixteen sixty Ian and I will be
revealing the bracket with you in real time and we'll
have all your action and gets you ready to go.
But appreciate you coming in, Matt, always a pleasure, and
thank you very much for your time. We'll catch up here.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Soon, all right, Thanks guys, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Matt Larson and D s u A D here with
us on the Insiders. We'll take a time out. Much
more to come.
Twenty and twenty four. Glad that you're with us. Second
hour of the show underway. Sam niederman Ian Longton in
Thecrease live from the First Western Bank Broadcast Center. Always
happy to be back in the friendlin friendly confines of
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Matt Larson, North Dakota State Athletic Director, here with us
in studio on a Wednesday. Matt, appreciate you joining us.
(00:44):
I had to brave the elements to get over here
to the studio. Winter is here and off we go
as we get down the home stretch of this fall semester.
Thanks for the time.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah, no, it's great to be here, and it's been
an awesome fall. I mean, I guess I you know,
in some ways it's grateful that it's it was November nineteenth,
that it finally that it finally snowed, But still you're
not it is not ready for it, but no good
to be here and a lot of exciting things going on.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah. I tried to ward off the demons a little
bit as far as my first winter and Fargo. We
got pretty lucky. But I think it's time to pay up.
I might be paying interest here, no doubt, we'll see.
But obviously a lot to get to. We appreciate you
joined us here. So much going on in your chair
with the playoff committee here. You will be in Indianapolis
(01:31):
here this coming weekend in the bunker, you and the
rest of the committee watching all of these games, putting
together the twenty fourteen bracket. We'll get into that. We've
got crossover beginning here for Bison athletics. Basketball is underway,
Volleyball a nice job last night against und Wrestling is underway.
Before you know it. We'll get to the diamond sports
(01:52):
as well, so tons to get to there. We'll kind
of do the roundtable. Mike Reagan and the soccer team
a fantastic showing there. Unfortunately, just a heartbreaker there on
the in the shootout with the Summit League, and then
obviously a lot of questions and and uh chatter about
FBS and the Mountain West, so we'll start there. That's
(02:13):
that's the one that, uh, that everybody wants to hear
with the NDSU fan base. But obviously Brett McMurphy put
out the report a couple of weeks ago that Mountain
West would be considering North Dakota State as a potential
member to the league from a football standpoint. What what's
your update here, Matt is as we stand here on
November the twentieth.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, not to sound redundant, I mean the thing I
would say is, I mean, I think we've made it.
We've made it pretty clear and on this on this
station a couple of times. You know, we want to
play at the highest level of football we possibly can,
and you know, but it's got to be the right
fit and and uh, you know, we are going to
get opportunities, and I believe we should. I mean, you
look at what our our program has accomplished over the
(02:52):
course of the last decade, plus the investments we've made,
the national brand that we've created. You know, I think
conferences should should look long and hearted end issue. But
that doesn't mean it's gonna it's going to materialize in
a move or not, or there's still a lot of
moving parts, and I know there's a lot of people
in the fan base and the community that would love
this to play out over Twitter, and that's just not
(03:12):
the way the world works. If you if you got
into conferences because you tweeted a lot at it, then yeah,
I guess we'd probably try to do that, but it's
just not the way that world works. So sorry to
disappoint all the people that are hoping us to just
start blazing on Twitter that we should be invited here, there,
or anywhere. But but just know that it's it's something
(03:33):
that we look at really strongly, we look at really seriously,
and like I said, we want to play at the
highest possible level that we can.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
No doubt about it. We'll keep our eyes peeled here
and see what happens next. But appreciate the update on that, Matt.
You look at kind of athletics as a whole right now.
Football's got you know, you can get into all the
discussion about new conferences or moves, but there's a lot
in front of this team right now. Big game coming
up here in Vermilion. You'll be watching from Indianapolis with
(04:01):
the FCS Playoff Committee, and this one's for a Valley
championship here to try and win the title. Outright, What
can you say about this team and Tim Poulisik and
what they've accomplished here and just what you're seeing going
into the last one of the regular seasons.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Well, one thing, and I would always say this is
just in general about Indie issue that I think that
we do. When we do it really well, we're able
to compartmentalize the season. I Mean there's programs around the
country that are talking about a national championship in fall camp,
and that's just not the way we operate. I mean,
we really our number one goal is to win the
Missouri Valley Football Conference and you know we put ourselves
in position to accomplish that task. Got to share it
(04:38):
last week and we've all heard coach Policic say, we
don't want to share. You know, we're greedy on this one.
But what I've really liked about watching the team this year,
and you know, from the ad perspective, a fan perspective,
and also from a committee perspective, is the way we've
improved as the season has gone on. And truly think
we're playing our best football right now in all phases.
(04:59):
Of the game. I mean you look at last week
for example, I mean just every single phase of the
game was clicking and operating at a really high level.
And I think that's you know, lots of that to
senior leadership. And you know, we honored was it twenty
five seniors last week who have been great leaders and
have been a big part of that program. But also
just an incredible job by our coaching and coaching staff
(05:20):
to come in and you know, take over a team.
There's some new faces, there's some old faces from a
coaching staff, but be able to gel and put us
in opportunities to be successful against a really, really tough schedule.
You know, again, I'm all strength to schedule. I have
all the numbers in my head because of the committee work.
But you do you look at the quote unquote body
of work that NDSU has put together against a really
(05:42):
tough schedule is really impressive. So but missions not accomplished
yet by any stretch. And have a big one against
a really really good team in South Dakota.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I think it's going to be a fantastic matchup one
versus four down in Vermilion. Talking with NDSUA D Matt Larson,
live here in studio for your role in the committee.
We've talked to this before. This weekend is nuts. You've
got to watch all these games. There are teams that
are on the bubble, there's automatic qualifiers still up for
grabs in conference cases, and then you've got to figure
(06:10):
out how to see the field, et cetera. Where do
you guys stand kind of here on Wednesday before you
get to Indy, how much of kind of your framework
is put together? Okay, we know what we have now,
and then now you've got to make decisions based off
of results Saturday.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
I mean really, and it's really been a work of
the last probably five or six weeks, but it really
comes down to crunch time. This week we have our
Right after I leave here, I have our final top
twenty five evaluation call. So every week the committee will
put together our own top twenty five. And really what
that does is it drives debate and conversation as we
(06:46):
look at all the different metrics, as we look at
teams across conferences, and as you get more information, it
kind of starts to crystallize a little bit. But really
what this week does is it really starts to narrow
down really the teams that we're going to consider once
we get into in the Anapolis. You know, so whether
it's our top twenty five and there's probably a handful
above them below that. Don't forget, there's also some AQ
(07:09):
leagues that may not be ranked in that top twenty
five that are going to get a slot. There's ten
aqs and so really what we do this week is
really start to put together kind of with that pool
of teams that we're really going to be digging hard in.
And then what's great about the final weekend is that
there's probably half a dozen to a dozen games that
really are going to impact who gets in, where they're seeded,
(07:31):
and just the whole bracketing process, which is a lot
of fun. You know, there's been years where you've had
a ton of bubble teams that have all lost and
that's given a team an opportunity to get in, and
you've had it the other way. So that's what's really
fun about the last day is there can be some
really interesting outcomes that can throw a huge wrench into
the bracketing process. But that's what's fun about it, and
(07:52):
that's what I enjoy about it.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
So I had a question. We got the top ten
last month on October thirtieth, house similar was a process
getting those ten teams compared to be what you're going
to be doing this week and on Sunday when when
the final reveal comes out.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
You know, I would say it's not identical, but we tried.
We went through an actual mock selection process. We have
we have a voting software at the NCAA offices that
we utilize, and so we use that for that process.
And there was some debate the differences we're doing that
over probably a two to three hour conference call versus
you know, basically a day and a half of the
(08:28):
two days of really scrubbing teams and putting them head
to head and going through all the metrics. But was
really pleased with at least that initial process, and I
thought there was really good conversation and debate and comparing teams,
and you know, it's just really interesting at that part.
There's just so many questions still because there was probably
at that point four to five games left to play
in the season, and so you're really trying to take
(08:49):
that snapshot in time with just limited, limited information. But
was pleased with where we came out and you know,
we've seen over the course of less four or five
weeks that's changed our mind a little bit just because
you've had wins, you've had losses, and so that's that's
what'll be neat. But yeah, this is it'll be just
a much more similar process, but just a little more intense.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Very nice, good question there, Ian. I want to follow
up to like the criteria that you guys have too.
Can you take us through that once again, Matt, because
there are a lot of different metrics that get involved
in how you evaluate each program.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Well, there's you know, there's there's your overall record. There's
Division one wins because in our subdivision we have some
folks that play non Division one, so that's almost kind
of a lost data point in some cases. So number
of Division one wins. Strength to schedule, head to head
and head to head is always an interesting one because
on a given year, over the over the over the
(09:43):
entirety of a season, one team may beat the other,
but the team that lost may have the better resume
at the end of the year, you know, when you
look at all of the other things that go into
and that's really hard sometimes and there's some committee members
that would say, hey, head to head is really important
to me, and others would say, hey, I'm gonna look
at all twelve games or eleven games or whatever it
is and come up with with who I think the
(10:03):
best team is. And that's what's neat because if it
was just based off of numbers, you know, you'd you'd
print it out and there's your bracket. But when you
get uh, you know, ten ads from ten AQ conferences
in there, who all value some things a little bit differently. Uh,
that makes it interesting. And then and then the new
piece this year is we added we added four metrics,
(10:23):
uh to kind of our to our consideration and what
are the tools that we look at and so you have,
uh there's two from ESPN. There's a Football Performance Index,
there's a Strength of Record, UH, there's MASSY uh, and
then there's KPI and so to a predictive tour results
based and and so it's been it. We actually spent
some time with some of those metrics folks yesterday taking
us through and really digging into what they mean, how
(10:48):
it differs from one team to the next. And but
at the end of the day, that's one piece, right,
We're not gonna go just just like others. Just don't
go just by the net or just by our pi.
It's a piece that we're gonna look at, but we're
gonna we're gonna look at really a lot of different
things to try to decide who the who the fourteen
best at large teams are.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
I think it's a really fascinating process, Matt. And it
kind of leads me to this. I mean, when you
started your career as a college athletics and administry did
you ever like envision being on a selection committee like this?
And when you first started, did you kind of hear
from peers and colleagues like, here, here's how it goes,
and this is sort of the approach that comes.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Along with it.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
What have you learned about it?
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Well, I would say one, you know, it's I think
it's one thing that you always hope you get an
opportunity to do. And I'll say this after being on
I was on the softball committee for four years, got
to chair that in my final year, and then I've
been on the FCS committee and getting to chair it
my last year. Here is you have a much greater
appreciation for when the brackets come out. And I'll be
(11:45):
guilty I'll be the person to say, before I was
on the committee, I'm like, oh, what the hell are
they doing? What are they looking at?
Speaker 4 (11:50):
They?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Did they even discuss anything? How is that team won?
And this team is six and But having been in
the rooms now and seeing it and again, it doesn't
for folks to know, it doesn't just come down to
what we do in India that day. We've been literally
working for the last twelve weeks and conversations regional advisory
committees and going over these teams, watching a ton of games,
(12:12):
which I think is that's one of the most important
things to me, is being able to watch teams and
see how they compete. And so so that's the interesting
part is it doesn't just come down to this weekend.
It's we've put a lot of time and energy into
this process. So I do I have a much greater
appreciation for for what happens. And I'm and I'm My
(12:35):
whole thing is if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna
give it my absolute best effort. So you should see
that the committee makes fun of me. I have a
Bible and I have all my just all my notes
and metrics, and I watched the game and you know,
to be able to go back and reference some of
those things, because I do. I mean, I I've been
at places where you know, you get left out of
a of a of a of a championship, and you know,
(12:57):
here we've been fortunate to be in. So I take
a lot of I put a lot of pressure on
myself to make sure that that we're getting it as
best as we possibly can. And because there are going
to be some schools that we're going to say, hey,
you know what, your season's over, and that's hard. But
I want to make sure we're doing our best and
due diligence to make sure we're putting those and we're
giving them their due. But at the end of the day,
(13:18):
it STI comes down to twenty fourteen. So I'm a
little over the top with some of those things. But
again I think, hey, more is better, and but it's
been an unbelievable process and I've enjoyed every second of it.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
I need to see this Bible at some point. Yeah,
maybe one of the next visits.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Pretty intense.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Yeah, I love it. The Matt Larson Selection Bible. I
love it. Talking with Biased Athletic Director Matt Larson, FCS
Playoff Committee chair here on the Insiders. We're going to
take a time out here, Matt. We'll come back do
some more. Get to a couple of fan questions as well.
For seven six or excuse me seven to one four
seven six, sixteen to sixty forgot the area code. Being
(13:54):
away from North Dakota for a couple of days. We'll
break and we'll be back with more with Matt after this.
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Truck Sales dot Net. Back here inside the First Western
Bank Broadcast Center, Sam Peterman, ndsu Athletic Director, Matt larson
Ian Longton, our producer and the Crease. Questions for Matt,
we can get to him here seven to one four
seven six sixteen sixty. Dan checks in here, Matt. He says,
(18:11):
Jen Lopez doing a great job Buyson volleyball. He said
he was at the Bison volleyball game last night at
the BBF for the first time in thirty years.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Said it was great entertainment.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Loved it.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
Buyson beat un D in four sets. So a little
shout out there from Dan and a nice job by
the volleyball team last night.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, absolutely, And you know you want to that was
our final regular season match and you want to go
into conference championship play with some momentum. And so won
the last two at home, and so are playing well.
And you know, I think really like our matchup in
the first round here against Denver. You know, we swept
him here, they swept us there, so I mean, you know,
very similar team. So I like our our chances there.
(18:50):
And yeah, I mean the BBF is always an awesome atmosphere.
You know, our fan our fan base really comes out
for volleyball and support the program really well. And last
night was a lot of fun. And you know, anytime
you get a win over our friends to the north,
that's always a positive too.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
You gotta love it. We can do a little whip
around here on all the sports here for NDSU, I
do want to spend a moment on the soccer team,
because that was an unbelievable ride. Mike Reagan and company.
They win the Summer League regular season championship, they get
home field, we host here at Dakota Field. Unfortunately, it
was an absolute heartbreaker against Oral Roberts following in penalty
(19:25):
kicks there in the semi finals. Coach Richmond and I
were actually watching from his office getting ready for basketball
against Illinois State that night, and it was just you
hate to lose a season like that, but what an
unbelievable run. There's still so much to be proud of.
What can you say about NDSU soccer?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Well, well, and that was just a crazy day. We
had our first triple header that I remember, you know,
we had we had soccer, then volleyballan than men's basketball
that night. But but you're right, I mean, I'm just
really proud of coaching his staff and our players. I mean,
just the turnaround, you know, from last year not making
the conference turn and pick seventh preseason coming in here
(20:02):
and just I think they put that all aside and
have their goals of competing for a conference championship and
dig just that and you know, with a lot of
new players and new faces and a good blend of
some of our veteran our veterans, I mean, I think
just really really battled all year and even that last game,
I mean, just so proud of our effort. And I
always say, this is and this is my daughter's played
(20:23):
soccer a whole life. Is Soccer is probably the one
sport sometimes where not always the best team wins, because
it really can come down to one goal or one
PK or or whatever it is, or one foul. You know,
but that's the unfortunate part of that game, but absolutely
doesn't take away from just an incredible effort all season long.
(20:43):
Six wins in the regular season, and just and the
good part is too you look at the makeup of
that team. We're very very young. You know, we lose
a couple of seniors who've been a big part of
our program, no doubt, and we'll we'll miss them, but
really like the nucleus that's coming back, and then with
a new recruiting class coming in, so the future I
think is really really bright for that program. So hats
(21:04):
off to to Mike and his staff and and the ladies.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Yeah. And Morgan Rushman, an absolute blast to watch freshman
was off asive player of the Year something league. First
time that's ever happened by a rookie getting it done.
If she was phenomenal all year long for the Bison.
Do you want to ask you about basketball too or underway? Yeah,
sort of the men's Did you stay up to see
the end of the Santa Claaric?
Speaker 2 (21:25):
I did, I did, right, I did. And it was
you know, you know, we seed all the time in
college that it's just a tale of two halves. Yeah,
you know, things that just that just wouldn't go for
us in the first half. And and and what I
like to when you watch a game like that, just
to continue to battle and scratch and claw and you know,
and and just you know, not try to get it
all back in one possession. And and I think they
(21:47):
were really methodical that way. And and then to and
then to get into overtime and with a with a
big time you know play at the end, two big
free throws and and uh so those are things that
I think as a coach you look at and say,
okay that that game is going to help us down
the road somewhere. To have to win a game in
that fashion, to have to come back, to have to
win in overtime, and it just says a lot about
(22:09):
I think, where that team is early on, but certainly
something to build off of.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, the shirtless student section, yes, Santa Clara too, Brennan Watkins,
able to knock down the free throws, just fight all
of distractions. That was a pretty fun one Santa Clara.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Really.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
I mean, the as far as we talked about rankings
and stuff for FCS playoffs, but for a basketball standpoint,
by all the rankings, efficiency metrics and such, they were
the top opponent. Yeah, non conference wise for the Bison
on the schedule.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Well, especially too, just going on the road. I mean,
anytime you go on the road in basketball in particular,
it's hard, it's hard to win. And that's what I mean.
To be able to sustain kind of the first half,
didn't go you know, down at halftime, but just came
back and just kept chipping away and chipping away and
you know, just keeping fighting, fight through the adversity and
ultimately came out with the win. So really proud of
(22:57):
those guys.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Women's team is in root to Alaska. As we speak,
Andy on the road with them. Jory Collins and his
bunch gonna go out and play a couple of games
out of the University of Aska Anchorage, and that's gonna
be quite the experience for them. They're often running. They
beat Eastern Illinois, had a tough one against Drake, and
the opener beat Jamestown last Friday. What can you say
(23:20):
about the women's team and this type of trip they're
going to be taken here?
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Well, the one thing I'd say first is what's neat
about college athletics sometimes is you get to travel to
places that you probably never would geem that you're going
to travel. And I think of really small towns I've
been to. I think of just opportunities, And so for
these student athletes, just you take just the fact of
going to Alaska and seeing and seeing and experiencing that
is an unbelievable opportunity anyway, But really excited about what
(23:47):
that team has to offer. I know, a heartbreaker against
Drake and you know led majority of that game, and
I think one of the things you're seeing with that
team is really athletic lots of pieces. I think the
thing is going to be how do they all come
together and play Jewelry's style of basketball? And I think
the upside is incredibly high. You look at Avery Konan,
who is who might be one of the most athletic
(24:08):
women's basketball players to come through here and and and
she's figuring things out and she's really dynamic, and then
you've added in some players. So I think the upside
is really really high for for women's basketball this year.
So I'm excited to see them go on a long
road trip and see how they're able to acclimate and
compete out there. And we were talking off air before,
I mean, they're they're going to travel a bunch of
(24:30):
miles this year, you know, going down south and then
out east and obviously to Alaska. So we'll see how
they handle all that being the road Warriors for a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yeah, they're gonna be racking up the frequent flyer miles
and and all that good stuff. Hopefully get everything safe
in sound getting out there to Alaska. It should be fun.
I did want to ask you about the in game
experience of the Shack. We've had a lot of discussion
about that with Cam Bash and his team at marketing,
some of the new wrinkles of the DJ and just
the in game atmosphere for basketball this season. And we've
(25:00):
had a couple of games already. What have you seen
with that, Matten, what's still to look forward to the
rest of all?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Well, I think there's definitely, uh, there's definitely a different
vibe in the building. And I give our our staff
a lot of credit because it's it's really easy when
people are taking shots at you, you know, externally, to
you know, to just you know, pack it in and
just really proud of I think the way they they listened,
they took it, they took feedback, and we put together
(25:26):
I think a really good atmosphere. It's good for our
student athletes, it's fun for the fans, and you know,
we've added some elements from a from a premium space
standpoint too. So we're doing some things. Again, I think
we've listened to our fans, uh, and so we're doing
some things to try to cater to the things that
they're looking for in addition to what we can do
on the on the floor. And so just really proud
of everybody's efforts, and I think we've seen some really
(25:47):
positive changes the DJs have added a different flavor to
the atmosphere, which I think has been really positive in
terms of getting the fans engaged at different times throughout
the game. And so there'll be some more of that
stuff as we get into as we continue on in
the Sea. But really proud of just the effort.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
So far wrestling and Obie Blanc. Year two underway for
Coach Blancing Company. What's to look forward to?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah, well, they got a big one on Friday. You know,
Minnesota's coming here and it's been a while since Minnesota
has traveled up here. We also have alumni Day and
we'll get an opportunity hopefully with that group to remember
Bucky mont a little bit as well. I mean Bucky
the longtime head coach here passed away recently and just
unbelievable legacy that he had. But Obie, I'm really proud
of just I think the way he's he's trying to
(26:29):
build the program back. You know, when he took over
year one, there had been a lot of departures with
with Coach Kish and as a result of that and
Portal and nil and those things, and I think he's
holding true to you know, what he wants the program
to be and certainly in the mold of what Buison
Wrestling has been for a long time. And you know,
so we're young, right, We're gonna be young, and but
(26:50):
I think he's bringing in the right type of kids
that he can build a program around. And so you know,
we may take our lumps here and there, but I
think you're going to start to see this program continue
to grow and get better under his leadership.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Cannot wait. It's gonna be a really fun season ahead
for Coach Obi and the rest of the team. We're
running out of time here to get up against a
break mat. I know, you got to get going here
with the committee. Are you guys catering anything in in Indy? Here?
Is there any like Saint Elmo's or anything? Well, but
he wants the game.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
So there it well, so there is. So Friday night
when we get there, we do it's really a lot
of housekeeping things. We'll talk about process and just the
way things are going to lay out for the weekend,
and then Friday night we go to uh Harry and
iszis So now it's kind of been It's been a tradition,
uh for the committee as long as I've been on it,
so I wanted to make sure we continue that and
then they do a great job of I probably have
(27:40):
because Coke is A is a corporate partner of the NCLA.
I probably have about a thousand Coke zeros over the
course of a thirty six hour period. But uh yeah,
So they'll cater food in and really we don't leave
the building all day Saturday, you know, we get in there.
Sometimes people can come in at noon and start watching games.
That's usually when I get there. Some people come in
st meeting right around three o'clock and you're there from
(28:02):
three until probably one or two in the morning, depending
on when games end, How the selection goes, how the
bracketing goes. But but it is it's fun. But I'll
tell you after all, it gets a little blurry looking
at the numbers, and but it's a it's a really
cool process. And there's nine other there's ten of us.
There's nine other folks that they are just really good
(28:22):
people to be around, and so it'll be good be
going through the process with them. And then the support
we get from the NCA staff.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Is top notch, fantastic. Cannot wait for it, Matt. It's
going to be a fantastic weekend. Matt Larson, NDSU Athletic Director,
FCS Playoff Committee Chair as we get ready for the
regular season finale at South Dakota, and Sunday is when
the bracket will be revealed eleven thirty in the morning
here Central time. We'll have it on ESPN U if
I'm not mistaken, correct, and then we'll also be live
(28:50):
here on BISEN sixteen sixty Ian and I will be
revealing the bracket with you in real time and we'll
have all your action and gets you ready to go.
But appreciate you coming in, Matt, always a pleasure, and
thank you very much for your time. We'll catch up here.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
Soon, all right, Thanks guys, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Matt Larson and D s u A D here with
us on the Insiders. We'll take a time out. Much
more to come.
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