Dizzo's Den

The 2023 FCS college football season will be the last without Missouri Valley Football Conference games featured on linear television.

The league announced a couple weeks ago a new television contract with ESPN, a six-year deal that will see the network broadcast one to two games a year on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.

It’s a landmark deal for the conference, which has never had regular season games on linear TV. 

The new deal calls for the extension of the Missouri Valley Game of the Week on ESPN Plus, a deal that has been around for the last eight years, where one game is selected for an exclusive broadcast.

Missouri Valley Conference Commissioner Patty Viverito and ESPN’s senior director of programming Dan Margulis join the podcast to discuss the two sides of how this deal came together and what it means for local broadcasters like WDAY-TV.

You can find past episodes at Apple Itunes, Spotify and Google Play.

One of the top college football stories in 2022 was authored by former North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman at Kansas State.

Klieman guided the Wildcats to a 10-3 record and a Big 12 Championship, as the Wildcats beat previously unbeaten TCU in the title game, earning a spot in the Sugar Bowl. K-State lost to Alabama that day 45-20.

Klieman enters his fifth year in Manhattan with sky-high expecatations. The Wildcats were picked to finish second in the Big 12 this fall, right behind Texas. It's a year of transition in the Big 12 as the Longhorns and Oklahoma will leave after this season, but are welcoming BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston into the league.

Klieman talks about the 2022 season and what to expect this coming season. He also discusses his time in Fargo and how that set up success in the Big 12. Klieman also chats about his relationship with the man that hired him in Fargo, Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl.

Kindred senior to be Riley Sunram announced Tuesday night his commitment to play football at the University of Minnesota. 

Sunram was the most highly sought after prospect for the Class of 2024, with over 20 offers including North Dakota State, Nebraska, Kansas State and Miami.

Sunram visits with Dom Izzo about why he chose Minnesota and what life has been like since his first offer from the Bison came in last June. 

Former North Dakota State offensive lineman Cody Mauch made his Senior Bowl debut during practice Tuesday morning for the National team.

Mauch was playing a new position as well, he was exclusively at left guard during the team drills. The Athletic's Dane Brugler projects that Mauch could be a center in the NFL. When asked about playing different positions this week, Mauch said: "I'm expecting to play all four positions (guard and tackle). I've been snapping the ball at center in case they throw me in there too."

WDAY's Dom Izzo caught up with Mauch before he left for Mobile about his expectations for the week, you can listen to the podcast here.

It's hard to imagine how crazy the last 365 days have been for Cordell Volson.

The former North Dakota State All-American offensive lineman left Frisco, Texas in January of 2022 after winning a fourth national championship to pursue his NFL dreams.

Volson began training for the East-West Shrine Game in Minneapolis and had a great week in Las Vegas, which turned into an invite to the NFL Combine. Volson had a great week in Indianapolis and a solid Pro Day in Fargo.

He ended up being selected in the fourth round by the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, who were looking to upgrade their offensive line to protect all-world quarterback, Joe Burrow.

Volson came in to training camp and wowed the coaches and found himself in the starting lineup for the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He hasn't left the lineup since.

He was the only regular starter on the offensive line in the Bengals 27-10 win over the Buffalo Bills that sent them to the AFC Championship Game to match up with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Volson visited with WDAY's Dom Izzo about the last year and about getting a chance to play in the NFL's final four.

WDAY's Dom Izzo visits with Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor on the Wildcats facing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.

How Taylor got razzed about hiring Chris Klieman from NDSU and now four years later it's been paid off with a Big 12 championship.

They also discuss what it will take to get NDSU up to the FBS level and how Power 5 football is changing. 

Christmas came early for Missouri Valley Football Commissioner Patty Viverito.

The top league in the FCS got not one, but two teams into the FCS Championship Game in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State and South Dakota State will meet for the title on January 8th, televised nationally by ABC.

Viverito visits about the history of adding NDSU and SDSU into the old Gateway Football Conference and the challenges that presented each school when they were admitted.

She also discusses what the Bison and Jackrabbits have done for the conference and how the league has tried to keep up with the top two teams in the country.

Viverito also chats about an update on Murray State University, the Racers are set to join the league in July as the conference's 12th member.

The juiciest news comes on a potential change to the FCS Playoff structure, which could go to seeding the top 16 teams.

ESPN's Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions Dan Margulis joins Dom Izzo to discuss the moving of the 2023 FCS Championship Game to a Sunday and ABC.

North Dakota State will face South Dakota State in the FCS title game on January 8th, a game that will be televised on WDAY-TV at 1pm central time. 

Margulis goes in to the decision making process of why the game was moved and going straight up against the final week of the NFL regular season.

Dom Izzo re-launches his Dizzo's Den podcast, which will be a combination of local sports and the other interests he has, ranging from nerd movies to outrageous food opinions.

Today's show is sports heavy with West Fargo Sheyenne senior defensive end Karter Menz about his commitment to play football at the University of Minnesota.

Also featured in the show is the North Dakota High School Activites Association Executive Director Matt Fetsch, who visits about the separation of the state hockey tournaments and is there any talk of extending the spring sports season.

No, 4-ranked North Dakota State scored 28 points in the game's first 18 minutes and cruised to a 52-24 victory against No. 16-ranked South Dakota on Saturday in Missouri Valley Football Conference play at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

“Our kids came ready to play," Bison head coach Matt Entz said. "I’m really excited with where we’re at right now.”

The Bison (10-1, 7-1 MVFC) clinched an outright MVFC title with the victory and close their regular-season with back-to-back victories heading in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs.

NDSU quarterback Cam Miller completed 19 of 23 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown as the Bison gained 522 yards on 70 plays against the Coyotes. NDSU rushed for 303 yards on 47 attempts.