The only constant in college athletics — particularly college football — is change.

Blink and a new conference is formed, or a team has left one conference for another, or yet another team has left the FCS level for the FBS, hoping to get in on that "College Football Playoff" and bowl game action (money!). In recent years, several FCS programs have made the leap and found home in "Group of Five" conferences like the Sun Belt and Conference USA.

South Dakota State's 2025 season opening opponent, Sacramento State, is currently awaiting its fate as an FBS hopeful that currently doesn't have a conference to join but yearns so lustily for the FBS, it is begging to be an FBS independent. In fact, Sac State's president recently called the FCS level "JV" in hopes of joining the "varsity" of FBS.

FCS powerhouse SDSU has been a superior program to every team that has moved from FCS to FBS, so why haven't the Jackrabbits made the move, or even tried? What are the possibilities — and true advantages — of things opening up in the near future to make the move? Is being in the FBS that much more lucrative?

Will life forever and ever be better simply playing in the geographically sensical Missouri Valley Football Conference — as the Jacks battle long-time traditional regional rivals like South Dakota, North Dakota State and North Dakota and annually contend for FCS national titles — or is the financial gain of joining FBS too great to not want to make a leap if the Jacks are invited?

Or maybe, the "Power Four" conferences will create their own division and leave the other FBS schools and FCS to potentially band together, meaning SDSU can just wait to be in the same pool as the Group of Five programs without making any moves?

In an extensive 1-on-1 with Happy Hour host John Gaskins, SDSU athletics director Justin Sell explains the navigation SDSU has made so far with this issue, and gives some hints of what is to come in the next few years.