Long odds notwithstanding, North Dakota State University head coach Craig Bohl said his team isn't resigned to defeat when it plays an FBS team. provide dividends that not only help you get ready for the season, but they also help on the recruiting end.' Hopefully that will help us with in-state recruiting. 'You know they're going to have some good players who are going to stick it to you, but it's the excitement of the game' said Lennon, whose Salukis open the season today at Marshall. Youngstown State's Stambaugh Stadium (20,630) is the league's largest venue. Recruits relish the chance to play before a big crowd, something the Missouri Valley Football Conference doesn't offer. Southern Illinois head coach Dale Lennon said scheduling an FBS team can be a boon on the recruiting trail. It stresses an effort that helps you when you start playing teams in your conference. The rash of injuries Youngstown State suffered contributed to a 4-8 season that saw it finish in the bottom half of the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings, but it didn't deter head coach Jon Heacock from scheduling Pittsburgh for the 2009 opener. Ohio State beat Youngstown State 43-0 in last year's season opener, exacting a toll the Penguins paid for the rest of the year. The indignity of a lopsided defeat isn't the worst consequence of a buy-in game. Their universities have 22 fewer scholarship athletes and an athletic budget that pales in comparison to the well-heeled institutions of the FBS. We'll just have to play them the best we can and move on to the next game.'įacing an FBS team is an onerous task for the members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, whose teams are at a decided disadvantage. We have to make some money to put into our program. If he had his druthers, the Sycamores wouldn't be playing Louisville today. Indiana State head coach Trent Miles said the arrangement is a necessary evil. The Bears are one of six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams playing buy-in games against FBS opponents this week. It will be a good barometer with the caliber of team Arkansas has.' We've got a lot of different faces and different looks. I'm anxious to see how our young players perform. 'They finished up last year beating LSU, so that's indicative of the kind of team Arkansas is. 'It's our 1-A opportunity,' Allen said during Wednesday morning's Missouri Valley Football Conference coaches teleconference. Though he has no illusions about tonight's games, Allen said it will be a good measuring stick for his team. The Bears are venturing outside the familiar environs of the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1-AA, to face Arkansas of the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1-A.

Game 8 Winner, 2 p.m.Missouri State's athletic department will be paid handsomely to offer up its football team as buy-in game fodder for Arkansas' 2009 season opener tonight at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, a game Bears' head coach Terry Allen described as a 'yeoman's task' for his team. (FS Midwest Plus/NBCS Chicago Plus) Quarterfinals (Fri., March 8)

For more info about the tournament, download the Arch Madness app or visit /Pd6y6osm5r- MVC Basketball MaHow to Watch First Round (Thu., March 7)

Missouri valley conference standings