Quote:Larsen said no sports will be dropped and funding for scholarships and cost of attendance will not be part of the cost-cutting moves. Larsen said it's too early in the process to implement any specific reductions.

"There are a lot of moving parts," he said.

The $2.1 million the athletic department gets from the state represents just one revenue stream in this year's $22.03 million overall athletic budget. The department has already taken cost-cutting measures by not hiring two positions that were slated in the budget.

Larsen said the budgetary cuts are something he's discussed with Bresciani and NDSU's vice president of finance for the last week or so.

"It's going to affect operations," Larsen said. "But I think our staff understands the magnitude of it."

Certainly, it would help if the Bison football team could schedule an FBS opponent every season. Those programs typically offer a guarantee of at least $350,000 to $400,000 or more to play an FCS program like NDSU.

But the Bison aren't finding many takers. Not many FBS programs are willing to play a team that is 8-3 against FBS competition in the last 11 games. That includes five straight with the latest a win over the University of Iowa last fall.

Larsen said he has hopes of scheduling an FBS opponent in 2018 that "would help alleviate" the budget concern.

NDSU's next scheduled FBS game is 2020 at the University of Oregon, in which the Ducks are paying NDSU a $650,000 guarantee. The University of Colorado is on the schedule for 2024.