It would also be VERY weird for UM/MSU to leave the conference that's essentially named for them. I could see a significant chunk of the western Big Sky teams seceding to revive the PCAA, but I just can't see UM/MSU joining them.
That said, such a split could be very beneficial in terms of getting some good D-I OOC scheduling going on. These extra league games that don't count as league games just because the only other nearby schools that are likely to come to one's home stadium would kill RPI because they're D-II or worse are crazy, but they would go away under this scenario.
SuperHornet's Athletics Hall of Fame includes Jacksonville State kicker Ashley Martin, the first girl to score in a Division I football game. She kicked 3 PATs in a 2001 game for J-State.
It's all about getting enough D-I games to be considered for an at-large berth in the playoffs. You guys back East don't have that problem, because there are many leagues all packed closely together, so you have a smorgasbord of options to fill out your schedule. We don't have that luxury, so we either have to take an extra game in league that counts as OOC or take an extra bodybag game or extra D-II/D-III/NAIA game and risk either not having enough D-I games to be a serious contender or be forced to run the table. That's extremely difficult. The 7 D-I wins may not be a firm "requirement" anymore, but it IS something of a guarantee in the expando-playoff era, and 6 D-I wins IS still a requirement. Us western teams are in a bind, and SOMETHING has to be done to relieve the pressure. A conference split could be the key, though it would likely require a mix of FBS dropdowns (something that hasn't happened lately), D-II callups, and I-AAA schools adding football (which is rare in our neck of the woods, as the most recent school out here to revive a dormant football program was Pacific University of Forest Grove, OR, which is somewhere BELOW D-I).
SuperHornet's Athletics Hall of Fame includes Jacksonville State kicker Ashley Martin, the first girl to score in a Division I football game. She kicked 3 PATs in a 2001 game for J-State.
It would also be VERY weird for UM/MSU to leave the conference that's essentially named for them. I could see a significant chunk of the western Big Sky teams seceding to revive the PCAA, but I just can't see UM/MSU joining them.
That said, such a split could be very beneficial in terms of getting some good D-I OOC scheduling going on. These extra league games that don't count as league games just because the only other nearby schools that are likely to come to one's home stadium would kill RPI because they're D-II or worse are crazy, but they would go away under this scenario.
Yeah, that's what will keep them from moving up. The name of the conference.
It would also be VERY weird for UM/MSU to leave the conference that's essentially named for them. I could see a significant chunk of the western Big Sky teams seceding to revive the PCAA, but I just can't see UM/MSU joining them.
That said, such a split could be very beneficial in terms of getting some good D-I OOC scheduling going on. These extra league games that don't count as league games just because the only other nearby schools that are likely to come to one's home stadium would kill RPI because they're D-II or worse are crazy, but they would go away under this scenario.
Why would the PCAA be revived when the WAC is already a conference, and still has FBS status?
It would also be VERY weird for UM/MSU to leave the conference that's essentially named for them. I could see a significant chunk of the western Big Sky teams seceding to revive the PCAA, but I just can't see UM/MSU joining them.
That said, such a split could be very beneficial in terms of getting some good D-I OOC scheduling going on. These extra league games that don't count as league games just because the only other nearby schools that are likely to come to one's home stadium would kill RPI because they're D-II or worse are crazy, but they would go away under this scenario.
Why would the PCAA be revived when the WAC is already a conference, and still has FBS status?
The PCAA still exists as a I-AAA conference, under the Big West name. Two members still have football teams, currently parked in the Big Sky Conference. There are other Big West schools (and a former one currently in the WCC) that have football history and a fan base that would love to see those programs restored.
But strictly in terms of the teams proposed, well, one could accept Idalol as a drop-down, drop UND, and add one or two D-IIs within the Big Sky footprint, move AS A CONFERENCE to FBS, and get a bowl tie-in following a championship game. OR we could do that, STAY IN FCS, and split into two conferences and relieve ourselves of the OOC scheduling problem. I actually vote for the second option. I'm still of the opinion that FCS across the board (not so sure about the Pioneer Conference, but that's beside the point) is better than FBS because we actually have a legit playoff. But that's getting beyond the scope of this thread....
SuperHornet's Athletics Hall of Fame includes Jacksonville State kicker Ashley Martin, the first girl to score in a Division I football game. She kicked 3 PATs in a 2001 game for J-State.
