Big West Football

[TBirdz]

I was just searching the net for FCS news and came across this site and decided to join once I saw how much activity is on these boards. An SUU grad myself, I am very intrigued by all of the debate on conference realignment. IMO, and in a perfect world, the Big West Conference should bring back football with existing members Cal Poly and UC-Davis. In addition to this, the Big West should invite SUU and NAU as all-sports members. A final longshot would be inviting either San Diego or Sac State, once again as an all-sports member. That would keep the core of the league still in Cali, which is very important to the league's office, however, the two outlying members would be excellent additions and travel partners. Granted NAU and/or Sac St. would have to leave the Big Sky, but desperate times are calling for desperate measures these days. Economically, this conference makes great sense. With Long Beach St. CS-Fullerton, CS-Bakersfield, and CS-Northridge discussing restoring football, this conference could become a top-tier league. Preferably, San Diego would be the team to get the invite and join Pacific as the league's only two private schools. Also with the addition of SUU, NAU, and SD, the league would have 12 all-sports members, a very inticing fact for basketball power NAU. With NAU and/or Sac St. joining the Big West, the Big Sky would be left with potentially 7 or 8 members. This would make the addition of North Dakota and South Dakota enticing, bringing the league back to 9 or expanding it to 10 members, which a lot of Big Sky fans have called for. I know it has been discussed much, and is probably a million miles away, but very interested to see your responses.

[SUUTbird]

First off, welcome to the board! its nice to see another SUU fan on here. And second of all i am a big fan of the idea. I think a Big West Conference would make alot of sense except for the fact that i doubt that Sac State or NAU will leave the Big Sky, and san diego probably wont as they have refused multiple invites to the Great West conference since they only have academic schollies. Also Utah Valley State is going to be getting a team in the near future so chalk up another team possibly. If all this happens and the Cali Schools get football i can see this as a future conference.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE
-Southern Utah
-UC-Davis
-Cal Poly
-San Diego
-Long Beach ST.
-CS-Fullerton
-CS-Bakerfield
-CS-Northridge
-Utah Valley State

This as a conference alone would be great and very competitive and then the Dakotas could move into the Missouri Valley or possibly the OVC would be another sensible combination. I like the idea but again there is the big IF that this will ever happen.

[Cap'n Cat]

We gotta cut Youngstown loose. They're an embarrassment.

[dbackjon]

Welcome Tbirdz.

NAU in the big west? I don't see the CA members wanting that long of a bus ride

[TBirdz]

Failed to even think of Utah Valley U. whenever I made the post. The main reason I suggested NAU was because of the rumors swirling about their economic situation. The Big West makes much more sense for them in terms of travel/cost than the Big Sky ever could. And with San Diego, I have heard that they are finally considering bringing the football program up to speed w/ scholarships. With the recent success that their program has had, I can't imagine they will be content staying in the Pioneer League forever. They have shown a commitment playing teams like UC-Davis in the past and SUU this season. My hope is that the Big West could be lasting conference for these schools. This league would offer an outstanding 12 team league where you could divide all-sports play into two divisions, North/South. Also offers the potential of having a 9-team football conference. Seems to me it has the potential to be an FCS version of its counterpart The Big East.

Big West South: Big West North:
SUU UC-Davis
San Diego Cal Poly
NAU Pacific (Had football before, would hopefully bring back)
UC-Irvine UC-Santa Barbara
UC-Riverside CS-Northridge (Discussing football)
CS-Fullerton (Discussing football) Long Beach St. (Discussing football)


Maybe even down the line UVU and Bakersfield could join as well as both are newly D1. I would love to see all D1 schools in the West find stable conference homes and this Big West/Big Sky theory makes sense to me. Would love to see this happen sooner or later.

[TBirdz]

And to appease this MVFC fan, let Youngstown go back into the Ohio Valley and hope that Wichita St. would bring back FCS football, giving the MVC another football playing school. The Big Sky would then have Montana, Montana St., Idaho St., Weber, UNC, Portland St., EWU, Sac St., UND, and USD. And in a perfect world, Denver could join the Summit League with SUU leaving to join the Big West. This, I believe, would give every single Division 1 playing school, both football and non-football alike, west of the Mississippi a STABLE conference situation. Now maybe the stars will line up.

[dbackjon]

Economically the big west might make some sense for NAU but not for the rest of the league. Culturally NAU is a better fit for the sky

[TBirdz]

With regard to the travel problem, it would hopefully only be a one-time thing. All of the CA schools could attempt to schedule SUU and NAU together. Hopefully the schedule-makers of the NEW BIG WEST could figure out a scenario where each sports team would only have to make the trip once.

[SUUTbird]

Personally i think NAU and Sac State are fine where they are, there would be plenty of schools just in CA to make up the Big West Conference. I do personally think that SUU should go into the Big Sky, making it a 10 team conference and then have the dakotas either join the MVC or the OVC. But the thing that is most likely going to happen is this: only a few of the CA schools listed will get a football team and they will be absorbed into the great west making it a bigger conference.

[TBirdz]

Hopefully this will prove my point on travel a little better. At present, the southern-most team in the Big West is Irvine. The northern-most is UC-Davis. From school to school is 441 miles. Irvine to Flagstaff is 465. This is exactly why I proposed the two division idea in all sports other than football. For the use of an example let's just stick with Irvine. In their division they would play Riverside, Fullerton, SUU, NAU, and San Diego every year. Their futhest trip away would be NAU which is only 24 more miles further than their furthest current opponent. Their trip to Cedar would be the equivalent to what they face now when they go to Pacific. There could be a rotation every two years on what teams they would play from the North Division, kinda like the Big East is now w/ their all-sports scheduling. In the North Divsion, teams such as Davis and Pacific would be saving on travel in that they wouldn't have to travel to the LA area 2-4 times a year. They would play their five North Division rivals, and play 2-3 schools out of the South Division on that same rotating basis.

And I agree with you SUUTBird, your scenario is what will probably happen. I am just hoping this idea could come into action. The Great West, since its conception, has never been a stable league. Furthermore, it's about time SUU got into a league where they could have conference rivals in each sport they sponsor. It's no fun at all to cheer against Cal Poly and UC-Davis once a year when we play them in football, only to have to occupy the rest of the year cheering against IUPUI, Oral Roberts and teams such as that.

Not really sure that a cultural relationship with the Big SKy is enough to warrant staying in the league when this idea makes sense to me. That's like saying South Florida culturally is a better fit to be in the SEC or ACC, yet they are in the Big East.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Hey Tbirdz, Just wanted to say welcome and keep the discussion going. You brought up an interesting topic.

[AZGrizFan]

I fully support any idea that gets Suck State out of the Big Sky.

[Wildcat Ryan]

I kinda like the Big Sky the way it is, football is usually a little one-sided, but there is always the chance for any team to progress and come out of nowhere, like Weber State.

Basketball on the other hand is far more entertaining, I know this is a football blog, but even though BSC basketball isnt the best conference, I have heard from many people that it is the hardest one to win. Big Sky road games are TOUGH.

[JALMOND]

Hopefully this will prove my point on travel a little better. At present, the southern-most team in the Big West is Irvine. The northern-most is UC-Davis. From school to school is 441 miles. Irvine to Flagstaff is 465. This is exactly why I proposed the two division idea in all sports other than football. For the use of an example let's just stick with Irvine. In their division they would play Riverside, Fullerton, SUU, NAU, and San Diego every year. Their futhest trip away would be NAU which is only 24 more miles further than their furthest current opponent. Their trip to Cedar would be the equivalent to what they face now when they go to Pacific. There could be a rotation every two years on what teams they would play from the North Division, kinda like the Big East is now w/ their all-sports scheduling. In the North Divsion, teams such as Davis and Pacific would be saving on travel in that they wouldn't have to travel to the LA area 2-4 times a year. They would play their five North Division rivals, and play 2-3 schools out of the South Division on that same rotating basis.

And I agree with you SUUTBird, your scenario is what will probably happen. I am just hoping this idea could come into action. The Great West, since its conception, has never been a stable league. Furthermore, it's about time SUU got into a league where they could have conference rivals in each sport they sponsor. It's no fun at all to cheer against Cal Poly and UC-Davis once a year when we play them in football, only to have to occupy the rest of the year cheering against IUPUI, Oral Roberts and teams such as that.

Not really sure that a cultural relationship with the Big SKy is enough to warrant staying in the league when this idea makes sense to me. That's like saying South Florida culturally is a better fit to be in the SEC or ACC, yet they are in the Big East.

A big problem in making Southern Utah and Northern Arizona travel partners is that they are not joined together by a freeway system. All cities in the Big Sky are connected by some sort of freeway (even NAU as we fly into Phoenix and bus up I-17). Unless you go through Vegas, Cedar City and Flagstaff are connected by two lane country roads that can become rather treacherous as winter approaches. Is this really what you want the teams and fans to drive on?

[weberwildcat]

I like the concept Big West...I do see one issue with it, the rest of the conference wouldn't be excited about UVU joining because they'd be winning the conf every year in basketball. Also, its only a matter of time before SUU starts getting good with Reid as the coach.

Another issue is they really like the all California only conf, saves a lot of money for travel now that Utah St & Idaho are gone.

[jstclmet]

I didn't see this thread when I posted the following in the other thread;

As for Orange County, not real sure why the L.A. Rams left Anaheim as they sold out nearly every game. The L.A. Raiders may not have sold out everytime, and Al Davis is a bit of a @sshole. However, football in the L.A. basin is hard to keep.

Back in the early 80's both Cal State Fullerton & Long Beach State had 1-A football programs. They were in a league (PCAA, then Big West, and so on) that was considered the little sister of the Pac-10 (much like the MAC is to the Big 10). Long Beach dropped their football program around 84/85ish. Fullerton soon followed. Both due to low attendance. Both schools are commuter schools. Both schools excel in baseball. Their basketball programs used to be bigger, but have declined some.

Neither school is in OC, but they're both very close. Fullerton boarders Santa Ana (Northern most OC town), while LB is just north-west of Westminster. Both schools are maybe 20 - 30 fwy minutes apart. Great natural rivalries. There's been talk of football maybe coming back to Fullerton, and there's faint hope that if Fullerton is successful in bringing back football, the Long Beach may follow.

Not real sure what conference, if any, they would play in though.

You have;
Cal Poly, UC Davis, & So Utah in the Big West, and
Sacramento St, Northern Az, Portland St. & Weber State in the Big Sky, and
USD in the PFL.
They could play an Indy schedule and with these teams have a 9 game schedule. Add a FBS game, and maybe a warm up game with Azusa Pacific the first couple of years, and they'd be good.

An earlier poster wrote that NAU may be too far of bus ride, but in the Orig PCAA & Big West, travel out of state was just as far if not farther. Travel from SoCal to NoCal is 6 - 8 hrs pending your starting point, so a plane ride will be necessary anyway.

[S F State Gaters]

The only way that the Big West does football would be if one school, such as fullerton or long beach, had the student body vote to improve a budget increase, something on the order of 60-100 dollars a semester per student. That would probably be sufficient to fund football along with the other sports needed to meet title IX compliance. I'm not sure any student body at any of the potential schools would pass such an increase. Some schools face additional issues, such as lack of facilities, but fullerton and pacific are the two that maintain good size facilities for football.

The administrations of all the big west schools are essentially committed to not playing football, not raising the issue and not making any efforts to advance any proposals in that direction. There are minor student movements for football at virtually all non-football playing schools in the state, but none of them boast more than a few dozen members at the most. Everyone agrees at these schools that it'd be neat to have football back, but nobody is making it happen.

The best chance might be a school like Azusa Pacific, which has made impressive strides and though they are NAIA, they play FCS San Diego every season. They might be inclined to follow the Pioneer model. The sense is that it is easier to move a team that is playing football up than it is to convince recalcitrant administrators to fund brand new programs

[Green Laser]

In a perfect world the Big West would have football and if that were the case Sac State would be a perfect fit.
I don't see that happening for a couple of reasons. First I don't see any of the current Big West teams, UOP, Fullerton, Long Beach, Santa Barbara or Irvine that have dropped football realistically restarting their programs. Despite student/ alumni movements at several of the schools history has shown that once a program is gone administrators are very reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary to revive it. Schools moving up to FCS are also a long shot. Secondly as I understand it the Big West is firmly committed to a California only footprint which would limit reaching out to SUU, NAU etc. If the Big West would consider out of state schools, I would prefer going with Portland and either EWU or NAU.

A Big West Football League below would work;
Sac State
davis
Cal poly
San Jose State (if their football fortunes continue to decline in the WAC)
San Diego State (If their football fortunes continue to decline in the MWC)
Portland State
EWU and or NAU

This league would provide strong geographical rivalries, major media markets and connections between the schools to generate fan interest.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

It is far more likely that the BSC absorbs Davis, Poly and SUU, than the Big West bringing back football and drawing schools away from the Sky. The latter is just ridiculous, and will never happen.

[S F State Gaters]

It is far more likely that the BSC absorbs Davis, Poly and SUU, than the Big West bringing back football and drawing schools away from the Sky. The latter is just ridiculous, and will never happen.

aww comeon mate, you don't think that Azusa Pacific is going to ride in and save the day?

Think about what heroes the CSUF Titans would be if they smashed in and said, 'i'll save you, Great West!" to booming fanfare? Just think of it....

[S F State Gaters]

It is far more likely that the BSC absorbs Davis, Poly and SUU, than the Big West bringing back football and drawing schools away from the Sky. The latter is just ridiculous, and will never happen.

NOSTRADAMUS!!!

[EWURanger]

It is far more likely that the BSC absorbs Davis, Poly and SUU, than the Big West bringing back football and drawing schools away from the Sky. The latter is just ridiculous, and will never happen.

NOSTRADAMUS!!!

Holy resurrected thread.

Actually, there were quite a few of us that had been speculating that this would happen for many years. It only made sense.

The only thing that really surprised me was the UND addition.

[Herky]

I fully support any idea that gets Suck State out of the Big Sky.

[Herky]

Failed to even think of Utah Valley U. whenever I made the post. The main reason I suggested NAU was because of the rumors swirling about their economic situation. The Big West makes much more sense for them in terms of travel/cost than the Big Sky ever could. And with San Diego, I have heard that they are finally considering bringing the football program up to speed w/ scholarships. With the recent success that their program has had, I can't imagine they will be content staying in the Pioneer League forever. They have shown a commitment playing teams like UC-Davis in the past and SUU this season. My hope is that the Big West could be lasting conference for these schools. This league would offer an outstanding 12 team league where you could divide all-sports play into two divisions, North/South. Also offers the potential of having a 9-team football conference. Seems to me it has the potential to be an FCS version of its counterpart The Big East.

Big West South: Big West North:
SUU UC-Davis
San Diego Cal Poly
NAU Pacific (Had football before, would hopefully bring back)
UC-Irvine UC-Santa Barbara
UC-Riverside CS-Northridge (Discussing football)
CS-Fullerton (Discussing football) Long Beach St. (Discussing football)


Maybe even down the line UVU and Bakersfield could join as well as both are newly D1. I would love to see all D1 schools in the West find stable conference homes and this Big West/Big Sky theory makes sense to me. Would love to see this happen sooner or later.