Now what with the Great West?

[CPAlum]

Now that the WAC has cooled their jets on expansion.....What is the future of the football members of the Great West? Does anybody think that Cal Poly or UCD will go FBS independent in hopes of a later WAC invite? Will they raise (donors) the dough to improve facilities? Will the Big Sky ever expand? Scheduling seems like a real pain out west and I just don't see how these two programs succeed without a more stable football home.

[89Hen]

Not saying this to be mean, but the GW is and has been a dead conference. With the limited number of teams in the west, I'm not sure how they can get to critical mass to keep it a viable conference. I would have to think UND and USD are looking everywhere they can in the midwest to land in a conference with enough teams so they can one, get an auto bid and two, be guaranteed enough conference games that they don' t have go hunting every year for 6-7 games. Not sure what CP and UCD can do.

[CPAlum]

That is not mean...it is true and is exactly my point

[dbackjon]

New FBS independents are not allowed

[CPAlum]

till 2012?...or not at all?

[Herky]

Now that the WAC has cooled their jets on expansion.....What is the future of the football members of the Great West? Does anybody think that Cal Poly or UCD will go FBS independent in hopes of a later WAC invite? Will they raise (donors) the dough to improve facilities? Will the Big Sky ever expand? Scheduling seems like a real pain out west and I just don't see how these two programs succeed without a more stable football home.

Just my

Davis ( ) isnt going anywhere, they're cutting sports programs, with more planned next year. They have absolutely no money and their administration doesnt want to deal with the faculty and student protests associated with increased spending on football plus facility improvements. It's just not going to happen for them any time soon.
1) Title IX compliance with additional scholarships.
2) Money associated with additional scholarships.
3) Not ready to even be considered as they can only seat 10k.

Cal Poly has a shot at moving up, but as DB pointed out, it won't be independently. There are other programs in line ahead of Cal Poly with regard to who the WAC has in mind from the FCS. As with Davis, eventually Cal Poly will go FBS, but not for a while.
1) Title IX compliance.
2) Money? (I don't know what Poly's situation is)
3) Only seat +/- 11k (I know there are plans to expand, but when and how, money?)

[SUUTbird]

Not at all mean mate just a very good point. In all honesty the only Cali school i see going to FBS anytime soon out of the Great West is Poly. On another note i feel that the conference is literally within a few years (1-3) of dropping football which means the teams in it will be left out to dry. This is honestly the best options i can see for these teams when this does happen is that the Summit League will start football. Though i know the Dakota States are apposed to this idea i really do like it because you would get a pretty decent conference out of it. However since we have already covered that another option i can see is the teams going to different conferences. For example:

-The two Dakota schools could join the Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley conference and be a pretty good fit in either. The addition of them joining either conference would bring their members to 11 and would help in terms of scheduling as they would only have to find 1 non conference game, or if they wanted find either an IND, D2 move up or a team from another FCS conference to bring the total up to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

-SUU, Cal Poly and UC-Davis could easily become members of an expanded Big Sky Conference with two 6 team divisions. This is just the best idea i can think of for these schools as location wise and competitiveness they would be a good fit. Though im usually not a fan of big conferences i think this would and could work really well:

Big Sky North
-Montana
-Montana State
-Portland State
-Eastern Washington
-Idaho State
-Northern Colorado

Big Sky South
-Cal Poly
-NAU
-UC-Davis
-SUU
-Weber State
-Sac State

Two very decent divisions i think that will also keep rivalry games alive. Also the fact that the Cali schools would be in one conference would really make this an attractive idea and scheduling wouldnt be to bad as you would play your division opponents each season and rotate with three teams from the other division. Also i bring this up because i feel that SUU belongs in the Big Sky but thats a debate for another day

[dbackjon]

till 2012?...or not at all?

After the moratorium is lifted next year

[ajwildcat]

Not at all mean mate just a very good point. In all honesty the only Cali school i see going to FBS anytime soon out of the Great West is Poly. On another note i feel that the conference is literally within a few years (1-3) of dropping football which means the teams in it will be left out to dry. This is honestly the best options i can see for these teams when this does happen is that the Summit League will start football. Though i know the Dakota States are apposed to this idea i really do like it because you would get a pretty decent conference out of it. However since we have already covered that another option i can see is the teams going to different conferences. For example:

-The two Dakota schools could join the Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley conference and be a pretty good fit in either. The addition of them joining either conference would bring their members to 11 and would help in terms of scheduling as they would only have to find 1 non conference game, or if they wanted find either an IND, D2 move up or a team from another FCS conference to bring the total up to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

-SUU, Cal Poly and UC-Davis could easily become members of an expanded Big Sky Conference with two 6 team divisions. This is just the best idea i can think of for these schools as location wise and competitiveness they would be a good fit. Though im usually not a fan of big conferences i think this would and could work really well:

Big Sky North
-Montana
-Montana State
-Portland State
-Eastern Washington
-Idaho State
-Northern Colorado

Big Sky South
-Cal Poly
-NAU
-UC-Davis
-SUU
-Weber State
-Sac State

Two very decent divisions i think that will also keep rivalry games alive. Also the fact that the Cali schools would be in one conference would really make this an attractive idea and scheduling wouldnt be to bad as you would play your division opponents each season and rotate with three teams from the other division. Also i bring this up because i feel that SUU belongs in the Big Sky but thats a debate for another day

As a Weber State fan I hope that SUU will join the Big Sky and soon!! To me it makes a lot of sense to add SUU and I have thought this way for a few years. On a side note, when will SUU and WSU finally play in football again? this is ridiculous.

[SUUTbird]

As a Weber State fan I hope that SUU will join the Big Sky and soon!! To me it makes a lot of sense to add SUU and I have thought this way for a few years. On a side note, when will SUU and WSU finally play in football again? this is ridiculous.

When our AD's get our heads out of their asses and realize that they are missing out on a great non conference game that could bring alot more attention to these schools in Utah. They could even hype it up to make it a huge rivalry game and that would help out alot in terms of in state recruiting.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Not at all mean mate just a very good point. In all honesty the only Cali school i see going to FBS anytime soon out of the Great West is Poly. On another note i feel that the conference is literally within a few years (1-3) of dropping football which means the teams in it will be left out to dry. This is honestly the best options i can see for these teams when this does happen is that the Summit League will start football. Though i know the Dakota States are apposed to this idea i really do like it because you would get a pretty decent conference out of it. However since we have already covered that another option i can see is the teams going to different conferences. For example:

-The two Dakota schools could join the Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley conference and be a pretty good fit in either. The addition of them joining either conference would bring their members to 11 and would help in terms of scheduling as they would only have to find 1 non conference game, or if they wanted find either an IND, D2 move up or a team from another FCS conference to bring the total up to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

-SUU, Cal Poly and UC-Davis could easily become members of an expanded Big Sky Conference with two 6 team divisions. This is just the best idea i can think of for these schools as location wise and competitiveness they would be a good fit. Though im usually not a fan of big conferences i think this would and could work really well:

Big Sky North
-Montana
-Montana State
-Portland State
-Eastern Washington
-Idaho State
-Northern Colorado

Big Sky South
-Cal Poly
-NAU
-UC-Davis
-SUU
-Weber State
-Sac State

Two very decent divisions i think that will also keep rivalry games alive. Also the fact that the Cali schools would be in one conference would really make this an attractive idea and scheduling wouldnt be to bad as you would play your division opponents each season and rotate with three teams from the other division. Also i bring this up because i feel that SUU belongs in the Big Sky but thats a debate for another day

Exactly. Agree with all of this.

[89Hen]

Though im usually not a fan of big conferences...

unless your team is in one

[weberwildcat]

http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopi ... =1&t=43881" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Big Sky 12
-North: PSU, EWU, UM, MSU, ISU, WSU
-South: Sac, Davis, Poly, NAU, SUU, UNC

[SUUTbird]

http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopi ... =1&t=43881

The Big Sky 12
-North: PSU, EWU, UM, MSU, ISU, WSU
-South: Sac, Davis, Poly, NAU, SUU, UNC

I thought about switching UNC for Weber but i thought it would be better to have SUU and Weber in the same division, that way we could play each other on a regular basis and revive the excuse for a rivalry game

[TBirdz]

this only leaves one team in the West without a logical conference home, San Diego...with all of speculation that a Big Sky team could be the target of WAC expansion, is room made for them?

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

this only leaves one team in the West without a logical conference home, San Diego...with all of speculation that a Big Sky team could be the target of WAC expansion, is room made for them?

They aren't gonna be a full conference member so they ain't getting in. That would go for anybody out there. They would need to put way too much money into scholly's also so that's not happening as far as I can see.

[TBirdz]

Agreed about San Diego...Would CP or UC-D consider leaving the Big West to Big Sky or invest a little more and just make the jump to WAC? Culturally and rivalry related, the 2 division Big Sky makes sense for me...probably because I am hoping big time for SUU to get into a more stable conference and have been for some time.

[SUUTbird]

I think UC-Davis wont be moving up anytime soon just because as Herky pointed out they are cutting programs to save money. The best bet for a Great West team to move up is Cal Poly, other then that i see everyone else looking for a more stable conference. And believe me i have no idea what is up with San Diego but i guess they are happy to be blowing all their money on travel

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I think UC-Davis wont be moving up anytime soon just because as Herky pointed out they are cutting programs to save money. The best bet for a Great West team to move up is Cal Poly, other then that i see everyone else looking for a more stable conference. And believe me i have no idea what is up with San Diego but i guess they are happy to be blowing all their money on travel

Their travel costs are a fraction of what schollies would be for them from an article that was posted here a while back. Financially they are way better off doing what they are doing unless they can turn the FB program into a money maker.

[SuperHornet]

There is at least one arrogant Manure Pile fan who thinks the Ags will get a move-up invite LONG before Sac does despite their fiduciary situation. I find that interesting given that not one peep about this has come out of their AD's office. We've heard at least some weak indications that Sac was considering accepting a WAC call-up from the AD and prez in a Bozo newspaper. (We're still wondering why the bogus Bee didn't cover that.)

While I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of bringing SUU into the Sky, given their presence, it looks like the North-South division makes the most sense. I still want to see an E-W breakdown (EWU on south in a West Division and everyone else in an East Division) because going clear to Weber in a divisional breakdown seems a bit far, but that brings up the question of reaching over for either the Jacks or the Bungles. The N-S concept doesn't involve that reachover but does entail a lot of E-W travel on both sides of the line. It also, regardless of the divisional breakdown, begs the question of accepting the Manure Pile as a football-only associate or talking them into leaving the Big West.

It would be interesting to see how this all plays out. Whether we bring in SUU or not, I would desperately love to add Cow Poly and the Manure Pile. UCD would be a great travel partner for Sac, and there's no way in heck that CP will be the Second Coming of Northridge. I see CP and UCD as outweighing the limitations of SUU, therefore raising the conference RPI (or whatever they want to call it for football). I don't know if we'll be allowed to stage a conference championship game given the proximity of the playoffs to the end of the season, but I would hope that the two division winners would make the playoffs, whether it be a double auto-bid or just being good enough to ensure an at-large.

[JALMOND]

http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopi ... =1&t=43881

The Big Sky 12
-North: PSU, EWU, UM, MSU, ISU, WSU
-South: Sac, Davis, Poly, NAU, SUU, UNC

I thought about switching UNC for Weber but i thought it would be better to have SUU and Weber in the same division, that way we could play each other on a regular basis and revive the excuse for a rivalry game

You're asking a lot for Weber to abandon their established tradition of 50 years of playing the other core Big Sky members (ISU, UM and MSU) just to try to start a rivalry with SUU. The core 4 plus the NW would make one division and the rest would make the other, although it is highly unlikely. San Diego will not move anywhere as their main source of revenue comes from their basketball program. If push comes to shove, they would do like fellow WCC member St. Mary's and drop football in favor of basketball. There is no benefit for the Torreros to offer scholarships in football and cut funding for basketball and lag behind Gonzaga, St. Marys and the rest of the WCC in their main sport.

What makes the most sense is Cal Poly, Davis and Sac State to the WAC, SUU takes the Hornets place in the Big Sky and the Dakota schools move on. This was proposed by the WAC early on, but was promptly met with strong resistance from Fresno State which makes this scenario highly unlikely as well. It seems as if Fresno felt that adding more California schools would hurt their recruiting.

[S F State Gaters]

Not at all mean mate just a very good point. In all honesty the only Cali school i see going to FBS anytime soon out of the Great West is Poly. On another note i feel that the conference is literally within a few years (1-3) of dropping football which means the teams in it will be left out to dry. This is honestly the best options i can see for these teams when this does happen is that the Summit League will start football. Though i know the Dakota States are apposed to this idea i really do like it because you would get a pretty decent conference out of it. However since we have already covered that another option i can see is the teams going to different conferences. For example:

-The two Dakota schools could join the Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley conference and be a pretty good fit in either. The addition of them joining either conference would bring their members to 11 and would help in terms of scheduling as they would only have to find 1 non conference game, or if they wanted find either an IND, D2 move up or a team from another FCS conference to bring the total up to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

-SUU, Cal Poly and UC-Davis could easily become members of an expanded Big Sky Conference with two 6 team divisions. This is just the best idea i can think of for these schools as location wise and competitiveness they would be a good fit. Though im usually not a fan of big conferences i think this would and could work really well:

Big Sky North
-Montana
-Montana State
-Portland State
-Eastern Washington
-Idaho State
-Northern Colorado

Big Sky South
-Cal Poly
-NAU
-UC-Davis
-SUU
-Weber State
-Sac State

Two very decent divisions i think that will also keep rivalry games alive. Also the fact that the Cali schools would be in one conference would really make this an attractive idea and scheduling wouldnt be to bad as you would play your division opponents each season and rotate with three teams from the other division. Also i bring this up because i feel that SUU belongs in the Big Sky but thats a debate for another day

I'm probably double-posting this since i've asked it recently in a similar great west threat, but why hasn't this just happened already? It doesn't take a geographer to see that Cal Davis, Cal Poly, and So Utah fit in the Big Sky. Why didn't they just go to it when Northern Colorado made the move? What mystical 6th team were they hoping to attract to the Great West... UTPA? i'm buying the dissolution of the Great West to merge the three with the big sky, but selling why it hasn't just already happened. What am i missing about it?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Not at all mean mate just a very good point. In all honesty the only Cali school i see going to FBS anytime soon out of the Great West is Poly. On another note i feel that the conference is literally within a few years (1-3) of dropping football which means the teams in it will be left out to dry. This is honestly the best options i can see for these teams when this does happen is that the Summit League will start football. Though i know the Dakota States are apposed to this idea i really do like it because you would get a pretty decent conference out of it. However since we have already covered that another option i can see is the teams going to different conferences. For example:

-The two Dakota schools could join the Missouri Valley or Ohio Valley conference and be a pretty good fit in either. The addition of them joining either conference would bring their members to 11 and would help in terms of scheduling as they would only have to find 1 non conference game, or if they wanted find either an IND, D2 move up or a team from another FCS conference to bring the total up to 12 teams and 2 divisions.

-SUU, Cal Poly and UC-Davis could easily become members of an expanded Big Sky Conference with two 6 team divisions. This is just the best idea i can think of for these schools as location wise and competitiveness they would be a good fit. Though im usually not a fan of big conferences i think this would and could work really well:

Big Sky North
-Montana
-Montana State
-Portland State
-Eastern Washington
-Idaho State
-Northern Colorado

Big Sky South
-Cal Poly
-NAU
-UC-Davis
-SUU
-Weber State
-Sac State

Two very decent divisions i think that will also keep rivalry games alive. Also the fact that the Cali schools would be in one conference would really make this an attractive idea and scheduling wouldnt be to bad as you would play your division opponents each season and rotate with three teams from the other division. Also i bring this up because i feel that SUU belongs in the Big Sky but thats a debate for another day

I'm probably double-posting this since i've asked it recently in a similar great west threat, but why hasn't this just happened already? It doesn't take a geographer to see that Cal Davis, Cal Poly, and So Utah fit in the Big Sky. Why didn't they just go to it when Northern Colorado made the move? What mystical 6th team were they hoping to attract to the Great West... UTPA? i'm buying the dissolution of the Great West to merge the three with the big sky, but selling why it hasn't just already happened. What am i missing about it?

The Big Sky won't take football-only schools, they want full membership only.

[BlackFalkin]

What does it profit the Sky to add GWC members?

[AZGrizFan]

What does it profit the Sky to add GWC members?

I agree. While competitively I'd like to see them added, financially it makes no sense. In fact, for that reason alone I'd like to see them jettison Sac State.