. Now before any of you say this is "clear as mud" or just a rumor i assure i just barely spoke to him for about 30 minutes on the matter. Now what i want to ask you guys is what teams do you think may join? Im thinking the following teams have the best chance:Central Washington Wildcats: After falling short to West Texas A&M in the first round of the D2 football playoffs the Wildcats capped off a pretty impressive year including a very near upset of the NC runner ups Montana Grizzlies AT Montana! They have gone 10-2(2008), 10-3(2007) and an NFL bound QB in Mike Reilly.Their facilities at this point are a little hazy but i think with the move up they would update them. Also with Western Washington dropping football that may be the biggest push for them to move up to the FCS.
West Texas A&M Buffaloes: In my opinion definitely a front runner to move up to the Great West. The Buffaloes have been repeatedly ranked in the top 25 in the D2 polls for several years in a row now and continually compete for the D2 championship. The Buffaloes this year went 11-2 and lost '93 to 68" (yes real score) in a shootout with #2 Albilene Christian. The facilities of the buffaloes are also top notch, their stadium holding over 20,000 people and they always seem to get a decent crowd (average crowd of 12,421 in 2008). Their location also isnt to bad, lets face it its closer then the Dakotas.
Chadron State Eagles: Another canidate mainly based on location and recent success. The eagles over the past few years are another team that has been in the championship hunt. This year they lost a heartbreaker to the the eventual D2 football champions Minnesota Duluth. the Eagles went 11-2 in 2008 and have won 27 RMAC games in a row and have won the the conference for 3 straight years. The one really lacking factor here would be their facilities (stadium holds only 3,000) but i would think with the move up they would add on to the stadium.
Nebraska Omaha Mavericks Going 41-14 over the past 5 years is not just the only reason i think the Mavericks would be a good addition to the Great West Conference. The Mavs have repeatedly competed for the D2 championship and overall have been a very successful program. Their location is somewhat of a question being right below the Dakotas however i couldnt really find/ think of any other teams with a reputation for winning out west. However they do have decent facilities (stadium holds 9,500) and have repeatedly clashed with now Great West Conference members North and South Dakota.
If any other teams should be mentioned just add them and give your insights into the future of the Great West.
