Big Sky Conference Schedules for 2012-2015

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Hypotheticals are a lot of fun. They make you consider the improbable, if not the absurd. Somtimes they are so absurd they make you laugh.

Hypotheticals are the only way the bison can sniff the D-I championship. Absurd indeed!

[JBB]

Its just a scheduling question. How do you feel about it?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Die.

Short and sweet.

[JBB]

This is not an NDSU/ewu thread. Please stick to BSC scheduling. OK?

[Screamin_Eagle174]

This is not an NDSU/ewu thread. Please stick to BSC scheduling. OK?

This isn't an NDSU thread period. Why are you here?

[SUUTbird]

I honestly just think the Big Sky needs to find a 14th member which would even the schedule out somewhat better. With an additional team it would allow each team from each conference to play their 6 conference games and 3 teams from the other Big Sky Conference one year and then 4 the next. This would allow teams to schedule alternating 1 to 2 non conference games every other year, also based on the rivalry chart could help teams maintain some rivalries.

For example lets say "Idaho" drops back down to the Big Sky and the conference separates into north and southern conferences(note this is just a made up situation). Lets say the conferences ended up like this:

Big Sky North:
-Montana
-Montana State
-Idaho
-Eastern Washington
-Portland State
-North Dakota
-Idaho State

Big Sky South
-Southern Utah
-Weber State
-UC-Davis
-Sac State
-Northern Colorado
-Northern Arizona
-Cal Poly

Now Base on the Rivals Chart that was on the Big Sky Website in comparisons to the conference above:

UC Davis: Sacramento State, Cal Poly - In Same Conference
Cal Poly: UC Davis, Sacramento State - In Same Conference
Eastern Washington: Portland State, Montana - In Same Conference
Idaho State: Weber State, "Idaho" - Idaho is a much better rival the PSU, In the Same Conference
Montana: Eastern Washington, Montana State - In Same Conference
Montana State: Montana, North Dakota - In Same Conference, Cross game with UND
North Dakota: Northern Colorado, Montana State - In Same Conference with Bobcats, Cross game with UNC
Northern Arizona: Southern Utah, Northern Colorado - In Same Conference
Northern Colorado: North Dakota, Northern Arizona - In Same Conference, Cross game with UND
Portland State: Eastern Washington, UC-Davis? - No Idea who PSU rivals are, In Same Conference
Sacramento State: UC Davis, Cal Poly - In Same Conference
Southern Utah: Northern Arizona, Weber State - In Same Conference
Weber State: Idaho State, Southern Utah - In Same Conference


With this setup you could easily maintain the vast majority of rivalry games (there are a few such as Portland State being Idaho States rival that I am a little unsure of) and I think would help with the scheduling in terms of finding non conference opponents. Teams who are struggling in terms of cash could easily find a "money" game with either one of or their only non conference game that is available. Now the only problem is convincing Idaho fans that moving down would be a good idea

[Sapper]

ISU got screwed. the BSC needs a 14th team Idaho will never drop back down they make more as a losing FBS team than they would as a winning BSC team. The BSC should look at San Diego they would be a good fit. That would make two divisions a Costal and Mountain or a north and south.

Coastal
EWU
PSU
SAC
Cal-Poly
UC Davis
USD
NAU

Mountain
UM
MUS
ISU
WSU
North Dakota
UNC

North
EWU
PSU
UM
MSU
ISU
North Dakota
WSU

South
Cal Poly
Sac State
UC Davis
USD
NAU
SUU
UNC

[kalm]

Die.

Short and sweet.

Very well done.

[grizzaholic]

I cant wait to see basketball, track, and the other minor sports. That will be fun!

Follow your own advice and not post in this thread.

[Wildcat Ryan]

****' Weber gets to start out 2-0 every year.

Weber would first have to be able to beat EWU. One of our first two games in 2012 and 2013 are home and away to EWU.


On the subject of the charter rivals playing each other every year, they still can. All they would have to do is schedule the games, for instance Weber's 2012 schedule has Montana and Idaho State on it, all they would have to do is schedule Montana State as a non conf game and they will have played the other 3 charter members. I for one like this schedule format

2012- home to Montana @ Idaho State- add @ Montana State
2013- @ Montana, Montana State and Idaho State- we play all 3
2014- @ Idaho State- add @ Montana State and Montana
2015- @ Montana, Idaho State- add Montana State

WORKS PERFECTLY

[SuperHornet]

There's one very HUGE hole in Sapper's argument. USD is currently in the Pioneer League, which as a non-schollie conference is generally considered to be on a rough level with the RMAC. In other words, a D-II call-up in the Pac-NW (like CWU) would probably be preferable, especially in terms of smothing the "rival" situation with ISU. The other option, UCSD, is likewise a probable non-starter.

Not saying I advocate that, especially after the debacle my last D-II choice turned into, but it's bound to be higher on the list than USD.

[clenz]

Short and sweet.

Very well done.

I really thought that post was going to go unnoticed.

[AZGrizFan]

****' Weber gets to start out 2-0 every year.

Weber would first have to be able to beat EWU. One of our first two games in 2012 and 2013 are home and away to EWU.


On the subject of the charter rivals playing each other every year, they still can. All they would have to do is schedule the games, for instance Weber's 2012 schedule has Montana and Idaho State on it, all they would have to do is schedule Montana State as a non conf game and they will have played the other 3 charter members. I for one like this schedule format

2012- home to Montana @ Idaho State- add @ Montana State
2013- @ Montana, Montana State and Idaho State- we play all 3
2014- @ Idaho State- add @ Montana State and Montana
2015- @ Montana, Idaho State- add Montana State

WORKS PERFECTLY

Let me rephrase that: Weber gets two guaranteed wins every year.

But I DO like your idea about the charter members scheduling each other to continue the traditions...

[CPAlum]

ISU got screwed. the BSC needs a 14th team Idaho will never drop back down they make more as a losing FBS team than they would as a winning BSC team. The BSC should look at San Diego they would be a good fit. That would make two divisions a Costal and Mountain or a north and south.

Coastal
EWU
PSU
SAC
Cal-Poly
UC Davis
USD
NAU

Mountain
UM
MUS
ISU
WSU
North Dakota
UNC

North
EWU
PSU
UM
MSU
ISU
North Dakota
WSU

South
Cal Poly
Sac State
UC Davis
USD
NAU
SUU
UNC

I like the coastal v mountain break better persoanlly and adding another team makes perfect sense but every time I hear someone mention the University of San Diego I cringe. Honest question....have you ever been there? USD is not a good candidate for the BSC. It is actaully shocking that they have been able to maintain a football program at all. Good school and probably would be better off as DII. If I had my choice I would target Humboldt State...I think geographically they are a better fit and further their committment to football in particular has been quite frankly amazing. I belive they have been the only DII team in California for the past several years. They are competetive year in year out and offer reasonable travel for the vast majority of current schools.

[SuperHornet]

I gotta hand it to you, CPAlum. I coulda sworn the CCAA still sponsored football, and that Chico still played. I was wrong on both counts. Humboldt is indeed the only D-II football-playing school remaining in CA.

I suspect, however, that anyone promoting them for a call-up will run into the same problems we get with UND and SUU: no major airports in the area. It's over 5 hours drive time each from Sac, SF, and Eugene, and 7 hours from Portland.

On the other hand, CWU, which is proving to be pretty good in D-II (12-1 2009, 8-3 2010 and only lost to FCS National Champion EWU by a FG), is only 40 min from Yakima and 2 hours from SeaTac.

[uofmman1122]

If Idaho drops down from FBS (it won't happen, but what if, right?), and Montana doesn't play them every year, I'll stab a puppy.

No offense EWU, but Idaho is quite a step up on the rival totem pole.

[Mike Johnson]

I suspect, however, that anyone promoting them for a call-up will run into the same problems we get with UND and SUU: no major airports in the area. It's over 5 hours drive time each from Sac, SF, and Eugene, and 7 hours from Portland.

On the other hand, CWU, which is proving to be pretty good in D-II (12-1 2009, 8-3 2010 and only lost to FCS National Champion EWU by a FG), is only 40 min from Yakima and 2 hours from SeaTac.

Getting to Cedar City is easier than you think. You can fly from Sacramento directly into Cedar City to its own commercial airport (3 miles from SUU) for about $400 round trip about 4-5 hours each way changing planes in Salt Lake. This cost and time is comparable to flying from Sacramento into Yakima, but that route you still have to drive 40 minutes.

You can fly to the new and improved St. George Airport (which rivals Yakima) for a little less than $400 and also about 45 minutes away.

You can fly to Las Vegas, which is about 2 and a half hours from Cedar City and although there is traffic, there is a lot less traffic than around Seattle-Tacoma. Both, cheapest flights I found were in the $250 range.

You can't make the argument that SUU is hard to get to and CWU is easy. Both are about the same, but with the option of flying directly in Cedar City for SUU. Besides, it is an hour longer to drive to Ellensburg (12 hours) than it is to drive to Cedar City (11 hours) from Sacramento.

[SUUTbird]

I suspect, however, that anyone promoting them for a call-up will run into the same problems we get with UND and SUU: no major airports in the area. It's over 5 hours drive time each from Sac, SF, and Eugene, and 7 hours from Portland.

On the other hand, CWU, which is proving to be pretty good in D-II (12-1 2009, 8-3 2010 and only lost to FCS National Champion EWU by a FG), is only 40 min from Yakima and 2 hours from SeaTac.

Getting to Cedar City is easier than you think. You can fly from Sacramento directly into Cedar City to its own commercial airport (3 miles from SUU) for about $400 round trip about 4-5 hours each way changing planes in Salt Lake. This cost and time is comparable to flying from Sacramento into Yakima, but that route you still have to drive 40 minutes.

You can fly to the new and improved St. George Airport (which rivals Yakima) for a little less than $400 and also about 45 minutes away.

You can fly to Las Vegas, which is about 2 and a half hours from Cedar City and although there is traffic, there is a lot less traffic than around Seattle-Tacoma. Both, cheapest flights I found were in the $250 range.

You can't make the argument that SUU is hard to get to and CWU is easy. Both are about the same, but with the option of flying directly in Cedar City for SUU. Besides, it is an hour longer to drive to Ellensburg (12 hours) than it is to drive to Cedar City (11 hours) from Sacramento.

I would just ignore it, for some reason Superhornet has a beef with SUU being in the conference for really no apparent reason.

[SuperHornet]

No "apparent" reason? I'm not going to dignify that with a response. I've already answered that non-question enough.

[EWURanger]

CWU's not moving up, nor would I want them in the conference.

As far as D-II's, it looks like Humboldt State is the best option. I wonder why they wouldn't want to move to FCS with three other california schools in the conference. Just seems to make a lot more sense than remaining the other D-II school in the state.

[SUUTbird]

CWU's not moving up, nor would I want them in the conference.

As far as D-II's, it looks like Humboldt State is the best option. I wonder why they wouldn't want to move to FCS with three other california schools in the conference. Just seems to make a lot more sense than remaining the other D-II school in the state.

Would make sense, they have a good sized stadium (not sure about fan base) and geographically would fit in perfectly with a coastal/mountain lineup for the Big Sky football conferences. Also they seem to at least currently decently competitive, only lost to Cal Poly last season 23-17 last season in a hard fought game.

[ArmyOfDarkness]

CWU's not moving up, nor would I want them in the conference.

As far as D-II's, it looks like Humboldt State is the best option. I wonder why they wouldn't want to move to FCS with three other california schools in the conference. Just seems to make a lot more sense than remaining the other D-II school in the state.

Would make sense, they have a good sized stadium (not sure about fan base) and geographically would fit in perfectly with a coastal/mountain lineup for the Big Sky football conferences. Also they seem to at least currently decently competitive, only lost to Cal Poly last season 23-17 last season in a hard fought game.

Not sure I agree with this, and not because I am comparing it to Montana's. It doesn't look bad, but I wouldn't classify it as a good sized stadium.



Another Hornets Nest for basketball to...



They may be a good fit geographically and talent wise, but some improvements on facilities would need to be made IMO. Appearance is half (maybe more?) of the battle anymore.

[SJHornet]

Another Hornets Nest for basketball to...



They may be a good fit geographically and talent wise, but some improvements on facilities would need to be made IMO. Appearance is half (maybe more?) of the battle anymore.

Actually, that's quite a bit nicer than the Hornets Nest

[UCD_MOO_COW]

It is a huge relief to see a schedule this complete. Scheduling at Cal Poly has been pretty rough for the past several years.

I have one gripe.....we kind of lost our late season rivalry game with Davis. I guess Sac St v Davis is seen as the more important rivalry. I am clearly biased but not having a late season game with Davis sucks. I think most Davis guys love to hate Sac more but I think the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe is more compelling.

I am a Davis fan and yes Sac State is our top rival, but I think the CAL Poly-Davis game should always be our 2nd to last game and your final game of the conference schedule. Playing the first weekend after classes start is a waste of attendance for you guys and I enjoy the buildup that comes with playing you guys for the Golden Horsehoe. My housemate was an undergrad at Poly for engineering and is now a first year Grad Student up here at Davis. He always wears his "Beat-Davis" T-Shirt and I like the friendly smack talk. I like how in later seasons it gets pushed further back to November where it should be.

I think Sac State could've possibly gone without playing Poly, but since UCD and Cal Poly are rivals (and UCD and Sac), it would've been a travesty had those matchups been removed. If Cal Poly could only play one team each year, it would be us, plus we have been in the same conference for a few years now. UCD and Sac have been playing for ages now so that would never be canceled.

Cal Poly-Davis games get a lot of road fans traveling up and down the state despite the fact that they are several hours from each other. The Cal Poly game is great for Davis fans becuase we get to host one of our rivals each year.
The game is important for Cal Poly too; no Cal Poly team that loses to Davis gets to have its team picture on the wall in the home locker room.

[Mike Johnson]

Here is a picture of the 7000-seat, 60-year-old Redwood Bowl (Stadium for Humboldt State):



Having followed GNAC football for 4 years now, none of them are close to be ready to move up to I-FCS. However, the one that is by far the closest is CWO, but they would need to significantly upgrade their stadium, increase scholarships, and increase their fan base.