Official: UND & SUU in, USD "on the verge"

[catbob]

http://www.bigskyconf.com/news/2010/11/ ... 05326.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

USD invite should be coming very soon.

[clenz]

Great news for both.


Summit League looks to be sinking now.

[cats2506]

Welcome aboard UxD's and SUU, gonna be interesting to see how the divisions shake out

[danefan]

So do any of the other major conferences try to get to 12 or 14 teams now?

I don't really see the incentive in the FCS like FBS (conference championship game).

[CPAlum]

"The Big Sky does not anticipate losing any of its current nine core members".


Looks like Montana is stayin... This seems like great news all around.

[catbob]

So do any of the other major conferences try to get to 12 or 14 teams now?

I don't really see the incentive in the FCS like FBS (conference championship game).

The main benefit here is survival of the FCS in the west. It is much harder to schedule OOC games out here, and now with 14 teams in the same league it ensures FCS isn't going anywhere out this way. If you need an OOC game, just schedule someone from the other BSC division...

[EWURanger]

If you need an OOC game, just schedule someone from the other BSC division...

6 divisional games, perhaps 2 or 3 cross-divisional, 1 FBS, 1 Division II?

[cats2506]

“The moves we’ve made aren’t about protection,’’ Fullerton said. “If the talk out there is true that playing at the FBS level of football is unsustainable for many schools, then FCS will play an even bigger role in the future. The Big Sky presidents want the Big Sky to be the first major player coming from the FCS ranks.

“We have to change a lot of mindsets,’’ Fullerton added. “Every time someone from our division has sustained success, the national media believes that school has to move up to the FBS level, and that’s not the case.”

Fullerton just got back from meetings with the NCAA that dealt with the future of FCS/FBS. there may be some FBS teams that have to move down in the not to distant future. The BSC seems to circling the wagons in the FCS west in order to be better positioned in future realignments.

[TribeFanInNC]

“The presidents wanted to position the Big Sky Conference as a major player in football in the West,’’ said Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton.

Isn't the BSC there already???

[89Hen]

A 12 team conference? What a joke.

[bpcats]

Overall it is a great move. I can see where you might have one or two money games and 2-3 cross division games. No one should be scheduling down with this conference.

[93henfan]

A 12 team conference? What a joke.

I can't believe it. How will they ever crown a true champion?

[EWURanger]

“The presidents wanted to position the Big Sky Conference as a major player in football in the West,’’ said Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton.

Isn't the BSC there already???

I know. I chuckled when I read that one, too. It's now going to be the only FCS conference in the west. Perhaps he meant that in broader terms, though. Perhaps there's some other things going on in the shadows that we don't know about. I could see some cellar-dwellar FBS schools moving to FCS in the next few years.

[89Hen]

A 12 team conference? What a joke.

I can't believe it. How will they ever crown a true champion?

Geeze, my bad... a FOURTEEN team conference. How will this work? All your teams won't play each other? What a travesty.

[GannonFan]

A 12 team conference? What a joke.

I can't believe it. How will they ever crown a true champion?

It'll be easy - whatever team lasts the furthest in the playoffs. Worse case is we have to wait until the quarterfinals to have everything decided. Sounds pretty tidy to me.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

I can't believe it. How will they ever crown a true champion?

Geeze, my bad... a FOURTEEN team conference. How will this work? All your teams won't play each other? What a travesty.

Goes with the territory of having the best conference in the history of ever, I guess. Everyone else is inferior.

[webfan]

How about a name change to the "The Biggest SKy"?

[ToTheLeft]

The Bigger Fluffy works, too.

[clenz]

This does make me wonder why USD is "on the verge"

Is it something that USD has to do to get in, or is the Big Sky waiting on USD to pick between the BSC and MVFC?

[89Hen]

It'll be easy - whatever team lasts the furthest in the playoffs. Worse case is we have to wait until the quarterfinals to have everything decided. Sounds pretty tidy to me.

So they'll just do a Lambert Cup thing.

[Neckfansince71]

This has always been the most logical step for SUU. It will definitely not hurt the Summit in regards to travel costs and time on the road. With Centennary downsizing and no USD the Summit will now be composed of, in today's standards, a strange number of schools, that being "8!" I really don't see anybody else leaving soon and in fact the rest seem very solid! A couple of years ago Chicago State was asked to either leave or get kicked out of the Summit because of problems in the athletic department. I am not sure these have really ever been fixed although they do have a nice new arena that no-body seems to go to. So the correct term is shrinking, not sinking!



jc

[cats2506]

This does make me wonder why USD is "on the verge"

Is it something that USD has to do to get in, or is the Big Sky waiting on USD to pick between the BSC and MVFC?

USD mad some agreements with the Summit, they need to do the paperwork to get out of it, then they will be official.

My understanding was that the original invite had UND and USD as a package deal

[AZGrizFan]

A 12 team conference? What a joke.

I can't believe it. How will they ever crown a true champion?

The FIRST thing I thought of was all the SHIT BSC fans have flung at CAA fans over the past 5 years on these boards about not scheduling the entire conference.

[SDHornet]

I can't believe it. How will they ever crown a true champion?

The FIRST thing I thought of was all the SHIT BSC fans have flung at CAA fans over the past 5 years on these boards about not scheduling the entire conference.

The bigger question will where will OOC games come from.

[GA St. MBB Fan]

A couple of years ago Chicago State was asked to either leave or get kicked out of the Summit because of problems in the athletic department.

I was wondering what was going on there. I didn't understand why a school would leave a conference, to go independent and then ending up joining a conference that is composed of schools all across the nation (really a scheduling agreement - more than a conference)