Big Sky Change?

[Chex]

With Sac State leaving the Big Sky, there are rumors about the conference expanding or staying put that Brett Hein wrote in the Standard-Examiner a few days ago. Since this forum has been extremely silent, I thought I would bring it up to get opinions.

Most of me thinks Sac State pulled an SUU and jumped without a plan. Big West basketball is a lateral move (maybe slightly up), but assuming PAC or MWC would take them in football was a bridge too far and now their waiver was rejected and their headed to FCS Independence. If Big Sky had any pride (they don’t), they would discourage teams from scheduling them and SUU.

Part of me admires Sac State, they are trying to elevate their program while Weber State is content coasting into bottom conference dweller. The Wildcats have a basketball facility ready for PAC or MWC. A little fund raising and they could improve football facility ready for either (such as PAC is made up of now). I mostly like the idea of staying FCS and playing for a title…but now that football program is decimated, playing in a reconstituted MWC or PAC (long shot) sounds good.

Of course Weber State has no ambition, so I won’t waste time on talking more about that.

I know softball is in a rough spot, but I’m in favor of conference staying same with no expansion and merging for that sport. If they do expand, take Utah Tech and not SUU. I’d take a D2 in Washington or Oregon before taking SUU.

 

[the dan]

I hope the Big Sky can find a way to stand pat. Adding SUU or UTU does not make the conference better. I’d argue it makes the conference the worse.

Is it possible to add an affiliate softball member?

 

[AlumniWSU]

I'll jump in with an opinion or two just for a little noise making on this quiet fan board (understand why though, what's to get excited about right now looking at Wildcat FB/BB?)

The Big Sky scheduling is easier in football & basketball with even member #s; for that reason alone there needs to be one new addition. It is possible to get affiliate members for softball & men's golf. On adding, it's just who & UTU, it's arguable, but then I myself like the thought of more instate members, even SUU who burned a bridge, yes. On Facebook-WSU fans, comments are several, but the thought of Weber joining the teetering WAC or the thought that WSU would be an attractive invite to FBS Mtn. West or PAC12 is laughable!! Aside from lacking ambition, Weber has neither the $$ nor fan support to even be considered. With a little fund raising you say, LOL!

Mock Sac. State all you want but the ambition & move up marketing has raised approx. $50M from boosters, NIL support, the CA deep pockets with ambition, etc. They aren't getting any invites for football yet, but the Big West in non-FB & with all those fellow Cal. members, aside from UVU now, is a great fit. my two cents worth

 

[Chex]

I'll jump in with an opinion or two just for a little noise making on this quiet fan board (understand why though, what's to get excited about right now looking at Wildcat FB/BB?)

The Big Sky scheduling is easier in football & basketball with even member #s; for that reason alone there needs to be one new addition. It is possible to get affiliate members for softball & men's golf. On adding, it's just who & UTU, it's arguable, but then I myself like the thought of more instate members, even SUU who burned a bridge, yes. On Facebook-WSU fans, comments are several, but the thought of Weber joining the teetering WAC or the thought that WSU would be an attractive invite to FBS Mtn. West or PAC12 is laughable!! Aside from lacking ambition, Weber has neither the $$ nor fan support to even be considered. With a little fund raising you say, LOL!

Mock Sac. State all you want but the ambition & move up marketing has raised approx. $50M from boosters, NIL support, the CA deep pockets with ambition, etc. They aren't getting any invites for football yet, but the Big West in non-FB & with all those fellow Cal. members, aside from UVU now, is a great fit. my two cents worth

Point taken on a little fundraising…certainly people of my economic background can’t contribute, but there are some alumni with deep pockets. Wyoming and Air Force football stadiums aren’t exactly Taj Mahal’s of football. Really, if Weber State could add seats on the south end, it wouldn’t be too much to make it accommodating for FBS low level football. The Dee is fine for MWC or current PAC.

UVU is first in enrollment followed by Utah and BYU, but Weber State is 4K behind BYU and U of U and will probably overtake them in 5-10 years as affordability becomes more of an issue.

If the University had ambition and put some planning, they could make a play every bit as well as Sac State. I see more people all over the state wearing Wildcats gear all the time. There are more fans than you think (can’t blame them not donating or attending given the current dumpster fire that is Weber State).

I couldn’t even afford to get a ticket to see BYU or U of U for a single game, let alone take my family. Honestly, I wouldn’t even care to due to the realignment and greed of both Universities and high school teenagers; I can’t even stomach watching that crap. The P5 ESPN empire will price themselves out of a market who can only afford to go to UVU or Weber State games. There will be more interest as time goes on for UVU, Weber State, UTU, etc. I think interest in BYU and Utah will wane.

Hell, I’ll just settle on getting coaches and an AD who can get the Wildcats playing for Big Sky titles and aren’t there to coast until they retire, but there is the capability to make a play to go bigger, just no appetite or leadership to do it.

I wouldn’t have left the Big Sky if I were Sac State until the invite was in hand as they may be an FCS Independent now…and the Big Sky could ostracize them from western FCS teams (but won’t). I do tip my hat to them…at least they are trying to improve their conditions.

Still a solid no on SUU, would only take UTU but would prefer to stay same. Nine conference football games (uneven home and road a slight problem), but would only leave three games to schedule and would play every team in the conference.

 

[AlumniWSU]

Yes, some good points. I bet there are lots of those standing by fans that surely agree with WSU needing to do the things to return to proud winning ways & having the ambition, like Sac St, to think big. One can easily see that only some admin retirements will bring that about!

The Big Sky staying as is does make sense in football (it's the driver now days) because there's more changes coming (the SE article mentioned UC Davis is heading to Mtn West & soon elevating it's football), so as is that would then allow the rest of the BSC to be able to play each other. If it's adding a full time member, who fits in any better than UTU, & they want to join? Any better (doable) choices?? Anyone?

NO to joining the sinking WAC, a proponent said the WAC is rated higher in basketball, well guess what, the power members providing that are leaving the fold! The WAC has teetered before & seems to be a revolving door for members who soon look elsewhere. SUU is worried where to go & the BSC bridge has been burned.

 

[Chex]

Yes, some good points. I bet there are lots of those standing by fans that surely agree with WSU needing to do the things to return to proud winning ways & having the ambition, like Sac St, to think big. One can easily see that only some admin retirements will bring that about!

The Big Sky staying as is does make sense in football (it's the driver now days) because there's more changes coming (the SE article mentioned UC Davis is heading to Mtn West & soon elevating it's football), so as is that would then allow the rest of the BSC to be able to play each other. If it's adding a full time member, who fits in any better than UTU, & they want to join? Any better (doable) choices?? Anyone?

NO to joining the sinking WAC, a proponent said the WAC is rated higher in basketball, well guess what, the power members providing that are leaving the fold! The WAC has teetered before & seems to be a revolving door for members who soon look elsewhere. SUU is worried where to go & the BSC bridge has been burned.

I never wanted Weber State to go to the rickety WAC even when SUU left to join. You could tell it was going to be as stable as a house of cards in a wind storm.

I like FCS format of playoffs and used to like the idea of staying FCS to compete for a national title…since that looks impossible now, I do like the idea of trying to elevate to FBS MWC or a long shot PAC. I think it would be fun to watch. Of course we are going to be in the doldrums for a while and will most likely be passed up. Weber State makes sense location-wise (solves the hole between Colorado and Nevada).

 

[CrazyJ]

That Sac State NIL $$ is contingent on many things and is mostly smoke and mirrors. Sacramento market is a VERY tough TV market to figure out. I spent years in syndicated TV. It’s just different. And Sac St has not even come close to capturing that market. Promises, excuse my language, doesn’t mean shlt in that world.

Big Sky is a SOLID conference.

Weber has phenomenal facilities.

NIL? Can we compete in the BS?

If so, then it gets down to the good ol’ fashioned truisms: recruiting, coaching and AD/President.

 

[Chex]

Dillon Jones is an NBA Champion before Damion Lillard…hardly seems fair but such is life…much better landing spot for Jones than Lillard. Congrats!

 

[talhadfoursteals]

Good conversation...thanks for starting it Chex. Weber is frustrating right now. I feel we have a President who wants to see us competing and growing, but at the moment everything seems vanilla at best. There isn't much excitement (as we all know). Yet, Weber is a great school, with enormous upside if we tap into the right areas. A number of "old schoolers" are retiring this summer, which could change the complexion of the university and especially how the President runs the school.

Personally, I really like our AD, but feel he hasn't lived up to expectations. Covid, NIL, NCAA deregulation, the House legal findings and a WIDE OPEN transfer portal have killed any ambition he once had. Let's all be honest, NCAA DI Athletics has been through some ugly changes over the last 6 years. Yet, Weber continues to be stable. That is a major positive. However, a job still needs to be done and feel a lot more needs to be done. We've fallen off the trajectory of where we were headed. Not sure what the goal or plan is now. I feel MWC membership is possible but was far more achievable in 2019 than it is now. MWC is in a wait and see approach anyway. The new PAC-12 has to figure out how it can make more money than the MWC, which it won't. It all hinges on WSU and OSU. If I was a university president, I wouldn't trust either institution. They are going to bolt the first chance they get. Neither are "cash cows" and unless they can bring in money will be defaulting in 5 years. I still see some type of MWC/PAC-12 merge happening. However, in 5 years...we all might be in the same classification anyway.

I'm a bit envious of Sacramento State, at least they are trying something. However, just to jump because you can jump isn't always the smartest thing to do. The Big West makes sense for Sacramento and feel it is something the Hornets have sought for awhile. Good luck and good riddance. The funniest comment I read about the Hornet's jump was that Sac St was joining a far better basketball league than the Big Sky. Don't they understand that one of the biggest reasons why the Sky has dropped so badly over the years is because Sacramento State is a major part of that dilemma? The Sky won't have to worry about the Hornet's usual Sub 300+ DI ranking. I don't see the Sacramento State getting a waiver for football and will be relegated to FCS Impendence. Name 1 FCS Independent that has ever been highly and consistently successful?

The Big Sky??? Well, I like the wait and see approach. A snowball in Death Valley has more of chance than SUU getting an invite back to the Sky. They burned that bridge pretty damn bad. However, never say never. From what I know, which isn't much, UM and MSU will not accept UTU. SO, we can virtually kiss any UTU and/or SUU addition good bye. Though not all current WAC schools should be off the radar. Tarleton State is an interesting option. Its a lot of travel for one school, so another Texas school needs to be looked at. Abilene Christian makes the most sense. I don't like that addition, but...

On a side note, UC Davis isn't going to move their football anytime soon. Why would they? They are living in the best of all worlds. ONCE again, UC DAVIS has beaten CS Sacramento.

 

[oldrunner]

Mock Sac. State all you want but the ambition & move up marketing has raised approx. $50M from boosters, NIL support, the CA deep pockets with ambition, etc. They aren't getting any invites for football yet, but the Big West in non-FB & with all those fellow Cal. members, aside from UVU now, is a great fit. my two cents worth

That $50 million being tossed around is not real money, at least not yet. Sac has had substantial pledges to donate on the condition that football would get FBS status. It is not money in hand. How much actual money is in hand? It's hard to really say. I'm sure it is at least $5 million or they wouldn't have applied for the waiver that is likely to be turned down. Sacramento State and it's community have great potential, but they seem to be a long ways from getting to it.

Fan base wise, Sac and UTU are quite similar. The communities are vastly different. Athletics are not that far apart. St George is a growing and thriving community with ambitions to go places. Adding UTU would fill the gap left by Sac's leaving. It wouldn't strengthen or weaken the BSC.

None of that is true for SUU, or the Texas schools.

 

[talhadfoursteals]

That $50 million being tossed around is not real money, at least not yet. Sac has had substantial pledges to donate on the condition that football would get FBS status. It is not money in hand. How much actual money is in hand? It's hard to really say. I'm sure it is at least $5 million or they wouldn't have applied for the waiver that is likely to be turned down. Sacramento State and it's community have great potential, but they seem to be a long ways from getting to it.

Fan base wise, Sac and UTU are quite similar. The communities are vastly different. Athletics are not that far apart. St George is a growing and thriving community with ambitions to go places. Adding UTU would fill the gap left by Sac's leaving. It wouldn't strengthen or weaken the BSC.

None of that is true for SUU, or the Texas schools.

Olds, UTU makes sense and would be a far better member than Sac, but UM and MSU are hard No's. The Sky will only add school/s that can keep the conference steady, ensure the Montana's are happy (really additions that will keep all the presidents happy), are in areas that are rich in recruiting, increase the conference media presence (money) and bring something to the conference discussion (status). Really only Tarleton State does that. They have incredible facilities, would be automatically competitive and are in recruit/media rich Texas. I hate the travel, but Texas brings a lot to the table.

 

[oldrunner]

Olds, UTU makes sense and would be a far better member than Sac, but UM and MSU are hard No's. The Sky will only add school/s that can keep the conference steady, ensure the Montana's are happy (really additions that will keep all the presidents happy), are in areas that are rich in recruiting, increase the conference media presence (money) and bring something to the conference discussion (status). Really only Tarleton State does that. They have incredible facilities, would be automatically competitive and are in recruit/media rich Texas. I hate the travel, but Texas brings a lot to the table.

All good points. The Montana schools have deeper pockets for travel, but I don't understand their stand on UTU. They have interacted with them already. It should be a lively discussion among the the schools. Tarelton, if they are interested in joining, wouldn't be horrible travel. Flying into Dallas/Fort Worth, with a short bus ride is certainly doable. However, them traveling to all of the BSC venues might be a deal breaker. It really doesn't fit the BSC footprint and resources for travel.