If Fans Have the Final Say, Sac to BWC is a Non-Starter

[superhornet]

It's more than just UOP that's against Sac moving to the Big West. The following is a sampling of what SoCal BW fans say:

I'd prefer SJSU over Sac St., and if we have 12 teams in the BW, that would be fine, except for it further dilutes every existing BW's teams chances of getting into the dance because I rarely view the BW as more than an autobid conference. And that means less $ for every BW team as well.

I don't see how Sac State improves the conference. They may not even be better than Bakersfield.

They add a third Northern California team. Right now, the SoCal teams head up to Northern California, play UOP and Davis then come back down; with Sac, they would need to make an extra trip up north for just one game.

In what sports would Sacramento State improve the Big West?

Baseball: 18-35-1; 7-17 WAC. Series losses to CSUN, UCI and UC Davis. would weaken the conference
Men's Basketball: 9-21; 3-13 Big Sky. Lost to CS Bakersfield this week. Lost to UCR and Pacific last season. weakens the conference
Women's Basketball: 15-15; 10-6 Big Sky. Lost to CSUF and UC Davis last season. slight improvement, but still a one-bid conference
Cross Country: Men 4th, Women 4th in Big Sky. all attempts to care have been unsuccessful
Men's Golf: Finished 3rd in America Sky conference.
Women's Golf: Finished 2nd in Big Sky but was 14th at Anteater Invitational, behind UCI, LBSU, CSUF and CSUN. not helpful
Men's Soccer: 11-4-7; 2-2-6 in MPSF. arguably good enough, and could pair with UC Davis since UOP has no men's team.
Women's Soccer: 9-10-1; 4-3 in Big Sky. Reached NCAA tournament but lost in regular season to UC Davis, Pacific and CS Bakersfield. pass
Softball: 23-31; 13-7 in Pacific Coast Softball Conference. Lost series to Cal Poly, UC Davis and CS Bakersfield. The Big West has enough sub-.500 softball teams
Men's Tennis: Arguably their best men's sport. 17-12; 7-1 in Big Sky. Lost to UCSB but beat UC Davis, UCR and Cal Poly.
Women's Tennis: 19-7; 8-0 Big Sky. Beat UC Davis, UCI and Hawaii.
Track & Field: Women 1st, Men 3rd in Big Sky. Finished far behind CSUN at Cal/Nevada Championships. arguable
Women's Volleyball: 15-15; 8-6 Big Sky.
Women's Water Polo: They don't have it.

Conclusion: The Big West should extend an invitation for Sacramento State to be tennis-only members.

Sac State is not an attractive name. I would like to see the BW become more selective on who to bring into the conference. I would also like to see BW force members to enhance and improve both the stadium and/or attendance. This topic came up recently and GauchoDan said the following:
New Orleans was kicked out of the Sun Belt in 1980 because its gym was too small, but they were back in 1991. Temple was a football-only member of the Big East, but got kicked out in 2004 for low attendance.
I know we are near the bottom of the conferences but Dennis Farrell MUST force schools to improve or face the boot. This is what I said:
If Dennis Farrell has any vision, he would force the BW teams to straighten up or get booted. You cant build a conference on DII school and expect excellence. What Dennis Farrell has done right (or forced into) is to reduce travel costs by creating a bus league but he has missed the boat by letting any team into the league to get this accomplished. Poly and Davis are good additions to have in the conference but everyone sees that Northridge and Riverside just did enough to get into the league then allowed themselves to get unhealthy and ugly. These schools now call themselves DI schools but really are borderline DII with some high schools having better fields and support. I dont want DF to boot these teams and schools; that would be unfair. I want to see the Commissioner take a stand and envision a greater conference within the bus league. The savings from the travel cost should be re-directed towards a stronger OOC schedule or at least sport improvements.
Make schools improve the stadiums. Make schools improve the fan base and attendance. As GD mentioned above, schools were booted for gym deficiency or low attendance. We need to impose a higher standard. If schools keep slipping this up, then obviously they dont care enough about athletics. This will continue to stagnate the league. If schools dont care about attendance then there will be less/no funds. If schools dont care about RPI and scheduling better then no playoffs and no funds. DF cant just cut the league into a bus league and be happy with one tournament entry. That is like losing a job and instead of finding another income, you go on a diet to fix the problem. DF needs to grow some balls and fix the damn league. It sucks to lose UNLV and NM State and Utah State. If the current status quo stands, then every school that aspires more will leave when given a chance and the conference will be forced to look at DII again. If Hawaii returns to BW, that would be a great start and the first uptick in the conference in awhile. Now, force the lesser schools to ship-up or ship-out. If we rebuild into a stronger league then we can add better schools and turn BW into another WCC with stronger attendance and more tournament money instead of SB and UoP trying to join WCC or Poly and Davis looking to make a conference/football move down the road.

 

[SactoHornetAlum]

Guess what, the fans on any measly message board dont have a say at all, so it's a non-starter!

 

[SJHornet]

And this means what to us?

 

[SDHornet]

Guess what, the fans on any measly message board dont have a say at all, so it's a non-starter!

This.

I like how they favor SJSU, yet the Spartans don’t sponsor men’s tennis and track and field and don’t sponsor women’s track and field, both of which are crore BW sports. :roll:

 

[the Rat]

All 3 fans. What an impressive, thoughtful, and representative survey. So nice for you to step up, represent State as a UOP fan.

 

[superhornet]

Look, I want Sac to be successful. Banging on the door like the XDSU's did is probably not going to work. While I disagree with their assessments of Sac in certain sports (i.e. baseball, which is on the rebound after the coaching change, and hoops, which I also believe to be going up), some of these fans may well be in contact with their coaches and ADs (as some of our posters are with Sac staffs). If their attitudes even remotely reflect what the actual schools think, our efforts to get in may well ultimately look like the XDSUs.

 

[the Rat]

look, those yahoos have no influence on anything related to a university president's decision or vote on membership. yada. nada. nothing. plus, xdsu?

 

[SJHornet]

If fans voicing their dismay at a school trying to get into a conference meant anything, Southern Utah would not be a member of the Big Sky. When the Sky was rumored to be looking to grow, people came out of the wood work talking about how Southern Utah would be the worst addition the conference could make. A couple months later the Thunderbirds were celebrating their entry into the Big Sky. In the end it comes down to the presidents. I know in the past, the CSU chancellor voiced his wish that fellow CSU schools would stick together. I know he stated that he wanted all the FBS schools (SDSU, SJSU wanted and Meth State) to all be in the same conference (WAC or Mountain West). I imagine he would support the same kind of deal at the 1-AA/1-AAA level.

Fans have their own opinions, and that's fine. I can respect it, I certainly have my own. It just seems to me that all the negative Sac State vibes are all coming from schools in the southland and Stockton. I can understand they are worried about the conference's standing, but I think the athletic department has shown it is committed to improvement, and I really don't think most Big West programs are that much better than we are.

 

[superhornet]

SacRat: You got my comments backwards. Sure fans have their own opinion. We certainly expressed ours when the XDSU's tried to get in the Sky. But there's a HUGE difference between a fan having influence over department personnel and KNOWING them and getting a feel of THEIR opinions. All I said was that perhaps some of them knew their ADs' and/or coaches' opinions on a Sac candidacy.

Two entirely different things.

 

[superhornet]

SJ: It wasn't a "couple of months" later. SUU has been trying to kick in the door for at least three years now, and most fans wanted nothing to do with it. Sure, they make more sense than the four Dakotas, but they still throw a monkey wrench into the works. They just got lucky that Fullerton got desperate to guard against a UM jump to the WAC. Now that the Griz are staying, it's all the better.

Who is "Meth State?" Are you by chance referring to "Porn State?"

 

[(619)HOR-NETS]

Super H (Casey?! I saw a Jolane Parr post. Pardonme if not), I'll wager a guess: Meth State is SDSU.

I don't know much about anything but soccer, and from the standpoint of wsoc, I'm happy where we are. Seems like a pretty competitive league, and I don't know what'll happen with SUU and UND in in 2011.

Seconding another poster, what's "XDSU"? What does that mean?

 

[SDHornet]

Welcome to Sac Buzz 619. Nice area code.

 

[SJHornet]

By Meth State I am referring to Fresno. Sorry, despise the athletic program, despise the city.

By a few month later I was referring to the time frame in which the Sky opened up for expansion and they were invited. I know they've been interested for a while, and they did make sense. Adding, at what the time seemed to be two Dakota schools, would have alienated every school in the southern half of the conference. the point is, most fans were up in arms over the possibility they could join, but the Big Sky presidents looked beyond the petty politics and aesthetic value and decided they added something to the conference.

Its quite possible Sac to the Big West is all fan speculation and wishing, and in fact there is no interest coming from the offices of our athletic department. It makes sense to me, but I'm not an employee or affiliated with the athletic department outside of being a fan/alum come December. Just as I argued fan disapproval doesn't mean we can't get in, us wanting to get in doesn't mean our department will pursue the Big West. But I hope there is some buzz being generated. (some... Sac Buzz... :mrgreen: )

 

[Green Cookie Monster]

Seconding another poster, what's "XDSU"? What does that mean?

North & South Dakota State University

 

[the Rat]

I didn't get it backwards. I don't want to KNOW them or THEIR opinion. What you shared, I found laughable and irrelevant.

 

[josephpoint]

Wonder how many Big west schools can match Sat State's 24 conference championships in all sports the t past four years. And Sac State already has 2 conference championships this year.

 

[superhornet]

Wonder how many Big west schools can match Sat State's 24 conference championships in all sports the t past four years. And Sac State already has 2 conference championships this year.

That's a VERY good point that will get spun as "poor competition" in non-BWC sports. Which would be a complete lie.