• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts, upgrade to remove ads and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your BigSkyFans.com experience today!

Montana, Montana State opt out of FCS spring championship

Colter_Nuanez56

Active member
Montana and Montana State have officially opted out of the FCS spring championship season. Bobcats, Griz say in press release they will attempt "modified spring schedule."

More here:
https://skylinesportsmt.com/bobcats-griz-opt-out-of-spring-fcs-season/

https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1350125948272738306
 
SWeberCat02 said:
I get not playing, but then why try to play two? Either play what was scheduled or don't play at all.
I think that what they are saying is cover for what the real issues are. They are just trying to put a spin on it that will keep their faithful not asking a lot of questions. I'm sure that there is a lot more to the story. :coffee:
 
CNuanez said:
Montana and Montana State have officially opted out of the FCS spring championship season. Bobcats, Griz say in press release they will attempt "modified spring schedule."

More here:
https://skylinesportsmt.com/bobcats-griz-opt-out-of-spring-fcs-season/

https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1350125948272738306

Well...I don't know how seriously Weber will take Spring ball now. With Sac, Montana, and State all opting out, it almost takes the joy out of playing football this Spring. I'm sure Weber will follow through with what they committed to do last Fall, but I predict we will see a lot of underclassmen and walkons getting reps instead of 1s and 2s. They will play, gotta get rid of the rust, but I don't see Coach Hill burning them out this Spring. No matter, I'm sure he will walk the best path for his players and team, while playing. If he's successful at doing that, it'll make us that much better this Fall. As a reminder to everyone too...guys get injured every spring anyway. But, one can't fault the Montana's decision, but any player would rather play games, than just practice for two months and then play an inter-squad scrimmage.

I do have my concerns about a teams ability to turn around quickly after playing all spring and then playing again three months later. After a season, players usually need, at the very least, a month to recover, and then a couple months of good lifting and conditioning before hitting again. I could see the Cats not having live practices until 10 days before the Utah game, which is also on a Thursday. Yes, I want us to play well against Utah, but at the same time, it isn't a game that I feel we should get players hurt for especially since we are a possible title contender this Fall.
 
It’s a very precarious house of cards for the FCS Spring Season. One big conference opts out, and I think it gets cancelled altogether. I think chances are greater Spring FCS doesn’t happen vs it does.

It would be interesting to see football in the Spring. I’m hoping the Wildcats get to play but circumstances might be out of their control. Look how great basketball has worked out this year.
 
Chex said:
It’s a very precarious house of cards for the FCS Spring Season. One big conference opts out, and I think it gets cancelled altogether. I think chances are greater Spring FCS doesn’t happen vs it does.

It would be interesting to see football in the Spring. I’m hoping the Wildcats get to play but circumstances might be out of their control. Look how great basketball has worked out this year.
I'm really pulling for this thing to be a success. Vaccinations are happening at a quicker pace now and it gives me the feeling that we are only a few months from turning the corner on this pandemic.

As far as the players having the down time they need to get ready for a full fall schedule, I feel like they will miss a few weeks of vacation and weight training, but it still comes down to having the discipline to do the right things for your body. Think back to when you were that age, and how long it took for your body to mend and get back on track. I honestly think that too much down time can hurt an athlete's development. :coffee:
 
oldrunner said:
SWeberCat02 said:
I get not playing, but then why try to play two? Either play what was scheduled or don't play at all.
I think that what they are saying is cover for what the real issues are. They are just trying to put a spin on it that will keep their faithful not asking a lot of questions. I'm sure that there is a lot more to the story. :coffee:

It's mostly about trying to get in-season or fall camp practice rules, specifically when it comes to time allotment. For example, if you follow the traditional calendar, you only get 8 hours a week of contact for coaches with players. If you are preparing for a "game" and you are "in season" or in "fall camp" mode, you get 20 hours a week. Big difference.

That's why NDSU scheduled one game. So they could have a full fall camp, full in-season practice hours and two months of extra almost daily preparation for one game.
 
It is better that UNC opts out. 8 teams allows the Big Sky to schedule 6 games with ALL teams having byes after week 3 and week 6. This is important so games can made up that were postponed because of Covid. If there were 9 teams there would need to be one team on a bye every week which would make rescheduling postponed games difficult and in some cases impossible.
 
slostang said:
It is better that UNC opts out. 8 teams allows the Big Sky to schedule 6 games with ALL teams having byes after week 3 and week 6. This is important so games can made up that were postponed because of Covid. If there were 9 teams there would need to be one team on a bye every week which would make rescheduling postponed games difficult and in some cases impossible.
So, what is the talk in your neck of the woods? Is everybody still committed to playing? Is the State making any demands that make it hard?

I agree about the 8 team slant you presented. Seven teams is okay as well. It gets a little dicey when you get down to 6.

My feelings are that any school that opts out after this week would really be chicken crap. :coffee:
 
From what I have heard all 8 teams are committed and I think new schedules will be released early this week, possibly tomorrow.

As for Cal Poly we are currently competing in Men’s and women’s basketball and wrestling and have the ok from county health officials. We are scheduled to start practice Friday.

Yolo County was giving UC Davis athletics fits, but allowed them to start competing again about 1 1/2 weeks ago.

Can’t wait to watch some Big Sky football.
 
Good to hear both Cali schools are committed to playing. The warmer weather helps, but I think everyone thought if there were opt outs it would have been the Cali schools due to government restrictions there. Good chance we will be playing Poly. Will be different seeing a Mustang team not running the option. SLO is top of my list to visit for a game but won't be happening this spring if we play there. Next time I hope.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top