Meanwhile, the WAC’s hopes of adding Division I-AA power Montana looks like a long shot without some help from the NCAA. WAC commissioner Karl Benson said the league would look at current I-AA schools to increase membership, and mentioned Montana, Cal Poly, Cal-Davis, Sacramento State, Texas-San Antonio and Texas State as possibilities.
But under NCAA rules, any Division I football program must have 16 sports programs to be eligible. Montana, the jewel of I-AA football and a potential significant addition to the WAC, has 14. Texas-San Antonio (15) and Texas State (14) also have less than the NCAA Montana athletic mandate.
Director Jim O’Day told Sporting News not only would adding two sports programs come with considerable cost (scholarships, facilities upgrades), but politics within the state of Montana could force the WAC to take Montana State, too.
There’s a possibility Montana or other I-AA schools could petition the NCAA to move to Division I without the 16 sports—or with a guarantee to reach 16 sports within a specific time frame.
“To make a decision on that immediately is practically impossible,” O’Day said. “Right now, we're in the stage of internal assessment. You have to keep your finger on it at all times. These things are all happening so fast. You want to be making the decision. You hope others aren’t making the decision for you.”
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2010-08/byus-independence/story/hawaii-considers-leaving-wac-for-independent-status
But under NCAA rules, any Division I football program must have 16 sports programs to be eligible. Montana, the jewel of I-AA football and a potential significant addition to the WAC, has 14. Texas-San Antonio (15) and Texas State (14) also have less than the NCAA Montana athletic mandate.
Director Jim O’Day told Sporting News not only would adding two sports programs come with considerable cost (scholarships, facilities upgrades), but politics within the state of Montana could force the WAC to take Montana State, too.
There’s a possibility Montana or other I-AA schools could petition the NCAA to move to Division I without the 16 sports—or with a guarantee to reach 16 sports within a specific time frame.
“To make a decision on that immediately is practically impossible,” O’Day said. “Right now, we're in the stage of internal assessment. You have to keep your finger on it at all times. These things are all happening so fast. You want to be making the decision. You hope others aren’t making the decision for you.”
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2010-08/byus-independence/story/hawaii-considers-leaving-wac-for-independent-status
