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North Dakota gaining traction on leaving

bigskyconf

Active member
From Tom Miller of the Grand Forks forum, UND leaving the Big Sky, possibly as early as 2018.

http://www.inforum.com/sports/4153166-report-und-negotiating-conference-move-missouri-valley-summit-league

It would make the conference more regional with UND gone. Our footprint would be the same as the Pac-12.
 
Wasn't North Dakota supposed to bring along South Dakota before the Summit/MVFC interceded (or USD got invited) in the first place?

Therefore there's been kind of a pissing match for several years. This would simply be time passing until stuff could get reconciled, and this is very likely for the best. Unfortunately, North Dakota State put the MVFC squarely on the map while the Big Sky has become a mite static IMO.
 
Pounder said:
Wasn't North Dakota supposed to bring along South Dakota before the Summit/MVFC interceded (or USD got invited) in the first place?

Therefore there's been kind of a pissing match for several years. This would simply be time passing until stuff could get reconciled, and this is very likely for the best. Unfortunately, North Dakota State put the MVFC squarely on the map while the Big Sky has become a mite static IMO.

There are quite a few UNI and Youngstown fans who would like to think the Valley was on the map way before NDSU made the jump from DII. :D

The way I recall it, Fullerton thought he had UND, NDSU and South Dakota State coming in to the conference straight out of DII (whether he had a firm commitment from NDSU and SDSU is unclear). Then the Valley came in at the last minute and made a strong pitch to both NDSU and SDSU. Once they had those two, that conference made a push to get the other state schools to come as well (North Dakota and South Dakota). UND chose to honor their commitment that they made to the Big Sky. Fullerton tried a last minute push to get South Dakota so UND would have a travel partner, but the Coyotes went with the Jackrabbits to the Valley.

That is how I recall it happening.
 
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Good for them. It makes perfect sense for them to play in the same conference as NDSU, USD and SDSU.
 
Broadway, traveling partners have nothing to do with football, only the Olympic sports like basketball and volleyball. Cal Poly and UC Davis are football only schools and play their Olympic spots in the Big West. Utah Valley and Grand Canyon do not play football and are not going to get an invite. If we were going to take a non-football school the logical choice would be Seattle U. I'm sure they would be pleased to get out of the dissolving WAC.

I take it you don't like our conference moniker.
 
Alan said:
I take it you don't like our conference moniker.

For myself, I'm enjoying this football season with Montana State having no chance at the playoffs, and Montana having pretty much no chance either, that there probably will be no representation from Big Sky Country out of the Big Sky Conference.
 
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Tienes razon. I must have had a deletion of memory to recall Cal Poly and UC-Davis' membership in the Big West Conference for those. I suppose I was more feeling how much better off we would be to join them in the BWC for Olympic sports and be a football-only university like them.

Big Sky is a name referring to schools from Idaho and Montana only. Why name the conference to center focus on that area only? I suppose they have that right since they organized the original conference, but an upgrade to the name would help to give the other member universities a greater stake in the conference. It is embarrassing to belong to a conference so named.

Universities can start up football programs. Seattle University? No thanks.
 

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