Guys, why the axe to grind with Sac State (borderline Sac State fetish by some posters)? Yes Sac State has been terrible in basketball lately, and under Moosh was terrible in football (Sperbeck is righting the ship) but unfortunately for you anti-Sac State WSU fans (and fortunately for the Sac State move up camp, me included) winning doesn't mean a whole lot with respect to whether a move to FBS is made. There are plenty of examples of schools who made the move without establishing a winning tradition in FCS (UT-San Antonio is talking FBS and they don't field a team for another 2 years). A move to FBS is all about money. Period. If you think anything else trumps this you are mistaken. Most of this money comes from TV contracts and potential TV viewers. PSU and Sac State both offer the latter to the WAC, something they will be desperate for with the loss of Boise State (a huge draw for ESPN because of its product). The only hope the WAC and its member schools have at keeping ESPN from severely reducing its TV contract payout is to counter with adding a/some major TV market(s) (Sacramento and Portland, 20th and 22nd largest respectively).
N.OgdenCat, exactly what off the wall and crazy posts have been made on SacBuzz? Most, not all, seem to logically look at the WAC's current situation and speculate potential moves that the WAC might make with respect to filling membership voids. Are the opinions optimistic? Of course, it's the Sac State fan site. Attendance is poor (it has been increasing in football because that program is on the rise) because no one in the greater Sacramento area gives two sh!ts about WSU, EWU, ISU, and the Montana's (pretty much every BSC member). Apparently your fans don't either unless it's basketball. Yes a WAC move replaces WSU with USU, ISU with Idaho, and swaps other irrelevant schools from different states but it adds 3 regional members (SJSU, FSU, & Nevada) which is a lot more regional match-ups than anything Sac State will get from the Big Sky. Past regional games have shown that the fans will show up (ucd and Cal Poly) and this is what the administration seems to be basing its outlook on. As far as Sac State is concerned, it can very well come down to wasting away at FCS or at least tying to make a move to increase support and interest among alumni, fans, and the Sacramento community. Sac State has nothing to lose by going to the WAC and a whole lot more to gain that staying in the BSC.
I'm OK with a move to FBS for Sac State if Fresno State and Nevada stay in the WAC. These two schools would max out home football games as well as add a significant bump in attendance for basketball. Yes the Nest is a dump but the Hornets have the option of renting Arco Arena to host games. A new events center was passed by the students in 2004 but the private funding never materialized (students were to pay for half of the costs while private donations were to cover the other half). Also the Kings are trying to built a new arena which may be playing into this somehow. The point is the administration can use this move to boost alumni/fan/community support and interest and if it is done right, can make such a move successful which could be a windfall for the Hornet athletic department and the university.
Sorry for the rambling but I felt the post after post bashing of Sac State needed to be addressed. I respect WSU for the success they have on the hardwood (and lately the football field) but apparently a few of you WSU fans let it go to your head. I hope these posters don't represent the majority of the WSU fan base. Best of luck to you all this upcoming football season.
PS: That aerial of Hornet Stadium is probably 10 years old. I haven't found a new one but a new fieldhouse was built on the south endzone, a recreation and wellness center on the north endzone opens this fall, and installation of FieldTurf is to be completed this month. Also feel free to chime in on SacBuzz on the issue (or anything else for that matter, we have about 50 WAC threads in the last month or so). We don't bite unless garbage is posted then all bets are off.
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to the rest of the league, and performance equally as bad. I can count 3 sporting events at WSU the last 2 years I would have rather done anything else besides attend the games, '09 bball WSU 97-61 Sac St., last seasons 49-10 football game against the Hornets, and this years 81-59 drubbing of Suck it at the Dee. Excuse us for being a little shocked and mystified at Sac even being mentioned for a move up. If you think the WAC is going to cure Sac St., think again.