Siouxfan said:
Have to believe that the WAC's choices for replacing Boise State are down to Sac St and Portland St.
Granted, California may be in a budget crisis, but Sac State is one of the few options with an FBS-ready stadium (granted, barely). In order for Sac State to gain traction in Sacramento, doesn't it have to be FBS? Competing with Fresno St - as well as Nevada, Hawaii, and San Jose St - would bring much more excitement into town than the Big Sky. Just have to believe that this is the opportunity that President Gonzalez and AD Wanless have been waiting for and dreaming about. It may be high risk, but the worst case failure is dropping football and going to the Big West. The upside is eventually obtaining a program like Fresno State. That type of advance can't happen by staying in the Big Sky, which most of Sacramento probably considers as a DII conference.
Moving to the WAC might be just what is needed to galvanize the community: comparable to getting an expansion team.
Would Sac State be able to play in a BB facility other then the 1200 seat gym - the WAC would likely insist on that? Would the new football scholarships + Title IX implications be covered? Would a new women's sport need to be added or a men's sport dropped?
Portland State has a lot of the same dynamics as Sac St, IMHO. With the new MLS PGE Park, PSU will have a decent FBS venue and IMHO will be Sac State's major competitor for the WAC. Perhaps the WAC adds both.
Montana's out because they have a president who is anti-FBS and pro-Big Sky. In another six months to a year, Montana's view may change because their President Dennison is retiring in August. But the WAC must move quickly to add at least one school. In addition, there will be a lot of pressure on Montana to ensure that Montana State also is pulled along.
Texas State may be pushing for a bid, but how loyal would they be if offered a Sunbelt spot later in the year? Is San Jose St, or Idaho, or Nevada really going to vote for Texas State, when a metro area like Sacramento (or Portland) is available?
UCDavis needs an FBS stadium or at least the funding for it to happen. Ditto for Cal Poly. If Davis had an FBS football stadium capacity, almost no question they would be the frontrunner: but they don't have it and don't have the money.
Welcome Siouxfan!
There are a lot of people that would love to see Sac State jump to the FBS in the WAC, it would be great for the community and would most likely prove to be a wise decision in the long run.
Of course professors and some students would protest a move as it would definitely mean having to spend more money on athletics, and in this economy, especially in CA, it could draw some very harsh critisizm. The Farm Extension just eliminated sports, there's no way, not even if their stadium was big enough, that they could justify to staff, students, or anyone else that a move to the FBS would/could work or was even worth it.
I think for it to happen 1) the WAC has to be interested in Sac State, 2) The President and Wanless need to keep things on the DL, and 3) the addition of a womens sport may be necessary (I can't see them dropping a male sport).
It's almost a for sure thing that financial support via private donations would fuel the initial costs associated with a move to the FBS, people here in Sac care about FBS football and would love to have other State schools coming and playing at Hornet Stadium i.e. Fresno, SJSU, Nevada.
People are sure to jump on the bandwagon if/or when Sac State makes the move, there will be a lot of support at first, but if they don't do well after a while, the bandwagon Sacramentans are surely going to turn on their own, just look at the Kings/Rivercats, both of their attendance figures dropped dramatically when they stopped winning.
As for Montana, I think theyre ready except for the fact that they don't sponsor enough athletic teams and they have some serious facility improvements (outside of football and basketball) that need to be addressed. I think that eventually they'll be WAC material, but until they focus a little more energy on "non-revenue" sports they arent ready. Not to mention the fact that they have a 95%+ acceptance rate.
Post often, it's nice to hear the perspetive of an "outsider."