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What will happen to the Big Sky?
- Thread starter NickEag
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Screamin_Eagle174
Active member
Montana isn't going anywhere, at least not for a while. They don't have the $ right now to add the required # of sports and scholarships. Plus, why would you move up and have .500 seasons when they can go to a playoff tournament every year and a shot at another National Title?
What I hope would happen, is that the BSC toss their requirement of member schools having to join the conference in all sports. If we let schools join just for football, we could probably grab the top 3 in the Great West; Cal Poly, UC-Davis and SUU to become the Sky 12 Football Conf and then split into N/S or E/W divisions. We'd be a sure bet for 3 teams in the playoffs every year, with good chance for 4 or 5 like the CAA (especially in the expanded 20 team field). Fuck North Dakota and South Dakota, they can join the MVFC. :lol:
What I hope would happen, is that the BSC toss their requirement of member schools having to join the conference in all sports. If we let schools join just for football, we could probably grab the top 3 in the Great West; Cal Poly, UC-Davis and SUU to become the Sky 12 Football Conf and then split into N/S or E/W divisions. We'd be a sure bet for 3 teams in the playoffs every year, with good chance for 4 or 5 like the CAA (especially in the expanded 20 team field). Fuck North Dakota and South Dakota, they can join the MVFC. :lol:
Screamin_Eagle174
Active member
Obzerver said:
No. I don't know where it says it, but there's a clear distinction between D-I and D-II. D-I FCS can compete in other D-I sports other than football, but D-II is strictly D-II.
Obzerver
Active member
That seems a bit unfair that the NCAA would rather see a schools Football team abolished than play DII just so a school could keep it's other sports at the DI level. In these economic times(and I don't see it getting better) I would hope there'd be some flexibility coming...down the road.
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Anonymous
Guest
I don't see the Big Sky going anywhere soon. I also don't see the entire FCS moving to Division II as many have mentioned on egriz and other places. I think a more likely results is that FCS re-organizes with the bottom feeders in FBS that get locked out of any possibility of BCS money once the major conferences are done positioning themselves. I will say that if Montana, PSU, or Sac make a move to the WAC (not likely) the Big Sky may be more open to adding some Great West teams. Even if none of those teams bolt, I think a merger makes sense now more than ever just from a scheduling point of view and it would help lessen the blow if one or two teams do bolt.
Guys, I've also heard the rumor about Portland State trying to go WAC, but it is NOT happening. Period.
First off, what's in it for the WAC to take a program that isn't even successful in the biggest $$$ making sport (football)? Portland State doesn't even have a stadium anymore now that PGE Park is being converted to an MLS stadium--- but even when they had a place next to campus, they were drawing 5,000. They'd need to go 5x above that to even be considered as viable in FBS.
Second, and perhaps more important, is that the $$$ required to build programs goes up exponentially in the WAC. They don't have enough to barely support their FCS program, so they sure aren't going to be jumping off a cliff to go up 5x and deal with the Title IX fallout.
I don't know this, but I'll bet the same is true for Sac State. At least it would appear that way from the outside.
First off, what's in it for the WAC to take a program that isn't even successful in the biggest $$$ making sport (football)? Portland State doesn't even have a stadium anymore now that PGE Park is being converted to an MLS stadium--- but even when they had a place next to campus, they were drawing 5,000. They'd need to go 5x above that to even be considered as viable in FBS.
Second, and perhaps more important, is that the $$$ required to build programs goes up exponentially in the WAC. They don't have enough to barely support their FCS program, so they sure aren't going to be jumping off a cliff to go up 5x and deal with the Title IX fallout.
I don't know this, but I'll bet the same is true for Sac State. At least it would appear that way from the outside.
I believe PSU will move back into PGE park after the refurb for soccer. That being said, their attendance numbers are not at WAC acceptable level at PGE park, and until they start winning Big Sky games, that's not likely to improve. I think most folks in Portland are either Oregon or Oregon St. fans if they follow college football. That often makes a tough draw for Big Sky teams and would remain a tough draw for a WAC team. Sac St. and EWU face similar attendance challenges. It will be interesting if Weber St. faces bigger challenges with Utah joining the PAC. Clearly they already have to compete with WAC and MWC teams for fans, converting one of those to a PAC team won't help. Some could argue that the move from MWC to PAC is not that big a deal, but an automatic BCS birth for a conference does matter.
Did Hillsboro HS stadium eventually install field turf? I know the summer before last they still had some old astro turf that was in sorry shape.
Did Hillsboro HS stadium eventually install field turf? I know the summer before last they still had some old astro turf that was in sorry shape.
I don't know what surface PSU will play on... but I'd guess they've made the Field Turf upgrade. I never go West of Beaverton/Tigard despite living in Portland. Almost every HS in metro-Portland already have field turf and have had it for 5+ years. EWU was probably the last NW team at any level trying to still rock the grass.
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Anonymous
Guest
I honestly don't see anyone leaving the Big Sky right now. That includes Montana. This whole conference realignment thing has been blown way out of proportion.
The reason PSU and Sac State was mentioned as potential WAC invitees was due to their "untapped" TV market at the FBS level. Wins and losses don't mean anything with respect to a move to FBS. It's all about whether or not a school can make money (or potentially make money) at the FBS level. I repeat, winning is not a prerequisite for a move to the FBS. With all that said, the WAC recently announced it's staying at 8 members. This attitude will change if/when La Tech can get itself out of the WAC. Any FCS members the WAC was considering will still be there for an invite whenever they need/want to expand.
UM is a unique situation. It needs to add two sports before it can even consider a FBS move/invite, and after that hurdle is made, it has to find a way to make a move without taking its little brother MSU with them. I can't imagine the WAC having any need/desire for two Montana schools.
UM is a unique situation. It needs to add two sports before it can even consider a FBS move/invite, and after that hurdle is made, it has to find a way to make a move without taking its little brother MSU with them. I can't imagine the WAC having any need/desire for two Montana schools.
Also I'm not a fan of football only members. I say make Cal Poly and Cal-Davis commit to being all sport members if an invite to them is issued. If they do allow football only members, I'd support Sac State being football only members with everything else going to the Big West (huge travel savings for Sac State).
eagle11
Active member
I hope that Sky stays as is but I think that Montana and Montana State will move up in 5-10 years. I think the Sky will look to reload with Southern Utah and would most likely add a strong D2 program like Central Washington. Who know that entire college football landscape could change with the BSC leagues seperating entirely from the rest of FBS which would possibly combine the top of the FCS and the non-BCS FBS teams in a new level. I would think that the Sky would be part that change. All this is just good conversation! 
I think at some point the non-BCS FBS schools will be completely shut out of the big-money bowl games......at that point I think some sort of new FCS division would most likely appear.....the lower-tier FBS schools combining with the FCS.
I hardly see FCS becoming defunct or moving to Division II.....that's just short-sighted "the sky is falling" talk.
I hardly see FCS becoming defunct or moving to Division II.....that's just short-sighted "the sky is falling" talk.
