oldngrizzly
Well-known member
Will Montana ever join FBS football or are they forever FCS ?
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Are we EVER Going There ?
- Thread starter oldngrizzly
- Start date
It is very likely the NCAA will have different subdivisions within 5 years. Who knows what it will all look like.
TheNorthRemembers
Active member
I think it's probably inevitable with the way college football is evolving but I will enjoy FCS football for as long as I can. I have a feeling in ten years the entire landscape of CFB will be unrecognizable.
Ut-Grizfan
Well-known member
If the G5 ever get their own Playoff system I could see both us and MSU along with other upper FCS Squads make the move.
Granted personally even now I'd love to be in the MWC, their might be a slim hope we get a look if OSU + Wazzu find a different home and the $$ is there for the MWC to add schools.
Granted personally even now I'd love to be in the MWC, their might be a slim hope we get a look if OSU + Wazzu find a different home and the $$ is there for the MWC to add schools.
Grizzinator
Member
If Wyoming and Boise are competitive FBS schools and Idaho was I don’t buy the argument that Montana’s location somehow precludes inclusion in an FBS conference. P5 are now coast-to-coast conferences. We’ll just need a bigger stadium…
Geography is getting out of hand... somebody is going to get smart and figure out a new conference with the right teams and footprint makes sense ... I predict a nostalgic trend as some of the better/well funded/good facility teams think big picture. Who wants to travel to Delaware or Missouri for a conference game...Playoff yes...
Ut-Grizfan
Well-known member
We'd be G5, not P5 and already would be in the upper half of attendance in the MWC, the only logical spot and option. It'd be similar to the current Big Sky footprint:
SJSU............Montana
SDSU............MSU
Fresno..........Wyoming
Hawaii..........Utah State
UNLV.............CSU
Nevada.........New Mexico
Boise............Air Force
That'd be an awesome looking and regional (by Western Standards) Conference.
retiredfan
Well-known member
I’m happy with being in the FCS for now. I like the format they use for the playoffs. If everyone started moving up, we would end with about a 100 bowl games at the end of the year, not what I would like to see.Just my opinion
Ahh it wouldn't be the offseason without at least 1 move up thread. Just to piggyback real quick, there's been articles in recent weeks that the G5 is exploring creating their own playoff system and completely eliminating bowl games. I welcome that with open arms and if that happens then it's absolutely time to go. We can re-unite with all our old friends and still play meaningful postseason College Football.
If this were to happen, I could see a scenario where the Big Sky may wanna move up as a conference and join the G5. I'm not sure if that's possible or if they would ever get approval for that, but it got me thinking if they could do that, which schools in the Big Sky could actually do it? Here's my list of all the Big Sky schools I think could pull it off:
UM
MSU
Idaho
Weber
NAU
SAC
Davis
Cal Poly
All of these schools get enough subsidization from either the state or generate it themselves that these would be the 8 most likely to do it if the Big Sky became a G5 conference. The schools that would get left behind are:
EWU
PSU
UNC
ISU
I think Eastern would really badly wanna move up, but with the way things are going there currently, I just don't think they could pull it off. The other 3 would never be able to pull it off. Maybe they could all join the Pioneer League or something lol. Any who, just thought this would be kind of a fun scenario to throw out there.
If this were to happen, I could see a scenario where the Big Sky may wanna move up as a conference and join the G5. I'm not sure if that's possible or if they would ever get approval for that, but it got me thinking if they could do that, which schools in the Big Sky could actually do it? Here's my list of all the Big Sky schools I think could pull it off:
UM
MSU
Idaho
Weber
NAU
SAC
Davis
Cal Poly
All of these schools get enough subsidization from either the state or generate it themselves that these would be the 8 most likely to do it if the Big Sky became a G5 conference. The schools that would get left behind are:
EWU
PSU
UNC
ISU
I think Eastern would really badly wanna move up, but with the way things are going there currently, I just don't think they could pull it off. The other 3 would never be able to pull it off. Maybe they could all join the Pioneer League or something lol. Any who, just thought this would be kind of a fun scenario to throw out there.
I think Cal Poly would be a huge stretch...
HelenaHandBasket
Well-known member
I will have to go back and look, but I am pretty sure that part of the discussion was that the G5 schools would limit, and even negate, the ability for FCS teams to move up if a playoff was approved. The existing schools don't want to dilute the money.
Bowls would have to go away, the NCAA would need to re-class the teams outside the Power 4, eliminate any "move up" fees and a playoff would need to be in place....
Not sure how I understand how it would dilute the money given the huge media money the playoff will pull in... wouldn't the addition on another class and playoff only add to the revenue...granted you would have to deal will some existing bowl contracts but that doesn't seem to be an issue with the new 12 team format...
They say that but I would bet that wouldn't end up being the case. With how constant things evolve and change in college athletics, if they were to restrict future FCS teams from moving up, then they'd find themselves in a serious bind when teams like San Diego State or South Florida were to eventually get a P4 invite. Not to mention with how money grabbing these guys are, if the right program came along, these commissioners wouldn't hesitate to add somebody that would benefit their league
HelenaHandBasket
Well-known member
There will be movement, but the current G5 wants to negate large movement. They don't want the number of conferences to grow.
Not a stretch at all. Don’t let the lack of gridiron success fool you, Cal Poly is a well funded athletic department with some of the nicest facilities in the conference. Check out the madden athletic center, which should be completed in the next year or so. I believe the groundbreaking was last year.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
UM will never move up to FBS, as we know it now. And not to anything similar.
How has D-I football changed in the last 40 years? Has the NCAA caused and created any of the changes?
Conferences have changed and re-aligned. Very significant changes. Those were caused by the schools, conferences and tv money. Some FCS teams have moved up. The FCS playoffs have expanded. The FBS playoffs were created and are expanding. The Portal came and no-sit rule adopted (NCAA was involved in that). NIL was created. What else? Women's basketball has grown significantly.
The supposed third middle division has been discussed, but never even proposed by anyone of authority, to my knowledge. It has become harder to get into FBS. Top conferences have maximized and consolidated their tv money.
As good of a program as UM is, and as successful of a team that it is, it's not set up, geographically, tv market wise, financially, or otherwise, to be FCS.
Changes are mostly being driven by money and tv contracts, not by competition. Sometimes not even by geography anymore. I can't imagine that the lower level FBS teams in the region would even want UM and MSU to join them, unless those FBS teams were left by themselves by the big boys of FCS and just needed to have a slightly larger conference.
How has D-I football changed in the last 40 years? Has the NCAA caused and created any of the changes?
Conferences have changed and re-aligned. Very significant changes. Those were caused by the schools, conferences and tv money. Some FCS teams have moved up. The FCS playoffs have expanded. The FBS playoffs were created and are expanding. The Portal came and no-sit rule adopted (NCAA was involved in that). NIL was created. What else? Women's basketball has grown significantly.
The supposed third middle division has been discussed, but never even proposed by anyone of authority, to my knowledge. It has become harder to get into FBS. Top conferences have maximized and consolidated their tv money.
As good of a program as UM is, and as successful of a team that it is, it's not set up, geographically, tv market wise, financially, or otherwise, to be FCS.
Changes are mostly being driven by money and tv contracts, not by competition. Sometimes not even by geography anymore. I can't imagine that the lower level FBS teams in the region would even want UM and MSU to join them, unless those FBS teams were left by themselves by the big boys of FCS and just needed to have a slightly larger conference.
The FCS gets more and more watered down. While Missouri state wasn’t exactly a powerhouse in football they were a respectable playoff team just recently and also had a strong athletic program. Losing respectable FCS programs hurts, and the division continues to suffer those losses. Not sure if the Griz or MSU will get the shot at a move up anytime soon, but I’ve been ready to see them make the move for a decade, and would welcome the change.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
I don't necessarily agree with the watered-down argument. A lot of teams have improved and come into FCS too. Yes, the top several losses were probably irreplaceable, but where was SDS when App and Geo. So. left? The MV is now a much stronger conference than it was, and the Big Sky is very strong in recent years. I don't think FCS football "suffered" in any respect last season.
Moving up for UM is more unlikely now than in the past. NIL actually makes it doubly expensive to move up. UM would need to fund the move up, and have large NIL money. That just isn't going to fall out of the sky.
