It’s time to move up to the FBS the Mountain West preferably.

[mthoopsfan]

The WAC was banking on getting UM (and potentially MSU) to keep from folding. Us declining is the reason why it folded. We were its last hope.

Not true. The WAC had just lost too much and was not going to make it. Montana wouldn’t have saved WAC then. It would have been a disaster for Montana.

 

[mthoopsfan]

I think we would have joined Utah State and SJSU in moving to the MWC. Maybe C-USA or Sun Belt along with other WAC departures. In any event, I believe we'd be somewhere that isn't the FCS right now.

Don’t think the timing would have worked. Assume if UM announced near end of 2010 season it was leaving big sky, it would not have been able to leave big sky until after 2011 season. Those 2 WAC schools announced leaving before 2012 season. UM wouldn’t have been able to announce leaving WAC before it started playing in WAC. No way MW takes UM then. The Sunbelt would be a disaster for a school in Montana.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

Don’t think the timing would have worked. Assume if UM announced near end of 2010 season it was leaving big sky, it would not have been able to leave big sky until after 2011 season. Those 2 WAC schools announced leaving before 2012 season. UM wouldn’t have been able to announce leaving WAC before it started playing in WAC. No way MW takes UM then. The Sunbelt would be a disaster for a school in Montana.

Maybe you're right. We'll never know for sure where we would've ended up. All we do know for sure is that we're in the BSC.

 

[mthoopsfan]

Let's be honest, an FCS National Championship is not a huge draw for transfers from FBS teams. I think it is kind of considered an afterthought. They do seem to like the stadium, the facilities, the winning culture, and the supportive fan base. This makes it fun. Most of the guys who wind up transfering from FBS teams were not going to be playing much. . .if at all. . .on those teams. To be able to go to a team like the Griz is a huge opportunity to prove you can play and have a lot of support and energy at the FCS level. I really believe this is what draws guys to Montana. You won't get a lot of top talent out of warm weather states, however. Once they find out the cold conditions, I think many guys we may have been able to get will find other places.

Yes, it is a good draw for some. Wilson. The Nebraska OL. The Cal and NCSt OL. Our current BYU transfer. It was certainly true in past decades. Russum. The QB Miller. Ochs. Swogger. Quinn might have been forced to FCS. But this combines with wanting to play a lot too. Bohanan.

 

[5280Griz]

Yes, it is a good draw for some. Wilson. The Nebraska OL. The Cal and NCSt OL. Our current BYU transfer. It was certainly true in past decades. Russum. The QB Miller. Ochs. Swogger. Quinn might have been forced to FCS. But this combines with wanting to play a lot too. Bohanan.

Ochs and anyone else from that era like Quinn were forced to the FCS because FBS to FBS transfers required sitting out a year which is no longer the case.

 

[GriznMN]

My fiance went to JMU. Huge football fan all around. Even talked my daughter into doing their stupid chant the last time they played the Griz (after a brief separation and a lot of counseling, we are back on track after that travesty and betrayal). She cried when they upset VTech in 2010. She cried when she was attending there and the Griz beat them. When we played them in the playoffs last, she was informing me all about their coach, QB, and best players. She was a diehard. She would see girls wearing JMU gear in Missoula in the summers and scream "GO DUKES" at them. She tried to get out to a game every other year, even after returning to MT.

Their first year in the FBS she was excited, and since then I have watched it just slowly fade. It went from her wanting to watch every game as bad as I did to her then not really needing to watch but still checking in. At this point she doesn't even ask me how JMU did and I couldn't tell you about a single game they have played this year.

Watching that has been a big factor in my opinion on it. The last time we talked about it she just said she doesn't care about a bowl game and feels like they have almost zero chance of ever making the playoffs and zero chance of a title.

I hear your point that you are advocating that we get into the "G6" type of level before the power conferences split away. Personally, from my perspective, I am more worried about us moving up too early and losing fans than us getting temporarily trapped at a level below until we can move up.

And yes, I know that this is one anecdotal piece of evidence. She absolutely longs for the FCS days, and I haven't heard her sorority sisters mention a word about football in a couple of years when we hang out or are on video calls.

Could your fiance's waning interest in JMU football be related to the departure of Curt Cignetti for Indiana? Maybe she could become a Hoosier fan.

"Cignetti amassed massive success in his five-year tenure at James Madison. The Dukes went 52-9, including a 19-4 mark in 2022 and 2023, JMU's first two years as an FBS program."

 

[GriznMN]

Here's one interesting tidbit: Name another land grant institution of higher-learning that is in the FCS.

 

[Griz in Texas]

Here's one interesting tidbit: Name another land grant institution of higher-learning that is in the FCS.

There's a bunch of them, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Idaho, Bozeman, Alcorn State, the list goes on.

 

[mthoopsfan]

Ochs and anyone else from that era like Quinn were forced to the FCS because FBS to FBS transfers required sitting out a year which is no longer the case.

I wouldn't say they were "forced". I don't think Ochs had redshirted, so he could have sat for a redshirt year. And Quinn was not allowed to play the year after he left Oklahoma. So, he effectively redshirted that year. I think he had only 3 years on the field. One at OK and 2 at UM.

 

[5280Griz]

There's a bunch of them, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Idaho, Bozeman, Alcorn State, the list goes on.

NDSU and SDSU from the Missouri Valley

 

[AZGrizFan]

My fiance went to JMU. Huge football fan all around. Even talked my daughter into doing their stupid chant the last time they played the Griz (after a brief separation and a lot of counseling, we are back on track after that travesty and betrayal). She cried when they upset VTech in 2010. She cried when she was attending there and the Griz beat them. When we played them in the playoffs last, she was informing me all about their coach, QB, and best players. She was a diehard. She would see girls wearing JMU gear in Missoula in the summers and scream "GO DUKES" at them. She tried to get out to a game every other year, even after returning to MT.

Their first year in the FBS she was excited, and since then I have watched it just slowly fade. It went from her wanting to watch every game as bad as I did to her then not really needing to watch but still checking in. At this point she doesn't even ask me how JMU did and I couldn't tell you about a single game they have played this year.

Watching that has been a big factor in my opinion on it. The last time we talked about it she just said she doesn't care about a bowl game and feels like they have almost zero chance of ever making the playoffs and zero chance of a title.

I hear your point that you are advocating that we get into the "G6" type of level before the power conferences split away. Personally, from my perspective, I am more worried about us moving up too early and losing fans than us getting temporarily trapped at a level below until we can move up.

And yes, I know that this is one anecdotal piece of evidence. She absolutely longs for the FCS days, and I haven't heard her sorority sisters mention a word about football in a couple of years when we hang out or are on video calls.

My memory is that attendance did drop in the final year of the Stitt era.

The only other point I would make is that we are also in a more precarious position than we may like to admit. It was not that long ago that the program needed to be resurrected. If we had moved up in 2011, I cannot imagine how terrible our teams would have been for the next 7 years.

Hold up.

You hang with her sorority sisters?

DM me man...

 

[Wolf777]

I’d recommend he wait until it’s official before exposing her to the egriz crowd. lol. He did say fiancé right?

 

[Downwiththefoe1984]

UM, MSU, NDSU, SDSU = FCS football. If we were to move up and play less meaningful ball being a small fish in a big pond, we would need to be in a conference with these guys. Big fish, small pond theory always seemed like a good fit for us.

 

[kemajic]

Big fish, small pond theory always seemed like a good fit for us.

For the meek.

 

[garizzalies]

Big fish, small pond theory always seemed like a good fit for us.

Actually, you got it completely backwards.
The best argument for moving up is the fact that we must split the TV revenue equally among all members in the conference. It’s absurd. The Montana schools are by far the biggest draw but do not get a proportional share of the cash. Think about it. UNC gets the same amount as UM. Who the fuck is tuning in to watch them play?
Our AD voted against divvying up the profits this way but of course he got out voted by the “small fish”.
If it were any other profession, like a law firm for example, the rain maker would be gone before the votes were tallied

 

[Berkeley_Griz]

Actually, you got it completely backwards.
The best argument for moving up is the fact that we must split the TV revenue equally among all members in the conference. It’s absurd. The Montana schools are by far the biggest draw but do not get a proportional share of the cash. Think about it. UNC gets the same amount as UM. Who the fuck is tuning in to watch them play?
Our AD voted against divvying up the profits this way but of course he got out voted by the “small fish”.
If it were any other profession, like a law firm for example, the rain maker would be gone before the votes were tallied

That same argument is had by plenty of FBS conferences.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

Big fish, small pond theory always seemed like a good fit for us.

That sums everything up re: our mentality. Literally everything. Stay safe so we can’t get hurt.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Delusionary.

Agreed. It's delusionary to believe that we'd NEVER be able to compete or find the money.

 

[garizzalies]

That same argument is had by plenty of FBS conferences.

Not really, at least not the extent we are being hosed. For example, our average attendance is about 27K. UNCU’s is 3K. Thus, we are almost 10x bigger. Do you think there is an FBS school getting screwed out of proportion by a factor of ten?
Why are the MT schools featured in virtually every espn game while some schools never are?

 

[Da Boyz Mom]

Not really, at least not the extent we are being hosed. For example, our average attendance is about 27K. UNCU’s is 3K. Thus, we are almost 10x bigger. Do you think there is an FBS school getting screwed out of proportion by a factor of ten?
Why are the MT schools featured in virtually every espn game while some schools never are?

Exactly, and as I just learned this year, there's even a stipulation that at least one of the ESPN games cannot include either Montana school. One can only assume that the conference did that to protect the other schools, but in the meantime the Montana schools are providing all of the viewership and getting hosed in the process.