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Basketball and the Big Sky Conference

M

mtgrizrule

Well-known member
Okay here is the official Big Sky Conference bitch thread. I get tired of seeing the bitching drag down game threads, and other basketball threads. Post your conference comments here for good, bad, or indifferent.

I do agree with the posters saying a possible move is about more than football. I feel basketball would benefit even more from a move. I am also burned out with the move discussion from the football threads. With that said, I hope Montana and Weber State can continue doing what those programs are doing, and lead rest the conference to stepping up their programs.

The only thing we can do is deal with the situation as is now. AD's for all programs need to commit to bettering the conference and step up scheduling. Honestly, the lack of interest at many venues should be telling the conference to schedule tough out of conference road games.

This year the only schools even with close to acceptable attendance are Montana, Weber State, SUU, and MSU . Even those programs have way too many empty seats, and it is embarrassing to see that many empty seats on the internet broadcasts.

Speaking of attendance, Montana and Weber State fans please take this to heart. It is a good bet that either Montana or Weber State will host the conference tournament. If by some chance the host school does not make the championship, can we have enough pride to still represent the conference well for the Championship game? It will be embarrassing seeing another dead conference championship on ESPN.
 
I like the new tourney set up, and it will help attendance for the tourneys. It may not be a dramatic increase, but it will definitely help. If Weebs or UM hosts our fans would show up to watch other teams play..

Idaho joining the league is gonna help us by being able to break the big sky into 2 divisions. This will allow us to be able to play more out of conference games again, and thats great if we dont fill them with div2, and NAIA teams. We only need to play 1 game a year against teams like that, and it should be the 1st one.
 
A move to a different conference is more than about basketball and football. It is about all sports including tennis, golf, track, soccer. Usually when one of any of our teams competes against conference teams in a true Division1 conference, they get their heads handed to them because they aren't accustomed to playing against better talent. Yes, I know, many of you are pleased with the Fullerton Big Sky, however, many aren't. Finally, I'm confident that with the UM current leadership we will continue as is.
 
Spanky said:
A move to a different conference is more than about basketball and football. It is about all sports including tennis, golf, track, soccer. Usually when one of any of our teams competes against conference teams in a true Division1 conference, they get their heads handed to them because they aren't accustomed to playing against better talent. Yes, I know, many of you are pleased with the Fullerton Big Sky, however, many aren't. Finally, I'm confident that with the UM current leadership we will continue as is.
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ODay had a vision and was always looking ahead. Whether Haslem has this vision is a good question, but it really doesnt matter cause we know Engstrom has no desire to help athletics into the future.. :cry:
 
keena52 said:
I like the new tourney set up, and it will help attendance for the tourneys. It may not be a dramatic increase, but it will definitely help. If Weebs or UM hosts our fans would show up to watch other teams play..

Idaho joining the league is gonna help us by being able to break the big sky into 2 divisions. This will allow us to be able to play more out of conference games again, and thats great if we dont fill them with div2, and NAIA teams. We only need to play 1 game a year against teams like that, and it should be the 1st one.
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I didnt know Idaho was joining! Thats good, i guess i should get my head outta the sand huh! haha......And u asked if people would go to the tourney games, my brother and i would sure as hell be there at all of em.
 
From what I hear the championship game won't even be on espn/espn2. It's going to be on espnU :( :| :roll:
 
ozzie said:
From what I hear the championship game won't even be on espn/espn2. It's going to be on espnU :( :| :roll:
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That may not be such a bad thing. Perhaps then we won't miss the first 7 minutes of the game awaiting the finish of a first round Big East tournament game, with Syracuse "clinging" to a 37 point lead over Providence... :roll:
 
LOL, usually it's worse than that. It seems like invariably some team is losing by 12 and continues to foul the team that's ahead, right up until the final buzzer. And then it's seven minutes into the Griz game. :cry:
 
mtgrizrule said:
The only thing we can do is deal with the situation as is now. AD's for all programs need to commit to bettering the conference and step up scheduling. Honestly, the lack of interest at many venues should be telling the conference to schedule tough out of conference road games.
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The problem with Big Sky Conference basketball is not strength of schedule, it's that nobody can beat the lousy teams already on their schedules. Believe me, a lot of the teams are taking your advice and scheduling most of their non-conference games on the road. Idaho State had ONE non-conference home game this year, and several other teams had only two or three. The league office is trying to figure out how to get Big Sky teams to schedule MORE home games. They don't because a) they get beat anyway and b) if you're going to get waxed, why not go on the road and get paid for it?

Attendance for Big Sky basketball games has declined steadily since the mid-1990s, when Idaho and Boise State left the league. This eliminated some rivalry games, but it also coincided with a number of other factors, including: over-saturation of basketball on TV; competitive decline of the bottom teams in the league; and addition of markets like Sacramento and Portland, where no one gives a crap about their local small-college programs.

There are now 350 Division I schools trying to play D-1 basketball in this country, and the competition for talent, fans and viewer eyeballs is at an all-time high. Small-time college basketball is suffering because of it. Sure, there are pockets of exceptions -- Gonzaga, Butler, etc. But for every Missouri Valley Conference (average attendance: 7100 per game), there are a dozen leagues that average less than 3,000 fans a game, including the Big Sky, the Big West and the West Coast Conference (Gonzaga's league).

If Montana could somehow manuever its way into the Mountain West, that would be a huge upgrade on many levels, including basketball, where the average attendance in the MWC is 9100 per game. But that is why Idaho would give its left testicle to get into that league -- and probably never will. (The Vandals average about 1300 per game for basketball, BTW). I honestly think Montana will get an MWC invite before the Vandals -- but it won't happen because of your basketball program. We all know that realignment is driven by football -- unless you're one of the seven Catholic schools leaving the Big East because they got tired of football running the show.
 
Bengal visitor said:
mtgrizrule said:
The only thing we can do is deal with the situation as is now. AD's for all programs need to commit to bettering the conference and step up scheduling. Honestly, the lack of interest at many venues should be telling the conference to schedule tough out of conference road games.
Click to expand...

The problem with Big Sky Conference basketball is not strength of schedule, it's that nobody can beat the lousy teams already on their schedules. Believe me, a lot of the teams are taking your advice and scheduling most of their non-conference games on the road. Idaho State had ONE non-conference home game this year, and several other teams had only two or three. The league office is trying to figure out how to get Big Sky teams to schedule MORE home games. They don't because a) they get beat anyway and b) if you're going to get waxed, why not go on the road and get paid for it?

Attendance for Big Sky basketball games has declined steadily since the mid-1990s, when Idaho and Boise State left the league. This eliminated some rivalry games, but it also coincided with a number of other factors, including: over-saturation of basketball on TV; competitive decline of the bottom teams in the league; and addition of markets like Sacramento and Portland, where no one gives a crap about their local small-college programs.

There are now 350 Division I schools trying to play D-1 basketball in this country, and the competition for talent, fans and viewer eyeballs is at an all-time high. Small-time college basketball is suffering because of it. Sure, there are pockets of exceptions -- Gonzaga, Butler, etc. But for every Missouri Valley Conference (average attendance: 7100 per game), there are a dozen leagues that average less than 3,000 fans a game, including the Big Sky, the Big West and the West Coast Conference (Gonzaga's league).

If Montana could somehow manuever its way into the Mountain West, that would be a huge upgrade on many levels, including basketball, where the average attendance in the MWC is 9100 per game. But that is why Idaho would give its left testicle to get into that league -- and probably never will. (The Vandals average about 1300 per game for basketball, BTW). I honestly think Montana will get an MWC invite before the Vandals -- but it won't happen because of your basketball program. We all know that realignment is driven by football -- unless you're one of the seven Catholic schools leaving the Big East because they got tired of football running the show.
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Some good pnts Bengal :thumb:
 
so UMKC left the Summit for the WAC. Some wild rumors are floating around saying that maybe the Summit is n some sort of turmoil? (doubt it). But regardless, it makes me just wish there was a way the Big Sky could get NDSU and SDSU. two quality basketball and football programs located right next door to MT. Only negative thing is a 14 team (with idaho) conference is insane. I still think 12 is too big, but regardless I'd add NDSU and SDSU and send UNC, NAU packing (nothing personal bears and jacks fans).

I'm just spitballin' here, what're your thoughts?
 
ozzie said:
so UMKC left the Summit for the WAC. Some wild rumors are floating around saying that maybe the Summit is n some sort of turmoil? (doubt it). But regardless, it makes me just wish there was a way the Big Sky could get NDSU and SDSU. two quality basketball and football programs located right next door to MT. Only negative thing is a 14 team (with idaho) conference is insane. I still think 12 is too big, but regardless I'd add NDSU and SDSU and send UNC, NAU packing (nothing personal bears and jacks fans).

I'm just spitballin' here, what're your thoughts?
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Pretty sure the XDSUs both love the Summit and MVFC. Plus they still have a bad taste in their mouths after the West Coast and Cali schools shut them out of the Big Sky a few years ago.

I would love it, but I don't see that happening, especially in football because NDSU wants to be FBS. They'll go there before ever joining the big sky. :twocents:
 
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