Don't move up ---move out!

[kemajic]

You would be better off trying to form that conference under the tattered banner of the WAC with the intention of positioning football for the alleged "second tier" of FBS. Were you to do it that way, the conference might have a voice in deciding how many scholarships would be required in second tier FBS football. You might be able to set the minimum at say 75 scholarships -- 12 more than FCS, which would make the jump much easier for schools like Montana, both because of football related costs and because of matching women's scholarships required under Title IX.
Either way, you would have a seat at the table when it comes to issues like scholarship limits, potential playoffs, etc. No FCS conference seems to have a seat at the table currently.

That said. Montana lacks the leadership to make any such plans at the moment. These are big, bold decisions that Montana might not be up to until Engstrom either retires or is fired. MSU on the other hand, I can see pulling this off.

Agree; the WAC still has the FBS ticket and forming a super FCS regional conference accomplishes little. There is no motivation for the Dakotas to make lateral moves. While it might make a bit more attactive nest to attract Idaho, a more attractive nest for the Vandals is anything FBS.

I would stop short of giving MSU that much credit. They have an impressive Pres., but a dolt for an AD. And there remains the MT BOR, which will always have its head in the sand and continue to spread its support across six institutions.

 

[BWahlberg]

Brint....not too bad except for Weber and Eastern Washington.

What's wrong with Weebs? Strong basketball team right there that draws the best in the conf.

EWU is at least working well to improve/build on their programs, image, and recent success. Their basketball programs need more stability for sure and bigger/better facilities. They're easy to travel to and regional rivals for UM, MSU, and even WSU/ISU (presumably would be with Idaho as well).

Weber as OP said is a solid BB school, probably the most consistant in the Big Sky and would be one of the best in a leauge like this. They've also been improving at football and have decent facilities compared to many others in the leauge.

 

[MissingBigSky]

This idea is a variant of the "Big Sky moves up all together" idea. Except just a subset of the conference plus Idaho.

Oh, my mistake. I see he is proposing that it be an FCS conference. I think there would be better luck in making the new conference the third western FBS football conference. You're right, ordigger, Idaho doesn't want FCS.

The big advantage the WAC currently has is they already are considered a FBS conference. If, for example, the Big Sky or new conference tried to form they would have to wait (I think it is) 8 years before they would be eligible for the postseason. The WAC on the other hand has a 2 year wait to return to full FBS status. The one reason the WAC is attractive is solely for that reason. If indeed they are working on putting together a group of FCS move up schools into a conference, all those schools would be have post season opportunities much quicker.

If indeed the WAC is forming an East and West divisional setup, I wouldnt mind seeing us (if we moved up) in the WAC west (assuming the WAC survives - and I believe that the NCAA would like to see it do so).

WAC East
Liberty
Georgia Southern
App State
Jacksonville State
James Madison
Lamar

WAC West
Idaho
New Mexico State
Montana
Montana State
Utah Valley (rumored to be wanting to add football)
????

bb only schools would be: Cal State- Bakersfield, Seattle & Denver

Of course then use it to springboard into something better in a few years.

That would be the worst FB conference in the nation and with probably the higest travel expenses per school. Sounds fun/cool but doesn't seem realistic to me.

I tend to agree but maybe it isn't as bad as it looks? We'd only have to travel to one or two WAC East schools per year for in conference games. And being FBS status gives us more opportunities for regional OOC games to cut down on travel.

 

[EverettGriz]

I hear Billy Joel in my head everytime I see this thread's title on the main page.





Okay, carry on.