Grizfan-24 said:
Hey Dub,
Rather than getting into a brain pan conversation, what excites you about the schools in the WAC for football? I understand Bensons desire to get Montana into the fold, because frankly it is a better option than the directional sisters of texas or the small basketball only schools from Urban market areas.
But as some have said does it make sense to hitch ourselves to a conference that still might see defections (Hawaii, Utah State, Lousiana Tech). The WAC doesn't seem interested in adding the most stable football programs from the BSC (Eastern, Weber State, MSU, NAU) they want to add media market teams, plus Montana. Good gravy, the new wac isn't a lot better than the BSC. Especially if you add Sacramento State and Portland State to that conference as some have suggested. I am sorry, but that experience in the new WAC gurantees us diddly squat when it comes to football. We'll get the Poulan Weedeater bowl (sarcasm) and some 1st week bowl game where we get the second team out of the sun belt as an opponent (a directional lousiana school or middle tennessee state).
Five years ago that move made sense. Really I could take it or leave it. I just for one don't see the new WAC as anything more than a glorified BSC. The reason the WAC expanded the way it did is it saw in less than a decade the traditional power (Fresno State) consistently gravitate around the top 25, boise rise, but also that two year run for hawaii and Nevada's recent success. They are all GONE.
If you really believe the newly constructed WAC is such a cash cow consider this:
Our stadium on face is a great recruiting tool, but our football program facilities are not much better than Idaho States. I have been in both. That doesn't help bringing in recruits. We won't ever play a single weekday game at home, because well ESPN will never dole out the money to bring in lights for a regular season game. I just don't believe that is a good business model for ESPN or the UofM if they have to foot the bill for those types of things. Those national television games would be all on the road. There would be little money in those type of experiences.
How many mid day saturday games have you seen on ESPN over the past years that included two wac opponents? Boise State was smart, they started scheduling games to get their program into the national spotlight. But also because national television wanted to see BSU on TV. Prior to 2006, how many times did we see BSU teams on national tele? Not many. There will be less revenue to spread around in the new construction. I don't see ESPN or any other national TV company excited about us playing San Jose State or North Texas on National Television.
i don't think a move up kills us. We have the ability to survive. We are in much better shape than Idaho was in 1996. But you can't tell me that the WAC now is better than Idaho's Sun Belt experience if we move up. We can move up, I will support it, but I don't necessarily have to be excited the idea of playing New Mexico State, Texas State whatever for a football opponent in conference.
Quit being ignorant for 2 seconds. DU has 11,644 students. SU has 7,751 students. Both are private and wealthy and you're knocking them as being small little BB only schools. Do have any idea how many alums UM has in Denver or Seattle? Go to Cat/Griz in one of those cities sometime, you'll see about 1,000 people at each one. This is as much about consolidating our alumni base and giving them something in common to do in their cities as it is about playing better competition with our peer institutions. The larger connection a school's alums feel to their alma mater is directly correlated to giving rates.
And why are you so concerned with how often we are going to be on national TV? If we do something worthy of being on national TV, we will be on national TV. Lower tier bowl games are more prestigious and higher rated than NC games. If fact, you could make an argument that the only reason last year's outlier FCS rating bonanzas even occurred was because the Griz were playing.
Oh well, it doesn't matter, you don't get it, you likely never will.
It must suck for the move down crowd to see that I (of all people) was right all along and that many of my arguments from the past 6 years are being used as reasons for a move up. Darn, Foncy knew all along and all the dinosaurs with their crusty old ideas were dead wrong. Too bad, PR. If you would have just listened to me, you wouldn't have lost so much money. Stubbon old dinosaur and his money get parted. Greater fool theory in effect, PR. I just wish it was me taking it from you.
