G5 presidents to meet about leaving Power 5 schools.

[mthoopsfan]

Why would the stands be empty? Please don't tell me you do not believe 27,500 would show up to watch the GRIZ host Boise. Or Air Force. Or Colorado State.

Hell, we get 26500 there paying $75 to watch freakin noco. A ticket to the MECCA would be almost impossible to secure playing those teams.

Okay, so tell us how that incremental revenue would fund an additional $25 million a year in additional athletic budget. An extra 1,000 at $75 would gross $75,000. Times 6 games would be less than a half million dollars.

Do you know how to balance your check book? Just curious.

 

[EverettGriz]

Okay, so tell us how that incremental revenue would fund an additional $25 million a year in additional athletic budget. An extra 1,000 at $75 would gross $75,000. Times 6 games would be less than a half million dollars.

Do you know how to balance your check book? Just curious.

The exact same way all of the other MWC teams do: with multiple additional revenue sources.

Balance a checkbook?? Did we just revert back to 1985? Ever hear of online banking? Just curious.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

Okay, so tell us how that incremental revenue would fund an additional $25 million a year in additional athletic budget. An extra 1,000 at $75 would gross $75,000. Times 6 games would be less than a half million dollars.

Do you know how to balance your check book? Just curious.

I've thought about this a good amount through the years, and with the current changing landscape, I'm not sure they would have to double the budget. I think it's going to be a situation where schools can join conferences for certain sports only. For example, UC Davis and Cal Poly don't play all of their sports in the BSC, but their FB teams do. And the BSC doesn't seem to care. We already travel the entire West for conference play in football, so travel costs shouldn't be an issue. I know the common refrain has been that we'd have to add sports, etc., but I just don't see that being the reality going forward. Just my opinion. Could be wrong.

 

[mthoopsfan]

The exact same way all of the other MWC teams do: with multiple additional revenue sources.

Balance a checkbook?? Did we just revert back to 1985? Ever hear of online banking? Just curious.

So, have the State increase state funding to $20 million from $7 million, have students agree to increase their fees by 5 times as much, $1 million to $5 million, etc.? Okay, why don’t you suggest that?

Cats get $10 million from State and over $2 million of student fees.

 

[mthoopsfan]

The exact same way all of the other MWC teams do: with multiple additional revenue sources.

Balance a checkbook?? Did we just revert back to 1985? Ever hear of online banking? Just curious.

I thought so. You never learned how to balance a check book.

 

[mthoopsfan]

I've thought about this a good amount through the years, and with the current changing landscape, I'm not sure they would have to double the budget. I think it's going to be a situation where schools can join conferences for certain sports only. For example, UC Davis and Cal Poly don't play all of their sports in the BSC, but their FB teams do. And the BSC doesn't seem to care. We already travel the entire West for conference play in football, so travel costs shouldn't be an issue. I know the common refrain has been that we'd have to add sports, etc., but I just don't see that being the reality going forward. Just my opinion. Could be wrong.

You think UM could go FBS but not have to have the FBS number of sports, or what are you saying?

 

[Griz til I die]

True, but much like the fbs now, why would G5 conferences want to add teams and split the pot even further?

They wouldn’t add additional conferences, but those conferences need to have enough teams to meet the requirements. If MWC is raided by PAC12 rebuild, then they need more teams or they’ll collapse

 

[EverettGriz]

I thought so. You never learned how to balance a check book.

I thought so. You don't know how to work a computer.

 

[mthoopsfan]

"On future realignment / Big Sky schools potentially joining the FBS ...

"I guess you can never predict the future. You know, we talk about expansion at every President's meeting, about should we be doing something? Who's making things happen around the country and should we be, you know,lars right up front just to do it. And then all of a sudden they've probably got to invest anywhere from $8 to $10 million per year to be at that level, at the average level of, let's say, the Mountain West. And for our schools that extra $8 to $10 million ... I don't know where they get that from. I don't think the states are going to give them the money.

"So moving up would be a real challenge for our schools. And it doesn't mean that someday some of them might not aspire to be that. But like I said, my job is to educate them on the pros and the cons. So my crystal ball is not really clear on what this looks like in five years, but I do know that we've got a really good home for our programs, and there's a lot of schools out there across the country that look like ours." really looking hard and making some changes, and are our schools interested in that as well? My role is to make sure that they all know exactly what they would be getting into.

"So moving up would be a real challenge for our schools. And it doesn't mean that someday some of them might not aspire to be that. But like I said, my job is to educate them on the pros and the cons. So my crystal ball is not really clear on what this looks like in five years, but I do know that we've got a really good home for our programs, and there's a lot of schools out there across the country that look like ours."

Big Sky commissioner Tom Wistrcill: Future not clear amid changes, but league presses forward

As college athletics continue to undergo seismic changes, challenges persist for the Big Sky Conference.

www.montanasports.com

 

[mthoopsfan]

I thought so. You don't know how to work a computer.

I know more about them than you do. Started working with computers and programming in 1968. Took courses from Kemeny and Kurtz, who wrote Basic.

"BASIC stands for "Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code." Originally designed as an interactive mainframe timesharing language by John Kemeney and Thomas Kurtz in 1963, it became widely used on personal computers everywhere."

"Kemeny and Kurtz were pioneers in the use of computers for ordinary people. After early experiments with ALGOL 30 and DOPE on the LGP-30, they invented the BASIC programming language in 1964, as well as one of the world's first time-sharing systems, the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System (DTSS). In 1974, the American Federation of Information Processing Societies gave an award to Kemeny and Kurtz at the National Computer Conference for their work on BASIC and time-sharing. BASIC was the language used in most software written during the rise of the Apple II, the Commodore, the TRS-80, and the IBM PCs throughout the 80s, and its successor on PCs, Visual Basic (.NET), is still in use in 2023."

BASIC - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I wrote my first computer program about 1970 or 1971. I was the lead lawyer for Greg Gianforte's company, RightNow Tech, for its existence and when it sold to Oracle for $1.8 billion. I was the lead lawyer for Doug Burgum's company, Great Plains Software, when it sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion, and also was the lawyer for about 10 of their acquisitions. I've been to the annual Easter Egg hunt at Steve Ballmer's house, and have met his wife number of other times. How about you? Do you know Ballmer, or Greg Mafaei or John Connors?

 

[CDAGRIZ]

You think UM could go FBS but not have to have the FBS number of sports, or what are you saying?

I guess I’m just saying there is only one FBS sport, and there might be opportunities for football only conference memberships given the changing landscape.

 

[mthoopsfan]

I guess I’m just saying there is only one FBS sport, and there might be opportunities for football only conference memberships given the changing landscape.

Got it. I assume most FBS schools are just in one conference, although not all. Interesting idea and question.

 

[GrizTexas]

I mean, what other school fits the bill????

I'd prefer Davis and Sac. St. or just about anyone other than NC...

 

[Copper Griz]

Why would the stands be empty? Please don't tell me you do not believe 27,500 would show up to watch the GRIZ host Boise. Or Air Force. Or Colorado State.

Hell, we get 26500 there paying $75 to watch freakin noco. A ticket to the MECCA would be almost impossible to secure playing those teams.

Why would the stands be empty? Please don't tell me you do not believe 27,500 would show up to watch the GRIZ host Boise. Or Air Force. Or Colorado State.

Hell, we get 26500 there paying $75 to watch freakin noco. A ticket to the MECCA would be almost impossible to secure playing those teams.

Actually it’s just math. Griz had 15 games in 2023 and Air Force had 13 (including their bowl game). Griz had home playoff games that boosted revenue and the community of Missoula. Every playoff game matters and means something for fans. The Armed Forces Bowl doesn’t really draw a crowd and wasn’t played on home field for Air Force. $$’s matter. Playoffs matter. If G5 adds playoff games, I am all for a move up, but hoops has a point about overall funding that cannot be overlooked. Maybe CDA is on to something with the single sports angle. Smarter minds than mine will hopefully prevail and put the Griz in an optimal position for success.

 

[EverettGriz]

Actually it’s just math. Griz had 15 games in 2023 and Air Force had 13 (including their bowl game). Griz had home playoff games that boosted revenue and the community of Missoula. Every playoff game matters and means something for fans. The Armed Forces Bowl doesn’t really draw a crowd and wasn’t played on home field for Air Force. $$’s matter. Playoffs matter. If G5 adds playoff games, I am all for a move up, but hoops has a point about overall funding that cannot be overlooked. Maybe CDA is on to something with the single sports angle. Smarter minds than mine will hopefully prevail and put the Griz in an optimal position for success.

Okay, I think I see. You're saying the stands wouldn't be full for the 2 additional playoff games. But in reality, the ncaa takes most of the playoff draw from UM anyhow. Playoff games don't add to the UM athletic coffers. In fact, I'd say they likely lose money on them, and certainly lost money on the trip to Frisco.

What's important is that all fbs teams' revenue far exceeds what UM will ever be able to produce at the fcs level. Now, is that the only consideration? Of course not. But as the gap between the haves and the have nots continues to grow exponentially, eventually some difficult decisions will need to be made. And at that point playoffs no longer matter, because the fight would be to simply maintain the program at the DI level.

 

[BigRock]

I think we should all be open to whatever opportunities the future holds. But I am glad the Griz didn't move up prematurely to become the Northern Colorado of the Mountain West. Last season was a lot of fun.

 

[EverettGriz]

I think we should all be open to whatever opportunities the future holds. But I am glad the Griz didn't move up prematurely to become the Northern Colorado of the Mountain West. Last season was a lot of fun.

Yes it was.

But why would the GRIZ become the noco of the MWC?


God I hate that kind of thinking.

 

[BigRock]

Yes it was.

But why would the GRIZ become the noco of the MWC?


God I hate that kind of thinking.

Because UM is a liberal arts school with 10,000 students and a $250M endowment in the year 2024?

I actually like that the Griz football team still approximates Montana. It ain't California or Texas, but it's Montanans -- both raised and adopted -- playing like Montanans. You can walk out on the field, shake the players' hands, laugh about mutual acquaintances. It's real and tangible, and you can be an honest-to-god part of it in the stands at a playoff game (just ask Cam Miller). And we do it all at a flyover state national championship level. It's part of our collective identity.

Ohio and Georgia Southern played in front of 8,059 fans in the Myrtle Beach Bowl this year. That was their prize for being above average at a level UM doesn't have the resources for. Even with delusions of grandeur, what do you honestly believe is on the other side of that fence for UM?

It's worth savoring at least one more season of pride and relevance in Missoula before the fence comes looking for the Griz.

 

[EverettGriz]

Because UM is a liberal arts school with 10,000 students and a $250M endowment in the year 2024?

I actually like that the Griz football team still approximates Montana. It ain't California or Texas, but it's Montanans -- both raised and adopted -- playing like Montanans. You can walk out on the field, shake the players' hands, laugh about mutual acquaintances. It's real and tangible, and you can be an honest-to-god part of it in the stands at a playoff game (just ask Cam Miller). And we do it all at a flyover state national championship level. It's part of our collective identity.

Ohio and Georgia Southern played in front of 8,059 fans in the Myrtle Beach Bowl this year. That was their prize for being above average at a level UM doesn't have the resources for. Even with delusions of grandeur, what do you honestly believe is on the other side of that fence for UM?

It's worth savoring at least one more season of pride and relevance in Missoula before the fence comes looking for the Griz.

All of the things you mention are truly great things about Montana football. And I don't envision any of them changing if we were to play at the FBS level.

And Boise has played in the Fiesta Bowl three times, including one game which will still be talked about 100 years from now. I just do not understand the defeatist attitude that pervades which seems to suggest Montana will lose before they even play. I can guarantee there are 120 guys in that locker room who feel differently.

 

[mthoopsfan]

Okay, I think I see. You're saying the stands wouldn't be full for the 2 additional playoff games. But in reality, the ncaa takes most of the playoff draw from UM anyhow. Playoff games don't add to the UM athletic coffers. In fact, I'd say they likely lose money on them, and certainly lost money on the trip to Frisco.

What's important is that all fbs teams' revenue far exceeds what UM will ever be able to produce at the fcs level. Now, is that the only consideration? Of course not. But as the gap between the haves and the have nots continues to grow exponentially, eventually some difficult decisions will need to be made. And at that point playoffs no longer matter, because the fight would be to simply maintain the program at the DI level.

UM makes money from home playoff games and certainly decent money last playoff season. Yes, UM takes extra people to Frisco and exceeds what ncaa pays for.

Yes, more revenue in FBS, but way more expenses in FBS and those expenses would greatly exceed additional revenue.

FCS continues to be viable and fairly strong. FBS too costly.

I will see Greg Gianforte today. Maybe I will get a chance to ask a question. Would State triple UM funding and double MSU athletic funding?