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Griz benefit from move to West Coast Conference!

Silvertip

Well-known member
What does that solve you ask? For openers UM basketball immediately improves its RPI rating by 50 points. It would play season long in a competitive conference that the NCAA thinks enough of to name two WCC teams to the playoffs, instead of competing in a Big Sky that many think is marginally worthy of its single automatic qualifier. But a basketball only league? Yep. The Griz, making zero, zip, nada from BSC road games, becomes a football independant playing a mix of FCS and FBS teams. There is no mandate as to how expensive the move up has to be and should the Griz go FBS they would garner increased interest from FBS teams who are reluctant to "schedule down."

UM would play a non-conference schedule against the likes of Idaho, Nevada and others we haven't had a chance at bringing into Wash-Griz in the last 15 years while we were still FCS. We'd still play MSU, but without the obligation of three or four non-revenue producing BSC road games there would be some actual payday road games. Would we take some early lumps? Without a doubt, but overall it could turn into a nice setup. And, Wow!... the Adams Center would see greatly improved basketball from the likes of Gonzaga, St Marys, Santa Clara, San Francisco, et al. The bottom line would be a resurgence of basketball interest while placing UM in a more competitive situation while generating increased revenue. How bad could that be? Now the downslide - we'd probably have to change the recruiting emphasis from local kids to talented kids from wherever who can show their Confirmation Certificate.

Disclaimer: This scenario does not carry the approval of the smartest boy in class.
 
It will never happen. Every school in the WCC is private and with the exception of Pepperdine they are all Catholic. Seattle U tried to join the WCC when they moved up to division 1 but were denied. Why would they take Montana over Seattle U, another Jesuit school with a much better location. IF, and that is a big if, we ever change conferences, it would most likely be to something like the WAC or if we get really ambitious, the Mountain West.
 
Tip, I'm no longer adamantly against a move up but how do we as a football independent get any FBS team into Wa-Griz? I've always thought we would have to be in an FBS conference to get FBS teams to come to us.
 
I don't know about you guys, but I like the view from the top of the mountain. Getting an invite to the Meineke Muffler Bowl in Duluth every third year, just doesn't carry the same ring as "National Champion". Other than money, what are we missing out on? We can't even win a BSC regular season title in basketball, track, soccer, tennis, swimming, or chess. And if it wasn't for a couple of "Griz Magic" moments against South Dakota State and Weber St., our football and basketball teams would have been done early. The "moving UP" to be at the "bottom of the heap" in a minor-league FBS conference doesn't enthuse me too much.
 
griz8791 said:
Tip, I'm no longer adamantly against a move up but how do we as a football independent get any FBS team into Wa-Griz? I've always thought we would have to be in an FBS conference to get FBS teams to come to us.

Notre Dame, competing as an independant, plays a pretty attractive home schedule....

Hey Grizzle: Here's a picture of a Seattle U "crowd." And you wonder why the WCC wasn't interested.

http://vimeo.com/2866052
 
And you want to put Notre Dame and UM in the same football/national name recognition/facilities "category"??????? Who are you kidding????
 
I'd much rather see the Griz move to a better rated conference like the WAC, or better yet the MWC (probably not likely yet).

The WCC is frequently a 1 bid conference much like the Big Sky. Last year St. Mary's didn't get in even though they had something like a 25-6 record. Unless Gonzaga loses in the WCC tournament it's not too common for the WCC to have multiple bids it seems. St. Mary's was considered a bubble team again this year, and many experts said they'd probably be left out again (due to their RPI and SOS) before they ended up beating Gonzaga in the WCC tournament and winning the auto-bid.

The WAC conference RPI is also higher than the WCC RPI.

We probably would draw good crowds for Gonzaga and St. Mary's (when St. Mary's is having a good season). The rest of the WCC though..we probably wouldn't draw any better than against the teams we play now.

Against the WAC teams we'd at least have some old rivalries again like Nevada, Boise and Idaho... plus teams like Utah State who always seems to be very good. I personally would like to see the Griz in the WAC eventually. I think it'd help out the basketball programs quite a lot. The MWC would be even better though :)
 
Silvertip said:
griz8791 said:
Tip, I'm no longer adamantly against a move up but how do we as a football independent get any FBS team into Wa-Griz? I've always thought we would have to be in an FBS conference to get FBS teams to come to us.

Notre Dame, competing as an independant, plays a pretty attractive home schedule....

Hey Grizzle: Here's a picture of a Seattle U "crowd." And you wonder why the WCC wasn't interested.

http://vimeo.com/2866052
Holy crap! Our high school facilities are better than this (and our dance squad, too... yikes!). I thought the NCAA had a minimum seating capacity for stadiums/arenas to be able to move up to D1. I remember Idaho had to use Wazoo's stadium a couple of years because the Kibbie Dome didn't seat enough, so the Vandals had to raise their "average" capacity. But then again, those crowds I see on this video are looking like the Women's NCAA tournament crowds.
 
'68griz said:
And you want to put Notre Dame and UM in the same football/national name recognition/facilities "category"??????? Who are you kidding????

68: Your convoluted fabrication that if the Griz were to go independent it would somehow link them to The Fighting Irish, is, well...dumb. No such assertion was made or suggested.
 
Hey Grizzle: Here's a picture of a Seattle U "crowd." And you wonder why the WCC wasn't interested.

http://vimeo.com/2866052[/quote]
Holy crap! Our high school facilities are better than this (and our dance squad, too... yikes!). I thought the NCAA had a minimum seating capacity for stadiums/arenas to be able to move up to D1. I remember Idaho had to use Wazoo's stadium a couple of years because the Kibbie Dome didn't seat enough, so the Vandals had to raise their "average" capacity. But then again, those crowds I see on this video are looking like the Women's NCAA tournament crowds.[/quote]


I don't know when that photo was taken, or even if it was taken during a men's BB game. But Seattle U plays their games at Seattle's Key Arena, and they probably averaged 3500 to 4000 per game, more than many WCC teams.

That said, put me down for "no support" on this idea. FBS Independents are treated worse that FCS teams.
 
Silvertip said:
'68griz said:
And you want to put Notre Dame and UM in the same football/national name recognition/facilities "category"??????? Who are you kidding????

68: Your convoluted fabrication that if the Griz were to go independent it would somehow link them to The Fighting Irish, is, well...dumb. No such assertion was made or suggested.

Really? Because the way you worded it and in the context of the thread, that's exactly how it sounds.
 
PeauxRouge said:
68: Your convoluted fabrication that if the Griz were to go independent it would somehow link them to The Fighting Irish, is, well...dumb. No such assertion was made or suggested.

Really? Because the way you worded it and in the context of the thread, that's exactly how it sounds.[/quote]

Woe be unto him who shall mention Notre Dame and Montana in the same breath lest he be driven from the thread as a mover upper...A lot of panties would have gone unwadded had I mentioned somebody like Old Dominion ( an indy for now with a "pretty attractive home schedule") instead of the Irish. :roll:
 
Silvertip said:
PeauxRouge said:
68: Your convoluted fabrication that if the Griz were to go independent it would somehow link them to The Fighting Irish, is, well...dumb. No such assertion was made or suggested.

Really? Because the way you worded it and in the context of the thread, that's exactly how it sounds.

Woe be unto him who shall mention Notre Dame and Montana in the same breath lest he be driven from the thread as a mover upper...A lot of panties would have gone unwadded had I mentioned somebody like Old Dominion ( an indy for now with a "pretty attractive home schedule") instead of the Irish. :roll:[/quote]


Yeah, I'm with 68griz and Peaux on this one. You're implying that because Notre Dame does, Montana can do it too. I know you're an ubber-fan but let's be real. :roll: :roll:
 
Well, here's a little speedbump:

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaa...cil+considers+cost+savings_03_25_10_ncaa_news

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=14164

"Football Championship Subdivision members who wish to join the Football Bowl Subdivision should have a bona fide offer of membership from an FBS conference to be considered for FBS membership. FCS members suggested this change as a way of being consistent – the Council is also recommending that new Division I members have a bona fide offer of membership from a Division I conference before beginning the reclassification process" (emphasis added).
 
Makes sense to me. And will surely call into play all the folks who've insisted for several years that the WAC is dying to have UM join them.... We shall see.
 
I'd like to move up so that we could get rid of "move up" threads. Then we could look forward to "move down" threads.
 
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