Idaho football

[grizindabox]

Looks as though Idaho will be joining the Sunbelt for football only.

 

[MrTitleist]

http://cbsprt.co/10HDjBm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Add in New Mexico State too.

 

[ordigger]

This was obvious for these two schools. Idaho was never going to step back to FCS, no matter what some wanted to believe. Joy in Moscow tonight I'm sure.

 

[Silvertip]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

 

[ordigger]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

 

[grizindabox]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

There is no possible landing spot even if UM or MSU wanted to make the jump

 

[ordigger]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

There is no possible landing spot even if UM or MSU wanted to make the jump

Actually there is....especially if NDSU is looking to go also. You do know who the commissioner of the Sun Belt is right?

"They are in need of a conference and are being assessed," Benson said on March 9. "We are looking specifically for schools that will add stability and value. We also are exploring the possibility of football-only members, and it's not just limited to NMSU and Idaho.

"We have created a lot of maps with different possibilities that would fit many of our needs including geography."

 

[PhxGriz]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

There is no possible landing spot even if UM or MSU wanted to make the jump

Actually there is....especially if NDSU is looking to go also. You do know who the commissioner of the Sun Belt is right?

"They are in need of a conference and are being assessed," Benson said on March 9. "We are looking specifically for schools that will add stability and value. We also are exploring the possibility of football-only members, and it's not just limited to NMSU and Idaho.

"We have created a lot of maps with different possibilities that would fit many of our needs including geography."

Royce Engstrom?

 

[RobGriz]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but until we rid ourselves of the dead weight (engstrom and Delaney) we will not be able to compete at a level that would get us in any bowl, much less a major.

 

[griz4life]

What? I thought Doug Foolerton said it was only a matter of time before Idaho rejoined the Big Sky. Another swing and a miss for the conference commissioner. He's right less often than a broken clock.

 

[kemajic]

What? I thought Doug Foolerton said it was only a matter of time before Idaho rejoined the Big Sky. Another swing and a miss for the conference commissioner. He's right less often than a broken clock.

He believed it just like he believed he had South Dakota. Loser.

 

[PolskiNorsk]

Idaho will still be in the Big Sky in basketball and Olympic sports. There's no way the Sun Belt would take the Vandals for all sports, and Idaho probably doesn't want it either. Kent Haslam should get on the phone to schedule another non-con football series with them, assuming it's not against the Sun Belt bylaws to play FCS away games. Idaho could really use some regional opponents on their schedule.

 

[OrgonGriz]

If anything I bet the Vandals do not want all sports in the SBC at this time. I bet there feelings may change if UM, MSU and another couple western schools came on board to join the SBC in all sports.

Maybe if the Griz were in a more high profile (yes SBC is more high profile that the BSC) we could land better recruits in all sports and be in a Conf that might get more than one spot in the NCAA tourney.

The BSC does NOTHING for UM other than keep it locked down. Myself our goal in the NCAA tourney should be more than get there and one and done. From what I have seen from the tourney is UM was the week eat team in it.

There is talk that the nations best 68 teams did not get in the tourney. You mean to tell me just because UM won its Conf tourney they are better than Kentucky? Kentucky won the dance last year and did not get in the tourney this year. I think many are looking at how teams actually get into the NCAA tourney. My guess is in another couple years it might be harder for the UM of the world to get in.

 

[DuCharme]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Kiddin yourself. The Griz were never in that sandbox to begin with. Maybe 50 years ago. Not recently.


Sent from my Tipi using SmokeSignal.

 

[GrizBacker04]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

Don't see how that is a nice set up for UM/MSU to jump to the FBS. There's not an invite out there. Why would the Sun Belt expand beyond 12? There is no need to do that as they can split into two divisions and play a championship game as is. Adding any more lowers the amount of revenue split the teams get from BCS money/TV contract. The Sun Belt currently has a TV contract that pays its 8 members about a million per year. That figure drops to about 650K with the addition of the four schools, and sorry, it is not like they are going to negotiate a much better deal.

You mention that the best team of the lower 5 conferences get a major bowl bid. While that is true, another thing that is almost certainly true is the fact that team will NEVER come from the Sun Belt. There is almost certainly no way that a team from the Sun Belt will be better than the best from the Big East, MWC, MAC and Conference USA. Maybe one of the four, but not all four. So that leaves the rest of the teams playing in bowl games that actually cost the school money to play in. Almost every bowl game outside of the BCS and a select few others end up being a net loss for the participating schools.

Like the guy who summarized it in the Appy/Georgia Southern post. It would cost $30 million up front to improve facilities, coaches salary, add additional sports, staff, scholarships, etc., to get to the FBS level. Figure could be lower, but that seems pretty fair. Then, it is another $3-5 million a year to the budget to maintain that level. So that means ticket prices go up for football, because $800,000 from a TV contract and $1.2 million from the BCS going forward in 2014 (rough figures of course) get the Griz to just $2,000,000. That also assumes Griz fans still flock to WGS for 5-6 home games a year featuring Idaho, New Mexico State, UL Monroe, South Alabama, North Texas, etc., while playing 1-2 body bag games a year to make their budget whole. Also assumes that fans are happy that the Griz are on TV much less, as ESPN would hold all TV rights. That fans would be happy that it would be much harder to attend road games in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, etc. That fans would be happy with a really good season being an 8-4 mark that ends in in the GoDaddy.Com bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Oh, and noting that the move does nothing to improve the other sports the Griz have, as they would still be in the Big Sky Conference.

Man, now it does really seem like a no brainer. Kent Haslem needs to beg our way into the Sun Belt!

 

[PlayerRep]

What? I thought Doug Foolerton said it was only a matter of time before Idaho rejoined the Big Sky. Another swing and a miss for the conference commissioner. He's right less often than a broken clock.

He believed it just like he believed he had South Dakota. Loser.

When did Fullerton ever say it was just a matter of time before Idaho rejoined the Big Sky (for football)? I don't recall ever seeing that he said that. Can you provide a link?

Here are some links to article discussing what he did say about Idaho:

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/05/07/bmurphy/big_sky_commissioner_idahos_situation_top_fcs_healthier_bottom_f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/2012/09/12/bmurphy/big_sky_boss_idaho_likely_be_member_201415" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As for South Dakota St, it wasn't Fullerton who pushed for the addition of the SD schools. It was the presidents, or a particular new president of an important conference school. SDS required the approval of its regents, which required the matter to become public. That's when SDS got the offer they had been wanting all along, and went in that direction.

Feel free to carry on with your pre-conceived notions and fairy tales of what you think occurred.

 

[Grizzly Oredigger]

Mmmm, appears there's about to be only one kid left in the sandbox...

Nice setup now to have MSU and UM jump to FBS. Highest ranked team in the lower 5 will get a major bowl birth....maybe not a National Championship but I'm betting it pays a whole heck of lot more.

Don't see how that is a nice set up for UM/MSU to jump to the FBS. There's not an invite out there. Why would the Sun Belt expand beyond 12? There is no need to do that as they can split into two divisions and play a championship game as is. Adding any more lowers the amount of revenue split the teams get from BCS money/TV contract. The Sun Belt currently has a TV contract that pays its 8 members about a million per year. That figure drops to about 650K with the addition of the four schools, and sorry, it is not like they are going to negotiate a much better deal.

You mention that the best team of the lower 5 conferences get a major bowl bid. While that is true, another thing that is almost certainly true is the fact that team will NEVER come from the Sun Belt. There is almost certainly no way that a team from the Sun Belt will be better than the best from the Big East, MWC, MAC and Conference USA. Maybe one of the four, but not all four. So that leaves the rest of the teams playing in bowl games that actually cost the school money to play in. Almost every bowl game outside of the BCS and a select few others end up being a net loss for the participating schools.

Like the guy who summarized it in the Appy/Georgia Southern post. It would cost $30 million up front to improve facilities, coaches salary, add additional sports, staff, scholarships, etc., to get to the FBS level. Figure could be lower, but that seems pretty fair. Then, it is another $3-5 million a year to the budget to maintain that level. So that means ticket prices go up for football, because $800,000 from a TV contract and $1.2 million from the BCS going forward in 2014 (rough figures of course) get the Griz to just $2,000,000. That also assumes Griz fans still flock to WGS for 5-6 home games a year featuring Idaho, New Mexico State, UL Monroe, South Alabama, North Texas, etc., while playing 1-2 body bag games a year to make their budget whole. Also assumes that fans are happy that the Griz are on TV much less, as ESPN would hold all TV rights. That fans would be happy that it would be much harder to attend road games in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, etc. That fans would be happy with a really good season being an 8-4 mark that ends in in the GoDaddy.Com bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Oh, and noting that the move does nothing to improve the other sports the Griz have, as they would still be in the Big Sky Conference.

Man, now it does really seem like a no brainer. Kent Haslem needs to beg our way into the Sun Belt!

Nicely Put...I don't understand why people want to move up so badly. I certainly am not enviable of the Idaho Vandals. Be proud to be a Montanan. It's ok if we're not the biggest and we're a little bit in the background. I want National Championships at a level that enable Montana kids to be able to play (not many have the skills for FBS unfortunately). Its just the way things are

 

[GrizBacker04]

I do think that UM, if given the opportunity to move up in a viable conference that has regional ties and would include ALL sports, should strongly consider it. Now I may be wrong, but the first time the Griz were really offered the chance to move up was in 2011 from the WAC, when the conference was on its way to becoming the dumpster fire that it currently is. I don't believe UM had that option when BSU moved up or Idaho moved up, correct? There was not an invite sent UM's way.

That leaves really two options: An invite from the MWC (which isn't going to happen in the near future) or the WAC becoming a football conference again, taking back Idaho and NMSU while adding a host of Big Sky and Missouri Valley schools.

 

[grizindabox]

Griz have been dumbed-down by staying in the Big Sky Conference and FCS too long. UM missed there window to expand athletics when the football program was on the way up. UM did not have the foresight and thought the golden cow would continue to grow forever. Instead of Montana pulling up those around them, they got weighted down by the Southern Utah's of the world. Montana, the Big Sky, and FCS will never be what they were 3 years ago. The former WAC was the lifeboat to the current MWC. The MWC has sailed away, and Montana is left behind...so all you FCS over FBS people have gotten your wish, as the Griz, the Big Sky, and FCS will never be anything more than what they were 3 years ago.

 

[GrizBacker04]

Griz have been dumbed-down by staying in the Big Sky Conference and FCS too long. UM missed there window to expand athletics when the football program was on the way up. UM did not have the foresight and thought the golden cow would continue to grow forever. Instead of Montana pulling up those around them, they got weighted down by the Southern Utah's of the world. Montana, the Big Sky, and FCS will never be what they were 3 years ago. The former WAC was the lifeboat to the current MWC. The MWC has sailed away, and Montana is left behind...so all you FCS over FBS people have gotten your wish, as the Griz, the Big Sky, and FCS will never be anything more than what they were 3 years ago.

Again though, when in the past have the Grizzlies had an invite or realistic opportunity to move up?