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If ya gotta dream, dream big - Montana to the PAC-12

ordigger

Well-known member
DONOR
So I saw this on a thread on the WAC forum....someone's opinion on whom the PAC-12 may look at if they expanded....lol. If ya gotta dream....

http://forums.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=451&f=2368&t=9010370&p=5

Schools more likely to get in the pac-whatever than Boise.

Texas (a team the Pac would want more, but not be able to get due to 13-year tv rights agreement)
Ok (see Texas)
Ok St (see Oklahoma & Texas)
Texas Tech (see OSU, Oklahoma & Texas)
Kansas (they didn't pursue them before, but see Texas Tech, et al)
Kansas St (they didn't pursue them before, but see Kansas, Texas Tech, et al)
Hawaii (I once thought UH might be a target, but not so much any more)
UC Davis (Pac won't invite someone who does not have a major college FB program)
University of British Columbia (Pac will not invite someone who does not have a major colleg FB program)
Baylor (they didn't go after them before, but see KSU, Kansas, etc.)
Iowa St. (highly unlikely, and also see Baylor, KSU, etc.)
UNLV (this is a possibility, even though FB is not up to snuff)
Nevada (somewhat of a possibility, but less likely than UNLV)
Sdsu (Pac is unlikely to go after any more California schools)
New Mexico (doesn't seem too likely)
Air Force (a good possibility, but Air Force might not go for it)
Colorado State (somewhat of a possibility as a fallback if they can't get Air Force)
BYU (a good possibility if they feel the need to expand)
Montana (not sure they would take an FCS move up, but this would be the team if they did. Don't know if the Griz would be willing, though)
Idaho (slim chance, if any)
USU (very slim chance)
NMSU (very slim chance)

So, from your list of 22 teams, the 8 Big 12 schools can be eliminated right off the top, as can British Columbia, UC-Davis & San Diego St. You can also toss out Idaho because they wouldn't be considered ahead of Boise St. That knocks you down to 10 schools. Here's my evaluations of the teams that are left:

Likely top choices: Air Force and BYU as companion schools to Colorado and Utah. Air Force is on pretty equal footing with the bottom 8 of the Pac-12 FB programs, and has stepped up somewhat in basketball recently. BYU has a better-rounded program than Colorado or Utah, but might be a difficult fit due to religious concerns and dealing with their own tv network.

The second tier is more crowded, but would likely include Boise St., Colorado St., UNLV and Hawaii. Boise has the better FB pedigree by far, but would have to expand their stadium and add baseball - which shouldn't be a problem since they would be getting more money for tv rights. I'm not sure what their academics are like, but Colorado St. might be the fallback school if they can't land Air Force. UNLV might help in basketball, but the league might not want to expand into Sin City. Hawaii would be an expensive add, but has a pretty well-rounded athletics program.

That leaves you with Montana, Nevada, Utah St., New Mexico & New Mexico State. I think Montana is the strongest of these players, and with the upkick in tv money the Grizzlies could easily expand their stadium and keep it filled with rabid fans. Utah St. might be a distant fall-back option if the league was unable to land BYU, and Nevada would rank even lower on the totem poll since Reno is viewed as "Sin City-Light". I don't think the Pac would be interested in moving into the state of New Mexico.

So, from my point of view, Boise St. would rank anywhere from 3rd to 6th on the Pac-12's expansion calendar, unless they are willing to wait for the Big-12's tv rights deal to expire. And the Pac is unlikely to expand unless the Big 10 decides to do so, as well
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The way things are looking today - I would guess we better just hope we can claw are way back to the top of the Big Sky. Regardless what side of the argument you are on - I would think the current state of events would put a huge wet towel on moving up.
 
So this WAC board may be more delusional than some of the posters on this board.. I like how they have Kansas and KSU near the top of the list.. lol.
 
Copper Griz said:
The way things are looking today - I would guess we better just hope we can claw are way back to the top of the Big Sky. Regardless what side of the argument you are on - I would think the current state of events would put a huge wet towel on moving up.
+1
 
Given the current events and the lack of a competent president, all bets are off concerning the future of our athletic program and university. Further, it doesn't appear that the Board of Regents have the courage to step in, fire Engstrom and Foley and attempt to stop the bleeding. :cry:
 
gotta be amused by this thread! i mean think about it: is the big sky really any bigger than any other sky? nah, just emptier. which means, fewer people, a much smaller "market." and big-time college athletics is all about markets, which lure television, which means moolah. ucla and sc split a population of 10 million in the los angeles area alone. stanford and cal divide about seven million the the greater bay area. the state of washington has seven million, oregon four, arizona seven, utah about 2.7, concentrated in four counties close to salt lake. with a max market of about one million, montana is just too small to be of interest to the suits that run college athletics today.

that's why idaho is screwed, no matter what their a.d. says. they're in the wrong moscow--no eyeballs. boise state ditto, except that boise state is a phenomonon. they've created a nationwide audience for their brand of football, producing quite possibly the most thrilling college game ever seen on nationwide tv. and of course, both byu and notre dame have their own "markets" of religious crazies. touchdown jesus, indeed.

the mountain west? that's the only goal left for us who've always wanted to move up. the wac was once a stepping stone to the mwc, but that stone has crumbled.
 
Anybody who thinks that the multi-faceted mess at UM is going to blow over any time soon clearly has passed on a reality check in favor of rose-colored glasses. The unintended consequences from finding competent replacement candidates in the athletic department to maintaining private and corporate giving to the school are major major trouble areas. I'm mildly amused by those whose myopic focus seems centered on the upcoming season as opposed to the bigger picture - the overall survival of Griz intercollegiate athletics as we've come to know them over the past 25 years. Don't kid yourselves. Royce Engstrom, an ex-chem lab guy and provost, remains representative of a faculty culture that has historically been jealous of, and hostile to, Griz athletics - namely football. Until the BOR grows a collective pair and gives Ol' Royce his walking papers UM's credibility athletically and culturally will remain tarnished. I trust the guy's competence as far about as I could shotput his butt across the Clark Fork...
 
Silvertip said:
Anybody who thinks that the multi-faceted mess at UM is going to blow over any time soon clearly has passed on a reality check in favor of rose-colored glasses. The unintended consequences from finding competent replacement candidates in the athletic department to maintaining private and corporate giving to the school are major major trouble areas. I'm mildly amused by those whose myopic focus seems centered on the upcoming season as opposed to the bigger picture - the overall survival of Griz intercollegiate athletics as we've come to know them over the past 25 years. Don't kid yourselves. Royce Engstrom, an ex-chem lab guy and provost, remains representative of a faculty culture that has historically been jealous of, and hostile to, Griz athletics - namely football. Until the BOR grows a collective pair and gives Ol' Royce his walking papers UM's credibility athletically and culturally will remain tarnished. I trust the guy's competence as far about as I could shotput his butt across the Clark Fork...


BAM!!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
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