Relevance

[WILDCATFAN]

The BSC is IRRELEVANT in basketball. There is very little consistency, even WSU with last night's allowing the Griz to out-suck them. WHY would any sports network televise this sh*t. Should the Griz win the the Fullerton Tourney and get that 16 seed, somewhere out east, they get a slim chance to show that the last 45-50 pt Big Dance blowout was no fluke.

I disagree strongly with your dismissive put-down of Weber State and Montana as "unworthy" of broader media coverage. I assume, since you denigrate basketball in particular, you believe Montana's football team to warrant broader media coverage (namely television) than Montana's basketball programs. Not so. The Griz are not sweet 16 caliber, but they have shown they can compete on a high mid major level.

I strongly believe, and cite Kenpom and USA Today's Sagarin rankings as evidence, that the Griz men's and women's basketball, soccer and perhaps softball teams would fare as well as Montana's football team THIS YEAR, if Montana were a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Grizzly hoops team could well be in 6th or 7th and the Lady Griz at 7th/9th. Perhaps you can estimate where the Griz football program would have finished the season in the MWC for the sake of comparison.

My point here is NOT to disparage the Montana football program (I follow them very closely), but I get the strong impression by your writing style that you're dropping a strong dose of football elitism onto the basketball thread. TRUTH: Both Montana and Weber State can, this year -- given the opportunity -- compete at a higher level. Last night I watched two very well disciplined mid-major basketball teams wage an intense defensive battle. I enjoyed watching every minute (though I had hoped for a better offensive showing from the somewhat streaky Griz O). It was quality Division 1 basketball.

Basic point: Find ANY conference that you believe would make a good fit for Montana football. I would be instantly willing to wager that Montana's basketball programs could thrive as well -- if not better -- in that league, than the Montana football program. Again, I emphasize that I am not belittling the football team. But I take offense when two solid BSC hoops programs are disparaged by many Griz "sports" fans who are simply too bored (perhaps not you) or too lazy to come out and watch quality Division 1 basketball.

I made no mention of football. You did. WSU and UM are this years top teams, and managed a 60-54 ho-hummer. By this point in the season, the Griz should be a finely tuned team. That's not what showed up in Ogden. IF the BSC is so highly thought of, then WHY are they not televised, and why aren't the teams that get that automatic qualifier relegated to a 16 seed, occasionally a little higher from year to year. An 8th seed would be respect, not 16.

60 to 54 ho-hummer? That was one of the funnest games I watched all year with two very good defensive teams duking it out. If you want a lot of offense go watch the lame NBA.

 

[nodak651]

Everett- You're a passionate Griz fan and a good addition to this fine establishment that is egriz but the passing blame on everyone else stuff is old.

I live in Arizona and I easily find many UND and NAU basketball games on Fox Sports. I know Weber State gets some of their games televised as well. There is a Big Sky media presence whether you choose to admit it or not. It's not prime time on ESPN....and it never will be....and most fans have come to grips with this.

Why isn't the U of M getting tv coverage? Maybe the U of M athletic department need to get on the ball and somehow find deals to market yourselves? Griping about how it's the rest of the conference's fault certainly doesn't seem proactive.

I lived in Montana for 3 years and the only (yes...only) Big Sky basketball games on tv during my time up there was Cat-Griz. Those were the Anthony Johnson years so the excuse can't be that the Griz weren't good then, either. If Griz fans turn out in droves to watch their basketball team play Carroll like they turn out in droves to watch their football team play Central Washington then local media might start paying attention.

I used to talk up Griz and Cats hoops with coworkers and acquaintances when I was up there and I consistently received blank stares or indifference.

The football program's success has spoiled your fan base.

This. It doesn't help that the Big Sky signed a terrible deal with Root Sports, however. Root was supposed to televise over 10 Big Sky basketball games a season and they haven't broadcast a single one. The Root deal also prevents UND and NAU from airing their football games nationally on FCS, which UND would have done for every game, had the Root deal not prevented other companies from broadcasting games nationally. And in return for our sacrifice, we get zero football games on Root.

 

[EverettGriz]

Everett- You're a passionate Griz fan and a good addition to this fine establishment that is egriz but the passing blame on everyone else stuff is old.

I live in Arizona and I easily find many UND and NAU basketball games on Fox Sports. I know Weber State gets some of their games televised as well. There is a Big Sky media presence whether you choose to admit it or not. It's not prime time on ESPN....and it never will be....and most fans have come to grips with this.

Why isn't the U of M getting tv coverage? Maybe the U of M athletic department need to get on the ball and somehow find deals to market yourselves? Griping about how it's the rest of the conference's fault certainly doesn't seem proactive.

I lived in Montana for 3 years and the only (yes...only) Big Sky basketball games on tv during my time up there was Cat-Griz. Those were the Anthony Johnson years so the excuse can't be that the Griz weren't good then, either. If Griz fans turn out in droves to watch their basketball team play Carroll like they turn out in droves to watch their football team play Central Washington then local media might start paying attention.

I used to talk up Griz and Cats hoops with coworkers and acquaintances when I was up there and I consistently received blank stares or indifference.

The football program's success has spoiled your fan base.

I'm sorry you missed my point.

The point isn't whether UM games should be shown locally, although I agree that more should be. The point is that absolutely ZERO bsc games are shown even regionally, say nothing about nationally. Why, in Seattle, should I be able to watch Stetson play six or seven times a year, but not see one single bsc game? THAT's the issue. And that's not on any of the schools individually; it's on the conference. And the conference does an absolute shitty job of trying to better itself.

 

[nodak651]

Everett- You're a passionate Griz fan and a good addition to this fine establishment that is egriz but the passing blame on everyone else stuff is old.

I live in Arizona and I easily find many UND and NAU basketball games on Fox Sports. I know Weber State gets some of their games televised as well. There is a Big Sky media presence whether you choose to admit it or not. It's not prime time on ESPN....and it never will be....and most fans have come to grips with this.

Why isn't the U of M getting tv coverage? Maybe the U of M athletic department need to get on the ball and somehow find deals to market yourselves? Griping about how it's the rest of the conference's fault certainly doesn't seem proactive.

I lived in Montana for 3 years and the only (yes...only) Big Sky basketball games on tv during my time up there was Cat-Griz. Those were the Anthony Johnson years so the excuse can't be that the Griz weren't good then, either. If Griz fans turn out in droves to watch their basketball team play Carroll like they turn out in droves to watch their football team play Central Washington then local media might start paying attention.

I used to talk up Griz and Cats hoops with coworkers and acquaintances when I was up there and I consistently received blank stares or indifference.

The football program's success has spoiled your fan base.

I'm sorry you missed my point.

The point isn't whether UM games should be shown locally, although I agree that more should be. The point is that absolutely ZERO bsc games are shown even regionally, say nothing about nationally. Why, in Seattle, should I be able to watch Stetson play six or seven times a year, but not see one single bsc game? THAT's the issue. And that's not on any of the schools individually; it's on the conference. And the conference does an absolute shitty job of trying to better itself.

False

 

[WILDCATFAN]

I did watch Weber play Denver on tv earlier this year, does that not count?

 

[grizzlyjournal]

The BSC is IRRELEVANT in basketball. There is very little consistency, even WSU with last night's allowing the Griz to out-suck them. WHY would any sports network televise this sh*t. Should the Griz win the the Fullerton Tourney and get that 16 seed, somewhere out east, they get a slim chance to show that the last 45-50 pt Big Dance blowout was no fluke.

I disagree strongly with your dismissive put-down of Weber State and Montana as "unworthy" of broader media coverage. I assume, since you denigrate basketball in particular, you believe Montana's football team to warrant broader media coverage (namely television) than Montana's basketball programs. Not so. The Griz are not sweet 16 caliber, but they have shown they can compete on a high mid major level.

I strongly believe, and cite Kenpom and USA Today's Sagarin rankings as evidence, that the Griz men's and women's basketball, soccer and perhaps softball teams would fare as well as Montana's football team THIS YEAR, if Montana were a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Grizzly hoops team could well be in 6th or 7th and the Lady Griz at 7th/9th. Perhaps you can estimate where the Griz football program would have finished the season in the MWC for the sake of comparison.

My point here is NOT to disparage the Montana football program (I follow them very closely), but I get the strong impression by your writing style that you're dropping a strong dose of football elitism onto the basketball thread. TRUTH: Both Montana and Weber State can, this year -- given the opportunity -- compete at a higher level. Last night I watched two very well disciplined mid-major basketball teams wage an intense defensive battle. I enjoyed watching every minute (though I had hoped for a better offensive showing from the somewhat streaky Griz O). It was quality Division 1 basketball.

Basic point: Find ANY conference that you believe would make a good fit for Montana football. I would be instantly willing to wager that Montana's basketball programs could thrive as well -- if not better -- in that league, than the Montana football program. Again, I emphasize that I am not belittling the football team. But I take offense when two solid BSC hoops programs are disparaged by many Griz "sports" fans who are simply too bored (perhaps not you) or too lazy to come out and watch quality Division 1 basketball.

I made no mention of football. You did. WSU and UM are this years top teams, and managed a 60-54 ho-hummer. By this point in the season, the Griz should be a finely tuned team. That's not what showed up in Ogden. IF the BSC is so highly thought of, then WHY are they not televised, and why aren't the teams that get that automatic qualifier relegated to a 16 seed, occasionally a little higher from year to year. An 8th seed would be respect, not 16.

60 to 54 ho-hummer? That was one of the funnest games I watched all year with two very good defensive teams duking it out. If you want a lot of offense go watch the lame NBA.

statler & waldorf: The Griz-Wildcat game was NOT a ho-hummer; it was a blood & guts defensive brawl, and I thought it was incredible. Consider: Griz point guard Walter Wright (conference average 14.3) was held to 4 points while Wildcat point Jeremy Senglin (conference average 17.4) was held to 8 points.It also happened to be the best conference game the Grizzlies played in Ogden since about 2004; they were in it until the final buzzer. Ogden is a tough place for any visiting team to get a win at. So, I agree with WILDCATFAN. The result wasn't to my liking, but it was a fun-to-watch donnybrook.

So you rip the Griz because... "by this point in the season, the Griz should be a finely tuned team." That's EXACTLY the kind of team I saw shred Idaho State 90-77 Thursday in Pocatello. They did not do that to WSU because the Wildcats are the Big Sky's best defensive team this year, and proved that against the Griz.

Weber State and Montana are good Mid Major teams. The Wildcats were ranked 22nd nationally last week in the CI Mid Major Poll, while Montana got enough votes in the poll to equal a ranking of 32. Montana is a Division 1/ mid-major team on the upsurge under coach Travis DeCuire. They're well worth watching on any given night, and though I decided against going to Reno (topic for another thread) feel pretty good about their chances in the BSC post season tourney.

Oh, and yes, I was the one who mentioned Griz football (I read the football threads).

 

[putter]

I e-mailed Altitude and asked them why they have more east coast teams on that BCS games, given they are out of Denver. They responded that they have a contract to show a certain number of games. You can't tell me that the league can't get Altitude on the phone and work something out so they can broadcast "local" teams rather than Big East games every week

 

[mtgrizrule]

I e-mailed Altitude and asked them why they have more east coast teams on that BCS games, given they are out of Denver. They responded that they have a contract to show a certain number of games. You can't tell me that the league can't get Altitude on the phone and work something out so they can broadcast "local" teams rather than Big East games every week

Good idea, but needs to be laid out differently. Expecting any sports network to bump a terrific and deep basketball conference, with terrific fan support in favor of small conference with only a few fan bases with great fan support, is not realistic. In this case, the Big East, is damn fine basketball conference!!!!

What the conference should do is inquire to sports networks where they have available programming slots to fill during most basketball seasons? If the Big Sky Conference does inquire, then pursue better broadcasting options, the fan bases (all of them) better damn well step up attendance and atmosphere. As is, the only venues and programs I'd consider televising games at/for are GRIZ and Weber State. I feel MSU could do a solid job as well. Their fan base is starting to pick things up this season.

Then again, if better televised options were made available, there will be some fans defending not attending games, being the games are available in HD in the luxury of their own home. Yet, many of those same fans will pay top $$$$ to attend GRIZ football games against way worse competition. It is a shame how much the GRIZ fanbase overlooks and under appreciates GRIZ basketball. :thumb:

 

[PlayerRep]

I disagree strongly with your dismissive put-down of Weber State and Montana as "unworthy" of broader media coverage. I assume, since you denigrate basketball in particular, you believe Montana's football team to warrant broader media coverage (namely television) than Montana's basketball programs. Not so. The Griz are not sweet 16 caliber, but they have shown they can compete on a high mid major level.

I strongly believe, and cite Kenpom and USA Today's Sagarin rankings as evidence, that the Griz men's and women's basketball, soccer and perhaps softball teams would fare as well as Montana's football team THIS YEAR, if Montana were a member of the Mountain West Conference. The Grizzly hoops team could well be in 6th or 7th and the Lady Griz at 7th/9th. Perhaps you can estimate where the Griz football program would have finished the season in the MWC for the sake of comparison.

My point here is NOT to disparage the Montana football program (I follow them very closely), but I get the strong impression by your writing style that you're dropping a strong dose of football elitism onto the basketball thread. TRUTH: Both Montana and Weber State can, this year -- given the opportunity -- compete at a higher level. Last night I watched two very well disciplined mid-major basketball teams wage an intense defensive battle. I enjoyed watching every minute (though I had hoped for a better offensive showing from the somewhat streaky Griz O). It was quality Division 1 basketball.

Basic point: Find ANY conference that you believe would make a good fit for Montana football. I would be instantly willing to wager that Montana's basketball programs could thrive as well -- if not better -- in that league, than the Montana football program. Again, I emphasize that I am not belittling the football team. But I take offense when two solid BSC hoops programs are disparaged by many Griz "sports" fans who are simply too bored (perhaps not you) or too lazy to come out and watch quality Division 1 basketball.

I made no mention of football. You did. WSU and UM are this years top teams, and managed a 60-54 ho-hummer. By this point in the season, the Griz should be a finely tuned team. That's not what showed up in Ogden. IF the BSC is so highly thought of, then WHY are they not televised, and why aren't the teams that get that automatic qualifier relegated to a 16 seed, occasionally a little higher from year to year. An 8th seed would be respect, not 16.

60 to 54 ho-hummer? That was one of the funnest games I watched all year with two very good defensive teams duking it out. If you want a lot of offense go watch the lame NBA.

statler & waldorf: The Griz-Wildcat game was NOT a ho-hummer; it was a blood & guts defensive brawl, and I thought it was incredible. Consider: Griz point guard Walter Wright (conference average 14.3) was held to 4 points while Wildcat point Jeremy Senglin (conference average 17.4) was held to 8 points.It also happened to be the best conference game the Grizzlies played in Ogden since about 2004; they were in it until the final buzzer. Ogden is a tough place for any visiting team to get a win at. So, I agree with WILDCATFAN. The result wasn't to my liking, but it was a fun-to-watch donnybrook.

So you rip the Griz because... "by this point in the season, the Griz should be a finely tuned team." That's EXACTLY the kind of team I saw shred Idaho State 90-77 Thursday in Pocatello. They did not do that to WSU because the Wildcats are the Big Sky's best defensive team this year, and proved that against the Griz.

Weber State and Montana are good Mid Major teams. The Wildcats were ranked 22nd nationally last week in the CI Mid Major Poll, while Montana got enough votes in the poll to equal a ranking of 32. Montana is a Division 1/ mid-major team on the upsurge under coach Travis DeCuire. They're well worth watching on any given night, and though I decided against going to Reno (topic for another thread) feel pretty good about their chances in the BSC post season tourney.

Oh, and yes, I was the one who mentioned Griz football (I read the football threads).

Nice post, Journal. Interesting and nice information. Thx.

 

[wsucatfan]

Then again, if better televised options were made available, there will be some fans defending not attending games, being the games are available in HD in the luxury of their own home.

As a reference point, this year all of the WSU home games have been broadcast locally on KJZZ 14. Our attendance has decreased by a few hundred or so from the previous year. However, I blame that mostly on the weak home pre-season schedule. When the games are intriguing (such as last Saturday night) the fans show up (8,900+) even if they could watch it on tv. In my opinion the BSC needs to figure out how to create some alliances with the other western conferences to help schedule better quality OCC games.

 

[Atlanta Griz1]

I love the direction of the Griz BB program under Travis. He is recruiting a much higher level player to UM than previous coaches. We still need some inside bulk to rebound and defend.

 

[IdaGriz01]

The BSC is IRRELEVANT in basketball. There is very little consistency, even WSU with last night's allowing the Griz to out-suck them. WHY would any sports network televise this sh*t. Should the Griz win the the Fullerton Tourney and get that 16 seed, somewhere out east, they get a slim chance to show that the last 45-50 pt Big Dance blowout was no fluke.

I have no idea what the basic cause for the lack of TV coverage for the Big Sky, but I do not think it's the relevance, or lack thereof of the conference. Certainly no one would consider the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference relevant. Yet we just got home from snow-birding in Arizona, with several days on the road staying in western motels. During that trip, we saw some pretty good BBall on various ESPN (and other channels). But we could have also watched such powerhouse matchups as Manhattan vs Rider (be still my beating heart) and, earlier, Iona vs Manhattan. So does Manhattan have an "in" at ESPN, or might it simply be that more people live in Manhattan than in the entire state of Montana? And FWIW, either UM or WSU would simply bury any of those particular MAAC teams.

 

[Paytonlives]

It really simple....

No one outside of 12 towns in western america gives a F Fluck about the BS C.

WHY? Take a look at the BS conference... There are 351 teams that are rated, look at the piss poor numbers!
The sooner UM gets out of this cluster.... the better!

BTW these numbers are skewed (badly) because of the conference games played. UM could beat NAU by 100 and the Griz might move up 2 spots.

Sagarine Rankings out of 351 teams
131 Weber State
158 Montana
201 Eastern Washington
204 North Dakota
224 Idaho
254 Portland State
261 Montana State
268 Idaho State
272 Sacramento State
312 Northern Colorado
340 Northern Arizona
341 Southern Utah

 

[statler & waldorf]

Good for you, IdaGriz01, getting out of I.F. even for a little while. :thumb:
So, you think UM or WSU would "bury" them thar east coast metro teams. I can hardly wait for the Big Dance seeding. BSC champ, therefore, HAS to rate a 7-8 seed. Right?

 

[IdaGriz01]

Good for you, IdaGriz01, getting out of I.F. even for a little while. :thumb:
So, you think UM or WSU would "bury" them thar east coast metro teams. I can hardly wait for the Big Dance seeding. BSC champ, therefore, HAS to rate a 7-8 seed. Right?

You are kidding ... Right?

Just because Manhattan, Rider, etc. are really, really bad (RPI in the 230-247 range) does not mean the best Big Sky teams (136-146 for UM and WSU) are going to impress. I'm expecting the usual 12-15 seed for the BSC auto-bid winner.

 

[weberwildcat]

As lame as root might be, though I wouldn't know. U can't get it in California whwre we have 3 big sky teams.

 

[Buttegrizzle]

A few years ago the Griz had a few televised basketball games. I do t see why the conference can't promote itself to Root or Altitude better. Gotta assume it's cause they are too busy setting up the tourney in Reno...

 

[nodak651]

I haven't gotten anybody to address this, but the Big Sky had a deal with Root sports for basketball. They didn't air ANY games, as far as I'm aware of.

This article is for the 12-13 season.http://www.bigskyconf.com/sports/2012/1/18/GEN_0118125326.aspx "Q: How many games will ROOT SPORTS televise, and what will the production quality be? A: ROOT SPORTS can televise up to 18 football and up to 12 men's basketball games. All games will be High Definition. DirecTV/ROOT SPORTS is investing in the Big Sky and plans to make our games marquee events.

What happened to those Root basketball games? If they can't even get Root to follow through on a signed contract, I doubt they have even tried to reach out to anybody else.

 

[mtgrizrule]

I haven't gotten anybody to address this, but the Big Sky had a deal with Root sports for basketball. They didn't air ANY games, as far as I'm aware of.

This article is for the 12-13 season.http://www.bigskyconf.com/sports/2012/1/18/GEN_0118125326.aspx "Q: How many games will ROOT SPORTS televise, and what will the production quality be? A: ROOT SPORTS can televise up to 18 football and up to 12 men's basketball games. All games will be High Definition. DirecTV/ROOT SPORTS is investing in the Big Sky and plans to make our games marquee events.

What happened to those Root basketball games? If they can't even get Root to follow through on a signed contract, I doubt they have even tried to reach out to anybody else.

Key phrasing is "Root Sports "CAN".................It does not state Root will. Sounds to me Roots Sports has the power to decide how many basketball games they will televise, with the maximum being 12. We all doubt that will happen.

 

[Spanky]

Read the Payton post fellas. Why would Root want to televise Big Sky Conference basketball games?