UND and the Big Sky could go FBS

[UNDBIZ]

2 hours ago, Gothmog said:

No one ever doubted that it was possible that the Big Sky could move up en masse.

I did.

[zonadub]

Don't think USD and/or SDSU will give up their home court advantage in the Summit bb tournament. NDSU moving to a WAC FBS makes sense in that they would not want to be 'left behind' like UND was when the XDSUs went DI.

Not sure UND is ready, but looks like the recent reductions may be a precursor.

interesting times indeed.

[darell1976]

24 minutes ago, Gothmog said:

IMO, the ideal FBS outcome for NDSU, and I think UND also, would be an FBS MVC. But I think that's even more unlikely.

 

The Dakota 4 plus UNI in the same FBS league would be great for travel as you have 5 former NCC teams back together. I just hope they can ban bowl games by the time we all move up and get some decent playoff formats, give the p5 their own playoff while we have our own.

[The Sicatoka]

3 hours ago, homer said:

If NMSU joins, I will believe something is up. 

Yup. They seem to be the canary in this coal mine.

NMSU would take a BSC that is presently 12 Olympic / 14 Football to 13/15. If that doesn't scream "Mountain West Airport Meeting 2.0", what does. 

[Siouxphan27]

1 hour ago, jacksfan29 said:

Did any of you actually read the consultant report. Below is what you are discussing. Notice a few errors in what S2C has been saying about the report?

Regarding SDSU and NDSU. Neither want anything to do with the WAC/BSC. It doesn't state that the schools think they will get an MVC invite, it simply states that there has been strong speculation (likely outside of the schools) that both may get an MVC invite.

In the notes about recreating a WAC FBS it states that the idea from Fullerton and Hurd was shot down. But the consultants than go on to say that if the discussions regenerated a possible scenario would include USD and UND. Not that it IS GOING TO HAPPEN or that any discussions are even occurring but IF THEY DO.

As noted by a USD friend. One has to wonder how much expertise the consultants had. The likelihood of USD going FBS is less than 10%, if that high. It won't happen.

So before all get excited about S2C's WAC ideas you may want to actually read the report.

Oh by the way, Idaho's President was looking at 3 options. Independent, FCS/BSC or trying to bring the WAC/FBS back from the dead. He chose FCS/BSC because the least best option was bringing back the WAC/FBS.

CONFERENCE NOTES
Western Athletic Conference
Collegiate Consulting has had multiple discussions with the WAC regarding its grandfathered status as a FBS conference, despite not offering football as a sport for two-plus years. Marlon Edge, the WAC’s compliance officer, confirmed with the NCAA that the WAC does meet the criteria.
NCAA Bylaw 20.02.6
Football Bowl Subdivision Conference - A conference classified as a Football Bowl Subdivision conference shall be comprised of at least eight full Football Bowl Subdivision members that satisfy all bowl subdivision requirements
NCAA Bylaw 20.4.2.1.1
Eligibility for Reclassification - Before a Football Championship Subdivision institution may apply for reclassification to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the institution must receive a bona fide invitation for membership from a Football Bowl Subdivision conference or a conference that previously met the definition of a Football Bowl Subdivision conference.
If the WAC were to reinstate football, it would need eight football-playing members. There could be an opportunity with Idaho and New Mexico State. The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley has recently released an RFP to conduct a football feasibility study. If these three institutions were to have an interest in WAC football, the conference would need to bring in five additional institutions.
Collegiate Consulting has spoken with various institutions to discuss interest in the FBS and WAC; the synopsis of information is detailed:
 North Dakota State and South Dakota State have stated publicly they do not have an interest in moving to FBS. However, it appears from discussions with each school there is not an interest in the WAC, should it reinstate football or go with a combined WAC/Big Sky option. As a side note, there has been strong speculation that both institutions could be invited to join the Missouri Valley Conference as a full member, not just the MVFC.
 If the WAC were to pursue Big Sky institutions, independent of the scenario discussed below, it seems reasonable that Montana and Montana State would make a collaborative decision.
Big Sky Conference
There have been “off-line” discussions with Big Sky officials as well as several Big Sky presidents and athletic directors. Doug Fullerton, the soon-to-be-retired commissioner of the Big Sky, has stated that he would like to see Idaho join as a full member, including football, by the time of his retirement on June 30, 2016. It was also discussed if pressure would be placed on Idaho to drop to FCS or risk losing its current membership in the Big Sky. Discussions with various stakeholders have stated that “the conference, presidents and ADs are O.K. with the current situation; however, everyone has stated that it could change with the new commissioner. There are schools in the Big Sky Conference that would prefer Idaho (and New Mexico State) not join the league for football as they fear it will create an “arms race” at this level.
Big Sky Conference/Western Athletic Conference
Three years ago, Big Sky Commissioner Doug Fullerton and WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd visited about the possibility of combining the two conferences, and having part of the league participate in FBS and the remainder in FCS for football. The idea did gain some interest, but was ultimately shot down. However, there could be an opportunity to rekindle these discussions. Here is a possible scenario should it gain traction:
Football
 FBS – Idaho, New Mexico State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota, South Dakota, Cal Poly and Northern Arizona (8 teams).
 FCS – Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Portland State, UC-Davis, Sacramento State, Southern Utah and Northern Colorado (7 teams). If they can meet the academic criteria and budget criteria, and have an interest in “moving up” to FBS, they certainly would be considered.
Basketball
 North Division – Montana, Montana State, North Dakota, South Dakota, Eastern Washington, Portland State, Idaho State, Seattle University and Idaho (9 teams).
 South Division – Sacramento State, Southern Utah, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, Weber State, Utah Valley, Grand Canyon State, UTRGV and CSU-Bakersfield (9 teams).
With this, most rivalries would be maintained – and some enhanced. Scheduling would be much easier, and schools would be much more similar. There would be a lot of parity in all leagues. Academic criteria under the Carnegie rating service would also be a consideration. There would also be possibilities for more revenue streams for higher-level FCS product in terms of television, ticket pricing, NCAA/conference monies and corporate dollars. Plus, with more regional competition, there could be money savings in travel, etc.

I didn't have time to read this War and Peace entry, so hope I'm on the right track with my response-

I was acknowledging it appears things are shaping up to a point where Sioux Volley was on the right track; so he didn't have every minute detail to a t- who cares. 

 

[UNDBIZ]

2 hours ago, dmksioux said:

Just for some perspective from Idaho's board...

http://www.scout.com/college/idaho/forums/3864-sbc-bsc-realignment/14725504-wac-revival

Still don't know if it can happen, or if it does, that UND will be a part of it.  At least one Idaho poster who claims he has some good info says a WAC revival is gaining momentum.

At least it's fun to speculate in the off season...if nothing else 

Wow ndsu even has a poster on the Idaho message board who adds little but UND insults?  Their commitment to infecting the internet is great, I'll give them that.

[darell1976]

13 minutes ago, UNDBIZ said:

Wow ndsu even has a poster on the Idaho message board who adds little but UND insults?  Their commitment to infecting the internet is great, I'll give them that.

Must be Lakesbison, he spews his hatred about UND to every message board.

[UNDColorado]

14 minutes ago, UNDBIZ said:

Wow ndsu even has a poster on the Idaho message board who adds little but UND insults?  Their commitment to infecting the internet is great, I'll give them that.

Haha yeah I saw that: UND is NOT ready! lol

[JohnboyND7]

24 minutes ago, zonadub said:

Don't think USD and/or SDSU will give up their home court advantage in the Summit bb tournament. NDSU moving to a WAC FBS makes sense in that they would not want to be 'left behind' like UND was when the XDSUs went DI.

Not sure UND is ready, but looks like the recent reductions may be a precursor.

interesting times indeed.

Football controls realignment.  Not basketball.

[Gothmog]

28 minutes ago, Siouxphan27 said:

I didn't have time to read this War and Peace entry, so hope I'm on the right track with my response-

I was acknowledging it appears things are shaping up to a point where Sioux Volley was on the right track; so he didn't have every minute detail to a t- who cares. 

 

 

1

 

 

The post basically says, among other things, that the consultant is admittedly speculating about the feasibility of an FBS WAC and that the consultant concludes that a revived FBS WAC is the worst of three options for Idaho anyway. 

I'd say that this study is the likely basis for Idaho's announced decision to move to FCS, and as such does not add any support to SV's theories. 

[Cratter]

If Idaho got some regional rivalries back (Montanas) and reduced travel expenses while still being FBS. That's pretty much a dream come true for them.

[bison73]

3 hours ago, UNDColorado said:

Sitting back eating popcorn watching trolls squirm.

Squirming? Why would any one be squirming?

[Gothmog]

15 minutes ago, Cratter said:

If Idaho got some regional rivalries back (Montanas) and reduced travel expenses while still being FBS. That's pretty much a dream come true for them.

Probably would be if the WAC could find six FCS schools (Big Sky or not) ready, willing, and able to move up in short order. That's a very big if.

 

[The Sicatoka]

5 minutes ago, Gothmog said:

Probably would be if the WAC could find six FCS schools (Big Sky or not) ready, willing, and able to move up in short order. That's a very big if.

Don't you mean eight (or are you counting UI and NMSU already)? 

[bison73]

2 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

On bozoville, posters are already denouncing a new FBS WAC.  Half the bizon fans base will be gone if you get your way.

Still makes no difference in the fact that the report is speculation.  It is an interesting read though.

[Gothmog]

10 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Don't you mean eight (or are you counting UI and NMSU already)? 

Yes, I am counting Idaho And New Mexico State. I do agree that the two orphans, plus the Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota schools, minus some existing WAC schools, would be a nice FBS conference.

[bison73]

36 minutes ago, Gothmog said:

Yes, I am counting Idaho And New Mexico State. I do agree that the two orphans, plus the Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota schools, minus some existing WAC schools, would be a nice FBS conference.

I do find the theory that Idaho and NMSU would drop out of FBS and join a combination defunct conference and a FCS conference to move back to FBS where they had problems before.

[Gothmog]

4 minutes ago, bison73 said:

I do find the theory that Idaho and NMSU would drop out of FBS and join a combination defunct conference and a FCS conference to move back to FBS where they had problems before.

 

Agreed, but this is all just speculation anyway. 

 

 

[SIOUXFAN97]

3 hours ago, darell1976 said:

The Dakota 4 plus UNI in the same FBS league would be great for travel as you have 5 former NCC teams back together. I just hope they can ban bowl games by the time we all move up and get some decent playoff formats, give the p5 their own playoff while we have our own.

the dakota 4 is dead darell..time to move on.

[The Sicatoka]

This sentence from Idaho's report still stuns me:

Quote

Collegiate Consulting has had multiple discussions with the WAC regarding its grandfathered status as a FBS conference, despite not offering football as a sport for two-plus years. Marlon Edge, the WAC’s compliance officer, confirmed with the NCAA that the WAC does meet the criteria.

But then two paragraphs later I read:

Quote

Collegiate Consulting has spoken with various institutions to discuss interest in the FBS and WAC; the synopsis of information is detailed:

Their synopsis reads like their "spoken with" was on school posting forums moreso than school administrations. 

[Siouxperfan7]

Can someone please answer the big elephant in the room question?  With all these budget cuts UND is making, how the heck can UND afford to move up to FBS?

[SIOUXFAN97]

2 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Can someone please answer the big elephant in the room question?  With all these budget cuts UND is making, how the heck can UND afford to move up to FBS?

i think the bigger question is how can they afford NOT to...

[The Sicatoka]

5 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Can someone please answer the big elephant in the room question?  With all these budget cuts UND is making, how the heck can UND afford to move up to FBS?

Re-organize the existing department? Maybe cut some existing programs to free up/reallocate some scholarship dollars on the men's side? Pres. Schafer has said all the actions he is taking is to make sure UND can be free to make strategic moves later. 

I could live with, heck, I'd be happy cutting sports down to the core BSC requirements plus M/W hockey if it allowed for long-term strategic moves. 

[Gothmog]

5 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

The MVC and Southland and Big West were never FBS conferences, only 1A, so the rules don't apply to them.

That's not quite what the rule quoted in the study says. It says that an FCS team must receive a bona fide invitation from a FBS conference or a conference that had previously "met the definition" of an FBS conference. Since the change to FBS  from 1A was to name only, it would seem that a former 1A conference would meet that definition.

 

[darell1976]

21 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Re-organize the existing department? Maybe cut some existing programs to free up/reallocate some scholarship dollars on the men's side? Pres. Schafer has said all the actions he is taking is to make sure UND can be free to make strategic moves later. 

I could live with, heck, I'd be happy cutting sports down to the core BSC requirements plus M/W hockey if it allowed for long-term strategic moves. 

When does the new president take over and does he see the FBS in the future?