89rabbit Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...342/1002/SPORTS Gateway takes look at SDSU Football conference might lure Jacks from Great West by Terry Vandrovec tvandrovec@argusleader.com PUBLISHED: October 26, 2006 Less than three seasons into its foray into NCAA Division I-AA and an affiliation with the Great West Football Conference, South Dakota State has caught the eye of another league. Gateway Football Conference commissioner Patty Viverito said Wednesday night that her league has requested institutional information from SDSU and North Dakota State as it studies potential expansion in the near future. The Gateway is preparing for the possible departure of Western Kentucky, which is considering a move to Division I-A football beginning next fall. That school's board of regents will vote Nov. 2 on the Division I-A matter. "We've had conversations with both North Dakota State and South Dakota State before," Viverito said. "But it didn't really make sense to have any meaningful conversations about Gateway football unless they had a foundation home for their other sports. The planets aligned." In September, the Jackrabbits and Bison were accepted into the Mid-Continent Conference in everything except football - a sport the league doesn't have - beginning in 2007-08. . . . (read more) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star2city Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...342/1002/SPORTS Gateway takes look at SDSU Football conference might lure Jacks from Great West by Terry Vandrovec tvandrovec@argusleader.com PUBLISHED: October 26, 2006 Less than three seasons into its foray into NCAA Division I-AA and an affiliation with the Great West Football Conference, South Dakota State has caught the eye of another league. Gateway Football Conference commissioner Patty Viverito said Wednesday night that her league has requested institutional information from SDSU and North Dakota State as it studies potential expansion in the near future. The Gateway is preparing for the possible departure of Western Kentucky, which is considering a move to Division I-A football beginning next fall. That school's board of regents will vote Nov. 2 on the Division I-A matter. "We've had conversations with both North Dakota State and South Dakota State before," Viverito said. "But it didn't really make sense to have any meaningful conversations about Gateway football unless they had a foundation home for their other sports. The planets aligned." In September, the Jackrabbits and Bison were accepted into the Mid-Continent Conference in everything except football - a sport the league doesn't have - beginning in 2007-08. . . . (read more) As stated before, NDSU/SDSU to the Gateway is going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 As stated before, NDSU/SDSU to the Gateway is going to happen. Star, it looks like your prediction about the Gateway may come to fruition. I hope you are just as accurate about your predictions about the Big Sky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WYOBISONMAN Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 That would definitely open up the GWFC for UND and USD (if USD makes the jump). I guess it is good news all the way around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 That would definitely open up the GWFC for UND and USD (if USD makes the jump). I guess it is good news all the way around! WYO, I wish NDSU and all you Bison fans all the luck in getting in the Gateway, it would be great for your program. But........as I try to be an objective die-hard Sioux fan (as objective as a Bison-hater can be, that is ) it is really not that great of news for UND. I've been looking forward to joining a solid 7 team GWFC (if USD moves up too) for our first year of DI. It is looking now like it might only be 5 teams, or worse yet 4 if USD stays in DII. As you well know, that is alot of non-conference games to try to piece together. I expected a Gateway invite would be coming at some point for NDSU and SDSU, just not quite this soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxMeNow Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 That would definitely open up the GWFC for UND and USD (if USD makes the jump). I guess it is good news all the way around! yeah - THANKS! I'm sure it would have been really tough to get into the GW but what if the Gateway only takes SDSU (since only 1 school is leaving) I doubt they'd want to take a team that beat one and almost two di-a teams this season... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MplsBison Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Aparantly, an odd number is best for football in the eyes of commissioners. The Gateway is at 8 now. With WKY leaving and the GFC adding NDSU and SDSU, they'll be at 9. However, I think both YSU and MSU have a possibility to leave the conference for I-A in the future. That would open up the door to the Gateway for UND and USD (assuming they don't go to the Big Sky). The Gateway would then look like this: NDSU, SDSU, UND, USD, UNI from the old NCC WIU, SIU, ISU, and ISU from the Gateway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csonked Out Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Aparantly, an odd number is best for football in the eyes of commissioners. The Gateway is at 8 now. With WKY leaving and the GFC adding NDSU and SDSU, they'll be at 9. However, I think both YSU and MSU have a possibility to leave the conference for I-A in the future. That would open up the door to the Gateway for UND and USD (assuming they don't go to the Big Sky). The Gateway would then look like this: NDSU, SDSU, UND, USD, UNI from the old NCC WIU, SIU, ISU, and ISU from the Gateway If Star2City is right about the Big Sky as he was about this, then it would take care of football as well and we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of a Gateway Conference for just football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WYOBISONMAN Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 yeah - THANKS! I'm sure it would have been really tough to get into the GW but what if the Gateway only takes SDSU (since only 1 school is leaving) I doubt they'd want to take a team that beat one and almost two di-a teams this season... 9 is best for FB scheduling so they will take two. As to Bins comment about whether or not it is good for UND.....This may finally be a wake up call for the Montana schools to take a stand against Sac State and PSU and let the footprint cover the Dakotas. If they don't do that, the only expansion option in the West for the Big Sky would be SUU and that is just another directional school with mediocre academics. If another Gateway team were to leave (in the next 5 years), and NDSU and SDSU were members of the Gateway, it would not be beyond the realm of possibility that UND could move after a stint in the GWFC. I would suspect the conference options from UND will not be very good until post season eligibility is at hand. I am not sure what Cal Poly and UC Davis will do. They are great schools with great programs that have been a lot of fun to compete against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Fan Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 This is getting interesting. It's all but a done deal that USD is going D1 the way it looks. You might want to keep an eye on this thread as there is some interesting chatter about the Gateway and how USD and UND might have a shot to go in. http://coyotesports.proboards100.com/index...read=1161873006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star2city Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 This is getting interesting. It's all but a done deal that USD is going D1 the way it looks. You might want to keep an eye on this thread as there is some interesting chatter about the Gateway and how USD and UND might have a shot to go in. http://coyotesports.proboards100.com/index...read=1161873006 With the majority of DII -> DI moves, a gentleman's agreement has already been made with an existing conference several years before the move happens. As an example, Seattle U is already a lock for the WCC. After SDSU's conference search, the South Dakota Board of Regents has been educated in the politics of DI conference, that IMHO is why they insisted on having a meeting with MidCon officials during the SDSU site visit. SD officials have a vested interest in keeping USD strong, and I do believe USD already has a gentleman's agreement from the MidCOn as a result of that meeting. IF USD was going to have a problem with conference affiliation, as fiscally conservative as SD politicians are and with relatively limited resources at USD, IMHO they would never allow USD to move to DI as independent with no forseeable conference affiliation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 No has to wonder how hard it really is to get into a conference once declaring IAA. NDSU/SDSU aren't even playoff eligible and have already formed a football conference, been invited to the midcon, and now are getting looked at by the Gateway (along with inquiries by the Big Sky). Something tells me it won't be as hard to find a conference as some people think once UND moves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ND4Life Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 This is slightly off topic, but weren't Big Sky officials scheduled to meet at the end of October to (possibly) discuss expansion? I haven't seen anything on this. Anyone have info on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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