Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

[Yote53]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

"If our (USD and UND) presidents and athletic directors had any foresight, our transition periods would be complete, and we would be looking forward to competing with big-time programs. Now, we are trudging (tin cup in hand) toward an alliance with the likes of Texas Pan-Am and the New Jersey Institute of Technology!? In the non-academia world, heads would roll for such poor leadership."

Boy, do I agree with that. Hindsight, however, is twenty/twenty.

Does anybody really believe that this "proposed" conference is a permanent home for any of these schools? It is a step, a small one, in D1 life. We'd be playing all these indies anyways, now it is just labeled a conference with titles and all-conference honors and such. Nothing wrong with that.

[EQguy]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Does anybody really believe that this "proposed" conference is a permanent home for any of these schools? It is a step, a small one, in D1 life. We'd be playing all these indies anyways, now it is just labeled a conference with titles and all-conference honors and such. Nothing wrong with that.

Nothing wrong at all Yote53. SDSU already did that with these same schools and they had players of the week and all that good stuff and we all thought it was a great idea to get through transition hell.

I think what everyone here is jumping on is your counterpart huffing up his chest that USD has a "conference" in year 1 of transition and calling the Summit League (don't kid yourself you would love to be there in 4 years) a substandard league comparable to the "conference" you're helping form.

[Yote53]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Yeah, I don't always agree with CF, he knows that. I'm not going to try to spin this, it is what it is, survival mode. You guys know that, you were there.

On another note, I know a lot of you here do not ever want to see USD and SDSU in the same conference (The Summit) but, in the coming years, if that conference was restructured and stabilized, with the Dakota schools becoming the backbone of the conference, it could grow to rival any mid major conference out there, including the Valley. No reason at all that can't happen.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Yeah, I don't always agree with CF, he knows that. I'm not going to try to spin this, it is what it is, survival mode. You guys know that, you were there.

On another note, I know a lot of you here do not ever want to see USD and SDSU in the same conference (The Summit) but, in the coming years, if that conference was restructured and stabilized, with the Dakota schools becoming the backbone of the conference, it could grow to rival any mid major conference out there, including the Valley. No reason at all that can't happen.

After transition, when the ability to be a CORE school isn't an issue for the Summit, then I see this as likely. The I-29 Dakota schools have too much history, "alikeness", and travel partnerships to stay apart for too long.

But for the next 5-8 years, this isn't likely.

[Coyote_Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Nothing wrong at all Yote53. SDSU already did that with these same schools and they had players of the week and all that good stuff and we all thought it was a great idea to get through transition hell.

I think what everyone here is jumping on is your counterpart huffing up his chest that USD has a "conference" in year 1 of transition and calling the Summit League (don't kid yourself you would love to be there in 4 years) a substandard league comparable to the "conference" you're helping form.

Get you facts straight. I never compared the two conferences. I did say that Summit is in surivival mode and that is true to a point. I don't think this Great West Conference is anything great but for a first year transititional school is acceptable for the time being. Neither the Summit nor proposed Great West all sports conference is all that great of a conference. The biggest thing that the Summit has going for SDSU is the geography and auto bid. As far as the level of schools within the conference many of the members aren't all that much better than a bunch of transitional schools moving up. At least those schools moving up have to have some sort of a vision to be moving up in the first place. SDSU and NDSU are a very good thing for the Summit and UND and USD would make it a better conference.

[EQguy]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Get you facts straight. I never compared the two conferences. I did say that Summit is in surivival mode and that is true to a point. I don't think this Great West Conference is anything great but for a first year transititional school is acceptable for the time being. Neither the Summit nor proposed Great West all sports conference is all that great of a conference. The biggest thing that the Summit has going for SDSU is the geography and auto bid. As far as the level of schools within the conference many of the members aren't all that much better than a bunch of transitional schools moving up. At least those schools moving up have to have some sort of a vision to be moving up in the first place. SDSU and NDSU are a very good thing for the Summit and UND and USD would make it a better conference.

You just did it again in your post. You have gone to basically call the schools in the summit league equivalent to the schools that are just in their transition ie in the about to be newly formed conference.

Have you ever seen any of these teams play to make that sort of assessment? I have seen UTPA and NJIT play and they are no where close to the quality or Oral Roberts, IUPUI and IPFW to name a few. Centenary, possibly now that they have lost their two big guns.

You did this twisting last fall where you do what you can to knock the conference we are in when, in all actuality, it is your school's goal to make this very conference.

[2002jack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

Get you facts straight. I never compared the two conferences. I did say that Summit is in surivival mode and that is true to a point. I don't think this Great West Conference is anything great but for a first year transititional school is acceptable for the time being. Neither the Summit nor proposed Great West all sports conference is all that great of a conference. The biggest thing that the Summit has going for SDSU is the geography and auto bid. As far as the level of schools within the conference many of the members aren't all that much better than a bunch of transitional schools moving up. At least those schools moving up have to have some sort of a vision to be moving up in the first place. SDSU and NDSU are a very good thing for the Summit and UND and USD would make it a better conference.

http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_conf_Men.html

Check out the link above. Last year the Summit was 22nd in RPI. The independents were 32nd. I'm guessing next year the Summit will be in the low 20's once again, and the Great West will be 32nd. Not comparable.

[Jana]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

It looks like the ball is rolling on the Great West All Sports Conference.

http://kgbt4.com/sports/sports_story.aspx?id=156342

[propar80]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

The reporting across the country on this "conference" amazes me.

Their fans will all be wondering come March 2009..."why didn't our conference get a chance at an auto-bid to the dance??"

A decade without a conference...that's some scary stuff!

Go Jacks!!

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

The reporting across the country on this "conference" amazes me.

They'll all be wondering come March 2009..."why didn't our conference get a chance at an auto-bid to the the dance??"

A decade without a conference...that's some scary stuff!

Go Jacks!!

No worse than being independent. This way they all get to be "independent together"

When I'll start laughing, is when in 5-10 years, USD/UND are STILL in this GW conference.

[NorCalJack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

When I'll start laughing, is when in 5-10 years, USD/UND are STILL in this GW conference.

I will start laughing if UND or USD hold a press conference announcing that they have joined the Great West Conference. That will be funny

Go State!!!
Go Jacks!!!

[Coyote_Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

I will start laughing if UND or USD hold a press conference announcing that they have joined the Great West Conference. That will be funny

Go State!!!
Go Jacks!!!

It's no funnier than SDSU having a press conference to announce they are officially a full fledged member of D1. Like that wasn't already known. There will be a press conference on Thursday regarding the conference and according to the news it looks like USD will be moving some of their games (not announced which sports) to Sioux City and Sioux Falls.

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

So USD might move some home games to Sioux Falls. Wonder where the Coyotes got that idea? The Jacks have been doing that for years. Are there any original ideas at all coming out of Vermillion?

[Coyote_Fan]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

So USD might move some home games to Sioux Falls. Wonder where the Coyotes got that idea? The Jacks have been doing that for years. Are there any original ideas at all coming out of Vermillion?

Going into Sioux City is a smart idea, maybe not necessarily just for the short term but for the long term mainly. They really don't have an identity with their sports options other than a couple small colleges and minor sports teams but have plenty of drawing power to pull from and are still relatively close to Vermillion. Sioux City is a nice wild card to pull from that SDSU doesn't really get.

[NorCalJack]

Re: Great West To Include UTPA And become All Sports Conf?

So USD might move some home games to Sioux Falls. Wonder where the Coyotes got that idea? The Jacks have been doing that for years. Are there any original ideas at all coming out of Vermillion?

Well look, the 'Yotes are going to copy everthing that SDSU did during the transition to ensure success. Even if it means wear rabbit ears on there mascot.

Going into Sioux City is a smart idea, maybe not necessarily just for the short term but for the long term mainly. They really don't have an identity with their sports options other than a couple small colleges and minor sports teams but have plenty of drawing power to pull from and are still relatively close to Vermillion. Sioux City is a nice wild card to pull from that SDSU doesn't really get.

You think moving games to Iowa is really a good idea? Isn't that sending a mixed message to recruits? If South Dakota is not good enough to play games in, why would a recruit want to go to school at USD then?

Well you can tell us all the great things USD will be doing in the transiton and how wonderful the Great West all sports conference is, but I hear they are installing new exit signs off I-29 so all your new recruits can find your campus. Here is the new sign.