Big Sky looking at expansion . . . again

[89rabbit]

I know we have been down this road many times .  .  . and who knows now that the Mid-Con is serious about expansion perhaps the Big Sky will be also .  .  . here is a link and highlights to a Fargo Forum story (sub. site, but it is free):

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/ind...section=Sports

NDSU looks west

Jeff Kolpack, The Forum
Published Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The Big Sky Conference may be looking to expand again,

The Big Sky Presidents Council is expected to address the issue next Tuesday at its annual meeting in Missoula, Mont. And, once again, North Dakota State will be paying attention.

Commissioner Doug Fullerton said unlike previous expansion talks that were addressed by a few presidents, the impetus this time is coming from the league’s athletic directors. With the addition of Northern Colorado next season, they’ve given decisive thumbs down to a nine-team conference schedule.

“I think they’re being pretty aggressive about it,” Fullerton said.  .  .  .

The Big Sky’s expansion talks come at a time when NDSU is in the initial stages of communication with the Mid-Continent Conference. The Mid-Con asked NDSU to submit an institutional profile that will most likely be part of expansion talks at the Mid-Con Council of Presidents meeting in June.

The Big Sky. The Mid-Con. NDSU will be paying attention to two different leagues.

“It’s ironic, it really is,” NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said.

Taylor isn’t complaining, although he said he’s trying to keep his emotions in check. The last time the Big Sky got serious with expansion talks, in late 2004, NDSU was left out when it looked like it had a good shot of getting in.

“That’s why we try to not get too up or too down,” he said. “We got so up with the Big Sky thing last time.”  .  .  . (read more)



Go State!  

[filbert]

Re: Big Sky looking at expansion .  .  .

“To set up a nine-team schedule and keep the Montana games together is really tricky,” Fullerton said. “The (athletic directors) now understand what the problems are. I don’t think they understood it until they faced it.”

Yeah, arrogance can make you stupid sometimes.

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: Big Sky looking at expansion .  .  . again

It sounds like the Big Sky wants to be at an even number of teams. Looks like we may be the odd man out unless UND gets on the ball and declares their intent to go DI. If the BSC took us, NDSU and UND, they would be at 12 teams. SDSU and NDSU = 11 teams. Just NDSU or SDSU = 10 teams.

[jackmd]

Re: Big Sky looking at expansion .  .  . again

It sounds like the Big Sky wants to be at an even number of teams.  Looks like we may be the odd man out unless UND gets on the ball and declares their intent to go DI.  If the BSC took us, NDSU and UND, they would be at 12 teams.  SDSU and NDSU = 11 teams.  Just NDSU or SDSU = 10 teams.

I wouldn't say it looks like anything other than the BSC considering expanding again. Who will they invite if anyone? Time will tell.

[filbert]

Re: Big Sky looking at expansion .  .  .

The BSC's travel problem begins and ends with Northern Colorado. That school simply does not have a natural travel partner in any BSC scenario, unless you can somehow pry Denver away from the Sun Belt.

The way I see it, the three schools in play for the BSC are still Southern Utah, NDSU, and SDSU.

SUU gives them a travel partner for Northern Arizona, and a full D-I member who is immediately playoff-eligible. SUU has finally decided that they need to ramp up football scholarships which, I think more than academics, has put the BSC off until now.

NDSU's strength is their football program, and a surprisingly strong men's basketball showing last year. As a travel partner for UNC it's not optimal, to say the least. But when you're looking at Northern Arizona-Weber State or Northern Arizona-Sacramento State as your current travel partner possibilities, it suddenly doesn't look quite that bad.

The best SDSU can offer right now is women's basketball, as well as a surprisingly strong football program which has (occasionally) held its own against the best I-AA has to offer. We know that NDSU and SDSU are fairly even across the board but from the outside it may look like NDSU is far ahead of SDSU in the D-I transition. (Worthy of note however is that Forbes just listed Sioux Falls as the #1 small city in the country for small business--just in case the BSC still has their market-goggles on. Fargo is #3. St. George, Utah is #8. Grand Forks is #28.) SDSU is probably an equally good/bad travel partner for UNC as is NDSU.

I have a very hard time believing that the BSC is seriously considering UND, except possibly as team #12 after NDSU and SDSU, and even then, Southern Utah makes more sense from a travel-partner point of view than UND does.

None of this takes into account backroom schmoozing and politics, of course . . .

This will certainly be a test of how strong the SDSU-NDSU D-I partnership is--will NDSU, if offered a BSC membership, hold out for its Land-Grant partner? I wouldn't be completely surprised if NDSU puts in a word for SDSU and Southern Utah with the BSC "to show loyalty to their GWFC partners" and oops, I guess that incidentally shuts out UND from the Big Sky for the foreseeable future.

NDSU appears to be in the catbird seat right now, any way you look at it.

[FargoBison]

Re: Big Sky looking at expansion .  .  . again

It is almost impossible to forecast just what the Big Sky will do. But I do think the Montana schools would flip if another commuter school is taken in. I guess the best thing NDSU has going for itself is that our President is from Montana St and their President is a big booster of NDSU and the Dakotas getting into the Big Sky. He wants more schools like Montana St and both NDSU and SDSU would fill that void perfectly. Another thing the Dakota's have going for them is Comish Fulerton who at the time of last vote wasn't a big supporter of the Dakota's but has now become a big time supporter of getting the Dakota's into the Sky(I think he finally realized that Idaho is staying in IA). I think the Sky willl expand but I just have no clue on who they will add.

[89rabbit]

Re: Big Sky looking at expansion .  .  . again

Highlights from a Fargo Forum story (sub. site, but it is free) about UND and it's chances to be in the mix:

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/ind...section=Sports

UND may struggle to find D-I conference

By Heath Hotzler, The Forum
Published Wednesday, May 17, 2006

The University of North Dakota might have to ditch the idea of having conference affiliation in place before giving the green light to a move from NCAA Division II to Division I athletics.

Big Sky Conference commissioner Doug Fullerton said Tuesday that many established conferences will be scared off by the five-year transition period that comes with making the jump. The Big Sky and the Mid-Continent Conference would be the best geographic fits should UND choose to move.

However, Mid-Con commissioner Tom Douple said UND is not on the conference’s radar because UND is not a Division I school. . . . (read more)


Go State!