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  • "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

    In the St. George Spectrum, the view from Cedar City:
    "We need to solidify the long-term stability of the conference," Beazer said. "These moves are all about the future. Even though we bring these institutions on board now, there's a period before they help us with the automatic qualifiers."

    Ah, the NCAA automatic qualifier, the Holy Grail to athletic directors around the country.

    With just seven schools officially in the Mid-Con after the 2006-07 school year and only six of those core institutions - schools that have been in the conference for five years - SUU and its fellow centers of higher learning are sitting at the bare minimum number of schools allowed for their conference to receive an automatic invitation to the NCAA basketball tournament, the lifeblood of any mid-major conference, especially one that doesn't sponsor football.

    "Right now, the margin of error is so slim," said Beazer. "We need to bring some people on board. It's vital as we look to the future."
    "SUU's been a good member in the Mid-Con," said Douple, who served as the school's AD before taking over as conference commissioner last year. "But when they got into the league there wasn't a travel partner and there were no promises made."

    Inviting Utah Valley State College in Orem to join the conference would be one possible solution, but the Mid-Con is hesitant to add another school so far from its Midwest roots.

    "It'd be great to have a Mid-Con game where I don't have to get on a bus and then fly somewhere," Beazer said. "But right now the (conference) presidents have said these are the schools we're going to look at.

    "If for some reason we go to the Dakotas or IPFW and things don't fall into place or they elect to go elsewhere, then UVSC becomes more attractive."

    Here's where things get a bit tricky.

    As far as Orem is from Indianapolis and Kansas City, adding UVSC to a basketball or volleyball schedule would be fairly painless.

    Teams would be able to play the Wolverines one night and the T-Birds the next, getting two games instead of one for their flight.

    So why didn't UVSC even receive an invitation from the Mid-Con to send a letter of interest to last month's expansion meeting?

    "There's no question about it, the Mid-Con is worried about SUU's Big Sky aspirations," said UVSC Athletic Director Mike Jacobsen. "They're afraid SUU might leave."
    "I think we'll be OK"

  • #2
    Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

    More from The Spectrum: Moving to higher-profile league no easy task
    Although he said the Big Sky isn't actively considering expansion, Commissioner Doug Fullerton said many coaches and athletic directors believe the conference should add a 10th team to make for easier scheduling through the use of travel partners.

    SUU could be that team - if the Big Sky's member institutions feel that the Thunderbirds would enhance the quality of the conference.

    While (Weber State Athletic Director) Graybeal said Weber State and Northern Arizona have always been receptive to adding SUU, Fullerton said other Big Sky presidents are "very adamant" against the T-Birds.

    "No one's ever said why," said Fullerton, who didn't reveal which schools had issues with SUU. "I'm just trying to get a sense from the presidents. It's always stopped so quickly.

    "It's not a majority vote," he added. "If I just took the majority vote, I don't know if they would get in. But we pretty much want all presidents nodding before (a team is admitted)."
    "I think we'll be OK"

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

      And even more from the Spectrum: Wolverines on the outside looking in
      UVSC has SUU's support in its quest to join the Mid-Con - "They'd make a great travel partner for us," said SUU Athletic Director Ken Beazer - but with the possibility of the T-Birds leaving for the Big Sky Conference, the Mid-Con is less than anxious to add the Wolverines.

      "We'd love to be apart of the Mid-Con because of SUU," Jacobsen said. "But the Mid-Con doesn't want to be stuck with us, with a single school out west if SUU jumps. And I don't blame them."

      But if Mid-Con officials were convinced that SUU wasn't going anywhere for a while, would UVSC even be a possibility?

      "For us to get into a conference, it's got to be like when SUU got in when the Mid-Con was desperate," (UVSC Athletic Director Mike) Jacobsen said, referring to the conference's invitation to Oral Roberts and the T-Birds in 1997. "Mid-Con, Big Sky, Big West, the WAC (Western Athletic Conference). We're just trying to get any hope that's out there and make sure people are aware of us in the future."
      "I think we'll be OK"

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

        Another article out of Utah.

        http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs...607090322/1006

        Moving to higher-profile league no easy task
        What are SUU's chances?Why not SUU?What changes are ahead?
        By RICH JOHNSON
        rjohnson@thespectrum.com


        CEDAR CITY - Years ago, Jerry Graybeal felt the same frustration that Southern Utah University is feeling today.

        While Graybeal was serving as head football coach at Eastern Washington University, the Eagles were striving for acceptance into the Big Sky Conference.

        But ...

        "The first time we tried to seek admission, we were denied," said Graybeal, now the athletic director at Weber State University in Ogden. "At that time, we weren't a match." .............



        But O'Day said travel alone won't keep SUU out of the conference. Some Big Sky schools want North Dakota and South Dakota State to be added to the conference.

        "They're as hard to get in as any place," O'Day said. "They have great fan support and facilities and bring a lot to the league."

        Academics are also an issue, Fullerton said.

        "It's hard to criticize institutions," the commissioner said. "The mission is one thing. We have some institutions that have mature research components."

        To make itself more compatible with the Big Sky, Beazer said SUU's football program would become a "counter" and that the school would add volleyball, one of conference's core sports.

        As a "non-counter" program, SUU is a particularly unattractive opponent for Division I-A teams, who typically pay six figures for a game against a lower-level team.

        Also, Division I-A teams cannot count victories over "non-counter" teams toward bowl eligibility.


        We are here to add what we can to life, not get what we can from life. -Sir William Osler

        We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

          Originally posted by filbert
          And even more from the Spectrum:  Wolverines on the outside looking in
          UVSC has SUU's support in its quest to join the Mid-Con - "They'd make a great travel partner for us," said SUU Athletic Director Ken Beazer - but with the possibility of the T-Birds leaving for the Big Sky Conference, the Mid-Con is less than anxious to add the Wolverines.

          "We'd love to be apart of the Mid-Con because of SUU," Jacobsen said. "But the Mid-Con doesn't want to be stuck with us, with a single school out west if SUU jumps. And I don't blame them."

          But if Mid-Con officials were convinced that SUU wasn't going anywhere for a while, would UVSC even be a possibility?

          "For us to get into a conference, it's got to be like when SUU got in when the Mid-Con was desperate," (UVSC Athletic Director Mike) Jacobsen said, referring to the conference's invitation to Oral Roberts and the T-Birds in 1997. "Mid-Con, Big Sky, Big West, the WAC (Western Athletic Conference). We're just trying to get any hope that's out there and make sure people are aware of us in the future."

          I finally got around to reading the entire article.  It goes on to say,

          Even with those other possibilities, though, Jacobsen would love nothing more than to bang heads with the T-Birds in the Mid-Con.

          "We'd become a very strong rival and we'd become good friends," said Jacobsen, who vowed that a football program could be raised at UVSC in three years if a conference mandated it for league entry. "We'd be trying to beat up everyone back east."

          Could this be a possible future expansion for the GWFC if the other UVSC goals fall into place?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

            It seems to me more likley that the Mid-Con (as has been rumored) may take over the Great West.  If they mandate that Utah Valley must add football to join, perhaps they would mandate that Western Ill. needs to move it's football program over from the Gateway.   :-?

            Mid-Con Football

            SDSU
            NDSU
            SUU
            WIU
            UVSC
            Cal Poly*
            UC-Davis*

            That could be a pretty good football conference! 8-)


            Go State!  


            *affiliate members

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

              Originally posted by 89rabbit
              It seems to me more likley that the Mid-Con (as has been rumored) may take over the Great West.  If they mandate that Utah Valley must add football to join, perhaps they would mandate that Western Ill. needs to move it's football program over from the Gateway.   :-?

              Mid-Con Football

              SDSU
              NDSU
              SUU
              WIU
              UVSC
              Cal Poly*
              UC-Davis*

              That could be a pretty good football conference!  8-)


              Go State!  


              *affiliate members
              I agree!  But would the Mid-Con risk having WIU say good-bye instead of switching to the Great West? Any ideas on where they might go?

              You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you can never teach a stupid dog anything.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                There is also talk that the Missouri Valley wants to take over the Gateway and that Wichita State may be bringing football back. Who knows maybe WIU would be asked to leave. :-/


                Go State!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                  Another story the the Thunderbirds. Looks like their football program may be getting better.

                  http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs...607220334/1006

                  More scholarships for SUU football

                  By BEAU EASTES
                  beastes@thespectrum.com

                  CEDAR CITY - When interviewing for the vacant Southern Utah University athletic director position last winter, Ken Beazer laid out his vision for SUU if hired to lead the Thunderbirds.

                  "I let them know my first item of business was getting football to counter status," said Beazer, who was hired in January after serving as Director of Athletic Development at Utah State. "It's vital we become a counter because it opens up a revenue stream we haven't had before."

                  True to his word, Beazer has the T-Birds taking the first step towards counter status. The first-year athletic director added more than 17 scholarship equivalencies to the football team this season in the hopes of averaging 57 equivalencies for the next two years, the sole requirement for becoming a counter school.

                  "This is excellent for us," said SUU football coach Wes Meier. "It gives us the opportunity to compete on a higher level."
                  In the uber-competitive world of NCAA Division I-AA football, becoming a counter school can be the difference between a $500,000 payout game with a Pacific-10 school or having to pay a Division II program to fill out your schedule.

                  "It varies from institution to institution," Beazer said about what I-A schools are willing to pay I-AA teams for a single game. "But basically it goes anywhere from $125,000 to $500,000 a game depending on who you play. ... I-AA schools don't often get up in the $500,000 range, but I know of some that are making $350,000 a game." . . . (read more)



                  Go State!



                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                    Originally posted by 1stRowFANatic
                    [quote author=89rabbit link=1152461613/0#5 date=1153519804]It seems to me more likley that the Mid-Con (as has been rumored) may take over the Great West.  If they mandate that Utah Valley must add football to join, perhaps they would mandate that Western Ill. needs to move it's football program over from the Gateway.   :-?

                    Mid-Con Football

                    SDSU
                    NDSU
                    SUU
                    WIU
                    UVSC
                    Cal Poly*
                    UC-Davis*

                    That could be a pretty good football conference!  8-)


                    Go State!  


                    *affiliate members
                    I agree!  But would the Mid-Con risk having WIU say good-bye instead of switching to the Great West? Any ideas on where they might go?
                    [/quote]

                    Western Il U is a founding member in both the Mid-Con and Gateway conferences. The Mid-Con isn't going to TELL it's ONLY REMAINING FOUNDER to move football, or lose Mid-Con status. Isn't happening. Now, I would expect the Mid-Con/GWFC to try to ENTICE WIU to join, but IMHO, it's a llllllooooooonnnnnnggggg shot.

                    The gateway is a relatively compact (except Youngstown St) league. And WIU is in the middle of it. They've been very successful in the league, so doubt they'll leave. At same time, it would be extremely beneficial if they choose to join the GWFC, as ANY EXISTING D-I school that joins the conference, would make the GWFC eligible for an Auto-bid in 2 years, starting in '08.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                      SUU would prefer to join the BS Conference, which is understandable given time and travel concerns, but I don't see them receiving an invite anytime soon EVEN if they jumped to 60-63 schollies in FB. They would likely try to pry Denver or UC-Davis away first. (Of course, I wouldn't put anything past them.....)

                      As for W. Illinois, I don't see them leaving the Gateway for the GWFC unless the MoValley took over the Gateway and forced WIU out; that's unlikely even if Wichita St. resumes football.

                      My best guess for the GWFC, circa 2010:

                      SDSU
                      NDSU
                      Cal Poly
                      UC-Davis
                      SUU
                      UVSU (adding FB)
                      Wichita St. (adding FB)
                      UND (D-1AA moveup)
                      USD (D-1AA moveup)

                      Nine would be perfect for a D1AA conference......four home, four away

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                        Wichita State football is not likely any time soon . . .

                        http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/15018391.htm

                        Mayor yields on WSU football
                        BY BRENT D. WISTROM
                        The Wichita Eagle

                        Prompted by a last-minute move by a fellow Wichita City Council member, Mayor Carlos Mayans agreed Tuesday to abandon his crusade to bring football back to Wichita State University.

                        Not only that, he joined council members who opposed his crusade from the start in passing a resolution that prohibits the city from ever pushing for a football program.

                        The unanimous vote defused what could have been a public showdown between Mayans and some council members, who have publicly criticized each other's leadership styles.
                        . . .
                        Only the Board of Regents and WSU president Don Beggs can start a football program, (City Council member) Brewer said.

                        The only hint of conflict during the meeting came when Mayans then said that Brewer's resolution would prevent any future school presidents from pursuing football. Brewer said he thought he had addressed that in his motion.

                        Mayans said Beggs told him last week that WSU will not pursue a football program based on the mayor's proposal.

                        "I've always said the decision to bring back Wichita State football has been the president's," Mayans said. "I already know the president doesn't want to do it."
                        "I think we'll be OK"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                          Not only that, he joined council members who opposed his crusade from the start in passing a resolution that prohibits the city from ever pushing for a football program.
                          It's a symbolic gesture, the city council can vote to change their mind whenever they feel like it. This just seems to block any city employees from lobbying for football. Now, in some parts of the country, they would pass resolutions mandating lobbying for football.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                            Politics.. go figure!

                            Must be an election year... I haven't seen this much flip-flopping since I saw the circus!
                            I am Ed. Fear me.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: "Where do we fit?" - Southern Utah article

                              Originally posted by jackrabit1
                              Must be an election year... I haven't seen this much flip-flopping since I saw the circus!
                              Or since I went fishing.

                              You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you can never teach a stupid dog anything.

                              Comment

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