Split thread - Improvements... Griz fan perspective

Post by **kmax** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:50 am

Wow, has this one gotten off track! Glad BAC split this off the original now.

iaafan wrote:They won't have a seven-year streak of winning the WAC, but they'll win their share and winning the WAC will be akin to winning a I-AA title.

And now to stay off track.

While there are certain aspects of being in I-A that I would love, I would hope that even Griz fans would agree that if it meant winning the WAC would be the equivalent to winning a I-AA title, it would be better to be in I-AA and winning a national title.

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:07 pm

iaafan wrote:...They won't have a seven-year streak of winning the WAC, but they'll win their share and winning the WAC will be akin to winning a I-AA title.

WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING???

Again, take this test, iaa. When the Griz get back with the trophy on Saturday, you go down to the airport and ask all the players and coaches if they'd trade their National Championship for a WAC championship. I'd be amazed if 10% of them said they'd take a WAC'ing; I mean, ring...

WAC Championship.... Does that just sound WRONG to anyone besides me?

iaafan · Post by **iaafan** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:21 pm

I think it would be more relevant to ask WAC champ BSU after they come home with the Liberty Bowl title and win over Louisville moving to No. 6 in the nation, if they would trade that for a I-AA title. Chattanooga isn't going to be as wild as Missoula.

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:50 pm

Hey, I like to ramble on about any football topic. The thing that sticks out about a move "up" is what Nevada's athletic director said the first year they went up: our bowl money this year was "...750k compared to making the championship game...and having to share less than 250k with all the members..." As far as support from the school a couple of hundred miles west, I remember sitting on their side during the 2001 game against Furman and the attendance for that game was less than 13k. Very weak and one can't help but wonder how long people would trek across Montana if the tickets were to become D1 expensive...I personally think MSU is in a much better position to make the move because of our support for Title 1X and the overall look and feel of our institution. I like our gameday experience, which to me anyway, is better than the Georgia-Florida or any Tennessee game. Access to the stadium at the present time is a nightmare. Our college needs to better coordinate with the local law enforcement agencies because it's a joke getting our size crowd out of Bozo back to the interstate. Somebody else ramble a while...

El_Gato · Post by **El_Gato** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:17 pm

iaafan wrote:I think it would be more relevant to ask WAC champ BSU after they come home with the Liberty Bowl title and win over Louisville moving to No. 6 in the nation, if they would trade that for a I-AA title. Chattanooga isn't going to be as wild as Missoula.

And if you honestly think that the Griz are capable of achieving the same results that BSU has, you really are high.

iaafan · Post by **iaafan** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 2:03 pm

BSU never acheived the heights in I-AA that UM has, and is, acheiving. So why wouldn't they be able to?

And, by the way, you don't have to toss out those little "you must be high" lines. It's a sorry attempt at trying to reinforce your point, which so far haven't been very strong.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:14 pm

I'm with Gato. Could UM do what BSU has done in 10 year or so? Possible, but highly unlikely. That just does not happen very often. Look at them this year - undefeated season against some pretty stiff competition - and by the way - what did it get them? One final game to see if they can call themselves either the 7th or 8th best team in the country! Not even close to compete for a shot at the title. Man I love 1-AA.

BTW - When is the last time a Grizzly team went undefeated as Boise State has just done - against much better competition?

jagur1 · Post by **jagur1** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:24 pm

I third that.

Only problem with BSU is they had 6 cream puffs on that sched. Idaho, BYU, SMU, Tulsa, SJSU, Nevada. Only tough road win at UTEP. I myself would take U of L -15. BSU is coming back to earth.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:28 pm

The only thing that really keeps either MSU or UM from becoming the next Boise State is a lack of population and (correspondingly, for the most part) a lack of money. UM's attendance (as well as MSU's for that matter) are incredible as a function of the local population, but it gets harder and harder to attract each additional fan, unless the population explodes.

In ten or twenty years, when Missoula and Bozeman will likely be the two biggest population areas in Montana by far (and hopefully not worse for it), it might be a completely different story.

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:35 pm

BAC is absolutely brilliant; buy him one of those thick, dark beers...

Post by **SonomaCat** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 3:42 pm

Cat Grad wrote:BAC is absolutely brilliant; buy him one of those thick, dark beers...

I hope you aren't being facetious... oh, what do I care? I just want that beer....

BelgradeBobcat · Post by **BelgradeBobcat** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 4:00 pm

It's interesting to see how schools have done after they've moved to 1-A. A lot of times if the school was at the top of 1-AA the moved looked effortless. Nevada won the Big West the first year they moved up and went to the Las Vegas Bowl, Marshall won the MAC the first year they moved up, and Idaho won the Big West in their first or second year and won the Humanitarian Bowl against Southern Miss. But especially in the case of Nevada and Idaho, as their 1-AA stars ran out of eligibility, their winning seemed to slow down too.

Idaho's last few 1-AA teams were a lot better than their last few 1-A teams (I remember them beating up Colorado State and UNLV).

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 4:13 pm

No Sir, I am not. This entire board is one of the best I've been in and you young men should be commended. Thanks. In fact, since I've returned to my home state, the first deer I got was on the block management land of one of your relatives on the way to the ferry. Thanks for that also.

velochat · Post by **velochat** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:08 pm

Nevada has been struggling also, I believe. What Boise State has done is amazing. I wouldn't bet on MSU against anybody on their "cream puff" schedule. To win every week for 2 years or so is an accomplishment, as is coming up with big bucks to keep the coach around.

WYCAT · Post by **WYCAT** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:11 pm

iaafan wrote:BSU never acheived the heights in I-AA that UM has, and is, acheiving. So why wouldn't they be able to?

And, by the way, you don't have to toss out those little "you must be high" lines. It's a sorry attempt at trying to reinforce your point, which so far haven't been very strong.

Sorry iaa, but Gato and the boys are right. The odds of the griz getting where BSU has gone is very unlikely. I am just getting caught up on this thread but I agree that I would love to see them go I-A and settle in somewhere in the area of Nevada, Wyoming, Utah State, etc.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 5:58 pm

Whle I agree they would be middle of the pack and that would be amusing to watch... I absolutely do not want them to leave the Big Sky anytime soon. I want them to be here to feel the pain as we turn the tables.

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 6:19 pm

Actually, I wish them no ill will; however, we all know our Board of Regents have us joined at the hip. I'd like to see them go up and enjoy the same success Idaho, Central Florida...for starters have today. In all programs, not just football. In a perfect world, they'd take a trip to the WAC and we'd wind up...just dreaming. Can't say Mountain West because look at the support Utah gave their football team; not many more in the stadium than Boise. Anybody with nothing better to do than listen to Don Read during halftime of one of their games respond to the question: "When do you expect to go D1?" with "Within two years?" So, get ready and hope coach has plenty of D1 kids coming to Bozo instead of Kansas State, etc...

DaGriz · Post by **DaGriz** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:17 pm

BSU, Look at them this year - undefeated season against some pretty stiff competition - and by the way - what did it get them?

I agree with that, what difference does it make how well the Griz would do in I-A? First, middle, or last, we would still get a bowl game. What an accomplishment.

I missed the middle of this conversation, somewhere along the way it went from MSU gameday experience to somehow the Griz going to I-A. Since this is the new topic, I keep hearing there is no way the Griz can make the jump without the Cats. Does anybody else know if this is just a rumor or if this is true? Sorry if this was covered already along the way.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:55 am

Cat Grad wrote:Actually, I wish them no ill will; however, we all know our Board of Regents have us joined at the hip. I'd like to see them go up and enjoy the same success Idaho, Central Florida...for starters have today. In all programs, not just football. In a perfect world, they'd take a trip to the WAC and we'd wind up...just dreaming. Can't say Mountain West because look at the support Utah gave their football team; not many more in the stadium than Boise. Anybody with nothing better to do than listen to Don Read during halftime of one of their games respond to the question: "When do you expect to go D1?" with "Within two years?" So, get ready and hope coach has plenty of D1 kids coming to Bozo instead of Kansas State, etc...

Can you elaborate a bit? I'm not following you here. For one thing, we're all D1, and did that question actually get asked?

Post by **kmax** » Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:15 am

Cat Grad wrote: Anybody with nothing better to do than listen to Don Read during halftime of one of their games respond to the question: "When do you expect to go D1?" with "Within two years?" So, get ready and hope coach has plenty of D1 kids coming to Bozo instead of Kansas State, etc...

Actually, Don Read has been on the Sports Nuts radio show a couple times since the Cat/Griz show and one of the times the pointedly asked him about going to I-A and he said exactly the opposite, that it would be a long time before UM was in a position that they could move to I-A due to money constraints revolving around current debt, adding sports/scholarships, Title IX, etc. He also mentioned that the Griz would need to add more seating to their stadium before they could move, which I don't necessarily agree with, but he used it as another reason he did not see a move real soon.