Big Sky expansion

[allcat]

I hope the Big Sky charged Southern Utah a joining fee. They thought they were dumping us and would end up Fbs.

[nevadacat]

Well, not happy to see more teams without axing the those from Oregon and California, but happy they are only 2-3 hours drive from home.

[Clinton T]

I hope the Big Sky charged Southern Utah a joining fee. They thought they were dumping us and would end up Fbs.

I would have loved to be a fly on Tom Wistrcill's wall when they came to him and asked to come back. I don't know Tom but I would imagine the conversation wasn't pleasant.

[Cataholic]

If every team outside of MSU, griz and Idaho sucks does that help or hurt the unbalanced schedule problem? I guess schedules aren't unbalanced any more if all three teams play 7 guaranteed win games.

It's easy to forget that between MSU's 2012 and 2022 co-championships, both of the Montana schools were totally shut out from winning any conference titles in football. Eastern and Weber both had 4 and even Southern Utah had 2 in that span. I think the Cats and Griz will likely continue to stay at the top given their increasingly large facility advantages over the rest of the league, but hopefully some other schools can get back closer to where they were in the 2010s to make the league as a whole a bit more competitive. I can see Utah Tech being able to build a pretty strong program but it won't happen overnight of course.

SUU was not always a doormat and had some good teams. They had a real strong connection with both BYU and University of Utah where they would get kids looking for more playing time. With the transfer portal and both schools in LDS heavy areas, I will not be surprised to see these teams find success.

[AFCAT]

If every team outside of MSU, griz and Idaho sucks does that help or hurt the unbalanced schedule problem? I guess schedules aren't unbalanced any more if all three teams play 7 guaranteed win games.

It's easy to forget that between MSU's 2012 and 2022 co-championships, both of the Montana schools were totally shut out from winning any conference titles in football. Eastern and Weber both had 4 and even Southern Utah had 2 in that span. I think the Cats and Griz will likely continue to stay at the top given their increasingly large facility advantages over the rest of the league, but hopefully some other schools can get back closer to where they were in the 2010s to make the league as a whole a bit more competitive. I can see Utah Tech being able to build a pretty strong program but it won't happen overnight of course.

SUU was not always a doormat and had some good teams. They had a real strong connection with both BYU and University of Utah where they would get kids looking for more playing time. With the transfer portal and both schools in LDS heavy areas, I will not be surprised to see these teams find success.

Didn't SUU have a player that was in his late 20s or early 30s back in 2016? I remember Choate mentioning something about starting a 17-18 year old Chris Murray against an SUU guy that was a decade older than Chris.

[MSU01]

I hope the Big Sky charged Southern Utah a joining fee. They thought they were dumping us and would end up Fbs.

I would have loved to be a fly on Tom Wistrcill's wall when they came to him and asked to come back. I don't know Tom but I would imagine the conversation wasn't pleasant.

I doubt it was too unpleasant since the President and AD of SUU have changed since they left the Big Sky. It's pretty clearly a good fit for both sides especially in combination with Utah Tech as a travel partner for basketball and volleyball.

[Long Time Cat]

I hope the Big Sky charged Southern Utah a joining fee. They thought they were dumping us and would end up Fbs.

I would have loved to be a fly on Tom Wistrcill's wall when they came to him and asked to come back. I don't know Tom but I would imagine the conversation wasn't pleasant.

I doubt it was too unpleasant since the President and AD of SUU have changed since they left the Big Sky. It's pretty clearly a good fit for both sides especially in combination with Utah Tech as a travel partner for basketball and volleyball.

So who ends up being NAU's travel partner. I guess there is no change from this year but wasn't SUU always there travel partner before they left.

[TomCat88]

If they were just adding one, I'd say this is kind of 'meh' but this should be a good rivalry for BSC fans to follow. I'm sure they already don't like each other but with every game mattering more (conference game) now, it should intensify just that much more. Only 52 miles apart. That tops EWU and Idaho, which are 73 miles apart. Imagine if Weber was south of Provo...it'd be like Tobacco Road Light.

[AFCAT]

I guess the Big Sky allowed Idaho back in the league, so allowing SUU to come crawling back is okay too. I don't know about Utah Tech, but if they can invest in and build their program, that will be fine.

[Prodigal Cat]

While this AD has been there basically the entire time SUU wasn't in the Big Sky you gotta wonder about the timing. He definitely could have been part of the "flipping the bird" to the BSC and was told to leave with the move back to the conference. Funny how title IX violations weren't enough but getting back into the BSC was enough to be shown the door. I won't act like I have any more information but the timing says quite a bit.

https://www.ksl.com/article/51331483/so ... ad-resigns

[MSU01]

I hope the Big Sky charged Southern Utah a joining fee. They thought they were dumping us and would end up Fbs.

I would have loved to be a fly on Tom Wistrcill's wall when they came to him and asked to come back. I don't know Tom but I would imagine the conversation wasn't pleasant.

I doubt it was too unpleasant since the President and AD of SUU have changed since they left the Big Sky. It's pretty clearly a good fit for both sides especially in combination with Utah Tech as a travel partner for basketball and volleyball.

So who ends up being NAU's travel partner. I guess there is no change from this year but wasn't SUU always there travel partner before they left.

I'd guess they'll stay with UNC like it has been since SUU left a few years ago. MSU/UM, UI/EWU, ISU/WSU, UTU/SUU are all obvious pairings which leaves PSU, NAU, and UNC without clear geographic partners. PSU is probably the odd team out.

[luckyirishguy25]

Eww. Sounds like the BSC is preparing for something.

Sac State is leaving after this next academic year, and UC Davis basically has one foot out the door to join the MWC in football (non-football MWC member starting next year)

Sac is not leaving the Big Sky in football though, right? I thought it was all sports except football

Sac is completely gone from the Big Sky, and good riddance to them. They can ****** right off.

[allcat]

Eww. Sounds like the BSC is preparing for something.

Sac State is leaving after this next academic year, and UC Davis basically has one foot out the door to join the MWC in football (non-football MWC member starting next year)

Sac is not leaving the Big Sky in football though, right? I thought it was all sports except football

Sac is completely gone from the Big Sky, and good riddance to them. They can ****** right off.

So, how long till they come back?

[coloradocat]

So does their proximity to Vegas and Arizona open up those markets for recruiting the same way the CA schools allegedly opened up that market? That seems like a potential silver lining.

[luckyirishguy25]

Eww. Sounds like the BSC is preparing for something.

Sac State is leaving after this next academic year, and UC Davis basically has one foot out the door to join the MWC in football (non-football MWC member starting next year)

Sac is not leaving the Big Sky in football though, right? I thought it was all sports except football

Sac is completely gone from the Big Sky, and good riddance to them. They can ****** right off.

So, how long till they come back?

Pretty sure they burned that bridge.

[MSU01]

So does their proximity to Vegas and Arizona open up those markets for recruiting the same way the CA schools allegedly opened up that market? That seems like a potential silver lining.

The portion of Arizona where the vast majority of the people live is a long way away from the two new Utah schools, especially as there's a giant hole in the ground you have to go way out of the way to drive around to get from one to the other.

Maybe there's a slight bump in recruiting the Vegas area since it's directly connected to southern Utah by I-15, although I don't see any reason to expect that WA/CA/TX wouldn't still remain the primary areas of focus outside of Montana.

[Prodigal Cat]

Eww. Sounds like the BSC is preparing for something.

Sac State is leaving after this next academic year, and UC Davis basically has one foot out the door to join the MWC in football (non-football MWC member starting next year)

Sac is not leaving the Big Sky in football though, right? I thought it was all sports except football

Sac is completely gone from the Big Sky, and good riddance to them. They can ****** right off.

So, how long till they come back?

Pretty sure they burned that bridge.

Ummm SUU proves those bridges are fireproof.

[AFCAT]

Eww. Sounds like the BSC is preparing for something.

Sac State is leaving after this next academic year, and UC Davis basically has one foot out the door to join the MWC in football (non-football MWC member starting next year)

Sac is not leaving the Big Sky in football though, right? I thought it was all sports except football

Sac is completely gone from the Big Sky, and good riddance to them. They can ****** right off.

So, how long till they come back?

Pretty sure they burned that bridge.

Ummm SUU proves those bridges are fireproof.

...and Idawho too.

[AFCAT]

[luckyirishguy25]

Eww. Sounds like the BSC is preparing for something.

Sac State is leaving after this next academic year, and UC Davis basically has one foot out the door to join the MWC in football (non-football MWC member starting next year)

Sac is not leaving the Big Sky in football though, right? I thought it was all sports except football

Sac is completely gone from the Big Sky, and good riddance to them. They can ****** right off.

So, how long till they come back?

Pretty sure they burned that bridge.

Ummm SUU proves those bridges are fireproof.

...and Idawho too.

I don't remember SUU talking trash after they left. Sac St put up their own tombstone.