Does Cal Poly Have Anything to Gain By Joining the WAC?

At this time last year, Cal Poly was beginning to raise money, to get out of their hokey Great West Conference deal by becoming eligible for the FBS and joining the WAC.  At the time, it seemed like a good fit.  If not the next Boise State, at least the Mustangs had Fresno-State like potential.  They are the only Division I program in the region and would have made a nice travel partner for San Jose State.  Things have changed in the past six months.  The WAC has been decimated with the loss of Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii.  While Cal-Poly has changed their conference alliance from the Great West for football to the Big Sky Conference.  Has this placated Cal-Poly or will they continue to seek to make their sports to the higher division.

What has the school in San Louis Obispo gained by joining the Big Sky Conference?  The full conference provides at least four benefits to Cal Poly and their fans.  First, scheduling.  Instead of having to schedule 7 non-conference games every season, the football team now only has to schedule 3.  That is much easier to deal with.  Second, travel is a little less.  Basically, instead of traveling to South Dakota, they get to travel to Northern Arizona.  The travel budget is a little more consistent from year to year with the same opponents.  They also form stronger alliances and rivlaries with other West Cost FCS schools like Sacramento State.  Finally, they are affiliated with a conference that has an automatic post-season NCAA bid.  Therefore, there was some gain for the Mustangs with the move to the Big Sky.

But they did not get everything that they wanted.  Cal Poly is a top-flight academic school, ranked #1 in the West Region by US News for Universities with Masters Programs.  In the FCS, the athletes are underachievers academically.  The University will not get the athletes that are a better mix with the rest of the student body until they move up to the FBS. True, athletes are generally academic underachievers, but not all of them. There are higher academic standards at the FBS level, and therefore fewer academic underachievers to deal with.

One thing that was lost with all of the conference moves that would have been a great benefit to Cal Poly was the chance to be in the same conference as Fresno State, which is something that fans from both schools seemed to look forward to.  Even Pat Hill, Fresno State's football coach made positive comments about the prospect of being in the same conference.  This would have been a natural geographical rival and of schools in a similar plight.

There are some other things that the university misses out on by remaining in the FCS.  One is the exposure that being on TB provides.  It is not just the football team that benefits by increased TV exposure, it is the athletic department, the university and the community as a whole.  At the FCS level, a team has to get deep into the playoffs to have a game on TV.  In the WAC, they would at least one game on TV per year no matter how terrible the team is. Cal Poly would also get more TV exposure with success on the field. Look at what has happened to Boise State.  TV games also provide an opportunity to show the community to the nation could provide a positive impact on tourism dollars.  This would not be wasted on California's central coast which is a nice place to visit year round.

Another benefit to the University and Community is the chance to host a bowl game.  In December, the average high is about 66 degrees.  That is warmer than many other successful bowl sites.  With Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Pimo Beach and Monterrey nearby, people will come and spend money.  The community will benefit.

Cal Poly does have something to gain by moving up and joining the WAC.  They will gain exposure for the University and Community.  They can attract a higher caliber of athlete, not just athletically but academically, and they will likely get the chance to host an annual bowl game.  It is a move that the University should still consider, even in the current climate of change.  But the WAC should also be willing to make concessions.  Cal Poly should be allowed to join as a Football-only member and leave the rest of their sports in the Big West Conference.  And the WAC should work to ensure a bowl game in San Louis Obispo.

Greatest Moments in Weber State Football History

Weber State became a four-year college in 1962 and does not have a long history of playing football.  The 1970s were rough where WSU had only one winning season, but both of their victories against the the higher division of college football came in that decade.  Both are listed here.

5.  September 18, 1971.  Weber State wins their first game against a team from the higher division (Currently FBS, then the University Division) by beating North Texas 20-0 in Ogden.

4.  November 6, 1965.  Weber State beats Idaho 14-7 to win their first Big Sky Conference Championship. 

3.  October 4, 2008.  Weber State ends years of frustration against Montana 45-28.  Eventually, WSU would win the conference championship but lose to Montana in the NCAA quarterfinals.

2.  November 11, 1978.  The Wildcats get their only victory against one of the "Big 3" by beating Utah State in Logan 44-25.

1. November 28, 1987.  Weber State avenges their only I-AA loss of the regular season by beating Big Sky Conference Champion Idaho in Moscow 59-30.  This was Weber State's first-ever post-season game.

Weber State in the WAC...how it could happen.

Montana, North Texas and UC Davis have said no the the WAC.   Does anyone want to join the WAC?  I have looked and looked, and I have found one school whose fans would welcome the move, and all I had to do was look across town.  Yes, Weber State would indeed welcome the move.

A quote from my good friend who runs WeberHoops.  Find the comments here.

"YES!!! we would love to move up. there is one thing holding us back and the only reason we are not being mentioned as a serious candidate: football attendance.  (Last season, 2009) we averaged 6,500 last season and we had 7 wins and made the playoffs and finished 17th nationally. that is not good. this yr we are averaging about 8,500 after 2 home games.  For Basketball and all other sports we would be a shoe in." (Cody tells me he got this information about the attendance obstacle directly from Jerry Bovee, WSU athletic director.  But this is not a direct quote.)

Not to mention, WSU currently sponsors 15 sports and only needs to add 1 more to meet FBS standards.  They have a quality Swim/Dive club program that could easily offer scholarships and fill that requirement at a low cost. 

I checked into the attendance at Texas State, who is joining the WAC in 2012.  Their attendance was above 13,000 until late in the season when it became obvious that the Bobcats would finish below .500.  There were still 10,000 at their home finale, however. WSU would have to double their home football attendance should they move up.

Many people have commented that they believe that Utah State would block the move.  USU has the power with the State Board of Regents.  But circumstances have changed and the Regents recognize the winds of change are still blowing.  Some Utah State fans look down upon Weber State, but it is not these fans who will make that decision.  If the MWC does not come calling, it is not in Utah State's best interest to block Weber State's inclusion in the WAC if the alternative is being without a conference.  If not Weber State, then who?  Some Utah State fans believe the alternative is football at Utah Valley University.  The WAC does not have a lot of alternatives left.

Let's say there is a choice between bringing football to Utah Valley and letting UVU join the WAC vs letting Weber State join the WAC.  Some USU fans would probably rather have UVU begin a football program.  UVU football is more of a threat to BYU's football program than it is to Utah State.  But the Regents, who have to deal with budgets would chose Weber State over UVU.  WSU already has a football stadium, it's listed capacity is over 17,000 and it would not take a king's ransom to expand the capacity above 20,000.  There are probably a few left over temporary bleachers left over from the 2002 Winter Games collecting dust somewhere that could be set up in the south end zone at Stewart Stadium.

Consider, also, that the NCAA has yet to enforce, a 15,000 fan average to remain in the FCS.  Which would be easier sell from a marketing point of view?  Start from scratch in an expensive new stadium with a new program that is going to struggle for years or bring up an established program that is struggling at the gate with a stadium that needs a few upgrades?  Consider that the latter has a locally popular sports figure at head coach who could recruit the players that would make WSU a success.  Who could Utah Valley get that would match the popularity of coach Ron McBride?  Consider that UVU is just down the road from BYU and would be playing in the shadow of one of the most popular (or infamous) college football programs in the United States.

Weber State struggles to get 10,000 fans playing in the Big Sky Conference.  But against opponents like Utah State and BYU (due to BYU's schedule agreement with the WAC) and perhaps a visit from Utah (it's a long shot, but could happen) it may not be hard to get at least one sellout every season.  There is only one Big Sky school that travels well, and that is Montana.  7,000 temporary bleachers at the south end zone at Stewart Stadium with smart scheduling, good marketing and successful recruiting and attendance may not be an issue.  The view from Stewart Stadium rivals any in football.  Weber State has some quality academic programs for those "going pro in something other than sports."

Utah State fan should consider all of the alternatives.  Hopefully, they get into the MWC and don't have to worry about the WAC any longer.  From Utah State's point of view, if they are not in the WAC, the old conference can die.  What do they do if this does not happen?  Let the WAC fold?  If independence is risky for BYU, who has a national following, how risky will it be for Utah State who does not?   Remember how well independence worked when the Big West stopped sponsoring football?

Utah State does not deserve relegation to the FCS as their fans have come out to support them.  They are a quality academic institution.  If their fate is playing in the same conference as Weber State, why not welcome the 'Cats to the WAC instead of joining the Big Sky?

Finally, if the WAC is to survive, they will need the NCAA to make concessions.  One of those concessions could be the attendance issue for schools like Weber State.  Certainly Idaho should have been sent back to the FCS by now.  WSU fans should understand that this would not be forever, and attendance figures have to improve.  They should help support their school and bring a friend to the game next season.  Even if WSU is to remain in the Big Sky Conference, support of the football program could be better.

New WAC short list-Updated December 25, 2010

First, my apologies to the traditional all-black college, Texas Southern.  Although they would make a great addition to the WAC.  Of course, I would not be willing to break with years of tradition.  The "Black Ivy League" had a tremendous tradition.  Here is the current WAC short-list according to a variety of sources.

Schools with Football

1. California Polytechnic University at San Louis Obisbo
         
Needs to expand football stadium to above 15,000.  Plans to join WAC were in the works before the conference expansion/realignment mania began.  Already has enough sports to move to the FBS.  Desire to move up may not be a strong with Fresno State joining the Mountain West.  Top-flight academics and are the only Division I football program on the Central Coast of California.

2. Weber State University, Ogden, Utah

Has the facilities in place and is upgrading the football stadium and track.  Top-flight basketball program.  Community is growing.  Needs to add 1 sport.  Proximity to Utah State University makes them a natural rival and will help with travel budgets.  Competition for local recruits could lead to the current WAC school to block the move, especially if USU is invited to join the MWC and no longer sees a need to preserve the WAC.

3. Portland State University (Oregon)

Has the facilities in place and is in a market that would be great for the WAC.  They share their football stadium with the Portland Timbers of the MLS.  Their basketball arena is small but they have use of the old Veterans Memorial Colosseum or Rose Garden Arena if needed.  Has cut several sports recently and would need to add them back to make the move to the FBS.

4. Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas

Recently restarted a football program.  Otherwise have strong community support and good facilities.  Proximity to Houston makes the market attractive. 

5. Stephen F. Austin University, Nacadoches, Texas

Needs to upgrade some facilities and add some sports.  Location in northeast Texas will help keep Louisiana Tech in the WAC.

6. Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas

Proximity to Houston would make them a good addition to the WAC, but also need to upgrade some facilities and add some sports.

7. California State University at Sacramento

Currently affiliated with the WAC in baseball, but are currently looking to leave football program in the Big Sky and join other sports to the Big West. They may no longer be interested in the WAC.

Schools without Football

1. Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah*

They are in the middle of the WAC footprint and have some nice facilities.  They are about 5 miles down the road from BYU.  They are a relatively new college with a small alumni base.

2. University of Texas at Arlington*

Dropped football in the mid 1980s, and studied bringing it back.  There is a lot of competition for fans in the Dallas metro.

3. California State University at Bakersfield*

Recently move up from Division II where they were a powerhouse.


Not on the list:

Northern Arizona University, probably due to proximity.
Already turned down an opportunity to join the WAC
1. North Texas--prefers to remain in the Sun Belt or wait for an opportunity to join C-USA
2. Montana--Economic circumstances and loss of traditional rivalry with Montana State.  May reconsider if the WAC decides to consider Montana State
3. University of California at Davis--Economic, needs to expand football stadium.  Recently completed a new 10,000 seat stadium but it was over budget.

Basketball Report for 13 December

Mountain West Conference:
San Diego State has just cracked the top 10 for the first time in history.  Looking better than the Michael Cage days.  Steve Fisher has redeemed his career by taking this program from obscurity to the level they are at today.  The future is bright in Aztecville.

Game of the Week: UNLV 77 Boise State 72

Player of the Week: BYU G Jimmer Ferdette

Power Rankings:
1. San Diego State
2. BYU
3. UNLV
4. New Mexico
5. Utah
6. Colorado State
7. Air Force
8. TCU
9. Wyoming

WAC
The WAC rebounded from a tough weekend last week to getting some much needed numbers in the W column.  Adrian Oliver is really looking sharp for the Aztecs.

Game of the Week: Fresno State 74 San Diego 70
Player of the Week: San Jose State G Adrian Oliver

Power Rankings:
1. Utah State
2. Boise State
3. Hawaii
4. San Jose State
5. Louisiana Tech
6. Idaho
7. Fresno State
8. New Mexico State
9. Nevada


Big Sky Conference
Do you remember the last time two teams combined for 180+ points in regulation?  The only way to accomplish this feat is to shoot the lights out.  PSU and CSUF gave us the game of the year so far.

Game of the Week: Portland State 93 CS Fullerton 89
Player of the Week: Weber State G Damian Lillard

Power Rankings:
1. Weber State
2. Portland State
3. Northern Arizona
4. Montana
5. Northern Colorado
6. Montana State
7. Idaho State
8. Sacramento State
9. Eastern Washington

Does the loss of Hawaii Actually Help the WAC?

There is one silver lining for the WAC and the loss to Hawaii.  And that comes from the enormous travel costs of visiting the islands every season.  Football is one sport, but that  is only every other season.  All the other sports have to travel to Hawaii every single year.  That can cost between 2000 and 4000 per trip depending on how many people are making the trip.  Sure, the conference can make travel arrangements and qualify for discounts for frequent travel, but there is only so much of that.  Think about how much it costs the Hawaii softball team to make the trip to Rushton, Louisiana.  Both Hawaii and the conference members were taking a bath and both will benefit to the tune of nearly 1 to 2 million per school.  The Big West is a better fit for Hawaii and the WAC may be better off without them...if the conference can stay together.

Now, where does the WAC go from here?  Well, they have also lost on the chance to add CS Bakersfield and Seattle, who reportedly are also joining the Big West.  But if the WAC is to survive, they need a plan, perhaps to focus on a region.  If the Big Sky is out, then how about moving toward Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.

There are, in fact, three additional Texas Schools that Could be a good fit for the WAC, all have enough or almost enough sports to jump to the FBS.  They also have large enough football stadiums.  Follow the links to their school's athletic sites.

Stephen F. Austin--Nacogdoches, TX (NE Texas)
Lamar--Beaumont, TX (Gulf Coast, East of Houston)
Texas Southern, who can use Reliant Stadium--Houston, TX


Here are a couple of other schools that may work as well, but have to add sports:

Northwestern State--Nachitoches, LA (I understand that Nacogoches and Nachitoches were brothers, and SFA and NWSU are rivals.  NWSU only sponsors 12 sports, however.)
Sam Houston State--Huntsville, TX (North of Houston)

Another note of interest.  Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State played at Reliant Stadium (Home of the Houston Texans of the NFL).  I can not find attendance figures for the game, but it was estimated to be "strong."

Cal Poly is still in the mix, as well as Portland State and Northern Arizona...if the WAC wants them.  Utah Valley would be good if they could add football.

The WAC may be withering on the vine, but it is not dead yet.  In the words of Huey Lewis, "The ol' boy may be barely breathin' but the heart...is still beatin.'"

It's Official...Hawaii will be in the MWC for football only

It has been made official by the Mountain West Conference, Hawaii will be a football-only member of the conference beginning in 2012.  It is expected that the Big West will get Hawaii's other sports.  Unclear if Utah State will be invited as well, but that appears to be coming later...as soon as January.  But the Aggies are in the mix should the MWC go to 12.  The Big West is also set to invite Seattle and CS Bakersfield.  The WAC will then lose a golden opportunity to solidify their basketball program.

Meanwhile, it appears that the WAC IS close to adding someone.  If Cal Poly can get the approval for a stadium expansion, which is all they need for the FBS jump, they will be invited to the WAC.  This was apparently in the works before this conference realignment craziness.  (Look at this search.  Notice the dates are late 2009 and early 2010.)  Cal Poly administration wants to make the move, the fans want it, but they have to figure out how to pay for it.  The stadium recently underwent some renovation.  (Note, here is one fan's vision for an expanded Alex G. Spanos Stadium, but it is not official.)

Sacramento State may be considering WAC membership as well, but the latest rumor is that they are seeking a similar arrangement with the Big Sky that Cal Poly and UC Davis have...football in the Big Sky and other sports in the Big West.  That would also terminate their current awkward relationship with the WAC, where their baseball programs reside.  If this is true, then it seems unlikely you will see Sac State in the WAC.

In the meantime, two schools with fans who want to see them add football would be a natural for the Big Sky Conference.  They are Utah Valley and Santa Clara.  UVU could be an all-sports participant in the BSC while SCU could be a football-only school and likely keep the rest of their sports in the WCC.  However, UVU may be a candidate for WAC expansion should they add football.  Here is a blog I wrote about UVU football in the spring.  The biggest problem for the Orem campus is there is no place to play right now.  But they could make it work with alterations to the baseball stadium.  There are some other stadium options as well.

BTW...Currently the San Jose Earthquakes (Major League Soccer) are using the Santa Clara football Stadium.

So, to keep you up to date on the latest rumors...

Hawaii...MWC in football, Big West in other sports (Official)
Seattle, CS Bakersfield...Big West (Appears likely)
Sacramento State...Big West (In negotiations with the Big Sky to keep football in the BSC and join their other sports to the Big West like Cal Poly and UC Davis)
Utah State, UTEP...MWC (Strong Rumor)
Cal Poly...WAC if they can find funds to expand stadium (Strong Rumor)
UVU...Looking to add football and join the WAC. (Rumor)
Santa Clara...Fans want to add football (Fact...but can it happen?)

Finally, the MVFC added South Dakota and is looking to keep things even.  They are considering my Alma Mater, Nebraska-Omaha, currently a DII school.

Check out the conference re-alignment matrix here.  It is regularly updated.

Basketball Report for December 6

Big Sky Conference:

Big win for Montana and the Big Sky Conference; taking care of UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.  What does it mean in the end?  Probably not that much.  This is UCLA's 4th loss of the early season, and the Bruins do not figure to be in anyone's brackets right now.  The Big Sky is still going to be a one-bid league.  But congratulations all around.

Game of the Week: Weber State 65 Seattle 61
Player of the Week: Montana G Will Cherry

Power Rankings
1. Weber State
2. Northern Arizona
3. Montana
4. Portland State
5. Montana State
6. Northern Colorado
7. Idaho State
8. Eastern Washington
9. Sacramento State

WAC

Saturday was not a good day for the WAC, all of the power schools in the conference lost big time to nationally ranked teams.  Look for positives where you can find them.  Here are a couple.

Game of the week: Louisiana Tech 69 SMU 64
Player of the week: New Mexico State G Troy Gillenwater

Power Rankings:
1. Utah State
2. Louisiana Tech
3. Boise State
4. San Jose State
5. Idaho
6. Hawaii
7. Fresno State
8. New Mexico State
9. Nevada

Mountain West Conference

The MWC is looking like an easy 3-bid and possible a 4-bid league right now.  The conference has 3 undefeated teams and there 8 teams with winning records in the early season.  I thought seriously about putting UNLV ahead of BYU in the rankings this week, but I changed my mind.  The Rebels have not played anyone yet, but BYU did win at Creighton.  UNLV will likely not be tested before conference play.  

Player of the Week: San Diego State F Kawhi Leonard
Game of the Week: Air Force 57 Evansville 56

Power Rankings:
1. San Diego State
2. BYU
3.UNLV
4. New Mexico
5. Utah
6. Colorado State
7. Air Force
8. TCU
9. Wyoming

MWC and WAC Bowls -- January 3.

I am updating this page as the bowls are played.  Since Eastern Washington is in the FCS championship game I've added them as well.

MWC:

New Mexico Bowl:

BYU 52 UTEP 24

You knew that the Cougars were ready to play on this one when JD Faslev had that monster punt return to set up BYU's first scoring drive.  Once BYU got a 24-3 lead, the game was never close, even though UTEP looked to make things interesting before halftime.

Lost in the shuffle:  BYU PK Mitch Payne became the leading scorer in BYU history with 7 XPM and 1 FG.

Offensive MVP: QB Jake Heaps
Defensive MVP: CB Andrew Rich

Independence Bowl:

Air Force 14 Georgia Tech 7

Air Force intercepted a Ga Tech pass late in the 4th quarter to preserve victory in a defensive battle that featured only a combined 607 total yards.  Georgia Tech completed only 5 passes.  Most were on that final drive. 

MVP: QB Tim Jefferson

Poinsettia Bowl

San Diego State 35 Navy 14

Ronnie Hillman has given the MWC a second freshman MVP with his four touchdown performance in the Poinsettia Bowl.  (Makes me wish for the Ty Detmer vs Marshall Faulk days.)  His 288 yards against Navy were his best to date.  He had 3 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving touchdown as the Aztecs cruise.

MVP: San Diego State RB Ronnie Hillman

Rose Bowl

TCU 21 Wisconsin 19

The Horned Frogs staved off overtime when Tank Carder swipped away Wisconsin's 2-point conversion attempt in the waning moments of the Rose Bowl.  I helped prove that TCU belongs with the Big Boys of college football and sealed the Big 10's winless New Year's Day.  That was not all that Carder did in Pasadena, he was the Badgers worst nightmare. 


MVP: DE Tank Carder

MWC vs WAC

Las Vegas Bowl

Boise State 26  Utah 3

The Boise State offense was not spectacular because it did not need to be.  The game was settled due to a combination of the Utes lackluster output vs the Boise State defense that was the difference.  BSU is a good as advertised this year, except for the kicking game in Reno.  These two powers could meet in next year's Las Vegas Bowl, but I think the Utes will learn from this experience and get something a little better.

MVP: Boise State RB Doug Martin


Other WAC:

Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii 35 Tulsa 62

This one was not a offensive as the experts predicted.  Tulsa's defense came through in the second half and Hawaii could not keep pace.  In the third quarter, Tulsa scored on three consecutive possessions and won by five scores.  Tulsa also forced 5 turnovers.


MVP: WR Damaris Johnson

Humanitarian Bowl

Northern Illinois 40 Fresno State 17

NIU pulled away from Fresno in the second half.  It was 40-10 in the 4th quarter before Colburn and Co. knew what hit them.  The Huskies win 11 games for the first time in school history.

MVP: QB Chandler Harnish

Lost in the Shuffle: The NIU defense held Robbie Rouse to 32 yards on 14 carries.  Well below is 5.5 yards per carry for the season.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

Nevada vs Boston College

Time for Colin Kaepernick and Via Taua to load the pistol one last time.  The opponent will be the Boston College Eagles from the ACC who had to win 5 straight at the end of the season to become bowl eligible.  They did it with defense.  BC's offense is nothing close to as spectacular as their defense.  They will have to hold this powerful Nevada offense to under 20 points to win.  Could happen, if Kaepernick gets a cold?  Wolfpack 35-10.

What the so-called experts say, "It's strength vs. strength in this one...Nevada's running attack vs. Boston College's run defense." -- College Football News


Predicted finishes
Mountain West 4-1 So far2-1
WAC 3-1 So far1-2

Big Sky Conference

FCS Championship Game

Delaware vs Eastern Washington

EWU is better down the stretch than just about anyone thought.  They were able to put up 41 points against Villanova in the semi-finals without star running back Taiwan Jones.  I have no word if he will be back for the championship game which will be held on January 7th.  The Eagles chances likely rest upon the effectiveness of the running game and need the junior for Antioch carrying the load on offense.  Delaware got to the finals by forcing 5 Georgia Southern turnovers.  Their offense was not spectacular in the semi-finals because they did not have to be.  This has been so all season.  In the final analysis, I am not sure I like EWU's chances with Taiwan Jones on crutches on the sidelines like he was against Villanova.  He will bring that extra dimension to the offense that EWU will need to win the game.  Right now, I am assuming that he will not play.

Delaware 24 Eastern Washington 17

New Word on MWC Expansion

New official word:

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Hawaii will be invited to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member this week.  It is unclear where Hawaii's other sports will affiliate, but signs are it will be the Big West Conference.  Utah State appears to be getting an invite if the MWC can get a 12th member, and that appears likely to be UTEP and not Tulsa as this blog previously reported.

Again, the next domino that appears to be falling after this will be where the C-USA goes to replace UTEP, if that is what happens with the MWC.  It could be Louisiana Tech, but it could also be a school from the Sun Belt Conference, like Middle Tennessee State or North Texas.  That seems to be the trio that C-USA is interested in at this point--based upon Twitter traffic.  If it is Louisiana Tech, then the WAC will be left with Idaho, New Mexico State, Texas State, UTSA and San Jose State in football.  Can that quintet hold the WAC together long enough to bring in four schools from the FBS or will the WAC fold at this point?

One final straw that could break this camel's back.  The scheduling agreement with BYU.  Going to Provo and taking advantage of BYU's ESPN agreement could be an economic boon that will keep the WAC going as a conference.  (USU and Hawaii have independent agreements with BYU.)  What if BYU joins the Big 12 in 2012?  Who do they partner with?  Boise State or Louisville.  Where would the MWC and Big East go for replacements?  Probably not the MAC.  Likely C-USA.  What about further expansion by the Big 12 to 14? 

The MWC will decide by the end of the year if it wants to remain at 10 or expand to 12.  Aggie fans may get an Christmas present, in that their strong basketball program may save them from another conference affiliation Hell.

IMHO--The WAC and Karl Benson played this conference expansion game all wrong.  He was not thinking about survival, he was thinking about getting bigger and better when those options were not realistic.  Why the "BYU-Project"?  Why only consider Montana and not some of their Big Sky rivals and forget about markets like Portland, Sacramento, California's Central Coast and the state of Arizona?  Why go for Cal-Davis and not consider Sacramento State, when the later is the one with the FBS-ready facilities?  Why not keep a footprint in Utah?  It's not too late, if what is left of the WAC will think out of the box and become pro-active.  It will be at least a decade before the WAC becomes again what it is today, but that is better than the alternative.

The Big Sky conference went to 13 members, even though there are no conference championships at the FCS level...at least not now.  It was a proactive move.  They anticipate schools jumping to the FBS in the next decade.  It's time for the WAC to get proactive before there is no WAC left.

What I would do if I were Karl Benson?

1.  Invite 3 basketball only schools--Seattle, CS-Bakersfield and Utah Valley.
2.  Invite 4 Big Sky Schools, but on a time-line.  Get them into the WAC by 2015 and forget about 2012-14.  My choice would be 4 that already have the facilities or close to the facilities that they need and are close to the number of sports to make the move.  Cal Poly has to be the first choice, but they have to expand their football stadium.  Cal Poly already has 20 sports and are in the middle of a golden un-tapped market.  They are the only DI sports program on the Central Coast.  Then Montana, Montana State and Weber State.  Northern Arizona, Portland State and Sacramento State would be alternates if either of the first set of schools balk.
3.  Keep the BYU scheduling agreement as long as the Cougars are independent in football.
4.  After Cal-Poly expands their stadium, begin a new bowl game there.  Consider a new bowl in San Marcos, TX for that matter.  Get back on the map.
5.  Exposure, exposure, exposure.  Get on TV.  Get every advantage for recruiting you can get.

What if the FBS had a playoff like the FCS?

If there was a 20-team playoff in the Football Bowl Subdivision like the Football Championship Subdivision, the playoff brackets would like like this:

Seedings:

1. Auburn (SEC)
2. Oregon (PAC-10)
3. TCU (MWC)
4. Stanford (At-Large)
5. Wisconsin (Big 10)
6. Ohio State (At-Large)
7. Oklahoma (At-Large)
8. Arkansas (At-Large)
9. Michigan State (At-Large)
10. Boise State (WAC)
11. LSU (At-Large)
12. Missouri (At-Large)
13. Virginia Tech (ACC)
14. Oklahoma State (At-Large)
15. Alabama (At-Large)*
16. Nevada (At-Large)*
17. Connecticut (Big East)
18. Central Florida (C-USA)
19. Miami-OH (MAC)
20. Troy (Sun Belt)

Note: *Switched to avoid a second-round in-conference game.

Last 4 in: Alabama, Nevada, OK State and Missouri
First 4 out: Texas A&M, Nebraska, Utah, South Carolina

First Round Games:
Game 1: Troy                 at Virginia Tech
Game 2: Miami-OH       at Oklahoma State
Game 3: Central Florida at Alabama
Game 4: Connecticut      at Nevada

Second Round Games:
Game 4 Winner    at 1. Auburn
9. Michigan State at 8. Arkansas

12. Missouri      at 5. Wisconsin

Game 1 Winner at 4. Stanford

11. LSU            at 6. Ohio State
Game 2 Winner at 3. TCU

10. Boise State  at 7.Oklahoma
Game 3 Winner at 2. Oregon

Notes: FCS rules state that teams from the same conference can not meet in the first or second round.

Big XII Expansion Coming Soon?

According to KSL's Jeremiah Jensen, the Big XII has changed their mind about remaining at 10.  This is apparently from Nebraska's Bo Pelini.  Take that for what is is worth.  Now that it has arrived, no one wants to see the Big 12 title game go away.

Who does BYU join with?

MWC Expanion Notes

As Utah State and Hawaii pressed for inclusion in the Mountain West Conference, a new detail was revealed today that shows that Craig Thompson is either a big jerk or can learn from his mistakes.  He offered an unbalanced revenue share to TCU to keep them from joining the Big East.

MWC Bowls...WAC Bowls

Note: This page will be updated when we know who the opponents will be.

MWC Bowls

All of the MWC bids have been accepted, except for TCU

TCU--BCS, as Oregon goes to the National Championship game, TCU takes their place in the Rose Bowl vs Wisconsin, the highest ranked of the three Big 10 schools tied for first.

Utah--Las Vegas bowl vs Boise State (Utah has accepted the invitation)

Interesting game if this pans out.  At least Kyle's boys might wake up before the start of the 4th quarter for this one.  Although, not as exciting of a game as it seemed a couple of days ago as the Utes will be without QB Jordan Wynn.

San Diego State--Poinsettia bowl vs. Navy (Both teams have accepted the invite)

Navy has the offense to make this a shootout.  Interesting to see if the defenses show up.

Air Force--Independence Bowl vs Clemson or Georgia Tech (Air Force have accepted the invitation.)

No comment until I see who them AF boys get to play.

BYU--New Mexico Bowl vs UTEP (Both Teams have accepted the invite)

I knew that Mike Price would not pass on the opportunity to play BYU.  Interesting that the two most hated New Mexico opponents (two of the three most hated, except maybe the NM State Aggies are more pitied than hated)  are going to be playing each other in Albuquerque this year.  This should bring out a big crowd.  It may even bring out a couple of curious New Mexico fans.  The Miners will have to contain running backs JJ DiLuigi and Juice Quezada.  BYU will have to do something on offense.  Unusual for a Mike Price coached team, like this one, to hang their hat on defense.  This one does.  But when this defense breaks, boy does it ever break.

WAC Bowls
The picture is a bet clearer with UTEP accepting the invitation to go to the New Mexico Bowl. If eligible, that is if they can beat Nevada...like the Wolfpack will lie down for them...La Tech will go the the New Orleans Bowl.

Boise State...Las Vegas vs Utah
Nevada...Kraft Fight Hunger vs Georgia Tech

Kaepernick fires the pistol one last time for the Wolfpack.  We will see if those boys from Georgia can handle it.

Fresno State...Humanitarian vs Toledo, Temple or Ohio

Robbie Rouse needs to have a good game because if he does not run, the Bulldogs do not win.  Throwing out the Cal Poly game (FCS opponent where Rouse got 70 yards by halftime and then was rested), the Bulldogs are 6-1 when he gets over 100 yards.  0-3 when he does not. (They have a final game against Illinois on Saturday.)

Hawaii...Hawaii bowl vs Tulsa (Hawaii has accepted the invite)

Hawaii will be unbeatable IF they get a crowd to show up!

Louisiana Tech...if eligible, will go to the New Orleans Bowl.  But they have to beat Nevada on Saturday.

New Mexico Bowl

As many of you know by now, it will be BYU vs UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl.  It will be a pair of .500 teams that aren't liked that much in Albuquerque.  Should be fun.

Utes Accept Vegas Bowl Bid

Listening to Kall700.  It is official that the Utes are going to the Las Vegas bowl.  Good luck to the Utes!

Forde's Comments about BYU--Link corrected

I like what ESPN's Pat Forde says about BYU here.

DOY: BYU (31). The Cougars were uncharacteristically inept offensively, scoring 16 or fewer points in all six defeats. Their lone victory over a team with a winning record (San Diego State) was abetted by a bad call and replay review that came with a screaming conflict of interest -- a BYU employee was part of the replay crew, necessitating a midseason MWC rule change. If it weren't for the league's soft underbelly, the Cougars might have had their worst record in decades.

Note to Jake Heaps and the Cougars.  The first game of the 2011 season is the New Mexico Bowl.  And remember, BYU is where their first two opponents of 2011 are not this December.  Bowling.  Ole Miss and Texas are home this holiday season.  Whether BYU gets Nevada, Fresno State or Louisiana Tech, they need to make the most of the opportunity.

Let me also say that bad officiating is part of the game.  I've been a baseball umpire and a soccer referee, and I have made mistakes.  It is unfortunate when they have an impact on the final outcome of the game.  But as an athlete, you have to learn to take the good with the bad.  It happens outside of athletics as well.

The Real Target of the Big East.

TCU is not the first choice of the Big East, who may expand to 20 basketball schools*.  Their holy grail is Kansas.  And that still may happen, which is why the Big 12 may add the BYU Cougars sooner rather than later.  The Big 12 could use the BYU deal as a bargaining chip with ESPN, and of course the Big 12 would love to schedule what is left of the WAC in football...they are big on eating creme puffs.  But they are not all that big on taking Sundays off.  I am also not so certain that Texas would want to negotiate with ESPN just to add a respectable football power to their conference, but this could work to everyone's advantage in the long run.  BYU could also provide something to help keep Kansas in the Big 12...a little help and experience in creating the Jayhawk network.

Like it or not, the Big 12 needs BYU to survive.  Otherwise you will see Kansas, Missouri and Iowa State in the Big East; Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the SEC with Kansas State, Texas Tech and Baylor left to join the WAC...or something crazy like that.

*BTW--that is 20 basketball schools and 13 football schools.  Notre Dame is independent in football.  Georgetown competes at the FCS level.  Seaton Hall, St. Johns, Providence, DePaul and Marquette do not have football teams.

Boise State has another reason to whine?

I am now seeing tweets that say that Boise State is complaining that Utah State.  Boise state fans are complaining, that is.  Perhaps they are still in denial.

First, two shanked field goals cost them a chance at a BCS bowl game.  Then TCU dissents from the Mountain West.  And the worst thing that can happen is that they end up in the same conference as Utah State in 2012?

How about a slight dose of reality for Boise State football.  Utah State is in basketball what Boise State is in football.  Boise state is in basketball what Utah State is in football.  The programs are complimentary.  Sure, all of the talk in on football, but the conference that hangs its had on storied programs like New Mexico, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming is about to lose two of the more storied of these programs, BYU and Utah.  Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State just do not compare.  The MWC is about to go from being a 3-4 NCAA bid conference to a 2-3 bid conference...and on the verge of being replaced as the best non-BCS basketball conference by the WCC.  Can Bronco basketball do for the MWC what Cougar basketball and Ute basketball has done?  I will leave you to answer that yourselves.

There is one program in the west that measures up and also has a football team.  That is right, Boise State fans, it is the Utah State Aggies.  If you want to know what college basketball should be and can be, spend a Saturday night at the Spectrum in Logan.  You will not find a better atmosphere for basketball.  It even makes places like Albuquerque and Las Vegas look tame.  Now do you understand why the MWC wants to talk to Utah State?

There is more to college athletics than football!

College basketball power rankings

Big Sky Conference:
Player of the Week: Northern Colorado G Devon Beitzel
Game of the Week: Weber State 82 Drake 81

Power Rankings:
Weber State
Montana State
Northern Arizona
Montana
Portland State
Northern Colorado
Eastern Washington
Sacramento State

WAC
Player of the Week: Boise State F Robert Arnold
Game of the Week: Utah State 56 Northeastern 54

Power Rankings:
Utah State
Hawaii
Boise State
San Jose State
Louisiana Tech
New Mexico State
Idaho
Fresno State
Nevada

Mountain West
Game of the Week: BYU 77 South Florida 75
Player of the Week: BYU G Jimmer Ferdette

Power Rankings:
San Diego State
BYU
UNLV
New Mexico
TCU
Utah
Colorado State
Wyoming
Air Force

Another sign that the WAC may be finished

You know that scheduling agreement between BYU and the WAC?  BYU's independence may only last a season or two as rumors are now flying that BYU and the Big 12 have something brewing...or at least there is a lot of pressure on the Big 12 to consider it.  Especially now that the Big East got TCU.  It will also include Louisville or perhaps Boise State as the other team.  Such an agreement would need to allow BYU to keep it's TV agreement with ESPN and Notre Dame.  These rumors are flying faster than TCU to the Big East was flying a couple of weeks ago.

Perhaps BYU will only join the Big 12 in football and keep their other sports in the WCC, where someone like Creighton will take their place in other sports.  Just my thoughts, however.  It could be a way around the Sunday issue, a major sticking point between BYU and the Big 12.

IMHO...BYU probably will not join the Big 12 until 2013 as the 2012 schedule is almost done as well.

BTW...this comes from an Oklahoma writer, not some pie-in-the-sky blogger like yours truly.

BYU to the Big 12 is likely just a matter of time and working out the details, like weather it is Louisville, Boise State, Memphis or Air Force that joins with them.

Back to the WAC.  Without any marquee programs, the WAC needs the BYU agreement and ESPN games for exposure and money.  With BYU in the Big 12, something else they need is gone.

Comments are welcome.

Utah State and Hawaii to MWC...Is the WAC is finished?

Seeing tweets that Utah State and Hawaii are going to be invited to the MWC, plus Tulsa to give the MWC 12 football teams and a Conference Championship Game.  Hawaii will be football only.

La-Tech to the C-USA to replace Tulsa will be the next domino.

And if it goes down like this then the WAC is finished as a football conference.  They will be left with San Jose State, Idaho, New Mexico State, Texas State and UTSA.  Even Lloyd Christmas can count the number of bowls this quintet has been two in the last decade.  (That is Jim Carey's character in Dumb and Dumber and the number is 1.).

As I blogged a couple of days ago, the WAC may not yet be finished, because they also have Denver in Basketball and can add Seattle, Cal State Bakersfield and Utah Valley esily and still be a Basketball conference.  But will need to bow out as a football conference for a couple of years.  Sure, these five can remain a conference for scheduling sake for a couple of years.  But say goodbye to any automatic bowl games.  They need to give Montana, Cal Poly and a few others a chance to be ready for the FCS to FBS jump.  Perhaps by 2015, they can be a 9 - 12 member football conference again.

Another option is to play the ESPN card and beg Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada to come back.  Without TCU, there is little chance now that the MWC will get AQ status in the BCS because they only have the success of Boise State to hang their hat on.  With how bad the Big East has been, it was looking like a sure thing with BSU, BYU, TCU and Utah.  But 3/4 of that equation is gone.  And now the MWC is really the old WAC with a lousy TV contract.  May Karl Benson buries the hatchet.  Who knows, they (BSU, FSU and Nevada) could bring some of their new friends like San Diego State, UNLV and Colorado State to come back with them.  It could happen, it has been a crazy fall and it's not over yet.

Official Word

TCU is leaving the MWC for the Big East in 2012.  That is for all sports, not just football.

Next domino is likely Hawaii.  Expect an announcement soon.

Southern Utah 2011 Schedule -- Official

Official!  Yes!  Good not to have any DII, DI transitional or DIII opponents.  Bad that there are only 4 home games.  Perhaps there is still time to change the Weber State game to a neutral site like Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.  (Think about it. It would be cool.)  Because it is a bad idea to have homecoming on General Conference Weekend, I list UTSA as the probable HC opponent.  But that has not been made official.  SUU could have a late homecoming against UC Davis.

S3 @South Dakota State
S10 Sacramento State
S17 Texas San Antonio (Probably Homecoming)
S24 @UNLV
O1 North Dakota
O8 @South Dakota
O15 @ Cal Poly
O22 @ Weber State
O29 UC Davis
N5 Open
N12 @Northern Iowa
N19 @Northern Arizona

Bowl Projections

The MWC projections seem solid at this point.

Mountain West Conference
Rose: TCU vs Wisconsin
Las Vegas: Utah vs Louisville
Poinsettia: San Diego State vs Navy
Independence: Air Force vs Clemson
New Mexico: BYU vs Fresno State

The MWC also has the Armed Forces Bowl, but the Army AD has indicated, according to a Greg Wrubbell tweet, that Army has already accepted the bid.

The WAC is harder to predict because there could/should be a three-way tie for first.  Hawaii is already committed to their bowl, however.  Nevada and Boise could switch bowls from this projection as it could mean a home game for BSU.  Fresno has been to the last two NM bowls, but has lost both.  Some tweets suggest that Nevada will get the NM bowl and Fresno will get the Humanitarian Bowl.

WAC:
Kraft Fight Hunger: Boise State vs Ga Tech
Hawaii: Hawaii vs Tulsa
New Mexico: BYU vs Fresno State
Humanitarian: Nevada vs Ohio

Utah 2011 Football schedule

We have known Utah's schedule for two weeks.  Here it is, in case you have missed it.

S1 Montana State
S10 @USC
S17 @BYU
S24 bye
O1 Washington
O8 Arizona State
O15 @ Pittsburgh
O22 @ California
O29 Oregon State
N5 @ Arizona
N12 UCLA
N19 @ Washington State
N26 Colorado

My impression is because they play on the road against USC and Arizona, they will be picked to finish 3rd in the PAC-12 south.  They could win either one of those games.  However, 10-2 or 9-3 is nothing to get worried about and may put the Utes in their first ever Holiday Bowl as the North will be much weaker.  They also did not get Oregon in 2011.  Welcome to the PAC-12.

Utah State 2011 Schedule? The Aggies need some home cookin'

Thank you to the USU reader who corrected me on this schedule.  The link is here.  The Aggies can still add a 13th game, but they had better win it!

In 2011 I believe that the WAC will still have 3 bowls.  The Kraft Fight Hunger, Poinsettia and Hawaii Bowls. Plus, the MWC is not going to fill six bowl slots + a possible BCS shot.

BTW, I have a good friend who graduated from USU and got a Masters at Auburn.  Believe me, he will be rooting for the Aggies.

S3 @ Auburn
S10 Weber State
S17 Open
S24 Colorado State
S30 (F) @ BYU
O8 Wyoming
O15 @ Hawaii*
O22 Louisiana Tech*
O29 @ Fresno State*
N5 @ New Mexico State*
N12 San Jose State*
N19 Nevada*
N26 @ Idaho*
D3 Open

*Not set, extrapolated from previous seasons.

Weber State 2011 Schedule--Official

S3 @ Wyoming
S10 @ Utah State
S17 Sacramento State
S24 @Northern Colorado
O1 @ Eastern Washington
O8 Open
O15 Idaho State (Probably Homecoming)
O22 Southern Utah
O29 @ Montana
N5 Montana State
N12 Northern Arizona
N19 @ Portland State

College Football Report 11/27/2010

Mountain West Conference

The BYU/Utah game was another classic.  For those who though that the Utes had a little help from the refs let me remind you that thrice BYU was held to field goals when they needed touchdowns.  Converting either one would have put the game out of reach.  In the end, the more experienced and better talented team won, this year.

Offensive Player of the Week: San Diego State RB Ronnie Hillman
Defensive team of the Week: Utah
Game of the Week: Utah 17 BYU 16

Power Rankings:
1. TCU
2. Utah
3. San Diego State
4. Air Force
5. BYU
6. UNLV
7. Colorado State
8. New Mexico
9. Wyoming

WAC

I went to bed last night at halftime of the Boise State/Nevada game.  What a fool I was.
Offensive Player of the Week: San Jose State QB Jordan La Secla
Defensive Team of the Week: Fresno State
Game of the Week: Nevada 34 Boise State 31

Power Rankings:
1. Nevada
2. Hawaii
3. Boise State
4. Fresno State
5. Louisiana Tech
6. Idaho
7. Utah State
8. New Mexico State
9. San Jose State

Big Sky Conference:

No Big Sky teams in action this week.  Both teams in the post season were fortunate enough to earn a first round bye and a second round home game.  The #4 Montana State Bobcats will host the Bison of North Dakota State at the freezer in Bozeman in next week's second round playoff game.  Meanwhile the #5 Eastern Washington Eagles will entertain the RedHawks of Southeast Missouri.  If both win, we will see a MSU/EWU rematch in the quarterfinals in Bozeman.  Hopefully, Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year Taiwan Jones will be healthy throughout.  He missed most of the game earlier this season with an injury.

New Motivation for BYU and Utah

The winner could get Notre Dame in the Las Vegas Bowl.  The loser could get Boise State in the New Mexico Bowl.  Things changed that quickly overnight.  Here is how the WAC bowls will likely work out now that Nevada beat Boise State

1. Kraft Fight Hunger--Nevada
2. Hawaii--Hawaii if eligible (Hawaii has already accepted the bid.)
3. New Mexico (Boise State)
4. Humanitarian (Fresno State)

It is possible that the WAC will work out a deal to let Boise State play at home in the Humanitarian Bowl and talk the New Mexico Bowl into taking Fresno State instead.

Assuming TCU beats New Mexico, (I know this is a big stretch) here is how the MWC bowls will work out.

1. Rose (TCU will sub for Oregon in the Rose Bowl if Oregon wins out, otherwise they play for the NC).
2. Las Vegas (BYU/Utah winner)
3. Poinsettia (San Diego State)
4. Independence (Air Force)
5. Armed Forces (SMU or Louisiana Tech)
6. New Mexico (BYU/Utah loser)

Now if BYU wins, they will have the tie-breaker over the Utes for second place, so today's game is for second place in the MWC and the Las Vegas Bowl.  The Poinsettia Bowl and so forth do not have to pick the next team.  Therefore, it is believed that the Poinsettia Bowl will pick San Diego State and the Independence bowl will pick Air Force.  The Armed Forces bowl will take SMU from C-USA as that conference should have more bowl eligible teams that it has bowls for and the game is being played at SMU's stadium this year because of the renovations at Amon G. Carter Stadium.  The MWC will not have enough teams to fill this commitment, so the Armed Forces bowl will bow out.  However, if Houston loses and Louisiana Tech wins...  That will leave the BYU/Utah loser to the New Mexico Bowl.

The new motivation for BYU and Utah is to avoid playing Boise State in a bowl game.

The WAC's Next Move

TCU seems bound to the Big East and Hawaii seems poised to take their place in football to keep the MWC at ten teams.  If this happens, what happens to the WAC?  Will they really be worse than the Sun Belt?  What is Karl Benson's next real move?

Step 1, Take you lumps.

Moving to the FBS from the FCS is not something that can happen suddenly.  If this scenario plays out, the WAC should play with seven football schools in 2012.  That means no automatic bowl invites, but the WAC should be able to pick a couple of automatic bowl invites in due time.  Boise and Hawaii take their bowls with them, anyway.  And no, they will not be worse than the Sun Belt, not by a long shot.  Without Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii there will be at least two move victories for Louisiana Tech, Idaho and Utah State.  This will move these three schools into bowl contention every season.

Step 2, Focus on Basketball.

Denver was admitted as a basketball only program.  Look into some others.  They could lure TCU's other sports programs.  There are some other non-football programs that could fit well with the WAC including Seattle, Utah Valley and Cal State Bakersfield.  They could even work out a deal with the Big Sky and allow someone like Weber State to join as a non-football program and leave the football 'Cats in the Big Sky with a plan to bring the Cats into full membership in two years (Basketball 2012, Football 2014).

Step 3, FCS programs.

About the only conference in the FCS that has programs in the football footprint of the WAC is the Big Sky Conference.

People look at Montana's rejection of the WAC as a diss against the WAC.  I do not see it that way.  It's more economic.  It costs money to move up.  There are additional scholarships for new sports and in some cases enlarged facilities.  Cal Davis was approached, but they only have a 10,000 seat stadium that was just finished--over time and over budget, like most government projects.  Do you think they could join the WAC in 2012?  More like 2015, and that would be optimistic.  When they said, "It's not you, it's me," they were being honest.  The WAC may be able to lure Montana if they also were will to consider some of their Big Sky Conference Rivals.  There are four others that could make the move, and if the WAC plays their cards right, they could end up with a solid conference again by the end of the decade.  Here, again, are some suggestions for Karl Benson and the WAC presidents.

Step 4
Exposure and recruiting.  Keep the scheduling agreement with BYU and stay on ESPN.  Find the next Boise State and get the kids to chose schools in your conference.

Expansion Plan

2012--Texas State and USTA as full members; Denver, Seattle as non-football members.  Montana, Montana State, Weber State, Eastern Washington, and Cal Poly as non-football members for two or three years.

2014-2015-Add the five Big Sky Conference members as full members and split into divisions.  This puts the conference at 12 football members and 14 in basketball.

Sports to add:
Montana (2 Women's teams at a minimum): Swimming and Diving (M/W), Baseball and Gymnastics
Montana State (2 teams-both sexes): Swimming and Diving (M/W)
Weber State (2 teams-both sexes): Swimming and Diving (M/W) and butts in the seats at football games.
Eastern Washington (3 teams) : Swimming and Diving (M/W), Gymnastics and also an expanded stadium
Cal Poly (None needed--already have 20 teams).  Only needs an expanded stadium.

FCS Playoffs

For those looking for a link to the FCS playoffs, here it is.

I enjoyed trying to project the process this year.  It was fun.  A couple of lessons learned.  First, the committee does consider geography.  Second, the MEAC is stronger than I thought it was, but we will see how far they get.

My pick for the championship?

Appalachian State over William and Mary

Good luck to everyone.

One last thought...we have a playoff and yoooooowhoooo don't!

College Basketball Review...11/23

I like to post this on Monday, but got a little busy this week.

Mountain West Conference
Game of the Week: UNLV 68 Wisconsin 65
Player of the Week: Utah G Will Clyburn 33 points and 9 rebounds vs Weber State

Power Rankings:
1. San Diego State
2. BYU
3. UNLV
4. New Mexico
5. Utah
6. Wyoming
7. Colorado State
8. TCU
9. Air Force


WAC
Game of the Week: Pepperdine 76 Nevada 75
Player of the Week: Louisiana Tech F Olu Ashaolu

Power Rankings
1. Utah State
2. Louisiana Tech
3. San Jose State
4. Boise State
5. Hawaii
6. Fresno State
7. Nevada
8. New Mexico State
9. Idaho

Big Sky Conference:
Game of the Week: Portland State 102 Lamar 98
Player of the Week: Weber State G Damien Lillard Averaged 27 points for the week
Comments...can't put a 1-2 team on top.

Power Rankings:
1. Montana
2. Weber State
3. Montana State
4. Northern Arizona
5. Northern Colorado
6. Portland State
7. Idaho State
8. Eastern Washington
9. Sacramento State

November 21 Power Rankings...the final BSC power ranking.

Mountain West Conference:

Game of the Week: Utah 38 San Deigo State 34
Offensive Player of the Week: Utah QB Jordan Wynn
Defensive Team Performance of the Week: Wyoming


Sure, Ryan Lindley had a good game too, but Jordan Wynn did not break down and throw interceptions when the game was on the line.  It was a fun game to watch and Utah is set for the Las Vegas Bowl regardless of the outcome against BYU.  In fact, the MWC bowl situation should now be clear, except we do not know for certain that TCU will get a BCS bowl.



Power Rankings:
1. TCU (Rose)
2. Utah (Las Vegas)
3. Air Force (Independence)
4. BYU (New Mexico)
5. San Deigo State (Poinsettia)
6. UNLV
7. Wyoming
8. New Mexico
9. Colorado State

WAC
Game of the Week: None
Offensive Player of the Week: Boise State QB Kellen Moore
Defensive Team Performance of the Week: Idaho

Boise State should leapfrog TCU this week.  But the Frogs have done all that they can.

Power Rankings:
1. Boise State (NC-Game)
2. Nevada (Kraft Fight Hunger)
3. Hawaii (Hawaii)
4. Fresno State (Humanitarian)
5. Idaho (New Mexico)
6. Louisiana Tech
7. Utah State
8. New Mexico State
9. San Jose State

Big Sky Conference
Game of the Week: Montana State 21 Montana 16
Offensive Player of the Week: NAU RB Zach Bauman
Defensive Team Performance of the Week: Montana State

Congratualtions to the Big Sky Conference Co-Champions Montana State and Eastern Washington and to Montana State for getting the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs.

Good Luck to former Idaho State coach Jon Zamberlin in his future endeavors.

Final Power Rankings:
1. Eastern Washington
2. Montana State
3. Montana
4. Weber State
5. Northern Arizona
6. Sacramento State
7. Northern Colorado
8. Portland State
9. Idaho State

Latest FCS Playoff Picture--My final guess

By this time tomorrow, the bids will be issued.  Here is my guess.

By Conference:

Big Sky:
Automatic Bid: Montana State
Also Eligible: Eastern Washington and Montana
Note: Eastern Washington will have the higher seed because they were without Taiwan Jones when they lost to Montana State.

Big South
Automatic Bid: Liberty


CAA:
Automatic Bid: Delaware
Also Eligible: New Hampshire, Villanova, and William and Mary

Great West:
No Automatic Bid
Eligible: Cal Poly

Eligible Independents:
Old Dominion

MEAC:
Automatic Bid: Bethune-Cookman
Also Eligible: South Carolina State and Florida A&M

MVC:
Automatic Bid: Northern Iowa
Also Eligible: Western Illinois and North Dakota State

NEC:
Automatic Bid: Robert Morris
Also Eligible: Central Connecticut State and Duquesne

OVC:
Automatic Bid: SE Missouri
Also Eligible: Jacksonville State

Patriot:
Automatic Bid: Lehigh

Pioneer:
No Automatic Bid
Eligible: Dayton, Jacksonville, and Drake

SoCon:
Automatic Bid: Appalachian State
Also Eligible: Wofford and Georgia Southern

Southland:
Automatic Bid: Stephen F. Austin

The eight teams that will be left out...Central Connecticut, Duquesne, Western Illinois, Dayton, Jacksonville, Drake, Georgia Southern, Noth Dakota State, South Carolina State, Florida A&M.

Last 4 in: Cal Poly, Montana, SE Missouri and Old Dominion
First 4 out: Western Illinois, Dayton, Georgia Southern and North Dakota State.

Seedings.

1. Delaware
2. William and Mary
3. Appalachian State
4. Eastern Washington
5. New Hampshire
6. Stephen F Austin
7. Montana State
8. Wofford
9. Villanova
10. Northern Iowa
11. Chattanooga
12. Robert Morris
13. Jacksonville State
14. Old Dominion
15. Montana
16. Cal Poly
17. SE Missouri
18. Lehigh
19. Liberty
20. Bethune-Cookman

First Round Games
Game 1: Bethune-Cookman at Jacksonville State
Game 2: Liberty at Old Dominion
Game 3: Lehigh at Montana
Game 4: SE Missouri at Cal Poly

Second Round Games:
Game 4 Winner at 1. Delaware
9. Villanova at 8. Wofford

12. Robert Morris at 5. New Hampshire
Game 1 Winner at 4. Eastern Washington

11. Chattanooga at 6. Stephen F. Austin
Game 2 Winner at 3. Appalachian State

10. Northern Iowa at 7. Montana State
Game 3 Winner at 2. William and Mary

It's desparation time for the WAC!

If you are following where the conference expansion carousel is spinning, you know that the MWC will lose the last of the Big Three as TCU is rumored to accept an invite to join the Big East for football.  The MWC has countered by inviting Hawaii as a football-only member.

This leaves that WAC with eight.  One of those schools is a non-football program and another will not play their first football game until this fall.  Of the seven remaining WAC football games, one program plays their first football games in 2011.

For Karl Benson, it has become a nightmare that he cannot wake up from.  After Hawaii, the next program to leave will be Utah State.  That is where it will likely end, I believe.

How desperate is the WAC now?  Will Montana join with Montana State?  What about Sacramento State, Portland State or even Weber State or Northern Arizona?  It is time for all of these options to be on the table.

Did you know?  Montana was once part of the PCC, a precursor to the PAC-12 and that Northern Arizona was part of the Border Conference whose members included Arizona and Arizona State as well as UTEP and New Mexico?

Hawaii leaving the WAC

Conference expansion mania is not over.  The MWC has made an offer to Hawaii to be a football-only member.  If the MWC is looking to get an championship game, then Craig Thompson has another card up his sleeve.  What could that card be?  Perhaps a football only membership to Memphis?  Maybe a full membership to SMU or Houston?  Is TCU really joining the Big East?

There is plenty of twitter traffic stating that an announcement from TCU and the Big East conference in is on the horizon.  TCU will be part of the Big East for football, but are still looking for a place to park the rest of their sports programs.  Will it be the Missouri Valley Conference?  Hawaii as a football only member seems to indicate that the MWC will allow TCU to keep the rest of it's programs there.  But I doubt it.

If this were the case, wouldn't the MWC have made that offer to BYU?  TCU's football program will be sorely missed.  And the loss of the 'Frogs will mean no BCS AQ for the MWC.  But Hawaii gives them a chance.  The reason to make the football-only offer to Hawaii is to help them avoid the expense of travel.  The Big West for Hawaii will save them thousands on travel.  The MWC does not have the revenue to help Hawaii with their other sports.  If they did, BYU would not have left.

Now, where does TCU park the rest of their sports?  The Missouri Valley seems logical.  It is not like TCU is a basketball power, but the MVC would likely welcome a chance to get back to Texas.  We can hearken back to the olden days of the Valley, when their membership included Houston, North Texas and West Texas A & M.  Other possibilities for TCU's other sports are Conference USA, Sun Belt and Southland conferences.

Without Hawaii, the WAC may become the weakest conference in the Bowl Subdivision.  The seven remaining members have been to just two bowl games in the last ten seasons.  One of those 7, will be playing their first football games this next fall.

Winners:
Big East:
Adds TCU and Villanova to bring the football membership to 10.

TCU:
Joins Big East for football but needs a place for it's other sports programs to reside.  Could be the Missouri Valley Conference.  Other possibilities are Sun Belt, Southland and C-USA.

Big West Conference:
Gains Hawaii in non-football sports.

Hawaii:
Gets out of WAC and puts non-football programs in better, less costly, travel arrangements.

Losers:
MWC: Loses it's Big 3, it's shot an AQ status for the BCS and takes on the better programs in the WAC to remain the best non-BCS conference.

WAC:
Becoming the worst FBS conference that almost non one wants to join.  What do they do now?

Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech...remain on sinking ship without a life boat.

Texas State and UTSA...move does not look so grand now.

Not looking so dumb any longer:
Montana

FCS Playoff Picture Part II

Six teams have already punched their ticket for the FCS Playoffs.  They are Delaware (CAA), Appalachian State (SoCon), Northern Iowa (MVC), Robert Morris (NEC), Lehigh (Patriot) and Bethune-Cookman (MEAC).  Where they are seeded is another story.  There is a lot to settle this coming weekend.  Here is how things would play out of this were to go down this week.

Some of my at-large selections, however, will go down this weekend because being mentioned in this blog means that they are cursed.  Other weird things could happen.  Jacksonville State loses and gives the Ohio Valley crown to SE Missouri.  Weber State winning in Lubbock which could give the Big Sky Conference five teams also boosting Montana and Sacramento State.

1.      Delaware**

2.      William and Mary

3.      Appalachian State **

4.      Eastern Washington*

5.      New Hampshire

6.      Stephen F Austin*

7.      Montana State

8.      Wofford

9.      U-Mass

10. Jacksonville State*

11.  Villanova

12.  Northern Iowa**

13.  Chattanooga

14.  Montana

15.  Sacramento State

16.  Georgia Southern

17.  Robert Morris**

18.  Lehigh**

19.  Liberty*

20.  Bethune-Cookman**

Last 4 in: Georgia Southern, Sacramento State, South Alabama, Chattanoog

First 4 out: Western Illinois, North Dakota State, Richmond, Weber State

Next 4 out: South Dakota State, McNeese State, SE Missouri, Cal-Poly

First Round Games
Game 1: Bethune-Cookman at Chattanooga
Game 2: Liberty at Montana
Game 3: Lehigh at Sacramento State
Game 4: Robert Morris at Georgia Southern

Second Round Games
Game 4 winner at 1. Delaware
9. U-Mass       at 8. Wofford

12. Northern Iowa at 5. New Hampshire
Game 1 winner      at 4. Eastern Washington

11. Villanova    at 6. Stephen F. Austin
Game 2 winner at 3. Appalachian State

10. Jacksonville State at 7. Montana State
Game 3 winner           at 2. William and Mary

FCS Playoff Picture...last week of Season--part 1.

This week, a conference-by-conference look at who is eligible and who still has a shot to make it.  All of the teams on the bubble are currently 6-5.

Big Sky Conference:
Automatic Bid:
None yet, Montana State and Eastern Washington are currently tied for the conference lead.  The Bobcats have the tie breaker but play at cross-state rival Montana while Eastern Washington is home to Idaho State.

Currently At-large eligible:
Montana State
Eastern Washington
Montana

On the bubble
Sacramento State (vs Cal-Davis)Weber State (vs Texas Tech)

Big South:
Automatic Bid:
None yet, Stony Brook and Liberty meet this Saturday and the winner will be the conference champion.

At-large eligible:
Liberty (vs Stony Brook)

On the bubble:
Stony Brook (vs Liberty)

CAA:
Automatic Bid: Delaware

At-Large Eligible:
William and Mary

On the Bubble:
New Hampshire (vs Towson)
U-Mass (vs Rhode Island)
Villanova (vs Delaware)
Richmond (vs William and Mary)

Missouri Valley:
Automatic Bid: Northern Iowa

At-large Eligible:
North Dakota State

On the Bubble:
Western Illinois (vs. Northern Iowa)
Indiana State (vs. Southern Illinois)

Great West:
Does not have an automatic bid.  Southern Utah is the champion, but does not qualify for an at-large bid as they finished their season 6-5.

At large eligible:
Cal Poly

On the Bubble:
None

At-large eligible Indepenents:
Old Dominion


MEAC
Automatic Bid: Bethune-Cookman

At-large Eligible:
South Carolina State
Florida A&M

On the Bubble:
None

NEC
Automatic Bid: Robert Morris

At-large eligible:
Central Connecticut
Bryant

On the Bubble:
Duquesne

OVC:
Automatic Bid: None yet, Jacksonville State will clinch the championship if they defeat Tennessee Tech this Saturday.  Otherwise, the championship will go to Southeast Missouri.

At-large eligible:
Jacksonville State
Southeast Missouri

On the Bubble:
None

Patriot:
Automatic Bid: Lehigh

At-large Eligible:
None

On the Bubble:
Colgate (vs Fordham)

Pioneer League:
Automatic Bid: None, the Pioneer Conference does not get an automatic bid.

At-large Eligible:
Jacksonville
Dayton
Drake

On the Bubble:
None

SoCon:
Automatic Bid: Appalachian State

At-large Eligible:
Wofford

On the Bubble:
Chattanooga (vs Wofford)
Georgia Southern (vs Furman)

Southland:
Automatic Bid: None yet, but Stephen F. Austin has the tie breaker over McNeese State.  The Lumberjacks play arch-rival Northwestern State while McNeese plays Central Arkansas.

At-large Eligible:
Stephen F. Austin
McNeese State

Publish Post

On the Bubble:
Central Arkansas (vs. McNeese State)

College Basketball Power Rankings 11/15

Early season games do not usually offer a lot to get excited about.  It will get better.  

WAC
Game of the Week: San Jose State 67 Eastern Washington 60
Player of the Week: Utah State G Brockieth Pane, 23 pts vs Weber State

Power Rankings:
1. Utah State
2. Nevada
3. New Mexico State
4. Louisiana Tech
5. Boise State
6. Fresno State
7. Idaho
8. San Jose State
9. Hawaii

Mountain West
Game of the Week: New Mexico 63 Detroit 54
Player of the Week: BYU G Jimmer Ferdette 24 pts 8 reb vs Fresno State

Power Rankings:

1. San Diego State
2. BYU
3. UNLV
4. New Mexico
5. Utah
6. Wyoming
7. Colorado State
8. TCU
9. Air Force

Big Sky Conference
Game of the Week: Creighton 74 Northern Arizona 70
Player of the Week: Weber State G Damien Lillard 28 Points vs Utah State

Power Rankings:

1. Weber State
2. Montana
3. Northern Arizona
4. Northern Colorado
5. Montana State
6. Portland Sate
7. Idaho State
8. Eastern Washington
9. Sacramento State

Football Power Rankings for November 14.

Mountain West Conference:

The Aztecs nearly pull off the upset in Forth Worth.  That may not be the biggest story of the week.  How about Utah's late season swoon or BYU's resurgence.  In San Diego on Saturday we will find out who has the post TCU hangover.

Offensive Players of the Week: BYU QB Jake Heaps and SDSU WR Vincent Brown
Defensive Team of the Week: BYU
Game of the Week: TCU 40 San Deigo State 35

Power Rankings:
1. TCU
2. San Diego State
3. Utah
4. Air Force
5. BYU
6. UNLV
7. Colorado State
8. New Mexico
9. Wyoming

WAC

There were some exciting finishes in the WAC this week.  Utah State and Nevada both came out on top of a couple of back and forth games.  Fresno's Rouse had a phenomenal game in a losing effort. 

Offensive Player of the Week: Fresno State RB Robbie Rouse
Defensive Team of the Week: Boise State
Game of the Week: Nevada 35 Fresno State 34

Power Rankings:
1. Boise State
2. Nevada
3. Hawaii
4. Fresno State
5. Louisiana Tech
6. Idaho
7. Utah State
8. New Mexico State
9. San Jose State

Big Sky Conference

The Big Sky conference witnessed a pair of teams coming from more than two scores behind to win games.  Cory McCaffrey, the bullet in PSU's pistol, had another huge game in a losing effort.  Northern Colorado finally won a close one, while Weber State came out on top of a tough one in Flagstaff.  With Eastern Washington and Montana winning, the Big Sky Conference has three teams eligible for at-large FCS playoff berths.  If Montana State wins in Missoula on Saturday, they will have the BSC automatic birth.  Weber State can become eligible if they can beat Texas Tech in Lubbock  Sacramento State becomes eligible with a win against cross-valley rival Cal-Davis.

Offensive Player of the Week: Portland State RB Cory McCaffrey
Defensive Team of the Week: Montana
Games of the Week: Weber State 27 Northern Arizona 26 and Northern Colorado 35 Portland State 30

Power Rankings:
1. Eastern Washington
2. Montana State
3. Montana
4. Weber State
5. Northern Arizona
6. Sacramento State
7. Northern Colorado
8. Portland State
9. Idaho State

BYU's Bowl...the Las Vegas Bowl.

BYU might not make the Las Vegas bowl for the 6th consecutive season this year, but twitter rumors are showing that the PAC-12 is not renewing their contract with the Las Vegas bowl after this season.  Instead the highest non-BCS MWC finisher will get to face a non-BCS, bowl eligible BYU. 

If rumors are true, you will see BYU and the Las Vegas bowl sign an agreement that will pit the Cougars, as long as they are bowl eligible but not in the BCS, against the MWC right where BYU has spent the last five post-seasons.

Should be fun!

Officially Official

The Western Athletic Conference officially welcomes Texas San Antonio, Texas State and Denver (Non-Football).  Beginning in 2012, that will be 8 schools for football and 9 for men's and women's basketball.

According to ESPN.com, there is also an open invitation to Montana should they decide to move to the FBS.  After reading Jim O'Day's comments in the Missoulian last week, that may not be in 2012 but sometime later.  The WAC's model is for 9 football schools and 10 schools in other sports.

Of course these new schools will not completely fill the hole left by Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada, right away but the silver lining for the WAC is that it will have a foothold in the fertile Texas recruiting grounds and will give the WAC presumable access to another bowl game at the new bigger Texas State Stadium in San Marcos.

The scheduling agreement with BYU will likely continue beyond 2012 and Cougar fans should expect to see Texas State and UTSA visit LaVell Edwards Stadium in the near future.

Is 13 a bad number for the Big Sky?

Well, South Dakota said no to the Big Sky Conference, and if Doug Fullerton and the rest of the conference presidents prefer an even number, there are not a lot of choices.  Montana will likely be a member of the Big Sky at least until 2014...which appears to be a smart mover for now...and splitting into two divisions can be problemsome when the two divisions have different numbers.  But there are not a lot of good choices remaining.

Inside the footprint of the Big Sky, there are only two Division I FCS program that are not/will not be part of the BSC.  They are North Dakota State University and the University of San Diego.  NDSU will likely remain in the Missouri Valley with the other Dakota schools.  And USD does not have scholarships for football and may not be able to compete with the Big Sky South and the likes of Cal Poly and Northern Arizona.  The Big Sky may now be in the same position as the WAC...looking to promote a Division II program.

Those who read this blog know that I would like to see Dixie State in the Big Sky.  Not that they are ready to be the next Boise State, but because the Saint George market would be good to add to the conference.  This would be a chance to get the fastest growing small city in the US into the BSC.  The Red Storm, however, would not be competitive for a number of years.  Another DII program that would be ready to move up soon is Central Washington, who has wins against some Big Sky schools in recent seasons and who this season gave conference leader Eastern Washington a run for their money.

Let me now make an argument, now that North Dakota is in the league, for my Alma Mater, UN-Omaha.  Sure, the Central Omaha program is plagued with playing in the shadow of their big brother program but they have good company in that regard in the Big Sky Conference--namely Portland State, Sacramento State, Weber State, Idaho State and Northern Arizona.  I can attest that they have quality facilities like Al F. Caniglia Field and have some fine academic programs as well.  All are quality for a DII program.  They have put players into the NFL.  Finally, believe it or not, they have community support and on most Saturdays most of the 9,000 stadium seats are filled.  They also boast a DI Hockey Program that plays downtown at the Qwest Center...the same Qwest Center that is home to Creighton's Basketball Program.

Truth is, there are not a lot of DII programs west of the Great Divide either.  Perhaps 13 is just a number to protect the conference against further expansion threats from the WAC.  But you never know where this will all end up.