BYU Arizona Series Announcement

In 2016, BYU and Arizona will play at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ.  This will be sponsored by the Fiesta Bowl Organizing Community.  No date has been announced.

BYU and Arizona will play a 3-game series.  The 2018 game will be played in Tucson.  The 2020 game will be played in Provo.  BYU has 5 games scheduled for the 2016 season.  2 of them are at neutral sites.  The Arizona game in Glendale, AZ and a game against West Virginia in Washington, DC on September 24.  BYU also has road games scheduled against Utah, Boise State and Cincinnati.  BYU has yet to schedule any home games for 2016.  Arizona has said that the 2016 game vs. BYU will count as a road game for them, but it is unclear if UAZ will wear their home uniforms for the game.

The 2014 schedule is nearly complete with 11 games scheduled.  There are 8 games on the schedule for 2015, including dates at Nebraska and Michigan.

2014 Schedule:

Thursday 08/28/14		at Connecticut Huskies Rentschler Field, East Hartford, CT	TBA	---
Saturday 09/06/14		at Texas Longhorns Darrell K. Royal - TX Mem. Stadium, Austin, TX	TBA	---
Saturday 09/13/14	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 09/20/14		Virginia Cavaliers LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 09/27/14		Houston Cougars LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Friday 10/03/14		Utah State Aggies LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 10/11/14	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 10/18/14		Nevada Wolf Pack LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 10/25/14		at Boise State Broncos Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID	TBA	---
Saturday 11/01/14		at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, TN	TBA	---
Saturday 11/08/14		Southern Miss Golden Eagles LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 11/15/14		UNLV Rebels LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 11/22/14	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 11/29/14	---	TBA	---	---

2015 Schedule, so far

Saturday 09/05/15		at Nebraska Cornhuskers Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE	TBA	---
Saturday 09/12/15		Boise State Broncos LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 09/19/15	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 09/26/15		at Michigan Wolverines Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI	TBA	---
Friday 10/02/15		Utah State Aggies LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 10/10/15	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 10/17/15		at Southern Miss Golden Eagles M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg, MS	TBA	---
Saturday 10/24/15		Cincinnati Bearcats LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 10/31/15		Connecticut Huskies LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT	TBA	---
Saturday 11/07/15	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 11/14/15		at UNLV Rebels Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV	TBA	---
Saturday 11/21/15	---	TBA	---	---
Saturday 11/28/15	---	TBA	---	---

2016 schedule, so far

• 09/10 - at Utah
• 09/24 - West Virginia (at Landover, MD)
• 10/15 - at Boise State
• 11/12 - at Cincinnati
• TBA - Arizona (at Glendale, AZ)

2017 schedule, so far

• 09/02 - Wisconsin
• 10/07 - Boise State
• TBA - at East Carolina

2018 schedule, so far

• 10/20 - at Boise State
• TBA - at Arizona
• TBA - East Carolina
• TBA - at Wisconsin

USU 2013 Schedule finally announced

Welcome to the Mountain West Conference, Aggie fans, and get used to waiting until mid-April before the final schedule is announced.  That is part of life in the MW.

The final schedule has a couple of plot twists in late September, that should be tough for first year coach Matt Wells to deal with.  But the end is nice an easy...probably.

The conference schedule puts a road game vs. San Jose State between a road trip to USC and the home game to BYU.  That is the pure classic definition of a trap game.  And then Boise State at home is the week afterwards. 

My advice to Aggie fans would be to not panic if the team starts out 3-4, that is probably the worst it could be.  The last 5 games shouldn't be all that challenging, it make BYU's independent schedule look more interesting.  The games against New Mexico, Hawaii, UNLV, Colorado State and Wyoming shouldn't be all that tough, and Aggie fans should make plans to go bowling somewhere warm in December.  10-2 at best, 8-4 at worst.

8/29--@ Utah
9/7--@ Air Force
9/14--Weber State
9/21--@USC
9/28--@San Jose State
10/4--BYU
10/12--Boise State
10/19--@New Mexico
10/26--Bye
11/2--Hawaii
11/9--@UNLV
11/16--Bye
11/23--Colorado State
11/30--Wyoming
12/7--MWC Championship game

How Long Will Idaho Stay in the Sun Belt Conference?

There are concerns about Idaho's tenure in the Sun Belt Conference.

Perhaps the biggest concern for Idaho in the Sun Belt is travel costs.  I once compared Idaho in the Sun Belt to Hawaii in the MWC.  That is not a fair comparison.  It is still nearly twice as expensive to travel from Fresno to Honolulu as it is to travel from New Orleans to Spokane, WA.  It is also not a fair comparison because Aloha Stadium seats about 3 times as many people as the Kibbie Dome.  At best, travel to Hawaii is a break-even proposition.  For Hawaii's MWC foes, you hope that the rivalry with Hawaii is enough to bring enough fans to the gate to break even on travel costs.  This could probably happen with a half-full Aloha Stadium.  I do not know what arrangements Idaho has with the Sun Belt, but a half-full Kibbie Dome will not cover those costs.

Lack of Rivalry should be another concern. Idaho's biggest rivals are Washington State, Boise State and Montana.  But the Vandals do not play these schools every season any longer.  The Biggest rival Idaho has left is that they will see every season is New Mexico State.  There is not enough proximity between Idaho and anyone else in the Sun Belt to really make an effective rivalry.

Truth is, Idaho is not really a good fit for the Sun Belt.  That should be no secret.  You do not think of November games in snow when you think of the Sun Belt Conference, the deep south.  An entire continent separates the University of Idaho from many of their new conference rivals.  Idaho was in the Sun Belt Conference as a football-only member once before.  But at that time, the farthest eastern reach of the conference was Western Kentucky, and the conference then also had North Texas and Utah State.  Travel to Idaho wasn't as big as an issue 10 years ago as it is today with Appalachian State, Georgia State and Georgia Southern in the fold.

The Sun Belt might be a bridge for Idaho until they can get into the Mountain West Conference.  But is Idaho to the MWC a reality?  It is a hope, but it is not really a reality.  If the MWC were to loose Boise State and other schools, would they really invite Idaho?  Who does the MWC want?  BYU, SMU, Tulsa, and Houston. Who would they have to settle for?  UTEP, and after UTEP, who?  Montana, because of their winning tradition is probably a better choice than Idaho, if they decide to move to the FBS.  But in reality, Montana does not bring a large TV market to the table.  There are more people in Western Montana than there are in the Palouse Valley, and you do not have another FBS university 15 miles to the west, like you have with Idaho and Washington State.

I've said it before, and I will say it again.  Idaho is less attractive to the MWC than Portland State, Cal Poly, UC Davis and Sacramento State if any of these schools desire to move up to the FBS.  Even though the MWC already has Fresno State, these are still more attractive markets and offer another road to California recruits for the MWC.  And if the MWC does lose Fresno State and San Diego State, these 4 schools are even more valuable to the MWC, because it keeps them on the map in the Golden State.

Sure, Idaho is an option.  But who is going to lobby for the Vandals?  Would Boise State really want Idaho in the MWC?  What if Boise State goes into the PAC-12 or Big 12?  Who would really be there to push for Idaho?  Does Nevada or Fresno State really care? 

Idaho fans should be very thankful that the Sun Belt has given the Vandals an FBS life boat.  However, the fans at many Sun Belt conference chat boards are not happy about the inclusion of Idaho.  It will be a tenacious relationship at best.  Hopefully, after a year or two, it will smooth out.

Idaho needs to make steps to ensure that that Sun Belt fans who travel to Moscow have a nice experience.  Moscow may not be the best place for people from the deep south to visit, especially in November.  Improvement of the Kibbie Dome is a must.  The weather may be of a shock to Georgia Southern fans who drive their RVs all the way to Moscow, many think that 40 degrees is cold.  Where in Northern Idaho, 40 degrees in November is proof of global warming.

Idaho must figure out how to make the Kibbie Dome and it's environs more hospitable.  If this does not happen, Idaho has not choice but to move football to the Big Sky Conference.  This can work if Idaho can make the commitment to improve their facilities and to make the environment as hospitable as possible.  Fans who make the trip will have traveled all the way across America. The trip must be worth the drive.

One more concern to mention.  Attendance.  Idaho has not met the 15,000 fans per game for several seasons.  The NCAA has never forced a school not meeting this threshold down to the FCS, but Idaho is a good candidate to be the first.  Their conference affiliation issue doesn't really help their cause.

How long will Idaho stay in the Sun Belt Conference remains to be seen.  It could be, due to the ever changing landscape of college athletics, that Idaho's stay is for a long time.  Some of those schools who will be in the Sun Belt Conference in 2014 will be in Conference-USA or somewhere else by the end of the decade.  Don't know who, but it's probably a given.  If Idaho is successful on the field of play and profitable for the the conference, and can put people in the seats they will certainly be there in 2020 and beyond.  Otherwise, they will not be around for very long.

***
An update to my Sun Belt expansion blog a couple of days ago.  Current rumor is that James Madison, Liberty and Lamar are among those being considered for Sun Belt expansion.  I am pleased to hear that Montana and Eastern Washington are not.  Again, it would make the travel problem worse to consider schools close to Idaho, unless you can form a Pacific Northwest division of the conference.  There are probably not enough colleges in Idaho's neighborhood for that, unless you take all of them, and that certainly can't be done.  No current Sun Belt fans are really warm on the idea of people near Idaho joining the party.  And if the Kibbie Dome is a problem, then Holt Arena (Idaho State) is a disaster.

Sun Belt Conference--What's Next.

First of all, I know that the Sun Belt Conference includes some non-football members.  But for this blog, let's forget about that.  Nothing that will be discussed will effect UT-Arlington and Arkansas Little Rock.

In 2015, the Sun Belt Conference will have 11 members.  And one of those members is way out in Moscow, Idaho.  This is about 1400 miles from their nearest fellow conference member.  They need to get to at least 12 and play a conference championship game.  Plus, breaking into divisions will help cut down on travel costs.  Breaking into divisions will mean that Georgia Southern travels to Idaho only once every 4 years.  That will be even better if the Conference expands to 14 members and reduce that necessity to once every 6 years.



But who should be added.  If you look at the big picture, you see how far out of the way Idaho is.  Should the Sun Belt add members to ease travel costs and distances.

Option 1.  Add Idaho's friends.



West Division
Eastern Washington (Football Only)
Idaho (Football Only)
Montana (Football Only)
Montana State (Football Only)
New Mexico State (Football Only)
Texas State
Arkansas State

East Division
Appalachian State
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
Louisiana Lafayette
Louisiana Monroe
Troy
South Alabama

Option 2 is to not worry about the outlier, and go with new conference members that are close to the footprint of the rest of the conference.




West Division

Idaho (Football Only)
Lamar
New Mexico State (Football Only)
Sam Houston State
Stephen F. Austin
Texas State
Arkansas State

East Division
Appalachian State
Georgia State
Georgia Southern
Louisiana Lafayette
Louisiana Monroe
Troy
South Alabama

In the second option, Idaho is to the Sun Belt as Hawaii is to the MWC.  You only have to worry about travel to Moscow for 4 games, and travel from Moscow for 4 games.  The second option is clear a better option for the Sun Belt and they should not give into the temptation to bring in Idaho's friends.  If you add schools near Idaho, then teams in that division would have more travel to the Northwest to take on teams near Idaho.  The better option is to continue to add programs in the footprint of the conference and only have the one team in the Northwest.