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.

Big Sky Expansion News...Update

Big Sky adds Southern Utah...and the University of North Dakota...It is official!

The Thunderbirds are a natural fit for the conference and some will argue that the Big Sky was foolish to choose Northern Colorado over SUU years ago.  They have two natural rivals in the BSC.  The first is in-state rival Weber State, nestled in the hub of Northern Utah.  In addition, they have a rivalry with their Painted Desert border buddy Northern Arizona.  It also adds another point to the Big Sky Compass, who can add Southern Utah to Eastern Washington, Northern Colorado, and Northern Arizona.  (mmm...too bad Western Washington dropped football.)

It is also official, as announced this afternoon, that North Dakota is also a member of the Big Sky Conference.  North Dakota will be a natural travel partner for Northern Colorado as both were once members of the same conference in Division II.  The Fighting Sioux have been a consistent growth program since moving up to the FCS in the last decade.  A move to the Big Sky Conference will give North Dakota the opportunity to have all of their sports programs in the same conference and to build other natural geographical rivalries with the neighboring state of Montana.

This will be official next season as the Great West Conference will no longer sponsor football.  As it now stands, the Big Sky will be at 13 programs for football and 11 full time institutions.  The details about how the divisions will divide will come later. 

Maybe a 14th program will come later this week, or maybe an existing program, namely Montana, will be lost to the WAC.  I have found nothing from a reliable source that confirms that Montana is WAC bound or is staying.  If you perform a twitter search you are likely to find just as much information on either camp.

However, let me speculate that with North Dakota on board, a north/south division seems more likely

North Division
Eastern Washington
Montana
Montana State
North Dakota
Northern Colorado
Portland State

South Division
Cal Davis
Cal Poly
Idaho State
Northern Arizona
Sacramento State
Southern Utah
Weber State

If Montana leaves, then Idaho State moves to the North.