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WYOBISONMAN
02-25-2004, 03:23 PM
From this article in the Forum it seems they are calling it the Great West....Compliments of WYOBISONMAN... ;D

Conference gives Team Makers a hook
By Jeff Kolpack *
jkolpack@forumcomm.com
The Forum - 02/25/2004

North Dakota State’s football program will officially flip a historic switch today. The Bison will join the Great West Football Conference, a seven-team league that will be unveiled at a news conference.

It’s welcome news to the school’s football fans, who have been in limbo since the school announced its decision to move to Division I in 2002.

“Our boat's in the water,” said former Team Makers booster club president Joan Deal. “It’s just positive and anything positive we can get now is important.”

The league will include NDSU, South Dakota State, Northern Colorado, California Davis, California Poly, Southern Utah and St. Mary’s College (Calif.).

The move is expected to help NDSU’s Fargodome schedule next fall. So far, only Cal Poly and Northwestern Louisiana have been announced as official home dates.

“The joke has been, ‘Do you have your season tickets for next year? Yeah, both of them,’” Deal said. “It’s just going to get better from here.”

Deal just finished her term as Team Makers president, which came at a time of intense questioning from people in the community and beyond on the pros and cons of Division I.

Her successor, Terry Goerger, said the new football league should help the athletes and fans with a home identity. And he also said it should help Team Makers with its fund-raising efforts.

Team Makers raises about $700,000 per year for the athletic department.

“I know some people were not happy about it,” Goerger said of the D-I move. “But I think they're realizing the caliber of play. This will be the best game in town.”

Like Deal, Goerger said today’s announcement will help the athletic department's credibility.

“It gives us a little stability that we're doing the right thing,” Deal said.

NDSU is in the first year of a Division I reclassification period. This season is being spent in Division II as part of an exploratory year, a concept that allows the school to return to Division II without penalty.

The Great West Football Conference puts an official end to that thought.

“When the whole Division I move was announced, we knew it would take some time,” Goerger said. “I think (athletic director) Gene Taylor has accomplished something in record time. This should assure the fans that the quality of teams are at the next level.”

News conferences are expected at 1 p.m. at each school. Cal Poly, Southern Utah and St. Mary’s are I-AA football independents that belong to other leagues for its other sports. UC Davis, which like Northern Colorado started its Division I clock last year, is joining the Big West for other sports.

With the possible exception of wrestling, UNC, NDSU and SDSU are slated to be Division I independents in other sports next year. All three hope to join either the Big Sky or Mid-Continent conferences at some point.

The Mid-Continent is expected to manage the Great West Football Conference, something Deal says will benefit NDSU.

“They can see what benefit we could be to them,” Deal said. “And I think this may make the Big Sky think a little bit.”

BisonMav
02-25-2004, 03:49 PM
on Feb 23rd, 2004, 9:19pm, Bison_Kent wrote:Here is an ESPN article on the new conference:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1742499



ESPN calls it the Great West Football Conference

WYOBISONMAN, do you work for ESPN?

WYOBISONMAN
02-25-2004, 04:51 PM
Nope....Just a lowly healthcare worker....nothing as exciting as ESPN..... ;)

sdsupride
02-25-2004, 06:30 PM
Check it out

www.greatwestfootball.com ;D

uncbear
02-25-2004, 06:41 PM
cool site but the schedules are not all finished yet. hopefully soon

NDSU_grad
02-25-2004, 06:44 PM
OK, who's been voting for St. Mary's to win the conference? Come on guys, right now we're in third place in the voting. Let's take that thing over. :D

WYOBISONMAN
02-25-2004, 07:03 PM
WOW.....gives you a rush looking at that site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tony
02-25-2004, 07:13 PM
Great site!

Bisonguy
02-25-2004, 07:34 PM
Great West and Great Western were the finalists for the name according to Taylor. UC-Davis' graphic arts department designed the logo back in January FYI.

bisonincolorado
02-25-2004, 07:36 PM
Great site!!!!! I cant wait for next season, especially sept 4th in Greeley.

JACKGUY
02-25-2004, 10:35 PM
I believe this conference from top to bottom is immediately competitive with the Big Sky and Gateway. UC Davis,NDSU and UNC will all challenge the elite in those conferences.

Bisonguy
02-25-2004, 11:35 PM
Some players will be interviewed on the WDAY 6:00 news tonight about the Great West. I can pretty much sum it up already if you miss it. "I think this new conference is great. Now we have something to play for next year."

On a sidenote, Taylor, Chapman, and Bohl were decked out in sporty new GWFC hats, a GWFC banner in the background, and had some GWFC footballs on the table at the press conference. Talk about merchandising ::) ;D

WYOBISONMAN
02-25-2004, 11:39 PM
I hope they get a link up on the GWC site where we can purchase t-shirts, etc.

Bison_Kent
02-26-2004, 12:37 AM
Here is SDSU's press conference:

It is about halfway down the page.

http://www.depotradio.com/sports.php#