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BisonMav
06-05-2003, 12:43 PM
According to the Fargo Forum, a new conference meeting will be taking place. Six teams would be a good start.


NDSU to explore football league
By Jeff Kolpack
jkolpack@forumcomm.com
The Forum - 06/05/2003

A fledgling Division I-AA football-only conference that would include North Dakota State could take its first step next week.

NDSU Athletic Director Gene Taylor said administrators from NDSU, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, California Davis, Southern Utah and St. Mary’s (Calif.) will get together in Orlando, Fla.

They’ll be there anyway for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention June 12-16. Taylor said California Poly San Luis Obispo, which has expressed interest in the new league, will be the only school not present.

Taylor said there is no specific agenda. The meeting is expected to encompass a broad range of topics.

“This is the hows and the whys,” he said. “Scheduling. Structure. We’ll kick around all those issues. We’ll probably come out of there with more questions than answers.”

Southern Utah, Cal Poly and St. Mary’s are Division I-AA independents. Northern Colorado and Cal Davis started their Division I reclassification clock this year.

Cal Davis will join the Big West Conference, which does not have football, effective in 2004-05. Northern Colorado is said to be interested in the Mid-Continent Conference, which also doesn’t have football.

NDSU said it will notify the NCAA of its Division I intent by the end of this year and begin the first of a four-year reclassification period in 2004-05. South Dakota State has not put a timetable on its move, but said it will do so when it finds a conference.

Both NDSU and SDSU explored joining the Big Sky Conference. The Big Sky, which has football, was cool on the idea of expansion, which could force NDSU and SDSU to search for other options.

Enter the proposed, un-named, football league. Northern Colorado athletic director Jim Fallis said he would like to begin league play in 2004-05.

“I’m going cautiously with it,” Taylor said. “It depends on which direction we’re going as far as the Big Sky or Mid-Con.”

The Mid-Continent Conference also has an important meeting scheduled next week in Macomb, Ill. Its Presidents Council may take up the expansion issue.

The league may also fill its vacant commissioner position.

“Once we find out that, we can make some more serious contact with them,” Taylor said.

Bison_Kent
06-05-2003, 03:33 PM
I have kind of gone both ways with the new conference idea. *But with just a total of 7 teams, this is just 6 confrence games and will allow for probably 6 non-conference games. *One will be UND and another one might be against a DII opponent. * The other 4 could be against Big Sky, Gateway, and other top I-AA opponents. *

Another plus is the possibility of winning a conference title when we can't make the playoffs. *Cal-Davis and Northern Colorado along with us will most likely be the top teams in the conference. *We have had history with both of them. *And we probably can set up a rivalry game against South Dakota State. *I am surprised we haven't had something in the past with them (of course winning 26 games in the past 30 years/meetings probably doesn't really create a rivalry. *

mojobison
06-05-2003, 03:55 PM
Bison_Kent, a conference would make scheduling much, much easier so this makes perfect sense to me.

Once they get this conference thing nailed down, they could see if there's any interest in a starting a postseason game along the lines of the Mineral Bowl (for Big Sky guys, this is a DII game that pits the top team not in the playoffs from two conferences). A game like that between a Big Sky team and a team from this new conference might be interesting.

JBB
06-05-2003, 05:15 PM
Im in favor of this move too. I like the idea of the post season. if the BSC doesnt want it there may be conferences that do. It could be a big TV revenue game. Lots of possibilities including the expansion of the conference to full sports with both football members, basketball members and full sports members.

SDSUFAN
06-05-2003, 07:34 PM
I *have a gut and good feeling that this will lead to a conference. *Its going to take time to build programs. All the eight members are in the same boat. *There was an article posted over on the Big West board under UCD and it was from the Deseret News. The AD from SSU was very pleased with how things have went so far though they were in the prelim stages. *The travel in this new conference is going to be about the same as the Big Sky maybe some more. If you stay D2, and want to schedule quality D2 non-opponents you end up going to the West Coast anyway or another direction. SDSU goes to West Oregan this fall and two years ago we went to Western Washington. So the days of the NCC are gone and will be more so if this conference is formed.

While this may not be the ideal conference in terms of travel, its better than none at all.

Bison_Kent
06-05-2003, 08:26 PM
SDSU Fan,

Acutually, it would be just 7 members; at least to begin with. I thought I-AA playoff eligibility is if a conference has 7 members, not 8. I believe the Southland conference only has 7 members and they get automatic bid.

But I agree with you. This looks like the most inviting prospect for right now. Next week will tell us a lot.

NDSU_grad
06-05-2003, 09:48 PM
Actually, I think the Southland Conference has just 6 members. I think that is the minimum for an auto bid.

SDSUFAN
06-05-2003, 10:09 PM
NDSU Grad:
Sorry about the number but I was over at the Big West Board where this new conference is being discussed under the UCD threads. Someone over there said 8 members were needed to get a qualifier, and they sugguested that USD join. The amusing part is that they were not talking about University of South Dakota, but instead a non scholarship program, University of San Diego. So if the Southland has six members then that may likely be the correct number.

I think SDSU has a long ways to go especially in football. For us to think about playoffs is unrealistic. I think for us a winning season will be more realistic and in range. I would expect USD and Augie to still be on the schedule for a while.

NDSU now thats a different story. Your community it seems eager to get the football program back on track and competive at the D1AA level.

Bison_Kent
06-05-2003, 11:20 PM
SDSU Fan,

Thanks for the compliments. NDSU was kind of lucky that Fargo was choosen to be the Agricultural College location. Had North Dakota decieded on a smaller city like South Dakota in Brookings, I wonder where we would be. The FargoDome or a similar building probably would have never been built as no one in say Jamestown would have wanted to tax themselves like Fargo residents did. I lived 100 miles from Fargo growing up and Fargo was where we went to shop and to do anything. I am sure this is still happening. South Dakota residents probably go to Sioux Falls to do what North Dakota residents do.

JBB
06-06-2003, 01:45 AM
I like it. As far as SDSU goes we are going to have our hands full when it comes to BB both men's and women's. We also got beat at football last year. I left the game at the end of the 3rd but learned there was still hope. I don't think lulling us to sleep is going to be the best strategy but I do like the looks of this new conference. The NCC is dead, long live the NCC.

100_proof_grizzly
06-06-2003, 02:04 AM
mojobison:

"Once they get this conference thing nailed down, they could see if there's any interest in a starting a postseason game along the lines of the Mineral Bowl (for Big Sky guys, this is a DII game that pits the top team not in the playoffs from two conferences). A game like that between a Big Sky team and a team from this new conference might be interesting. "



You have to be real careful when discussing post season activites with the NCAA, especially I-AA. If you set up yourself a "mineral bowl", you might find yourselves ineligible for the I-AA playoffs. You more than likely wouldn't find a Big Sky team to come into a situation like that because for the playoff leagues, it's the playoffs or nothing. We would have nothing to gain by even sending a 3rd or 4th place team there. We could accomplish the same thing in a regular season matchup without facing the stigma of not being in the playoffs or the ire of the NCAA.

I am not fully up to date on NCAA post-season regulations, but I do believe that in I-AA, you can either participate in the NCAA's postseason opportunities or negotiate your own (see the NEC and Pioneer conferences). You can't have it both ways, and the decision is based on the conference as a whole. If it was me, I would focus on building the best conference that I could that would either wind up with an automatic qualifier, or have teams that are consistently strong enough to get at-large bids.

Bison_Kent
06-06-2003, 02:19 AM
100 Proof,

Thanks for pointing that out. *Maybe it would be better to just schedule 12 games instead of our normal 11. *The goal might be for us to compete against these teams and try to win a conference championship within the 4 year wait until the playoffs. *But just looking at the conference, I don't think any other one can claim to have three teams that have won a national championship at any level in the past 25 years. *NDSU, N. Colorado, and Cal-Poly have all won DII national titles. *Cal-Poly won it in 1980. *N. Colorado in 1996 & 1997. *NDSU in 1965, 1968, 1969, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, & 1990. *That is a total of 11 national championships before it has even begun. *And UC-Davis is no slouch either. *They have made it to the championship game in 1982 (lost to SW Texas) and have advanced to many other semi-final rounds. *

I know nobody has made the I-AA playoffs but with a history like this, I am sure it won't take too long after the probationary period is over to advance into the playoffs.

SDSUFAN
06-06-2003, 07:32 AM
The Sioux Falls Argus has an article on the new conference. Not many new details but it does confirm what Jeff Kolpeck reported yesterday. Here is the link

http://www.argusleader.com/sports/Fridayfeature.shtml

SDSUFAN
06-06-2003, 08:06 AM
SDSU Fan,

Thanks for the compliments. *NDSU was kind of lucky that Fargo was choosen to be the Agricultural College location. *Had North Dakota decieded on a smaller city like South Dakota in Brookings, I wonder where we would be. *The FargoDome or a similar building probably would have never been built as no one in say Jamestown would have wanted to tax themselves like Fargo residents did. *I lived 100 miles from Fargo growing up and Fargo was where we went to shop and to do anything. *I am sure this is still happening. *South Dakota residents probably go to Sioux Falls to do what North Dakota residents do. *

Bison Kent;
I suppose SDSU and NDSU have worked together on a number of Land Grant College issues, its just that there has never been any publicty. *I know we have NDSU grads on the staff in Brookings and your VP Schnell was on campus at SDSU, when I was in the 1960's. * That being said, if you are curious how the Land Grant came to Brookings that is a interesting story. The Dakota Territory legislature met in the territorial capital in now Yankton So Dak. That is why Vermillion was chosen as a University in 1862 and that why they claim to be the oldest College in the Dakota. This is about the time that the Morrill Act was passed in Wash. DC. The Dakota Terrritory could not appropriate money to get the university started so USD was a univerity in name only for twenty years. In the mean time more settlers came to all parts of Dakota and just before statehood in 1889, the power of the Dakota Territory legislature shifted to Sioux Falls and other places with the establishment of a land office in Sioux Falls for homestead filings. The legislative representive from Brookings went to Yankton in 1882 or there abouts with the notion of getting the South Dakota State Prison for Brookings. Apparently at that time they knew that there would be two states formed. At that session the *delegates from Sioux Falls said we have prison coming to our town, Brookings cant have it. If you like you can have this agriculture college. The rest is history. There is a building on campus that is now a office building but used to be *a men's dorm. Its named Scobey Hall, and Scobey is *the guy who went to Yankton many years ago looking to land the State Prison for Brookings. *Some times when you ask for something, you end up with something else. The prison in Sioux Falls used to be the first thing you saw when coming in on US 77 from the north, but with I-29 you dont see Granite City anymore. The prison was built out of granite stone that is around Sioux Falls.
As Paul Harvey say" And thats the rest of the story".

JBB
06-06-2003, 11:21 AM
When you think about it that post season rule makes sense. Why allow competition with the playoffs? But its still a good idea. When your new, like we are, you can afford to think out of the box a little bit. Im sure the conference wouldnt enter into any situation that was illegal, but if the game were approved it might be attractive to a lot of teams. I think it was first mentioned by the president of UCD.

NDSU_grad
06-06-2003, 02:57 PM
SDSU fan,
No need to apologize, I think we're all still trying to figure this DI-AA thing out. That's very interesting about how Brookings came to be the site of SDSU. I think in ND Valley City really wanted the agricultural college but the legislature decided it would be better suited for Fargo.

SDSUFAN
06-07-2003, 06:36 AM
I was part of an SDSU golf outing near Brookings today and picked up an interesting point about the NCC spring meeting.
The remaining members passed a resolution that would require a member to stay 3 years if they notify the conference by Septermber 1, each year their intend to be D2 and a conference member. This rule has no affect on NDSU since they have notified the conference that they are going D1AA. With SDSU its going to be a problem since if the conference or an afflilation is not found by Sept 1, they would have to stay D2

SDSUFAN
06-07-2003, 06:41 AM
I was part of an SDSU golf outing near Brookings today and picked up an interesting point about the NCC spring meeting.
The remaining members passed a resolution that would require a member to stay 3 years if they notify the conference by Septermber 1, each year their intend is to be D2 and a conference member. This rule has no affect on NDSU since they have notified the conference that they are going D1AA. With SDSU its going to be a problem since if the conference or an afflilation is not found by Sept 1, they would have to stay D2 three more years. This seems like a USD and UND ploy to stop SDSU, however I am sure Marcil and others would argue, they needed to add this rule in order to establish a conference schedule.

The Sept 1 deadline is going to be very critical for SDSU. I got this information from SDSU's AD, so its for real.

Bison_Kent
06-07-2003, 11:08 AM
SDSU Fan,

Good info. I was wondering if the NCC might do something like that to give it more stability. I am guessing that this next week's meeting for the new Football conference will turn out to come true. But that is just football. I am sure SDSU needs to find a conference for the other sports before moving up. That might put an added pressure on the Mid-Continent to announce their expansion plans as the MCC seems to be the only conference that we could possibly go to that is currently out there.

I believe the MCC is in the process of naming a new commishioner. That will happen in the next two weeks, I am guessing. After that, I would think expansion talks would begin.

Bison_Kent
06-07-2003, 11:19 AM
Here was a link to the St. George (Utah) Spectrum also talking about the new conference.

http://www.thespectrum.com/news/stories/20030602/localsports/408673.html

JBB
06-07-2003, 01:39 PM
If SDSU doesnt want to be "trapped" in the NCC for 3 yrs before moving up they could withdraw from the conference and play as a DII independent until the conference situation is worked out. Otherwise the new conference will be only 6 teams. They would probably sitll schedule all the NCC teams because the NCC is scrambling right now to fill future schedules. In the meantime that would leave the door open for the inevitable Berrrmidji move to the NCC.

tony
06-07-2003, 05:45 PM
SDSUFan, that is bizarre. Did the NCC hire some unemployed advisors from East Germany?

This is like a landlord demanding that a tenant sign a lease for three years instead of one after finding out that the tenant is thinking about leaving because the neighborhood is going downhill. It wouldn't inspire much confidence on the part of the renter.

If the conference leadership really believed what they have been saying to the media (i.e. that the NCC is the best possible conference in the best possible division), they wouldn't have had to resort to something like this. The NCC is all but shouting that they expect the NCC to become less and less attractive over time.

More important than the three-year commitment is the amount of the bail bond (figuratively speaking) the NCC wants SDSU to post. If the penalty for getting out of jail is large enough that it limits SDSU's options to steer its own course, then SDSU should definitely notify the NCC that they are leaving the conference. That gives SDSU the most options. One, they could stay in DII as an independent. Two, they could decide to move to DI. Three, they could decide against DI and rejoin the NCC. If the NCC makes it clear that they'd only be grudgingly accepted back (or not accepted at all), then SDSU could exercise a fourth option and join the NSIC.

JBB
06-07-2003, 06:20 PM
Did I miss something? Are there financial ramifications if you want to leave during the 3 year notification period?

SDSUFAN
06-07-2003, 09:28 PM
JBB:
Fred Oien, SDSU AD, I think had mentioned something like $15,000 which is not a whole lot. Personally I think we could leave and tell the NCC to sue us. I think the meetings next week are very critical, and hopefully SDSU can see themselves in the picture of a conference or both. My take about whats going at SDSU right now, is the strategic plan that is be finished in August. If the numbers are feasible, I would say the resignation letter to NCC commissioner Marcil will be in the mail, maybe without a conference. Stay tuned, its getting interesting at SDSU. NDSU again different matter, its a done deal.

Bison_Kent
06-14-2003, 12:34 AM
I wonder how the meeting went this week in Orlando with the other proposed schools. I haven't heard a word on this. Has anyone else heard anything?

SDSUFAN
06-14-2003, 07:38 AM
Nothing seems to be coming out publically and maybe that is good news. In other words they are talking privately. *I noticed Jeff Kolpeck has not had a column for some time. Could he be in Olanrdo this week? Jeff does a good job finding things out, but I suspect he may be in the dark too.

BisonMav
06-16-2003, 12:31 PM
Positive news out of the meeting. The "conference to be named later" is moving forward.


NDSU: ADs favor new football conference
By Jeff Kolpack
jkolpack@forumcomm.com
The Forum - 06/16/2003

A potential football conference for North Dakota State got votes of confidence from six athletic directors on Sunday.

Officials from NDSU, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, St. Mary’s College (Calif.) and California Davis agreed to begin looking at scheduling each other beginning in 2004.

St. Mary’s and Southern Utah are Division I-AA independents while the other four have pledged their allegiance to Division I-AA.

“We had a good conversation today,” NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said.

The meeting was a sideshow from the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Convention in Orlando, Fla.

California Poly San Luis Obispo, which is in favor of the new league, was absent from the meeting because its athletic director had another obligation.

Taylor said nothing was solidified. But he did say it resulted in two action items: Have everybody send their schedules to one person to figure out a plan and to explore different options on how to manage the league.

The latter brought the question: Does the group manage the league itself or does it seek help from another league?

The Gateway Football Conference, for instance, is allied with the Missouri Valley Conference.

In this case, Taylor asked, would the Big West Conference or Mid-Continent Conference -- two leagues that don’t have football -- want to oversee it? Southern Utah, which is one of the main wheels behind the potential new league, is a member of the Mid-Continent.

“Their status as an independent has not been real good to them,” Taylor said, “so they have a real strong interest.”

Taylor said no possible league names were brought up, although the athletic directors did kick around the concept of how to name it if it got that far. No future meeting was set.

Taylor, however, said each school could begin formal presentations to their respective presidents once the scheduling issue is worked out.

Realistically, he said, it could take until 2005 or 2006 until all seven are on a regular rotation.

NDSU is already set to play Northern Colorado, Cal Davis and St. Mary’s in 2004. Southern Utah, Taylor said, has obligations into 2005.

Because of the I-AA playoffs, all games must be scheduled by the third week in November. The NCAA allows a maximum of 11 games.

“We need to figure out how to play six games in eight weeks,” Taylor said.

The potential football alliance may hinge what league NDSU and SDSU find. If the Big Sky Conference, which has football, shows an interest in NDSU and SDSU in the next year or two, both would probably opt out of the new league.

JBB
06-16-2003, 02:59 PM
Our 2004 schedule seems to be emerging:

UCD, UNC, St. Marys, Montana?, Montana State?, SDSU?, UND

7 down 4 to go.

Bison_Kent
06-16-2003, 06:09 PM
I am not sure on that maximum 11 game schedule. *Just looking at other I-AA teams' schedules, I think 12 games is the maximum. *Here are Idaho State's, Montana's, and Montana State's schedules. *All have 12 games on their schedules. *I would assume we could do the same. * *

http://isubengals.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/idsu-m-footbl-sched.html

http://web.montanagrizzlies.com/umgriz/schedule_and_scores/FMPro?-DB=Scores.fp5&-Format=scores.htm&-lay=WEB&Related_ID=100&Schedule_Year=2003&-SortField=Game_Date&-SortOrder=ascend&-Max=All&-Find

http://www.msubobcats.com/sports.php?sid=fb

RockyMtnGriz
06-16-2003, 07:36 PM
Bison_Kent,

The 12 games this year and last, is only allowed when there are 12 saturdays between Labor Day and Thanksgiving or if a team is playing @ Hawaii. There is some NCAA bylaw on this, but I don't know the specific one.

Trainer
06-16-2003, 08:09 PM
Here's the bylaw:
17.11.5.1 Maximum Limitations—Institutional. [I-A/I-AA] In Divisions I-A and I-AA, a member
institution shall limit its total regular-season playing schedule with outside competition in the
sport of football during the permissible football playing season in any one year to 11 contests
(games or scrimmages), except as provided for member institutions located in Alaska and Hawaii,
under Bylaw 17.30.2, and except as provided for all members under Bylaw 17.11.5.2. Twelve football
contests shall be permissible during those years in which there are 14 Saturdays from the
first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November (2002, 2003, 2008, 2013,
2014 and 2019). (Revised: 1/12/99 effective 8/1/02, 8/5/99 effective 8/1/02)

Bison_Kent
06-16-2003, 08:21 PM
Thanks for clearing that up. It looks like 2008 would be the next year after this year to get 12 games. That will be our last year of probation.

tony
06-17-2003, 08:02 PM
I finally hit upon a name I like (posted it over on anygivensaturday.org).

How about the Big Country Conference"?

JBB
06-17-2003, 10:57 PM
Excellent! It brags about the geographic area it covers. It spreads out further than the BSC, confining it within our boarders. It's bigger than any other conference in DIAA football. If you cant afford to play stay away. This is the BIG CONFERENCE! We are bad, we are nationwide!

tony
06-18-2003, 02:54 AM
A Northern Colorado fan came up with this one:

The Old West Football Conference.

I really like the sound of that.

We should have an annual rodeo at old Dacotah field on one home stand weekend in September. "The Bison Stampede Rodeo and BBQ" has a nice ring to it. Combine Rib Fest, a rodeo, and Bison football and I think you'd have something pretty cool. Heck, throw in an Oktoberfest too (it starts in September). :)

BisonInTexas
06-18-2003, 05:19 PM
A Northern Colorado fan came up with this one:

The Old West Football Conference.

I really like the sound of that.

We should have an annual rodeo at old Dacotah field on one home stand weekend in September. "The Bison Stampede Rodeo and BBQ" has a nice ring to it. Combine Rib Fest, a rodeo, and Bison football and I think you'd have something pretty cool. Heck, throw in an Oktoberfest too (it starts in September). :)


Old West sounds better than Big Country to me, as Big Country conjures up visions of big lumbering white centers for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Personally, I would prefer something simple, such as the Western Football Conference. If you want, it could be called the Western 7 (ala the Pac 10), or by the next logical leap in the western theme - The Magnificent Seven (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0054047)

Craig

BisonMav
06-18-2003, 08:25 PM
Great Western Conference GWC seams to be the favorite on the I-AA board. I think Wyobison with help from Tony came up with the name on this site.

WYOBISONMAN
06-18-2003, 10:33 PM
Yes....I am partial to the GWC....just has kind of a nice ring to it.

tony
06-19-2003, 01:28 AM
I can't take any credit for it. I really like the sound of it though (i.e. Great Western).

It'd be nice if it could sponsor wrestling too but that's probably just dreaming (although Davis and the three NCC schools do have it).

Bison_Kent
06-19-2003, 04:04 AM
I must have too much time on my hands. Here is free web site maker in which I have added a little information on each school that is considered in the new football league.

http://www.freewebs.com/great_western_conf/index.htm

WYOBISONMAN
06-19-2003, 05:40 PM
Hey B.K. - You should put this up on the D1AA board....Great Work!!!

Bison_Kent
06-19-2003, 06:04 PM
Thanks WYOBISONMAN. I was hoping to add a little more to it tonight. Check back after 10:00 tonight to see what has been added. And give ideas what you might like to see included.

Paulie
06-20-2003, 12:22 AM
Hey Kent, I have a better picture of Nottingham Field if you want it, it's an aerial view. Email me at PKing13758@aol.com

JBB
06-20-2003, 02:27 AM
Nice work Kent. You have the new website for the new conference. It has to be the Great West Conference now. Im really excited about having Southern Utah on the schedule. I used to live in that area for most of the early 80's. I ran on the Snow college track every night for an entire summer (thats a different town I know, but I skied at Beaver). I will definately be flying into SLC and renting a car for that game. Better yet, Im going to rent an RV.

Bison_Kent
06-20-2003, 03:30 AM
JBB,

I agree. It looks like Cedar City is very close to both the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Parks. It looks like a great week long vacation trip to go see the Bison play Southern Utah.

And thanks for the praise. It wasn't too hard to do.

WYOBISONMAN
06-20-2003, 01:35 PM
I live in Green River, WY so I am extremly happy about Southern Utah being in the mix as we live only about 35 miles from the Utah border.

By the way the first time I heard of skiing Beaver I was not exactly sure what the person was talking about (although is sounded pretty damn good to me...LOL) :D

JBB
06-20-2003, 04:16 PM
How are things in Green River? I used to live around there myself. I also lived in Green River Utah.

SDSUFAN
06-25-2003, 01:56 AM
There is a article in the Specturm newspaper dealing with the SUU AD's reaction to the meeting and the new conference. What he says is encouraging as far as this new conference being formed.


Tuesday, June 24, 2003

Local Sports

Email this story
T-Birds discuss formation of conference for its football team

By D.Gary Webb

CEDAR CITY -- For one of the few times during the school year, there are no games on the campus of Southern Utah University, but that doesn't mean there aren't things happening.

Athletics Director Tom Douple has spent a few hours in the air and a few nights in hotel rooms, attending meetings with other athletic directors.

While Douple spent time with a lot of people about a lot of issues surrounding collegiate athletics, the one that still intrigues Southern Utah fans the most is that of having a conference for its football team. We reported some information on the groundwork a couple of weeks ago, noting that many schools with Division 1-AA teams are exploring creation of a new conference.

"I thought we had some very good meetings," said Douple. "There are a lot of issues to deal with; scheduling, administration of the conference and the timing were all issues we tried to deal with."

The next major step is the league's set of bylaws. Different athletics directors have suggested using the Gateway Conference as a pattern, and that might be a course the new league would take.

Timing will soon begin to be an issue, as schools attempt to sign contracts for schedules for the coming years. Typically, schools try to solidify a major part of their year a season or two ahead, with a couple of openings that are filled prior to the playing season.

Southern Utah currently has four of the schools under contract for the 2004 season, so adding North Dakota State and South Dakota State would be the primary teams Douple would have to make room for.

There's still no name for the league, which would include St. Mary's, Northern Colorado, UC Davis and San Luis Obispo in addition to the two Dakota schools and SUU.

Douple also met with athletics directors from across the nation to discuss some difficult issues in their meetings, most particularly in the areas of academic reforms, graduation rates and student retention rates.

Compared with most colleges and universities, Southern Utah stacks up well, but Douple said sitting on past laurels isn't the way the school likes to approach things. He'd rather identify areas where improvement can be made and make sure SUU stays at the forefront.

Douple indicated that, as with most issues, the current talks were preliminary in nature, but said increasing the number of core elements required for eligibility and a reward system for schools which adhere to the rules rather than just penalties for those don't were among the issues discussed.

"I think we fare well (on the issues discussed), but there is always room for improvement," said Douple. "We need to look at the data and see how we would fare with the (new) system.

"We're very proud of our student athletes and our programs, but we always strive for improvement," he said.

Originally published Tuesday, June 24, 2003


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BisonMav
09-17-2003, 01:27 PM
Article posted on UCD's message board about the progress of the new football conference:


New league talks continue

By Michael Mirer/Enterprise staff writer

FARGO, N.D. -- The Fargodome drew rave reviews from the UC Davis officials who toured it Friday, the day before the Aggies' 23-14 win at North Dakota State.

And UCD may soon find itself a regular visitor.

Discussions about a possible football conference that would include both schools are progressing, UCD athletic director Greg Warzecka said before Saturday's game.

"The schools are still the same. Everyone's still interested," Warzecka said. "We have a lot of time to consider putting something together."

New conferences must file paperwork with the NCAA by June 1.

The proposed league would be in Division I-AA, but not all schools would be eligible for the postseason right away. Current independents Cal Poly, St. Mary's and Southern Utah are already members of the division.

UCD and Northern Colorado, both provisional Division I members, are not postseason-eligible until 2007. North and South Dakota State are in their exploratory years, meaning they will begin provisional Division I status next season.

Current discussions are centering on what it would take to put a conference office together. Warzecka said the seven athletic directors likely would meet close to the end of the football season to discuss future plans.

The Dakota schools would prefer to join the Big Sky Conference, and have marketed themselves as a package deal.

Big Sky officials have told the universities to seek other options. What effect the Bison's 25-24 win over Big Sky power Montana would have on the effort remains to be seen.

UCD officials also said they were very impressed with the 10-year old Fargodome. With the university in the process of building a new football and lacrosse stadium, Warzecka said it helped to look at other facilities.

"It's important to for us to see other stadiums and how they did things," Warzecka said.

UCD is expected to break ground on a stadium in the spring of 2004. Current plans call for three phases of construction, which will eventually lead to a 30,000 stadium.

Not better, just different: The Aggie defense held North Dakota State to 262 yards of offense as opposed to the 357 it allowed against Grand Valley State.

Of course, UCD held the Lakers to nine points as opposed to the 14 it allowed against to the Bison. Both were strong performances, but which was better?

"It was just a different kind of team we faced," UCD head coach Bob Biggs. "I'm just impressed with our defense overall."

The unit will face a difficult test this weekend against Texas State (1-2). The Bobcats play a version of the run-and-shoot offense and are in the process of rewriting the school record books.

Texas State is sixth in Division I-AA in total yards, despite losses to Division I-A teams New Mexico and Tulsa.

Upon further review: With its victory at the Fargodome, UCD improved its indoor record to 1-3, not 1-2 as had been previously reported.

In addition to losses at Idaho in 1997 and North Dakota in the national semifinals in 2002, the Aggies also lost to Massachusetts in the 1972 Boardwalk Bowl.

Current Aggie head coach Bob Biggs quarterbacked that team in that game, which was played in city convention center, home of the Miss America pageant. The cozy confines made for end zones just six yards deep.

BisonMav
10-03-2003, 06:45 PM
Cal-Poly on proposed I-AA conference.

Mustang Daily (http://www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu/archive/20030410/index.php?story=s2)

89rabbit
10-03-2003, 08:50 PM
I can already see the California attitude that will make wins over our West Coast Brothers all the more sweat!

Go Great Western!

JBB
10-03-2003, 09:58 PM
Those Bisons play in a tough climate. *Hard to get to. *Just ask UCD. Of course it is easy for the Bisons to get to the californias. *Just ask UCD.