Their conference affiliation is in the West...
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If the Big Sky boots UND, then my point is mute. As of now, I don't think it's going to happen. That could all change come June...eventually UND will drop the name and I believe the Big Sky will wait until next year before making any decisions.
I don't believe the Big Sky will go FBS en masse. I like the fact that UND is in the West (which initially I did not, I prefered the Summit) and can hopefully attach themselves with the Montana Schools. Fullerton is positioning the Big Sky to at least be a part of the second tier DI schools should the BCS schools decide to form their own DI league.
This post is a hoot.
The Summit has concentrated its geographic footprint - under the direction of member Presidents - Double has no vote. What's happened is a good thing.
Every school in the Summit would like to be in a higher profile league that isn't unique to Douple.
Douple was smart/lucky not to get involved in the UND fiasco.
Similarly Fullerton was reckless in inviting every FCS school in the west to join the Big Sky. It has done nothing to strengthen the stability of the league and will lead to a significant increase in travel costs for most members.
UND is going to be spending big bucks on travel.
Perhaps those Presidents voted they way they did because they all understand that the Summit League is a temporary league and that a majority of the schools view it as a temporary stopping point until they get into a better league? Like I said, NDSU is happy where they are at and UND is happy where they are at. So no reason to continue to bash each other I guess...
What more can you say, NDB2, to this level of delusion? I can't rep you, but I would if I could.
You're spot on with everything. Predictably, some are treating reckless expansion as though it were a good thing, and conservative stewardship as incompetence. And these people can't be reasoned with. 'Having a dozen teams competing for one post season bid in *every* team sport except football is good for those programs! The only thing better than having a dozen teams competing for one spot would be *more* than a dozen teams!!!!'
Perhaps a mind-controlling alien was responsible. Perhaps perhaps perhaps. The prima facie explanation suffices. No need to introduce bizarre and self-serving (e.g. 'the Big Sky presidents voted for expansion because they're visionary geniuses, the Summit presidents did nothing because they don't care') conspiracy theories.
I don't disagree that having that many teams competing for an auto-bid is ideal, but on the other hand being within shouting distance of the minimum schools to keep your auto-bid with members openly talking to other conferences and pining to leave sure isn't the best situation to be in either. It doesn't feel like a safe spot to be with the every changing conference landscape, especially being a conference that has a track record of teams having no desire to stay in (almost 20 teams have been part of the conference and left since it formed a little over 20 years ago). Maybe Douple has a plan and I just haven't saw anything. But as dmksioux said, NDSU and UND seem to be happy where they are, just a matter of opinion.
The Big Sky is infinitely more stable than the Summit. (I don't know how anybody could argue that)
It wasn't that long ago that the Summit was at 10 members competing for one autobid. (So what if the Big Sky is at 12? Really that much different?)
Fullerton's plan for football expansion was partly aimed at stabilizing FCS football in the Western US and creating a conference to rival the larger Eastern conferences. Time will tell if he succeeded in that last one. If I hear anybody on here complaining in the future about the BSC getting more playoff teams than the MVFC, I'll chalk it up as a win for Fullerton.