Most Important Goal for Bison football

[100_proof_grizzly]

Bison Kent:

"The games are against some Big Sky teams (Montana, Montana State and E. Washington), Gateway (W. Illinois), Southland (Sam Houston St.,McNeese St. and NW LA St.), and Patriot League (Lehigh). These are the four top conferences in I-AA in my opinion.

Since when has the Patriot League elevated itself into the top four? There is going to be some A-10 and SoCon fans very upset over this.

[BisonMav]

Posted by: 100_proof_grizzly Posted on: Jun 2nd, 2003, 9:54pm
Since when has the Patriot League elevated itself into the top four? There is going to be some A-10 and SoCon fans very upset over this.

100_proof_grizzly,

Who would you say are the top four conferences in I-AA? The Southern Conference would be on the list I am sure. Georgia Southern 6 National Championships.

[Bison_Kent]

100 Proof,

I agree with you that the A10 and Southern Conferences are probably better then the Patriot. I missed that one. The Patriot probably would be ranked behind these two.

[JBB]

The ranking of the conferences was only an opinion. Maybe 100 proof should explain himself a little bit. We are all new to this glorious world. Why isnt the patriot league on par with the rest? I know the BSC is the best beyond any reasonable doubt, but really, why disagree with the opinion of BK as a proxy for other nameless fans?

[100_proof_grizzly]

To answer all the questions regarding the strongest conferences, there isn't one that is head and shoulders above the rest (we're not going to get into the A-10 vs SoCon debate).

The top conferences (in no particular order) are the A-10, Big Sky, Gateway, SoCon, and Southland Conferences. The reason for this is that 80% of all national championships were won by a representative of those leagues (I am including Youngstown State as a Gateway member even though they were independent when they won their 4). Also teams from those conferences continually make deep runs into the playoffs each year and make noise on a national level. The schools in those 5 conferences consistently have shown the most commitment to I-AA football and have the best facilities and fan following.

I would say that there are two other "tiers". of conferences. The second tier would include the MEAC, SWAC, Ohio Valley, Ivy League, and the Patriot league. Lehigh fans will brag about their upsets in the playoffs for the past few years, but in most years the schools of this group are first round cannon fodder (Lehigh is good enough to earn a at-large berth in the playoffs--I see no need to give the conference an automatic in case Lehigh gets upset). I believe that there is a reason that the Ivy League and SWAC don't participate in the playoffs. Of this second group, only Lehigh, Florida A&M, Eastern Illinois, and Eastern Kentucky have any history of success.

The final "tier" of I-AA is the non-scholarship level of football. The NEC and the Pioneer league are examples of this style of football. At least they get to play for the Sports Network cup but otherwise aren't worth mentioning.

Bison Kent:
I didn't mean it personally when I was asking about your inclusion of the Patriot League in your top four. It's that when you put the Patriot League in the same sentence with any of the big 5, it is like someone comparing the your NCC with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. I hope that this answers some of your questions.

[Bison_Kent]

100 Proof,

I realized my mistake as shown in the earlier post. I think I mistook the Patriot for the A-10. I agree totally with your assestment of the conferences based on the national championships and deep playoff runs.

However, with Lehigh's run in the playoffs, you would have to say they would be a good opponent for NDSU. They have won in the I-AA playoffs and probably the Patriot is the 6th best conference after the Big 5 because of Lehigh mainly.

This is fun to start talking about I-AA teams and who the Bison might play. JBB's idea of keeping an independent schedule might be more inviting then the proposed new Western Conference. Fans would see at least the same quality of teams or most likely better teams. Cal-Davis, N. Colorado, and SDSU seem to be the only real inviting teams in the new Western League. Southern Utah and the two other California teams (Cal-Poly and St. Mary's). Those top three teams will most likely be playing us any way but we can add Big Sky, Gateway, and other top I-AA conference teams to our schedule to begin our I-AA journey.

I know I was at first in favor of this league but how inviting is having St. Mary's or S. Utah coming to Fargo? I would really rather see a team from a conference we might possibly get into in the future or a top I-AA team then these lower, medium ranged scholorship teams.

[JBB]

It answered mine. Thanks. Its a little confusing when you have non scholarship and scholarship leagues. I thought the Ivy was a non scholarship league?

[100_proof_grizzly]

To my knowledge, I believe that the Ivy awards grants in aid to worthy athletes based on their academic prowess, rather than their athleticism. I can't really answer their athletic program questions. I do know that they want no part of participating in the I-AA playoffs. Some fans want them included in the playoffs (same with the SWAC) for more recoginition and broader appeal of the playoffs. I believe that things are fine the way they are and we don't need those two conferences (they both have had trouble in competing with schools from playoff conferences) to add legitimacy to the HIGHEST LEVEL OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL.

[100_proof_grizzly]

Bison Kent:

For your first years in I-AA, I wouldn't set your sights on the McNeese St's, the Youngstown St's, or even the Georgia Southerns or Appalachian St's to fill out your schedule. I feel that for a program such as yours which will have to show it belongs to the fans should have a schedule based on home and homes with the I-AA independents (N. Colorado, S. Utah) to possibly get some wins while having a few games (like the series with Montana for example) with high level teams to use as a measuring stick. For the next 3 years, you will find it very hard even to get road games at McNeese and N'Western St. as you had posted let alone get a home game against W. Illinois (why you would want to play those thugs is beyond me). At Montana, we wind up paying for games against St. Mary's, Cal-Poly and S. Utah when it comes to playoff time. Those schools kill our RPI which is why you will have a hard time scheduling high level teams until you have at least established yourselves. Some schools such as McNeese St. which has had trouble filling out their schedule is a possibility, but be patient as other opportunities will show. I wouldn't worry about your schedule though as I know the independents will help you as well as the Big Sky and I'm sure that N. Iowa should be good for a home and home. Good luck in your ventures and I hope that you enjoy the ride!