A new and better FBS thread

[Hammerhead]

He is a journalist and has many connections at the school. Does what he says matter? Not really, but he has access to all the right people and i'm sure he hears things off the record.

McFeely is part of The Forum's team that covers Bison athletics so I guess that makes him a journalist. He also writes a column for the opinion pages and hosted a radio talk show a few years ago.

[heffray]

It does appear that is the plan with many conferences. It hasn't happened yet with the MW.

I’m curious who is at the top of your list and why, if you feel like sharing…

[MWC]

All sports...Davis

Oly sports only...Grand Canyon, St Mary's

Football only.. none.

[NI4NI]

All sports...Davis

Oly sports only...Grand Canyon, St Mary's

Football only.. none.

Do you feel that if we have a 'football only' attitude that it makes us a less desirable candidate?

[heffray]

All sports...Davis

Oly sports only...Grand Canyon, St Mary's

Football only.. none.

Hard to argue with Davis. You could have said “anyone with a basketball team that has a pulse” and I would have said “fair.”

Still curious on your “why”…

[MWC]

Do you feel that if we have a 'football only' attitude that it makes us a less desirable candidate?

I think you would be 'more' desirable as football only if the MW is your goal. Travel costs for olympic sports is a prominent concern for the MW members. This is not a collection of really wealthy schools.

[NI4NI]

I think you would be 'more' desirable as football only if the MW is your goal. Travel costs for olympic sports is a prominent concern for the MW members. This is not a collection of really wealthy schools.

That's interesting, I as simply assumed that a conference wanted 'complete' members.

[MWC]

Hard to argue with Davis. You could have said “anyone with a basketball team that has a pulse” and I would have said “fair.”

Still curious on your “why”…

Davis already sponsors all the MW sports. It would balance the MW with 4 in the PST and 4 in the Mountain zone and Hawaii as the lone outlier. Davis is a very large school with jillions of alums. They have a very sturdy endowment. It is 13 miles from the Sacramento airport so the travel is easy. It is a warm weather school in California. Their football stadium is small but they can expand it to an average MW size quickly enough. Their basketball gym is not large but not tiny either. I don't know if they are interested or maybe looking at the Pac Who conference, so it probably isn't in the cards. Sac State would be a fallback option but Davis is the better add imho..

I have no real idea who or what the MW presidents have in mind for possible expansion. Gloria does not have a vote. Her staff does the vetting and may make recommendations, but the presidents decide everything.

[MWC]

That's interesting, I as simply assumed that a conference wanted 'complete' members.

Now that they have 8 full members they meet the NCAA requirement to be a conference. At this point, they can be as creative as they wish. They can also just stand pat if they choose. They have had affiliate members before. Hawaii for football. WAZZU is an affiliate for baseball this season. Sac State was an affiliate for baseball in the past. Colorado College is in with women's soccer, only.

At the moment they may be looking at the CST zone to perhaps add some product for their tv deals. I think they do want to add at least one school to help with basketball. There are a lot of those in the west. 9 schools who play football is really ideal. That gives you a true round robin 8 game conference schedule. 9 or 10 works very well for basketball and the other sports.

[heffray]

Davis already sponsors all the MW sports. It would balance the MW with 4 in the PST and 4 in the Mountain zone and Hawaii as the lone outlier. Davis is a very large school with jillions of alums. They have a very sturdy endowment. It is 13 miles from the Sacramento airport so the travel is easy. It is a warm weather school in California. Their football stadium is small but they can expand it to an average MW size quickly enough. Their basketball gym is not large but not tiny either. I don't know if they are interested or maybe looking at the Pac Who conference, so it probably isn't in the cards. Sac State would be a fallback option but Davis is the better add imho..

I have no real idea who or what the MW presidents have in mind for possible expansion. Gloria does not have a vote. Her staff does the vetting and may make recommendations, but the presidents decide everything.

Like I said, I agree that Davis makes the most sense. You’ve mostly answered other questions by basically saying that a strong national football brand alone is not enough for you. Agree to disagree.