The WAC needs a lot of things. Might a Big Sky team be one of them?
An interesting article from the Mizzoulian, a website for Montana University athletics, tackles the issue of the Grizzlies joining Division I-A football and possibly playing in the WAC. They would certainly raise the average winning percentage.
For the tenth year in a row, the Montana Grizzlies football team exited spring practices with the title of “reigning Big Sky Champions"... There’s one debate that reigns over all the rest. It’s something every passionate Griz fan has an opinion on: whether or not the Griz have grown too big and too good for this level of competition.At the earliest, Montana could not join the WAC until 2011 thanks to an NCAA law capping the number of schools moving up to Division I-A. Shoot, by 2011, Idaho, Utah State, and New Mexico State might not even have viable football programs anymore. And the Broncos will be in the PAC-10.
The story, which ends up taking a decidedly negative tone on Montana's move, references a similar jump to I-A by Boise State and Idaho, even working in a snide jab at the Vandals suckiness.
In 1996, a similar packaged deal was made with Boise State and the University of Idaho. Boise State has excelled since the move with seven conference championships (two in the Big West and five in the WAC) and a Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Idaho has struggled.
“Obviously, we would’ve liked to have been more competitive in our revenue sports,” Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spears said.
The University of Montana might not be able to move just yet, but judging by their Idaho snarkiness, the Grizzoulian would fit in just fine with us WAC media.
Should Montana move to the FBS? [Grizzoulian]
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From my prior research I believe there is some sort of law that Montana and Montana State both go or neither go to Division 1-A. With out a doubt Montana would be a great addition to the WAC if that were possible, but I wonder would they suffer the same fate as Idaho by doing so? If you think it is difficult to recruit to Moscow, imagine what it would be like in Missoula. On the other hand they do have a stadium that holds just over 23 thousand, which has a noise level and attendance that would rival Bronco Stadium.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be right, JTR. Montana/Montana State would be a tough sell to bring both in, and we could see another BSU/Idaho thing if they do. Also, the football and basketball teams would be fun to play, but I'm not sure if their other sports could measure up.
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