The Bobcat Nation

*********** This is really a Mslacat rant, read at your own risk ********************

So it is official Northern Colorado is now a Big Sky team. What is not noted in the news release below is that the Big Sky Conference APR also dropped about 20 point with the addition of Northern Colorado.

I have really changed my tune on who we should let into the league and not. Right now the Big Sky conference is the stepping stone league for all schools who want to move up to D-1. We have tha group of the original core group, teams like MSU, UM, NAU, ISU, AND WSU, and then there are the other teams, Sac State, Portland St., Eastern Washington, and now Northern Colorado. Just like Northridge did a good number of the teams that have come lately don't have a lot of loyalty for the league, I get the feeling that it is just a weigh station to get them to a larger league. I have heard rumblings that Sac State would prefer to step up and just might once their new facilities get built, the same could be true for PSU. Eastern - I think - is solid, but I am not so sure about Northern Colorado down the line. What really happens though is that when a program leaves, we replace them with another "just to D-1" team, and our conference rating does a free fall again. It is like when you were in school and someone replaced a "B" grade with a"F"....... It hurts a lot.

The "Big Brain" Fullerton chastised the BSC teams for not scheduling tougher teams, to try to build our conference APR up, and get more respect for the league. Well what the hell is the use of doing that when all of our teams are playing these tough schedules and he continues to all cellar dwellers to the conference whose own APR will drag the BSC APR down and then each team has to play them further taking a hit. If the conference is going to continue on this track we will never get above the low major level WHICH WE ARE.

He is my thought, granted a pipe dream. If Sac State, PSU or heck any other schools, want out eventually, throw them out now. They have been the major objectors to bring in the Dakota schools any way. Invite in the Dakota schools, yes we will take a hit right away RPI wise but why not make the investment and help build these schools. These schools bring the core sensibilities back to what the Big Sky conference should be. I think this could stabilize our roster of teams in the BSC and from there we can build the conference step by step to compete with the other western and mid western Mid Major conferences.

I look around the league and I really feel that the Core Group of teams are ready to make a move up in completion. WSU, UM, EWU and MSU really look like something special is about to happen - at least basketball wise-. These are the teams that will add to our APR not detract, over the forseeable future. I don't want to see other people who are not committed to this league use our hard work to their advantage and then leave us holding the bag.

********** Now Back to more reasonable opinions *********

http://www.bigskyconf.com/article.asp?articleid=79182

On a somewhat related note, I think ISU is posed to make a run in basketball soon. New coach always brings excitement and I think they hired themselves a good one.

CelticCat wrote:On a somewhat related note, I think ISU is posed to make a run in basketball soon. New coach always brings excitement and I think they hired themselves a good one.

I also like what ISU is doing, but Weber just had an outstanding recruiting season, I think they must have signed 8-9 players in the spring alone, and I like their coach a lot, EWU has Stuckey coming back and a very good group of recruits and returnies, Montana is coming off of a NCAA run with very importand key cogs coming back, and well what can I say MSU because I am bias (actually I do feel we have a great nucleous of younger players. pg Rush, 2g Piepoli, sf Howard, post 1 Derochowski, post 2 C. Johnson)

I'll say this, welcome to Northern Colorado! Their football and men's basketball teams aren't quite there yet, but they will be. They've made a lot of good steps, especially hiring their new basketball coach. I remember hearing that some programs, like volleyball and women's basketball seem to be up to caliber and even though many of us wanted North Dakota St. and South Dakota St. in the conference, too, I think Northern Colorado will be a decent fit. Welcome aboard.

It's interesting that the programs which haven't done much in the 'Sky are the ones with the plans to join a bigger conference. If Sac / Portland State think joining the WAC will solve their problems, the administration must be completely delusional.

A major problem with the 'Sky is that most of the "core" programs aren't what they used to be. There was a time that Idaho State could make a legitmate claim to be the best program in Idaho. There was a time that Weber and Northern Arizona were much closer to the big programs in their respective states. With the exception of the Montana schools, there doesn't seem to be a lot of fans for the Big Sky schools.

I worry about UNC joining the 'Sky. From a financial standpoint, it's a perpetual deal to visit them at their place in exchange for them visiting ours. Home football games are extremely valuable for Montana and Montana State. To go to Greely every two years will cost Montana and Montana State's athletic programs hundreds of thousands of dollars over having the schedule free. The savings from not offering Northern Colorado a $100,000 payday to come to Montana are nowhere worth the costs.

mslacat is right on the button, that something needs to change. Either the 'Sky will improve or else the Montana schools need to find a new conference.

theblackgecko wrote:It's interesting that the programs which haven't done much in the 'Sky are the ones with the plans to join a bigger conference. If Sac / Portland State think joining the WAC will solve their problems, the administration must be completely delusional.

A major problem with the 'Sky is that most of the "core" programs aren't what they used to be. There was a time that Idaho State could make a legitmate claim to be the best program in Idaho. There was a time that Weber and Northern Arizona were much closer to the big programs in their respective states. With the exception of the Montana schools, there doesn't seem to be a lot of fans for the Big Sky schools.

I worry about UNC joining the 'Sky. From a financial standpoint, it's a perpetual deal to visit them at their place in exchange for them visiting ours. Home football games are extremely valuable for Montana and Montana State. To go to Greely every two years will cost Montana and Montana State's athletic programs hundreds of thousands of dollars over having the schedule free. The savings from not offering Northern Colorado a $100,000 payday to come to Montana are nowhere worth the costs.

mslacat is right on the button, that something needs to change. Either the 'Sky will improve or else the Montana schools need to find a new conference.

I hope the move works for UNC but as a fan of NDSU I was really hoping that we would be the next new member. I have to say that the Cali schools seem to have the stranglehold on the BSC and that is to bad. NDSU came out and won the tourney last winter in BBall at MSU and of course beat Wisconsin at home ( I know it was a longshot and probably won't happen again) but look at the press NDSU got from that one win alone. Our football team is ranked in the top 25 for the upcoming season (I think 13th) and 3 GWFC teams are in the top 15. NDSU and SDSU would have helped the BSC's SOS/RPI much more then UNC's and as it stands now it looks like the Mid-Con is where we will be. I just hope we can see you guys in some Non-Conference games for Football and BBall. Good luck this upcoming year.