For those of you who think Idaho's move to FCS is the beginning of some kind of stampede, think again. We're the only school dumb enough to follow a president who says he wants all sports to be club sports into a financial abyss. Story here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oc...lications/

In summary, Chuck Staben is a tool.

(10-14-2016 11:36 AM)LatahCounty Wrote:  For those of you who think Idaho's move to FCS is the beginning of some kind of stampede, think again. We're the only school dumb enough to follow a president who says he wants all sports to be club sports into a financial abyss. Story here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oc...lications/

In summary, Chuck Staben is a tool.

When the FCS WAC is announced, with the intent of going back to FBS, the Vandal fans will be singing his praises.

Idaho can't be hurting too bad if they are going to announce a new basketball arena from fundraising.

So Idaho will join UND, NDSU, USD, and Liberty in giving FCOE at the FCS level.

(10-14-2016 11:45 AM)NoDak Wrote:  Idaho can't be hurting too bad if they are going to announce a new basketball arena from fundraising.

It's not from fundraising. They raised student fees, partially because donations were pulled after the Big Sky announcement. And this is about a year later than they wanted.

(10-14-2016 11:45 AM)NoDak Wrote:  

(10-14-2016 11:36 AM)LatahCounty Wrote:  For those of you who think Idaho's move to FCS is the beginning of some kind of stampede, think again. We're the only school dumb enough to follow a president who says he wants all sports to be club sports into a financial abyss. Story here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oc...lications/

In summary, Chuck Staben is a tool.

When the FCS WAC is announced, with the intent of going back to FBS, the Vandal fans will be singing his praises.

In the big rock candy mountain, all the jails are made of tin. And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in.

That's all I hear whenever I read one of your fantasy posts.

Maybe Idaho never should've left the Big Sky in 1996 for the Big West, with Boise. And joining Nevada (left in 1992).

Maybe they should've stayed with Montana the whole time. Hind sight is 20-20.


But they did leave. They did invest in DI-A (FBS). And they're probably the only school that is going to backslide, in the history of the subdivision. Which is too bad!


As for Staben, I do believe that he wants Idaho football to be like Montana football - top dogs in a division that for the most part doesn't matter, vs at the bottom of the top division. I guess to some people, winning is more important.

Just not sure that Idaho is going to win all that much in the Big Sky!

Was their ever an organized effort among Vandal fans to fund an independent Idaho FBS Team? Losing conference affiliation, having to schedule enough home games, and losing the CFP payout was a huge burden to overcome. It's not like Idaho has a shot to get into the MWC.

(10-14-2016 11:50 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  As for Staben, I do believe that he wants Idaho football to be like Montana football - top dogs in a division that for the most part doesn't matter, vs at the bottom of the top division. I guess to some people, winning is more important.

Just not sure that Idaho is going to win all that much in the Big Sky!

I don't think he really knows what he wants, but if that's the case, we did that already. We were at the top of the Big Sky through the '80s and until we moved up in '96. And fewer people came to the games or donated to the program than do now after 15 years of FBS suckage and being jerked from conference to conference.

And you're right, I don't know why we'd win in the Big Sky. You have to give a crap about athletics to play well in FCS, same as FBS.

More people came to NDSU football games when it moved up to DI-AA, than when it as DII. (with exception of the yearly UND game)

Obviously now, with all the championships and ESPN coverage, etc. , the attendance and support has been unprecedented. But there is something to moving up a level, in of itself.


NoDak,

UMass is doing it. NM St is going to do it.

(10-14-2016 11:48 AM)LatahCounty Wrote:  

(10-14-2016 11:45 AM)NoDak Wrote:  

(10-14-2016 11:36 AM)LatahCounty Wrote:  For those of you who think Idaho's move to FCS is the beginning of some kind of stampede, think again. We're the only school dumb enough to follow a president who says he wants all sports to be club sports into a financial abyss. Story here: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oc...lications/

In summary, Chuck Staben is a tool.

When the FCS WAC is announced, with the intent of going back to FBS, the Vandal fans will be singing his praises.

In the big rock candy mountain, all the jails are made of tin. And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in.

That's all I hear whenever I read one of your fantasy posts.

The mandated nine Big Sky conference games is the first shot in a planned rebellion. None of the teams can afford that, both the upper tier and the lower tier. PSU and Idaho St need two FBS games, which means some years they would only have four home games. The Montanas need six home games, which means no FBS games for them.

The Big Sky will split and realign with the WAC. Coming in November.

(10-14-2016 12:02 PM)MplsBison Wrote:  More people came to NDSU football games when it moved up to DI-AA, than when it as DII. (with exception of the yearly UND game)

Obviously now, with all the championships and ESPN coverage, etc. , the attendance and support has been unprecedented. But there is something to moving up a level, in of itself.


NoDak,

UMass is doing it.

The Fargo Dome used to be "owned" by UND. NDSU never had a DII home playoff game ever there. That's why attendance sucked, because they didn't produce a winner.

NMSU is staying FBS too, but there are so many more teams to play around them. Boise St has blackballed Idaho, as has NDSU done that to UND.

And if that does somehow happen, then they're going to find out in December that the NCAA FBS members will squash that.

So they'll be stuck with WAC football and Big Sky football being two FCS leagues. Which may not be the worst thing ever.

NoDak,

You're talking about DII NCC era Fargodome -- fair enough, you're right.

And you can even try to claim that NDSU moved up to get itself out of the rut. Maybe that's even true. But seems like it worked out well enough.

(10-14-2016 11:57 AM)NoDak Wrote:  Was their ever an organized effort among Vandal fans to fund an independent Idaho FBS Team? Losing conference affiliation, having to schedule enough home games, and losing the CFP payout was a huge burden to overcome. It's not like Idaho has a shot to get into the MWC.

Plenty of boosters have asked our administration to tell us what the cost of indy actually is so we can help fund it. No answer. But pledges to support FBS have been substantial. We've also funded every football facility improvement the AD ever asked for. The problem is that nobody within the President or AD office ever asks for anything that really moves the needle.

On your "burdens":

CFP payout -- that's the difference between scheduling 1 P5 game or 2. Plenty of room for 2 of those on an indy schedule.

Scheduling -- In 2013 we created a full indy schedule on 6 months notice. You're telling me we can't do that again with 2 years lead time? Our AD says he was just about done with the 2018 FBS schedule when word came down from Staben on the drop.

Once we drop down it's next to impossible to come back.

(10-14-2016 12:06 PM)LatahCounty Wrote:  

(10-14-2016 11:57 AM)NoDak Wrote:  Was their ever an organized effort among Vandal fans to fund an independent Idaho FBS Team? Losing conference affiliation, having to schedule enough home games, and losing the CFP payout was a huge burden to overcome. It's not like Idaho has a shot to get into the MWC.

Plenty of boosters have asked our administration to tell us what the cost of indy actually is so we can help fund it. No answer. But pledges to support FBS have been substantial. We've also funded every football facility improvement the AD ever asked for. The problem is that nobody within the President or AD office ever asks for anything that really moves the needle.

On your "burdens":

CFP payout -- that's the difference between scheduling 1 P5 game or 2. Plenty of room for 2 of those on an indy schedule.

Scheduling -- In 2013 we created a full indy schedule on 6 months notice. You're telling me we can't do that again with 2 years lead time? Our AD says he was just about done with the 2018 FBS schedule when word came down from Staben on the drop.

Once we drop down it's next to impossible to come back.

Idaho should have stayed in the WAC, but they wanted the exit fees too much from the other FBS schools. They got a big check and went to the Big Sky, where they have to play nice to the Montanas. The Montanas want FBS, as there are doing everything that Texas St, Coastal Carolina, GA Southern did in the years before an FBS move.

I wonder where mplsbison gets his idea that FBS schools want to block FCS schools from moving up? The G5 schools like the MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt wants to have more bowl access when they keep getting their schools with winning records not getting a bowl spot. With FCOA and all that? You would think there will be a move to allow teams in certain area of the country to fill the void of need for all FBS members. Why did NCAA D1 have a meeting last year with some D2 reps invited?

(10-14-2016 12:33 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I wonder where mplsbison gets his idea that FBS schools want to block FCS schools from moving up? The G5 schools like the MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt wants to have more bowl access when they keep getting their schools with winning records not getting a bowl spot. With FCOA and all that? You would think there will be a move to allow teams in certain area of the country to fill the void of need for all FBS members. Why did NCAA D1 have a meeting last year with some D2 reps invited?

I think what he is saying is that current FBS conferences do not want more FBS conferences. Actually, it would be the G5 conferences that don't want that, because they would each get a smaller share of the CFP money than they do now.

(10-14-2016 12:39 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(10-14-2016 12:33 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  I wonder where mplsbison gets his idea that FBS schools want to block FCS schools from moving up? The G5 schools like the MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt wants to have more bowl access when they keep getting their schools with winning records not getting a bowl spot. With FCOA and all that? You would think there will be a move to allow teams in certain area of the country to fill the void of need for all FBS members. Why did NCAA D1 have a meeting last year with some D2 reps invited?

I think what he is saying is that current FBS conferences do not want more FBS conferences. Actually, it would be the G5 conferences that don't want that, because they would each get a smaller share of the CFP money than they do now.

They would still lose money if they keep not getting invites to bowl games. G5 should look at it that way, and CFP money should be adjusted so that schools that are needed to be involved as well. This means if you add a new FBS conference in the central, western or eastern parts of the countries? Than, you will have have schools that want FBS will have access, plus these conferences will be feeder grounds to the G5.

(10-14-2016 12:02 PM)NoDak Wrote:  The mandated nine Big Sky conference games is the first shot in a planned rebellion. None of the teams can afford that, both the upper tier and the lower tier. PSU and Idaho St need two FBS games, which means some years they would only have four home games. The Montanas need six home games, which means no FBS games for them.

The Big Sky will split and realign with the WAC. Coming in November.

If nobody wants it. Why are the presidents even considering voting on it?

It's patently obvious that G5 don't want another G conf at the table, either in NCAA or in CFP.

Likewise, that would upset the "balance" between 5 P's and 5 G's.


Thing is, if WAC had survived, they'd be at both tables now. But MWC saw fit to make sure that didn't happen ... and so now they certainly aren't going to take the foot off the throat.

Kudos to Staben for putting Idaho where they belong. There is nowhere for them to go and Indy Football wouldn't work.
The funding loss is not significant is the overall scope of things. They will be a healthier program in the Big Sky both financially and will see that here in a few years.

If Idaho wanted to stay a FBS team they should have invested 100 million dollars in a new football stadium and basketball arena. Even FCS schools are making investments like that and some D2 schools also.

Idaho by no means will be the last to move to FCS. FBS is getting more and more expensive each year it will reach a breaking point for the lowest G5.