SUU wants in too
The University of Northern Colorado is officially a member the Big Sky Conference as o
f July 1 and now Southern Utah University wants in as well. Too bad the BSC made sure the door was closed tight after letting the Bears of NCU in.
This is detailed in an article by Rich Johnson for the Southern Utah Spectrum.
Why they're not getting in:
My favorite quote from the article is totally irrelevant from its main point:
f July 1 and now Southern Utah University wants in as well. Too bad the BSC made sure the door was closed tight after letting the Bears of NCU in. This is detailed in an article by Rich Johnson for the Southern Utah Spectrum.
Why they're not getting in:
- Too far away:
Although SUU is in the Big Sky's "footprint," Cedar City is not an easy travel destination, Fullerton said.
SUU would, however, provide a travel partner for Northern Arizona, which, by Big Sky standards, is marooned in Flagstaff, Ariz.
But other than NAU, Idaho State and Weber State, the Big Sky's other six teams would be forced to fly to Las Vegas and then bus to Cedar City for games.
- Not good enough:
To make itself more compatible with the Big Sky, Beazer said SUU's football program would become a "counter" and that the school would add volleyball, one of conference's core sports.
As a "non-counter" program, SUU is a particularly unattractive opponent for Division I-A teams, who typically pay six figures for a game against a lower-level team.
- Not quite smart enough:
Academics are also an issue, Fullerton said.
"It's hard to criticize institutions," the commissioner said. "The mission is one thing. We have some institutions that have mature research components."
My favorite quote from the article is totally irrelevant from its main point:
The Big Sky sponsors 10 other sports at the Division I level and has a history of success in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.Not quite.
Does the Big Sky want to expand?
If so why not east?
North Dakota a WCHA member who play power house hockey programs like U-Minn, U-Wisc, and non league members such as UNH, Maine,Vermont, Boston-U, BC U-Mich etc.
And have a tri state media(cable) coverage seem to have alot going for them.
UND might make it easier to open doors.
The BSC seemed to jump on board when U-NC brought them the Altitude Network.
Maybe UND's FSSN and Fox North might be able to work out a deal if say the game of the week was a Montana vs North Dakota match up. Which then would be seen in Wisc and Iowa as well as the respective networks and maybe CSTV.
IMHO, an up and down vote would probably be needed. With all UND has to offer it should be a no brainer.