WAC is further away than our current conference. NAU finally has a school in driving distance (SUU). No such schools in the new WAC. At least three in the MWC - UNM, UNLV, SDSU. Of course, this will never happen...

The new rules regarding Division I Conference membership that saved the WAC's hide (7 schools who have been members of Division I for 8 years) can still sae the Great West.

There are currently 8 schools who are either in the Great West or are independent:

Seattle
Cal State-Bakersfield
Utah Valley
Houston Baptist
Texas-Pan American
Chicago State
NJIT
Longwood

If the more than one of those join a conference, there will be no realistic shot at a 32nd voting conference in Division I.
If at least 7 of these schools can stick together, then the Great West and Summit could swap members around in a more geographically fitting arrangement:

Great West:
Seattle (could be traded to the WAC for Denver)
Cal State-Bakersfield
Utah Valley
Houston Baptist
Texas-Pan American
Oral Roberts
Missouri-Kansas City
Nebraska-Omaha

Summit:
North Dakota State
South Dakota State
South Dakota
Western Illinois
Chicago State
IUPUI
IPFW
Oakland
NJIT
Longwood

If the four Dakota schools decide to consolidate in the Great West or Big Sky, the Summit can backfill with upgrades from Division II like Northern Kentucky, NYIT (a partial member of the Great West), Bellarmine, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The Great West can take more regionally appropriate schools from Division II, like Dallas Baptist (who already plays Division I Baseball), Grand Canyon, Fort Hays State, and Dixie State.

The Great West is a "conference of last resort".

As others on this board have said, it's not really a conference, per se, it's a scheduling alliance.

The Summit would have no desire to add schools in NJ and Va, which would make travel horrific.

Since Douple took over, the Summit (formerly the Mid-Con) has rapidly been transformed into a far-flung hodge-podge, to a nice stable midwestern confernece,
that may soon rival the Missouri Valley. The Summit unloaded their geographic out-liers (Centenary and Southern Utah) and now looks to fill out the confernece
with some solid members right in the middle of their footprint (Nebraska-Omaha, and (I'm guessing) North Dakota).

NO WAY, the ORU, UMKC, or UNO look to the Great West as superior to the Summit. What would UNO do regarding FB, in the Great West ?
Great West football is gone.... all FB teams have been absorbed in the Big Sky or Summit.

You are more likely to see the remnants of the Great West get invitations to the WAC and Southland, in my opinion. But, let's wait and see.

espn.com had an article about the great west before their most recent membership change. under the old rules and old membership, they would not have a bid until 2020. now that they have lost the dakota schools, i am sure it would be even later because the 8 year clock does not start until a school is finished transitioning and seattle (a potential dakota school replacement) is still transitioning.

plus i think if the great west gets close to getting an auto bid, it will get raided to prevent a conference 32. current conferences have no desire to see another auto bid and another mouth to feed.

Could schools wanting to move up us the great west as a stepping stone conference? On the main page there was talk of UC San Diego wanting to move up could they use a great west invite a way to get around the new rules?

_________________
Fan of:
Sun Belt Conference
Summit League
Us National Soccer Team

The Great West is not a voting multisport conference, so it cannot extend invitations to Division I. If by some chance 4-5 schools were in the Great West long enough, the Great West could invite other Division I schools and qualify for an automatic bid.

Another nail in the Great West coffin? Houston Baptist reaches out to Southland, plans to add football:

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/ ... y-football

Houston to Baptist would be the only private school in the Southland should they join. The Great West would be down to UTPA, Utah Valley, NJIT, and Chicago State.

Also posted on WAC thread....
Q&A with CSUB AD about not getting a WAC invite, not joining the Great West and future independence
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/sports/ ... -faze-CSUB

_________________
Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

Wouldn't the same rule change that saved the WAC now apply to the Great West? If so, then all they need is 7 school with 6 men's and 6 women's sponsored sports and they would qualify for and Automatic Bid to the NCAA tournament without having to wait the 10 years the old rule required. If so, it seems there would be a number of schools in DII and a few DI schools looking for a home that would be interested.

Keep an eye on this one. I think the Great West is in play to make an interesting survival move as a basketball only conference with and automatic bid.

No because it said existing conferences. Plus it says 7 CORE members. A core member means being D-I for 8 years post provisional membership. UTPA and Chicago St. are the only core members of the GWC.

_________________

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'08 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPS

Really? Where does it say that. This is what the new rule in the DI Manual says:

20.02.5 Multisport Conference. A Division I multisport conference shall satisfy the requirements of this
section. (Adopted: 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)

20.02.5.1 Minimum Number of Members. A multisport conference shall be composed of at least seven
active Division I members. The member conference shall include at least seven active Division I members that sponsor both men’s and women’s basketball. (Adopted: 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)
20.02.5.2 Sports Sponsorship. A multisport conference shall satisfy the following requirements: (Adopted:1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)
(a) The conference shall sponsor a minimum of 12 Division I sports;
(b) The conference shall sponsor a minimum of six men’s sports, one of which shall be men’s basketball. In addition to men’s basketball, the conference shall sponsor football or two other men’s team sports. A
minimum of seven members shall sponsor men’s basketball. A minimum of six members shall sponsor
five other sports, including football or two additional men’s team sports; and
(c) The conference shall sponsor a minimum of six women’s sports, one of which shall be women’s basketball. In addition to women’s basketball, the conference shall sponsor two other women’s team sports. A minimum of seven members shall sponsor women’s basketball. A minimum of six members shall sponsor five other sports, including two additional women’s team sports (or a minimum of five members for an emerging sport for women).
20.02.5.3 Regular-Season Conference Competition. Multisport conference members shall participate in
regular-season conference competition, subject to the following requirements: (Adopted: 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)
(a) Basketball teams shall participate in a regular-season conference schedule of a double round-robin, inseason competition, or a minimum of 14 regular-season conference contests;
(b) In football or in a minimum of two men’s team sports other than men’s basketball [as required in Bylaw 20.02.5.2-(b)], teams shall compete in a minimum regular-season conference schedule of five contests. A minimum of five regular-season conference contests must be hosted by one of the two competing teams at its home venue; and
(c) In a minimum of two women’s team sports other than women’s basketball (as required in Bylaw
20.02.5.2), teams shall compete in a minimum regular-season conference schedule of five contests. A
minimum of five regular-season conference contests must be hosted by one of the two competing teams
at its home venue.
20.02.5.4 Continuity. A multisport conference shall establish continuity. To establish continuity, a multisport conference must meet the requirements of Bylaw 20.02.5.1. In addition, the conference must meet the requirements of Bylaws 20.02.5.2 and 20.02.5.3 for a period of eight consecutive years. (Adopted: 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)

AND

18.5.3 Men’s Basketball Eligibility Requirements. For automatic qualification in the sport of men’s
basketball in Division I, a conference shall meet the following additional requirements:
(a) It shall determine a conference champion in at least six men’s sports [at least two of which must be team sportsas set forth in Bylaw 31.3.4.1-(a)]; and in each of these six sports, at least six of the conference’s member institutions shall sponsor the sport on the varsity intercollegiate level; and
(b) It shall conduct double round-robin, in-season conference competition, or a minimum of 14 conference games, before declaring its champion in basketball. (Revised: 1/10/91 effective 8/1/91)

AND

31.3.4.5 Additional Requirements, Men’s Basketball. To be considered eligible for automatic qualification
in men’s basketball, a member conference must be a core conference (see Bylaw 31.02.3) and must meet the requirements of Bylaw 20.02.6. (Revised: 8/14/90, 12/3/90, 4/27/00, 4/29/04 effective 8/1/04, 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)
31.3.4.5.1 Grace Period. A conference shall remain eligible for automatic qualification for two years
following the date of withdrawal of the institution(s) that causes the conference’s membership to fall below seven institutions that sponsor the sport and conduct conference competition together (see Bylaw 20.02.6). (Adopted: 4/27/00, Revised: 4/29/04 effective 8/1/04, 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)

AND

31.02.3 Core Conference. A core conference is a multisport conference that has been elected to membership and, as a result of legislation, is identified in the applicable sections of Constitution 4 related to representation in the NCAA governance structure. (Adopted: 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)

I cannot find anything suggesting your "core member" concept relating to a time frame in the new manual. I think you will find that the Great West is actively talking to a number of schools to sure up what they need for an AQ. You might want to look closer.

A number of articles I had seen on the change made reference to "seven active Division I members", which are schools that have completed their transition from Division II (or the NAIA in case of Houston Baptist).

The Great West's problem is that any movement from the WAC will likely mean that a Great West school fills one of those vacancies. The Southland, already down to 9, have Lamar and Sam Houston State looking at FBS-not fatal losses to the Southland, but having only 7 members makes life difficult for the Southland, and they would likely look at Houston Baptist and UPTA. If the Big Sky could potentially lose 5 schools-4 could potentially upgrade to FBS (Montana, Montana State, Portland State, Sacramento State), and North Dakota would likely be gone if they can find an expansion partner in the Summit League. The Big Sky would likely try to bring in football-only members Cal Poly SLO and UC Davis first, but if they refuse, the Big Sky has to look at Utah Valley.

The best hope for the Great West is that the WAC gets big enough in football to split, and that its 8 departing members can use it as its new home:

WAC (9/10) - San Jose State, Cal Poly SLO, Sacramento State, Portland State, Seattle*, Idaho, Utah State, Montana, Montana State, UC Davis
Big Sky (6/8) - Denver*, Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Weber State, Utah Valley*, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado
Great West (8/12) - New Mexico State, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, Lamar, Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Houston Baptist*, Texas-Pan American*, Chicago State*, NJIT*
Southland (6/8) - Stephen F. Austin State, Teas A&M-Corpus Christi*, Central Arkansas, UALR*, Northwestern State, Nicholls State, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana

The Southland eventually adds Houston Baptist as it begins FCS football, and UTPA to square up at 10 overall members and 7 for football. The Great West loses its two other founding all-sports members to more geographically suitable homes.

don't believe me then, it was posted everywhere when it happened. Active/core 8 years as a D-I member. They were using the word core though when it was posted way back. It should probably on this board in the D-II section. Anyhow, the GWC has 5 members, 2 that are core, UVU, NJIT that are now a full members, not core according the rules that were posted back in Jan or Marchish. HBU who appealed their 7 year non NCAA to D-I transition(no longer allowed under the new rule, you must spend 5 years as a full D-II member). So They are either a full member this year or next. That's 5, you can't expand w/ D-II members unless you have 7 core/active whatever they want to use. They change wording all the time. Exploratory member is a Candidate now.

PS, I bet you the right to post on this board that the GWC can't bring in D-II members to join in its current state. I know what I'm talking about. You must be a fan of one of those schools w/ blind hope. I'd love for the GWC to be albe to add schools, but they can't from D-II until they have 7 counters in D-I. No one is leaving a conf for the GWC. You could work on CSUB and Longwood who didn't join when they stated the who GWC. If you got both of them and no one left and they hung together long enough. You could. Go look up the new conf. AQ rule, see if it explains what I'm saying.

GWC is on year 0, and will be until they have 7. If you look at moving from D-II to D-I you must have an invite from an EXISTING D-I conf. which the GWC will never be until A) they have 7 full members B) meet requirements and play as 7 members for 8 years. Good luck w/ that.
20.02.5.4 Continuity. A multisport conference shall establish continuity. To establish continuity, a multisport conference must meet the requirements of Bylaw 20.02.5.1. In addition, the conference must meet the requirements of Bylaws 20.02.5.2 and 20.02.5.3 for a period of eight consecutive years. (Adopted: 1/15/11 effective 8/1/11)

_________________

WRANGLERS 153-55-1 CVFL CHAMPS '04 '05 '09 '12

NFL CHAMPS '29 '30 '31 '36 '39 '44 '61 '62 '65 '66 '67 '96 '10

BW/WAC/MWC CHAMPS '77 '82 '85 '88 '89 '91 '92 '93 '99 '12
'08 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPS

The NCAA is putting the final touches on it’s official D1 membership criteria. TheD1 Leadership Council’s recommendations include:

A five-year “reclassification” process for new members following no less than five years of membership in Division II.
New members must have a bona fide offer of membership from a multisport, voting Division I conference.

If you want you can put in the extra work and find the actual bylaw since my word and the guy that runs this place who posted that from ncaa site, don't count.

His post from the NCAA site said they were getting rid of the word core replacing it w/ active. So there you go.

_________________

WRANGLERS 153-55-1 CVFL CHAMPS '04 '05 '09 '12

NFL CHAMPS '29 '30 '31 '36 '39 '44 '61 '62 '65 '66 '67 '96 '10

BW/WAC/MWC CHAMPS '77 '82 '85 '88 '89 '91 '92 '93 '99 '12
'08 NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPS

Fresno St,

Sorry for the delay in responding but I was waiting for the actual news to break. If you go to the link below you will find the report from the NCAA Board of Directors Meeting held on August 11, 2011. If you look at item 7, the Division I Administration Cabinet recomended the approval of the Great West Conference, a multi-sport conference. The recommendation was approved by the board.

I have copied the item here for you:

7. Division I Administration Cabinet Recommendation. The Administration Cabinet recommended that the Board elect Florida Gulf Coast University, Houston Baptist University, University of North Carolina Central and University of South Carolina Upstate to active Division I membership status. The cabinet also recommended that the Board approve the conference applications of the Great West Conference, a multi-sport conference, and the National Lacrosse Conference, a single-sport conference.

BOARD ACTION: The Board voted to elect the four recommended institutions to active Division I membership status and approved the two conference applications. (Unanimous voice vote.)

the link to the entire report is: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/DI_MC_BOD/DI_BO ... 208.11.pdf

So it looks like the Great West Conference IS in play and is interviewing prospective DII members looking to move up invite to expand to have east/west divisions. Think CSUB and Longwood are in? Care to speculate on what DII schools might move?

So, about that bet for the right to post on this site? LOL.