With Idaho and Utah State leaving for the WAC, who is the Big West going to replace them with?

Sac State sure seems like a possible candidate. Especially if they're going to drop football. Actually regardless I think the Big West would be much cheaper for them than the Big Sky.

I think Portland State is also in the exact same position as Sac State. However, not being in California might hurt their chances as the Big West is now an all Cali. bus league.

Both could leave the Big Sky and join the Big West and Great West if they want to still play football.

Then the Sky could add NDSU and SDSU.

Any thoughts.

There are times when I wonder if the Sky would kill to add UC Davis, maybe even Poly. I suspect Davis will enjoy joining the Big West next year, and Poly likes their position.

Sac State football is taking a turn further south. I can't help but think the program will suffer the fate of Beach, Pacific, Santa Clara, St. Mary's, and so on. Thing is, Sac can schedule Davis and Poly anyway and stay in a conference with an automatic football playoff berth and a long time reputation and not have to wince at scheduling Dakota schools. I think the Big West becomes their option only if football goes. They're not helping themselves by descending below Eastern Washington levels at the gate. The good news for Sac is that the Big West probably can- and will- wait for them.

I believe the Big West has dropped a hint- make us bus to Portland, and Portland pays for it. BW wants to- has to- be compact. Portland State's facilities are surprisingly sub-par for even the Big West, to boot, unless you think playing soccer at PGE Park (which should be an MLS facility with real grass rather than a multipurpose facility) is a benefit. Portland State has practically set themselves up to fall into the cracks if football doesn't improve fast. We may find out this weekend when PSU hosts Idaho State a week after upsetting Montana... while drawing sub-10K in PGE for the first time since PSU joined the Sky. If PSU doesn't draw for that, someone has got to connect the dots and start rumors about closing football down there. When that happens, with the facilities at PSU, Division 2 may be their only option.

I will bet that Cal-State Bakersfield is the next Cal school to pop out of D2, and the Big West will greet them with open arms.

Regardless if PSU drops football, I think they're out of the Sky for not meeting the required number of sports (they were reluctantly allowed to drop tennis).

If they can't get in the Big West then there really is nothing for them. The GNAC maybe?

Also I suppose that SJoseSU could get in if they drop football.

One thing I do not understand is how come schools like Sacramento State and San Jose State can't draw very well? It's a long commute (or it looks like a long commute on the map!!) to either Stanford or Berkeley (not saying that folks from Sacramento or San Jose don't make that trip weekly) so I would think that would be a deterrent to watching Pac 10 football.


I'm starting to really hate the Big West. While I have nothing against non-football schools (remember my alma mater had no football!!), I do have a beef with a conference that seems to mandate getting rid of football to join its league. Maybe it's the conspiracy theorist in me, but I'm starting to think that maybe the Pac 10 is behind that league somehow or another.

Who dropped football to join the Big West?

Every school in it?

Northridge was going to the Sky but changed their mind. I have a feeling that Sac and SJ could do the same, like so many other CSU schools.

CSN was a member of the Big Sky (1996-2001), and dropped football after one season (2001) as a I-AA independent...what is this "mandate?" Cal Poly-SLO and UC-Davis have football as members of the GWFC...the only schools not to have a football program at the time they were admitted to the Big West are UC-Irvine and UC-Riverside...Fullerton, Long Beach, Pacific, and UC-Santa Barbara would never have been (originally) considered for PCAA membership if they hadn't featured a football program...

Cal State-Northridge

CSN was already a member of the Big West when their football program was terminated (ala Cal State-Fullerton, Long Beach State, Pacific, and UC-Santa Barbara)...that's why they played an independent schedule their final season (2001)...note that Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo played an independent schedule (1996-2003) after the demise of the short-lived America West Conference...

Big West Conference Predicted Conference Realignments:

Pacific
Cal State-Long Beach
Cal State-Northridge
Cal State-Fullerton
UC-Irvine
UC-Riverside
UC-Santa Barbara
UC-Davis (joins in 2008-09 season)
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo

New Members:

Portland State (possible)
Cal State-Sacramento (possible)
Cal State-Bakersfield (possible from D2)

_________________
Florida State Seminole fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)!

Retraction time... Portland State can't afford to drop football before they build a new basketball arena... of course, the football program expense will make it just that much more difficult to get the arena project started. The Big West is simply not going to take them regardless... they are now a happy bus league, and BTW will be similarly happy to add CS Bakersfield to the fold (bank on that one).

I don't have the same cold unfuzzy about Sac State... but it wouldn't hurt them to jump start the football program sometime soon. Their new arena could be a major cash injection down the line, but if the football program's fortunes cause a delay in another part of the major facility project going on throughout campus, then we can talk. Moreover, if they are really shooting for the WAC, I doubt they can get there from the Great West. Looks like they'll stay Big Sky for the foreseeable future.

San Jose State- keep watching them. I still don't think they can keep their football program going... and their facility management arm will probably feel the pain of losing the Earthquakes.

How about Southern Utah or any other institution from the California Collegiate Athletic Association or CCAA (upgrade from D-II)?

_________________
Florida State Seminole fan for life (mostly on football, basketball and baseball)!

If the Big West doesn't want to go to Portland, they sure wouldn't want to go two states away to Utah. On the other hand, I'm sure they gladly slurp up any upgrades from Division II in the Golden State, as long as there's room in the conference.

Cal State Bakersfield will probably join in 2010. Dont count on sac state losing their football team or joining the great west, they want to join the wac. watch san jose state, if they are forced to lose 1-a status they will probably lose their football program and join the big west.

The possibility of Cal State Bakersfield joining the Big West was discussed on another thread and apparently was discussed here on this earlier thread.
CSUB is apparently in it's first year as a D-1 Independent and is playing a mostly Big West schedule.
I suspect that after they "pay their dues"they will likely get an invite.
So far,there is no evidence of a Big West invitation.I will continue to look.
Here is blog article in this regard at http://frdelrosario.livejournal.com/498298.html